Much to the chagrin of Mrs CA, within a couple of hours of each other I got to watch the best in the EPL (Liverpool vs Man City) followed by the best in the MLS (MLS Cup Final between Seattle and Toronto). I know, 4 hours of viewing is a hardship but someone has to do it So what did I learn? Both games ended in a 3-1 win for the home team but if the two victors were to meet it would be men against boys. US 'soccer' has come a long way in recent years but where does that put them compared to the English leagues? I'd say Seattle would be a mid-table Championship team, probably explains why the only EPL player on display in the MLS Final (that I know of) was Brad Smith, an on loan defender from Bournemouth who was actually subbed in a key move that changed the game.

Off the pitch Seattle have something of an olden day Liverpool about them in that the head coach was born here, was first involved with the professional game here 40 years ago as a player along with his two brothers and has guided them to the top of the US game since taking the reins 4 years ago.

Atmosphere at today's game at Century Link Field certainly matched that at Anfield and one area they did come out on top was the crowd size by around 15,000, with 54K watching the EPL game against 69K watching here.