Happy Holidays, Reds and Blues! We hope you were able to enjoy spending time with friends and family last week. Silly Season is now upon us, with games every few days to entertain us throughout the holidays. But how did our clubs do prior to all the upcoming chaos? Let’s get into it!

Chelsea’s onslaught to remain title contenders saw them return from the international break with a firm victory over lowly Burnley before putting on a masterclass against Barcelona at the Bridge. While Barca still has an impressive attacking force, their defense has been less impressive. And Chelsea took full advantage, with Barca going down to 10 men for the 2nd half. But an even bigger test came this past weekend when they hosted Arsenal. Despite themselves going down to 10 late in the first half, Chelsea managed to get on the board first. They managed the game with great aplomb, but Arsenal did manage to get a goal that could have been a platform to victory. But Chelsea stayed strong and took a valuable point off the hopeful league leaders. A mid-week trip to relegation-sitting Leeds kicks off an 8-game December for the Blues. Can they cure their discipline woes to prevent a holiday slip-up?

As was pointed out in our last chat, United can look toothless without true strikers on the field. And such was the case when they faced Everton. Perhaps it was the chaos and confusion of seeing the Toffees go down to 10 men for a player slapping his own teammate in the first 15 minutes, but United’s defense gave far too much space to Dewsbury-Hall to fire home. From there, their low block became their lifeline, and it paid off. United lack the courage and individual talents required to overcome a stubborn defense that is dug in, and they gave up all 3 points that should have been there for the taking. And it briefly appeared they would repeat that recent history by giving up a first-half PK to Palace. United showed good spirit to get back into the game through a rare Zirkzee goal. And a quickly taken free kick allowed Mount to take the lead. United looked shaky but resolved to secure the points. A struggling West Ham side comes to Old Trafford this week as United begin their own run of 6 games in December. Trust the process?

The USMNT was largely considered a B squad during the break, but they managed 2 solid victories against Paraguay and Uruguay. As both have qualified for next summer’s Cup, they present what is hopefully the path forward for our Eagles.

The USWNT took care of Italy twice in the span of a couple days to end 2025 on a high. Cat Macario had 3 goals across the 2 games. They will hope to follow in the USMNT’s footsteps when they host Paraguay in January.

We’ll be making our lists and checking them twice, so join us at 7pm live at Chatham Tap or online through Facebook Live and hopefully YouTube Live. You can also 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

#USWNT

https://linktr.ee/theredandbluesoccerchat

https://feeds.captivate.fm/the-red-and-blue-soccer/

https://www.youtube.com/@theredandbluesoccerchat

instagram.com/theredandbluesoccerchat

https://open.spotify.com/show/7gC93OQZpUrk1ZKkHG7bya

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-red-and-blue-soccer-chat/id1720060776

https://www.facebook.com/TheEvanAndAaronShow