It took a couple of heros for the Chicago Fire to rebound during their midweek league game, but they are not exaclty who you may think they are.
This week, the Fire notched another home victory thanks to an unlikely source, Tottenham reach the European promised land that Liverpool could miss out on, Brazil’s injuries woes only got worse and another big European name could be North America-bound.
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The season is almost over. Hang in there and finish it out with another edition of 90 Minutes’ Top Five.
1. Unlikely heros
A 21-year-old rookie and a back-up defender.
These were the heroes of the Chicago Fire’s victory against the Montreal Impact on Wednesday, a narrow 1-0 win.
On the surface, the fact that Mo Adams and Kevin Ellis were the difference makers be a sympthom for a bad performance for the Fire.
However, given the fact that Chicago dominated the game on both ends of the pitch (despite the 1-0 result), Adams’ and Ellis’ performances serve as encouraging sings.
Let’s start with Adams, the most noteworthy one of the two. In only his fourth start as a professional, the Englishman was given the responsibility of man-marking none other than Ignacio Piatti, one of the league’s best players.
No only did Adams hang with Piatti. He all but erased him from the game. Veljko Paunovic did not have enough words to praise Adams’ performance after the match, and with great reason. The rookie keep showing not only his potential, but his worth with so little experience still.
But the hero who actually earn the victory for the Fire was Kevin Ellis, whose strike in the 88th minute broke a scoreless deadlock that would have frustrated everyone involved to no end had it remained that way.
Ellis had floundered between Orlando City and Sporting Kansas City before being picked up by the Chicago Fire on the eve of the season opener against Sporting KC.
The injury to Matt Polster in that game opened up the space for Ellis to jump in the right back position, which eventually kept. Despite some defensive defficiencies, the 26-year-old had provided an outlet for Paunovic on the right side to be all his, and he has taken advantage.
The last two Fire goals have been thanks to Ellis, the nice volley against Atlanta and Wednesday’s after dribbling past defenders when the ball seem lost.
Knowing what the Schweinsteigers and Nikolics and McCartys can do, having players like Adams and Ellis stand out is a veyr positive sign for the Fire.
2. Red conundrum
Could Liverpool have lost their spot in the Champions League after losing to Chelsea.
There’s still time for that notion to become true, if it does at all.
However, after the midweek’s results in the Premier League, the Reds could be on the brink of losing it all within a matter of weeks.
In the latest iteration of the race for Champions League, Tottenham became the latest to take one of the golden tickets to Europe by beating Newcastle, in addition to Chelsea’s draw against Huddersfield at Stamford Bridge.
So, what does that have to do with Liverpool?
These results leave the Reds right on the edge of the top four cliff, only two points ahead of the resurging Chelsea with one last matchday left on the schedule.
Should Liverpool somehow blow it against Brighton at Anfield and Chelsea topple Newcastle, Jurgen Klopp’s team will miss out on their easiest shot at next year’s Champions League.
Of course, the toughest shot come later in the month, when they face Real Madrid in this season’s Champions League final in Kiev. In just a matter of two weeks, Mohamed Salah’s team could miss out on two Champions League seasons at once.
3. Capital gains?
The primary MLS transfer window just closed a few days ago, but the hot stove is heating up quickly ahead of the summer window.
The heat is coming from across the pond -England, to be exact- with rumors increasingly getting louder and louder regarding one of its most emblematic players.
DC United, in dire need winning and some caché after years of irrelevance and a new stadium coming, are reportedly close to acquiring the services of one Wayne Rooney, former England, Manchester United and Everton captain.
The 32-year-old’s first season back at this boyhood club has been disappointing to say the least, and DC may be the team to take advantage of that with a $16 million move that has received mixed reviews from pundits and fans on this side of the Atlantic.
Rooney has been in a noticeable decline even before leaving United, that’s no secret. His goal scoring production and position on the field have dissolved into an unknown at the Premier League level.
Once again, at the Premier League level.
If the Zlatan Ibrahimovic experience has taught us anything is that so long as the talent and desire to win in MLS are there, these types of signings can do wonders for the clubs and the league.
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But the operative word is “desire.” If Rooney wants to come, he will find a way to succeed and help DC. If not, he will join the long list of moneygrabs imported from Europe.
4. Double trouble
Just when Neymar is making his way back to soccer activity with little over a month until the World Cup, the injury bug struck Brazil again this week.
This time, PSG confirmed Dani Alves will miss at least three weeks of activity due a knee injury, setting off alarms in Brazil once again.
Alves left Tuesday’s Coupe de France final in the 80th minute due to the knee injury, despite being all over the place afterward during the throphy celebration.
Though the timeline given by PSG seems to provide enough time for recovery, he is injury will require re-evaluation after the three weeks. In other words, the initial recovery does not guarantee his presence in Russia, hence the alarms.
At 35 years old, Alves remains a fixture in Tite’s starting lineup and key presence in the Brazil locker room, one with plenty of experience who can still perform at a high level. Brazil, already on the edge of their chairs waiting to see if Neymar can make it to Russia, could suffer another blow in their quest for a sixth world title and redemption from 2014.
Should Alves be absent from the World Cup, Tite could turn to Corinthians’ Fagner of Manchester City’s Danilo. The Brazilian manager will release his list next week, which will clarify the right back situation for Brazil, with or without Alves.
5. Goal of the week
Barcelona may have already wrapped up their season, but that does not stop them from creating some magic in their remaining games.
This week, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta concocted another sublime piece of soccer, combining, as they have many, many times over the last decade or so, for another beautiful goal in Barcelona’s victory over Villarreal.
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