Weekend Wrap Up

It was a big weekend for soccer both stateside and abroad. My colleague Skippy is currently on location in London and was lucky enough to catch a few of this weekend's EPL match ups. Soccer on the Brain wishes him safe travels; enjoy a pint for us over there! Here is a rundown of some of the weekends scores, as well as a few selected "matchday thoughts."

Major League Soccer

• Houston Dynamo 0 - NE Revolution 3
  FC Dallas 1 - Chivas USA 1
• KC Wizards 2 - DC United 0
• Columbus Crew 2 - Toronto FC 0
• Chicago Fire 1 - Real Salt Lake

"Matchday Thoughts"
The big story here is the Revolution's "redemption" over the Houston Dynamo. The KC Wizards opened with a big win over a very strong DC United team. KC has the potential for a strong season as they will be looking to take advantage of signing their first DP (designated player), Argentinian Claudio Lopez. A Cuauhtemoc Blanco goal saved the Fire from what could have been a season opening upset by much weaker Real Salt Lake. All in all it was a great matchday-- its gonna be a great MLS season.

English Premier League

• Chelsea 1 - Middlesbrough 0
• Liverpool 1 - Everton 0
• Tottenham 1 - Newcastle 4
• Arsenal 3 - Bolton 2
• Derby 2 - Fulham 2
• Manchester United 4 - Aston Villa 0

"Matchday Thoughts"
Robin Van Persie welcomed his first goal since since returning to Arsenal's squad in what was a very turbulent match that produced 5 goals and 5 cards (4 yellows and 1 red). Arsenal (3rd place) sit just 1 point behind Chelsea and 6 points back from league leaders United. Liverpool secured their fourth place spot with a victory over Everton thanks to another Fernando Torres goal. Torres is playing like one of the best, if not the best natural striker in England. Every game is becoming a "must win" for Fulham yet they were only able to split points with fellow bottom feeders Derby. Time is running out for "FulhAmerica." Chelsea won over Middlesborough and is doing everything it can to keep the title race interesting while Manchester continues to play evolved football.