Breakfast Links - February 6, 2023
(image via Houston Dynamo FC/Twitter)
This MLS content on Apple is getting me so hyped for the season to begin. Just a few more weeks until opening kickoff. Hope you all are as excited as I am! Here are your breakfast links to start off your week.
Houston
The Dynamo played their second preseason friendly in Mexico against Tlaxcala FC. After what seems like a much better performance, the Dynamo came out as 2-0 winners, according to reports. One goal was scored by Sebas Ferreira off a great play between Hector Herrera and Corey Baird.
Carlon Carpenter was hired by the club as the new head video analyst. Carpenter has experience working with the United States national team, analyzing youth camps and tournaments. Another strong addition to the analytics department.
Juan Castilla continued his campaign in the U20 South American Championship with Colombia coming off the bench in a 3-0 win over Paraguay. They will play again tonight against Ecuador. Let’s all hope for another great performance.
The Dash are continuing to work hard preparing for the season ahead. Diana Ordonez stated she thinks of herself as a true 9, sparking debate on how the team will setup both Ordonez and Ebony Salmon to succeed together. We’re all still frustrated waiting for the NWSL schedule to be announced. We will keep you all updated when it drops.
Major League Soccer
The Seattle Sounders played the first ever game in the Club World Cup to feature an MLS team. Unfortunately, they did end up losing to Egyptian club Al Ahly 1-0. The game was extremely close and you would have to think if Seattle were in midseason form they could’ve gotten a result.
Former Dynamo forward Will Bruin is looking very likely to sign with Austin after starting in a friendly while on trial. Bruin would look to fill the spot on the depth chart that has just opened up with forward Moussa Djitte leaving on loan to AC Ajaccio in France. Austin is growing a very strong list of veteran MLS forwards with Gyasi Zardes, Maxi Urutti, and Bruin.
The transfer of Julian Araujo to Barcelona has officially collapsed. This is incredibly unfortunate for both clubs, the player, and MLS. Hopefully the deal can be revived come summer.
Real Salt Lake are in talks to sign fullback Brayan Vera, who is now teammates with Darwin Quintero at America de Cali. This will be a great move to add fullback depth to Bryan Oviedo and Andrew Brody.
Around the World
Manchester City have been charged by the Premier League over breaking financial rules across nine seasons, the league announced this morning. The Premier League confirmed that a number of alleged breaches between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons have been referred to an independent commission with the conclusion of a four-year investigation. The commission will be held in private and can impose open-ended sanctions, which could include fines, points deductions or relegation from the Premier League.
The Premier League brought us two of the most shocking results of the weekend with relegation candidates Everton and Wolves beating Arsenal and Liverpool respectively. Arsenal played a close game with Everton, who played with extra passion from their new coach Sean Dyche. Dyche managed to pull out an incredible defensive performance from his entire team to get in a 1-0 victory over the league leaders. It’s not all bad news for Arsenal because Spurs managed to defeat Manchester City 1-0 to keep Arsenal’s lead at the top to 5 points.
The Bundesliga saw a dramatic late win for Union Berlin from a Jordan Pefok winner in the 84th minute to keep them within a point of Bayern München. Pefok wasn’t the only American to score off the bench in the Bundesliga this week with Giovanni Reyna scoring for a third game in a row cementing himself as an elite super sub for Dortmund.
Barcelona continue to dominate the La Liga table this season after Real Madrid suffered another loss to midtable Mallorca. Barcelona comfortably won 3-0 and have extended their lead to 8 points.
Mexican international Diego Lainez made his debut for Tigres after his failed European stint ended. Lainez made his first appearance in Liga MX since 2019 when he left for Real Betis. Tigres ended up winning 1-0 over Cruz Azul to put themselves in 3rd place.
