Manchester City put on a performance befitting its multi-million dollar squad on Monday, thrashing Liverpool, 3-0, for its first win of the season.
Carlos Tevez scored two goals to follow up a Gareth Barry finish on a day when Liverpool had no answers for City's dynamic attack.
The win dropped Liverpool to a paltry one point from two matches, while Manchester City improved to four points after posting its second shutout in a row.
There were plenty of subplots surrounding Monday's match, from Javier Mascherano's exclusion from the Liverpool lineup (amid reports of a strong push by Barcelona to sign him), to Mario Balotelli's absence due to a knee injury.
Here are some other stories from Monday to round out your day:
CHING NAMED MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hitting a bicycle kick might be enough to win MLS Player of the Week most weeks. Make it part of a hat-trick and you're guaranteed to be making room on your awards mantle.
Brian Ching won MLS Player of the Week honors after his three-goal effort helped Houston topple the Chicago Fire, 4-3, last Saturday.
In case you haven't seen it, here is Ching's award-winning hat-trick:
MONDAY FREE KICKS
Just days after snubbing a multi-million dollar move to Chelsea, Brazilian sensation Neymar helped lead Brazilian club Santos to victory with a goal and assist in a 2-1 win against Atletico Mineiro.
Arsenal's quest for defensive reinforcements has led them to Sevilla centerback Sebastien Squillaci, who was bought for £6.5million.
Liverpool is reportedly closing in on a pair of PSV Eindhoven players, including Mexican international Carlos Salcido.
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Think Manchester City is a serious title contender in England? Any doubts about Brian Ching being this week's MLS Player of the Week? Wondering where Neymar will eventually wind up?
Share your thoughts below.
That should tell you something.
Well, before that everyone thought capping Ching was his biggest mistake.
Or was it leaving Charlie Davies off the World Cup Team?
We’ll never know exactly why Ching was left off but my guess is the US didn’t feel he would last through the tournament without pulling his hamstring. Ching spent most of 2009 injured and when he came back in 2010 just before the World Cup he pulled his hamstring again just before camp.
Hawaiian SBI Mafia REPRESENT!!!
Salcido would actually be a good move for Liverpool imo. PSV allows a little less than a goal per game in the Eredivise last couple of seasons. However, they allowed 3 goals in 2 games and were knocked out by stronger competition – Hamburg in the Europa league.
Too bad guys like Feilhaber, DeMerit, and Bradley aren’t getting interest from EPL clubs.
There were only two other shutouts this week: FC Dallas – Chivas (1-0) and DC United – Philadelphia (2-0). Chivas and Philadelphia looked like crap and barely threatened the goal this weekend, and both teams are bottom feeders that would have trouble scoring with a 55-year-old hooker at Fuzzy Land in Tijuana.
The Galaxy is the top team in the league right now, they constantly pressured the SJ defense and Busch had a phenomenal game.
last year’s Portsmouth – Arsenal fixture, I believe, had 0 english players out of 22 starters.
did anyone see on the Shinguardian’s twitter that Feilhaber has NO options, as in NO ONE wants him??? I think benny needs to find a new agent, I can’t believe after his albeit brief, but successful showings in the WC and for the US that NO ONE is interested in bringing him in?
Did Ching ever try and go overseas? I bet he’d have fit in a league like Belgium or Turkey.
Alas he joins MLS only strikers like Twellman and Buddle. Yet much better striker than EJ and Josh Wolff who both went abroad.
We’re all Americans right well except for the New Zealanders
Yeah I think they could really use Donovan actually. their link up between midfield and forwards looked pitiful yesterday. With Masch looking to leave, it will only get worse. Ever since Alonso went to RM they have really been missing someone in the midfield that can compliment Stevie G’s play. And this is even coming from an Arsenal fan.
Yes because Wynalda is honest, insightful, and a snotty commentator.
Don’t really miss the Wynalda part, but yes I do miss FFF. Even though it was pretty bad in the last season, it was nice having a show where the people on it were knowledgeable and not afraid to speak their minds..
I actually think if was Arsenal v. Portsmouth just last season.
I’m an earthican.
Stomach bug sounds better than explosive diarrhea though, but I hope to see that on the injury list someday.
Since my mother is Mexican and father is Spanish, that doesn’t make me American, even though I was born here?
I was born in Pennsylvania, the son of a Dutch/English father and German mother, yet I am still Pennsylvanian. Hawaiian has multiple meanings, it’s not just an ethnicity.
Didn’t watch the Man City/Liverpool match but from reading some of the commentary it sounds like the left back situation is pretty dire for Liverpool. Johnson made mincemeat out of them. I am suprise Poulson didn’t step in for Macherano seems Lucas has never really been up to that role.
No. Wynalda is a fool and a snotty commentator.
Well, to be fair to Arsenal… Inter Milan didn’t feature one Italian starter in the Champs League Final.
Liverpool could use a guy like Donovan or Bradley. Then again they could use a lot of things.
Ching was born in Hawaii, he is not Hawaiian, he is the son of a Chinease father and European Mother.
San Jose isn’t making the playoffs either.
Seriously, a guy got a hat-trick with a bicycle kick and you want a great goalkeeping job to win out? There were other shutouts in the league this week, we will not see another perfect hat-trick (right foot, left foot, header) much less a bicycle kick again this season.
OT, but does anyone else miss Webster and Wynalda’s show?
Maybe they realize the way to get most of the soccer fans in America is to get the biggest Mexican star, immigration being what it is and all.
But you should see the size of their Cheeseboard in the pre-game matches… it’s HUGE!
Arsenal: France’s Greatest Team.
Didn’t Arsenal play a game a couple years ago in the EPL that featured not one single English starter?
It seems to me like The EPL quest for American Market identity is over and they realized that the EPL teams will get more team marketing from the other CONCACAF team Mexico.
Every Mexican player is linked to an EPL team these days.
Once again a stellar defensive effort gets snubbed in favor of a player with multiple goals and a successful attempt at a trained monkey trick, to boot. Ching’s effort against Chicago was a moot point as Houston will not make the playoffs this year. Meanwhile Jon Busch kept San Jose in the running by shutting out a relentless LA offense.
Btw, Isaac, what were YOU doing up from 3-6am on a school night?
Leaving Ching off our WC team was probably Bradley’s most fatal mistake.
Saying that I am jealous that half the Mexican squad has transferred or is being rumored to transfer while our Americans stay idle is an extreme understatement.
Balotelli played last Thursday. Maybe Mancini is resting him for this Thursday’s Europa league game. His WAG is hot so who cares.
Actually, I dun goof’d. Arsenal has 7 French players and only 3 English players on their current roster.
It means they might go on strike if forced to work/train more than 30 hrs per week and are restricted to only 6 wks vacation?
It means they won’t advance out of the group stages? 😉
That was why I specified the meaning of “fit”. I am asking what people think about the absences of key players and whether it may be to them not being in shape (fit).
It just seems like there are more players out this year.
Well, Arsenal now has more French players than English on their 1st team roster. Dunno what that means…. other than the obvious… just sayin’.
Well, the story is about Ching! Just in case you didn’t know, he’s Hawaiian.
Fit means match fit. If you break your foot, have the flu, have the runs or whatever you are not fit to play. It doesn’t have anything to do on if you are in shape or not.
Balotelli did not play in the world cup
Balotelli’s knee injury brings up something I have been thinking about. There have been quite a few early season absences among some bigger stars or it seems that way to me. I’m almost thinking that the teams are deciding that players aren’t fit (the American definition of fit, “in shape”).
Balotelli, Rooney with his stomach bug, both Drogba and Lampard were very doubtful for the first game, a couple of others I can’t remember. I’m sure it will happen a bit in Spain and Italy too.
Thoughts? Think it’s World Cup year or I am imagining things or something else?
Yeah but c’mon…Ching and ‘bicycle kick’?
Good times for Ching and yeah, that’s a slam dunk for player of the week.
Damn Hawaiians.
Damn loopholes…
Yeah, I can vouch for Ives. It’s only 11 pm here in Honolulu….
Monday Even-…. Bulls***! Ives you posted this at 2AM in the morning! BED! NOW MISTER!
(SBI-Technically, it was still evening on the West Coast and Hawaii so step off. LOL)
ching’s 2nd goal shouldn’t have happened, wasn’t a corner