Yesterday was a busy day for B&RU. In case you weren't around last night (or in case you're like me and sometimes just eat leftovers for breakfast), here are some things you might not have seen:
D.C. United are on to the Champions League quarterfinals with 2-0 win over Arabe Unido | Black and Red United
So in certain, perpetually unhappy DCU circles this win was seen as some kind of poor display where Arabe Unido dominated the game. Please, if you think this, read up on game states (try here to start). Then take a look at DAU's shot locations from last night.
Too lazy? I'll enable you. Arabe took 19 shots, but 16 were outside the penalty area. 13 were from over 25 yards. United won this game in 22 minutes and then rolled the rest of the way in first gear because Arabe kept taking off-balance shots from 30 yards. Don't confuse winning without getting out of second gear with being outplayed. What I learned, more than anything last night, is that a good USL team would rack up titles if they played in Panama.
D.C. United re-sign Kofi Opare to a multi-year contract | Black and Red United
You can never have too many good center backs.
Well, you can, if all your players are center backs. MLS teams should try to have 4 good center backs, and signing Opare to an extension means United will be doing that for a good while.
Ben Olsen hints at changes to future CONCACAF Champions League tournaments | Black and Red United
Benny let the cat out of the bag on this one. And really, it makes more sense this way. MLS clubs will finally get to play these games after they have some league fixtures under their belts, while the CCL winner won't be 8 months away from taking the field in the Club World Cup.
I mean, that's assuming that the rumors about the CCL taking place within a calendar year. This is CONCACAF, after all. They could say that the whole thing needs to be played in January.
D.C. United beats Arabe Unido, clinches spot in Champions League quarterfinals | Washington Post
Steve Goff's game report, which ends with a little update on some contract talks United hasn't finished off just yet.
D.C. United advances in CONCACAF Champions League: match report, notes, video | Soccer Insider
Goff's blog digs in further on the potential CCL scheduling change.
RSL tie Santa Tecla in El Salvador | RSL Soapbox
Further evidence that United's CCL win in Panama was huge: Real Salt Lake, playing a less experienced club in CCL play, sent in big names like Javier Morales, Kyle Beckerman, and Joao Plata and still only came up with a 0-0 draw. And that's not a criticism of RSL, either. CONCACAF play is hard, and winning without taxing the legs of the biggest players on the roster is impressive.
PSV Eindhoven vs. Manchester United: Final Score 2-1, PSV earn shock win in Champions League opener | SB Nation
Meanwhile, in that other Champions League, a major upset that takes me back to the days when a club like PSV was considered a real test for Man United. It wasn't even that long ago!
Anyway, the news was even worse for the Red Devils because Luke Shaw suffered a gruesome broken leg in the match.
3 things we learned from Juventus' 2-1 comeback win over Manchester City | SB Nation
Not a good day for English clubs:
Spanish teams have outscored their opposition 8-0 thus far today. England: 2-4 Germany: 1-2
— Richard Farley (@richardfarley) September 15, 2015
And this was tweeted before Sevilla added a third against Mönchengladbach to make it 9-0, 2-4, and 1-3. But hey, the Prem is best league in the world as long as we just keep repeating it, right?
La Luz: Back to Life | Paste Magazine
I haven't closed with any movie or music articles in a long time, so I'll do this. It's from over a month ago, but all summer I've been trying to get people excited about La Luz, a four-woman surf rock band whose album Weirdo Shrine has been as much a part of my summer of 2015 as Daft Punk's Random Access Memories was last year. I can't stop listening to it. You should buy it. Give them your money and your ears.