Holiday Gobble

SSN Headquarters is closed for a few days so we can do family things like drink bourbon in front of the fire. We'll see you on Monday.  -Ed.

Shane Long = Dennis Bergkamp, Champions League, Scribes, Podcast, More MLS

Woop! Tuesday, Peeps. Loads to rock this week. Loads. 

Let's begin with the Podcast: James is joined by Sean Ingle, Raphael Honigstein and Gregg Bakowski to discuss an eventful weekend in the Premier League and around Europe. As Tottenham lose 6-0 to Manchester City, the pod wonder how they can pick themselves up and rescue their season. And just how good are this City side? In the high-scoring Merseyside derby, contentious refereeing decisions are given the once over, and the pod are purring over that Luis Suárez free-kick. Cardiff equalise late on against Manchester United but David Moyes is happy with a point. Is he showing a shocking lack of ambition? The pod think so. Plus there's the big Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich game in Germany, trouble from the Ultras in Milan and Sid Lowe has news of some high-scoring games in Spain.

Let's talk about last night. The Premier League offered up another nice one as West Brom and Villa battled to a 2-2 draw. Villa came back from two down. Well done, Villians. The match was graced with two super-sweet goals by Shane Long. One evoked memories of a certain Dennis Bergkamp from a certain match back in 1998. Glorious stuff, really. Stuart James was at The Hawthorns.

In Rome, Roma failed to return to the top of Serie A after their third draw on the trot. This one was scoreless. Here's a bit on that, plus more on the match in England and the one last night in Spain.

It's Tuesday so that means it's time for Gab's Monday Musings. When do they post this thing, Monday night at 11:59pm? Anywho, Gab's gabbing about Bayern's mole problem, Evra's outburst and why Martino's adjustments are working.

Let's be fair. Wes Brown should not have seen red this weekend. To call it harsh is stupid. It was wrong. That said, here are Ten of the Worst Red Card Decisions EVER!

Scribe Time!

Location: Italy

Headline: Chievo's genious back with derby win

Scribe: Paolo Bandini

Location: Germany

Headline: A brief history of the league that never was

Scribe: Uli Hesse

Location: Spain

Headline: Sevilla prove handful for Real Betis

Scribe: Sid Lowe

Location: Germany

Headline: Tired Dortmund need a new plan

Scribe: Raphael Honigstein

Location: Brazil

Headline: Flamengo revival a product of Menezes' exit

Scribe: Tim Vickery

Good Grief! Champions League, friends. The big one this afternoon is in Dortmund. The hosts have to get back on the horse after being knocked off by Bayern at the weekend. They face Napoli. Elsewhere in that group Arsenal host Marseille. Word on the street is the Marseille kids are ready for the match at the Emirates. The other main fixtures of the day include Celtic/AC Milan, Ajax/Barcelona, and Basel/Chelsea. Here's a preview. And here's where the groups stand at the moment:

Planning on enjoying Arsenal vs. Marseille this afternoon? Then you get to enjoy this, too.

Major League Soccer will pause for two weeks during the World Cup this summer. Wise move. The season is complete save for the final, so here are some awards: Top Rookie, Coach and Newcomer.

More? How about this: Best XIs from the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1, plus analysis of Manchester United's season. Not bad, eh?

More? Too bad.

Onward!!

-SSN

City Stomp Spurs, Everton & Liverpool Entertain, Bayern Dominate Dortmund, Multi Monday Night Football, MLS Playoffs

Whoa Nellie! The Merseyside Derby was great! For years this fixtures has been one of overt conservatism and often boring play. Not this time. The two Liverpool sides went at it hard and the result was a 3-3 draw (Phil McNulty was there), with Sturridge coming on late to notch the equalizer. Elsewhere in England, there was a shocker in Manchester as City ran riot on Spurs and emerged with a six-nil win (Richard Jolly was there). Damn. Their neighbors were not so lucky down in Wales and could only grab a 2-2 draw against Cardiff. Rooney should have seen red (see "Decisions" below), but likewise Gary Medel for the home side when he slapped Hairfarm across the face (Joe Lovejoy was there). Arsenal beat Southampton, Chelsea had little trouble at Upton Park against Big Sam's limp Hammers, and Sunderland fell to Stoke after Wes Brown was dubiously sent off (see "Decisions" below). Enter your EPL Funzone Here:

Premier League Review

Premier League Review II

10 Talking Points

Five Thoughts

Three Things: Cardiff vs. Manchester United

Decisions that shaped the weekend

Jamie Jackson: City's execution at pace reminds Spurs of lost Bale

Garth Crooks's Team of the Week

Team of the Week

"I know I joined your club when I was eight-years-old and and then after I got really good I left to play for your enemies at Bayern Munich and then I scored against you at your stadium, but...I'm sorry. OK? Are we good?"

Das Bundesliga had a biggie this weekend but Bayern turned it into a mellow affair by easily defeating Dortmund at Dortmund. Mario Götze came back to haunt his former club with a goal and the Munich side now enjoy a four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga. Raphael Honigstein filed this report.

Stateside, the Major League Soccer MLS Cup Final Super Match is set. It'll be Real Salt Lake (sorry, Portlandia) against Sporting Kansas City (sorry Dynamo). The big match goes down December 7 at 4pm EST and will be televised on ESPN. The venue? Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Wait. Jeff Carlisle has Three Thoughts about that RSL/Portland match.

Back in Europe, Juventus are top in Serie A (Roma can return to the summit today) after beating Livorno. Here's your weekend review. More domani with Paolo.

Real Madrid and Barcelona had little trouble in Spain, but Ronny picked up a thigh injury and could miss some time. Here's your weekend review. Más mañana con Phil y Sid.

Right. We mentioned Monday Night Football. There are actually a few matches of note tonight (this afternoon). In England, it's the West Midlands Derby as West Bromwich Albion host Aston Villa (3pm EST on NBCSN) with both clubs on 14 points in the table. In Italy, Roma host Cagliari (2:45pm EST on beIN Sport USA) with Roma attempting to reclaim the top spot in Serie A. In Spain, Málaga welcome Athletic Club Bilbao (4pm EST on beIN Sport en Español).

We'll conclude this Monday edition by returning to Bayern Munich. Pep says there is a mole in the organization. And he aims to find him/her. The suspense! The intrigue!

Onward!!

-SSN