👋 Welcome..
..to The Tap-Inn. Where you can tap in to the world of soccer with me, your first-gen Irish bartender, Joe.
It was a completely normal weekend in soccer:
💥 A Messi fan event in India caused a riot
🤔 Arsenal won a game without one of their players scoring
🌎 The World Cup is actually now just one day away*
See? Completely. Normal.
Good God, I need a drink after this one. Let’s Tap In. 🍺
🥃 Top Shelf
A Messy Messi Mishap
Above: fans riot in Kolkata.
Soccer legend Lionel Messi’s “GOAT Tour of India 2025” kickoff in Kolkata last week was… messy, to say the least. VIPs and officials crowded the field so much that ticket-paying fans in the stands couldn’t even see Messi.
After just 20 minutes of unorganised ambling around the field, Messi departed - and something akin to that famous night we ran out of Miller High Life at The Tap-Inn ensued. Fans ripped apart stadium seating and stormed the field, the organiser was promptly arrested and social media blew the whole incident into a global news story.
Fortunately, the tour bounced back with successful events in Hyderabad and Mumbai, where someone with more than two brain cells was in charge of proceedings.
Namaste, Lionel. 🙏
📺 This Week in Soccer
Yerson Mosquera inadvertently heads it into his own net in the 94th minute to give Arsenal the 3 points.
Arsenal 2-1 Wolves 🤏
Arsenal scraped past rock-bottom Wolves at the Emirates thanks to two own-goals with their winner coming in stoppage time to keep them top of the Premier League.
Crystal Palace 0-3 Man City 🪄
Manchester City recorded a convincing away win, with Erling Haaland scoring twice and Phil Foden also on the scoresheet as City kept pressure on league leaders Arsenal in the title race.
Barcelona 2-0 Osasuna 🇧🇷
Barcelona extended their strong La Liga form with a 2-0 home win at the Camp Nou, thanks to a second-half brace from Brazilian Raphinha.
📝 Trivia on Tap
Wolves have now failed to win in their first 16 Premier League games.
But what team holds the record for the for the longest winless run from the beginning of a Premier League season?
Answer at the bottom ⬇️
🏆 World Cup Tracker: 178 days to go
Technically that’s just about one full day actually… if you lived on Mercury*. Yep, one full sunrise-to-sunrise day on the closest planet to the sun takes 176 earth days.
Never let it be said that The Tap-Inn isn’t up to speed with the latest celestial developments.
“Very cool, Joe. Thank you. But what about our troops. How are they getting on.”
Player updates below 👇
Weston McKennie: turned in another quality performance against Bologna to cap off a solid week that included a goal in the UCL on Wednesday.
Christian Pulisic: it wouldn’t be like Joe to hype something up for it to only go and flop. After telling you he was the best player in Italy on Friday, he’s gone and played his next game and done… nothing. AC Milan drew 2-2 with Sassuolo yesterday with Chris having a pretty quiet game with no goals or assists. Classic.
Ricardo Pepi: scored a penalty in a 4-3 win for PSV against Heracles with Sergiño Dest also bagging an assist to keep PSV top of the table.
🧠 Quickfire
Sound Like a Pro: Bending it 🍌
Definition: Striking the ball with side-spin so it bends through the air. Often used for finesse shots, free kicks, or crosses into the box.
Usage: “He didn’t hit it hard - he just curled it into the top corner.
Similar: Curl it, whip it, banana kick
Notes: David Beckham made a career (and movie) out of it.
Stat of the Week 📉
After losing to Arsenal on Saturday, it has been 233 days, two sporting directors, three managers, and 43 goals conceded since Wolverhampton Wonderers last won a game in the Premier League. Dire.
📝 Trivia Answer:
Sheffield United in 2023/24. They went 17 games without winning. Wolves are now just one game away from equalling this record.
Bonus points for those who guessed Bolton Wanderers. They hold the pre-Premier League record, failing to win their first 22 games all the way back in 1902-03.
👋 Until Next Time…
Thanks for stopping by The Tap-Inn.
If you enjoyed this, forward it to that friend who knows nothing about soccer and help spread the good word.
I’ll be behind the bar every week, Monday and Friday, serving up soccer. Sláinte.
— Joe