The Red and Blue Soccer Chat - 12/18/24

Happy Holidays, Reds and Blues! It’s that time of year, and we are definitely in the midst of the Festive Fixtures. Games are coming thick and fast, so let’s see how our clubs are faring.MANCHESTER. IS. RED. Yes, it was against a City side that appears to be in free-fall, but United haven’t exactly been setting the world alight with their performances either. Despite playing well for long stretches against Arsenal and losing to 2 well-run set pieces, their follow-up effort against Forest was well below par. A mid-week win away to Plzen in the Europa (thank you, Rasmus!) improved the mood prior to the cross-town trek to City. But most fans were probably expecting to see their side huff and puff but ultimately lose. And that seemed in the cards after playing just well enough but conceding to a header from a deflected cross on a broken corner kick routine. United made the running in the second half, though, and were rewarded for the endeavor of Amad. He latched onto a lazy back-pass from Nunes, and then had the patience to dummy the goalie before fishing Nunes into a bad tackle for a pk. Bruno neatly dispatched, but it was the next minute that decided things. Martinez can go from butcher to beauty in a second, and he did just that by floating an enticing ball into Amad. And it may have been a mis-hit, but not a single Red will care. 2-1 to United away at the Etihad. United will face another struggling side in Spurs on Thursday before returning home to face a tricky Bournemouth side on Sunday. Wolves away on Boxing Day and Newcastle at Old Trafford round out December for the Reds. Chelsea’s December has gone about as well as any Blue could have hoped. 7 wins on the bounce since the 1-1 draw with Arsenal. 21 goals. And now firmly in 2nd place in the EPL table. Maresco has quickly found the winning formula. And he’ll believe his side can keep up their run of good form for the remainder of December, as they face Shamrock Rovers at the Bridge in the Europa before finishing up December with 3 straight EPL matches against Everton, Fulham, and Ipswich. Fixture congestion can be tricky, and any of those sides can be a banana peel, but the odds currently favor Chelsea. Liverpool have a game in hand and a 2-point lead. Could Chelsea give themselves an early Christmas present?! The USMNT is off until mid-January when they’ll face Venezuela and Costa Rica in friendlies, while the US women are off until February and the SheBelieves Cup.  We’ll be singing the 12 Days of Cantona and busting out the ugly sweaters, so join us live from Chatham Tap Fishers at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, follow along on Facebook Live and YouTube Live, or catch us at your leisure on our other platforms listed below. Please like, subscribe, and comment wherever you choose to find us. CHEERS!⚽🍺⚽🍺⚽🍺⚽🍺 #TheRedandBlueSoccerChat#ChathamTapFishers#ChelseaFC#manchesterunited#USMNT#USWNThttps://linktr.ee/theredandbluesoccerchathttps://feeds.captivate.fm/the-red-and-blue-soccer/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIH_XXtwLOX74un6Jr367HAinstagram.com/theredandbluesoccerchathttps://open.spotify.com/show/7gC93OQZpUrk1ZKkHG7byahttps://www.facebook.com/TheEvanAndAaronShow---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------