Opinion

When the topic of the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) is discussed among American soccer fans, the inevitable focus is on the struggles of MLS sides in the competition.

Since the tournament was expanded and renamed in 2008, a Mexican side has won the title every season. More than half of the CCL finals have been contested between Liga MX teams and only four MLS sides have reached the final in that timespan.

The last American team to lift the trophy was LA Galaxy back in 2000, only the second MLS club to win in the 33 seasons of the competition up to that point.

As Major League Soccer’s 26th season begins this weekend, a record 27 teams will compete for the MLS Cup. That number will expand to 29 by 2023, with a 30th club in the works. While there are plenty of critics who say expansion is diluting the quality on the pitch and merely enriching current owners’ pockets with expansion fees, I for one want to see MLS expansion continue well beyond 30 teams. If you’re going to go big, go really fucking big. I’m talking 40, 50, 60 teams even.

Raise your hand if you predicted that West Bromwich Albion would defeat Chelsea 5-2 at Stamford Bridge and then a week later overpower Southampton 3-0. Anybody? I would have been surprised just to hear that West Brom scored multiple goals in a match.

After recording just three wins and scoring only 20 goals in its first 29 EPL matches, West Brom has found the back of the net eight times over its last two matches, picking up two victories — each by three goals — in the process.

Mason Mount is a promising player that's already on the world's radar despite being just a 22-year-old. Mount is a regular starter for Chelsea, and more than that, he's WhoScored's best-rated player for the Blues so far this season. 

France’s Ligue 1 has given by far the most opportunities to Under-21 players this season, while German side Borussia Dortmund are the club to have handed out most minutes to youngsters.

A review of the top-five leagues by soccer statisticians Opta showed that Under-21 players have enjoyed a collective 62,046 minutes of game time in the French top flight in 2020/21.

The German Bundesliga is second with 34,993 minutes, while England’s Premier League (29,172), Italy's Serie A (23,225) and Spain’s LaLiga (22,893) round off the list.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola criticized the lack of rest this season and said that UEFA and FIFA are "killing the players."

"It's too much. They are human beings, not machines. I know some of them are sad because they always want to play every game, but that's not possible," said Guardiola, who made six changes to his side in Saturday's win over Leicester City.

"To be good in all competitions this year without spectators, in the shortest season in history, if you don't rotate your players you can't compete and you couldn't be in the position we're in," he added.