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It's easy to criticize American soccer, but in doing so, we can't embrace the unique stage of development the game is going through right now.

Soccer in the states has only gotten consistent traction in the last few decades, and there are very few professional sports leagues across the world that are actively expanding — none are doing so at the rate of American soccer.

This leads to the constant restructuring of leagues and teams moving between divisions — both of which are further complicated by the lack of promotion and relegation within our footballing pyramid.

A handful of times during the season, there are results that can only cause one reaction among neutral fans: laughter. Such matches are rare because they usually involve a larger club losing in embarrassing fashion. Arsenal's 5-0 loss to Manchester City in August certainly falls in this category, as does Manchester United's 5-0 defeat to Liverpool and 4-1 loss against Watford.

Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel's decision to bring on Kepa Arrizbalaga late in the 2022 EFL Cup Final was not unprecedented — both for Chelsea and the footballing world. Kepa had replaced Mendy in the waning moments of extra time in the UEFA Super Cup against Villarreal earlier in the year, saving two penalties in Chelsea's shootout victory.

In fact, the Spaniard is an above-average keeper in his career when it comes to saving penalties. 

After a chaotic final day of the 2020-21 EFL Championship campaign — during which Derby County was relegated, safe, relegated, then finally safe again, all within the space of 90 minutes — the Rams had secured their status as a Championship side.

At least that's what the final table said. The club still awaited judgment from the EFL regarding serious breaches of financial fair play regulations. In the end, the Rams were spared a points deduction and stayed in the second tier.