WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.299 And welcome back to the PD Football Podcast. 00:00:02.540 --> 00:00:06.019 My name is Presh. My name is Darren. And what 00:00:06.019 --> 00:00:08.560 I want to do today is not go through... Actually, 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:12.820 sorry, sorry, sorry. How are you? Yeah, we're 00:00:12.820 --> 00:00:14.580 just jumping straight into it now, right? Yeah, 00:00:14.580 --> 00:00:16.820 sorry. I didn't... I don't know. I was just like 00:00:16.820 --> 00:00:18.820 so keen, so eager. I was just like... January's 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:22.940 over. Jumping in a pool. I guess we're back in 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:25.420 hustle mode now, so... No, no, no, no. I'm sorry. 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:28.539 How are you? I'm good, I'm good. I mean, I could 00:00:28.539 --> 00:00:30.899 be better, but I'm feeling a little bit sick. 00:00:30.980 --> 00:00:32.740 But I'm okay. How are you? How's everything on 00:00:32.740 --> 00:00:35.140 your end? Still just, as I've mentioned these 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:36.899 past couple of weeks, just stressed by work. 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:40.079 Just if I'm not doing this podcast, I'm working. 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:44.100 I mean, it's the same for me. One or the other. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:46.719 But anyway, nevertheless, like I said, this podcast 00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:49.899 and football brings me calm. Football should 00:00:49.899 --> 00:00:52.380 bring everyone calm. Yeah. Not Liverpool, but 00:00:52.380 --> 00:00:54.140 I mean, other teams. Some people prefer cricket. 00:00:56.679 --> 00:00:59.869 All right. So what I want to do today is not 00:00:59.869 --> 00:01:02.490 go through individual matches, but talk about 00:01:02.490 --> 00:01:06.209 stories surrounding the results. The reason being 00:01:06.209 --> 00:01:08.030 I don't want to spend too much time on teams 00:01:08.030 --> 00:01:11.650 that have no story. For example, Arsenal. They 00:01:11.650 --> 00:01:14.310 won with no fuss last night and are going through. 00:01:14.489 --> 00:01:17.189 There's nothing to really speak about. Yeah, 00:01:17.189 --> 00:01:19.310 we can speak about the goals. Did you watch the 00:01:19.310 --> 00:01:25.319 game? I mean, I watched the first half. goals 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:27.780 you want to talk about nothing it was like you 00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:29.819 said just a normal performance I thought Arsenal 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:31.640 played well if there's anything that did stand 00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:35.299 out it's probably just the dynamics look a lot 00:01:35.299 --> 00:01:37.900 better in terms of creating chances with Havertz 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:40.109 and the team But I guess that's just the Arsenal 00:01:40.109 --> 00:01:42.909 thing. Nothing important really from the game. 00:01:43.150 --> 00:01:45.829 Similarly, I think Bayern, Liverpool, Spurs, 00:01:45.890 --> 00:01:48.090 there's not really a big story around them. So 00:01:48.090 --> 00:01:50.909 we don't need to get into their results. And 00:01:50.909 --> 00:01:54.230 also for the teams at the bottom, like Villarreal. 00:01:54.930 --> 00:01:58.310 Was Karabag always in the qualifying spots? I'm 00:01:58.310 --> 00:02:02.909 just curious. Yes, because they lost and they 00:02:02.909 --> 00:02:05.709 still came through. So yes, they were quite high 00:02:05.709 --> 00:02:08.819 in the standings before. They've been in the 00:02:08.819 --> 00:02:11.340 Champions League for quite a few years now. Yeah, 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:12.919 and now they're finally kicking on. It's good 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:16.680 to see. It's good to see. Yes. So, yeah. The 00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:18.919 only thing we can really say to those teams that 00:02:18.919 --> 00:02:21.659 went through is congratulations. The teams that 00:02:21.659 --> 00:02:26.020 didn't go through, oh, shame. Congrats to 24 00:02:26.020 --> 00:02:29.219 teams, I believe. Yeah. Well, I'm saying the 00:02:29.219 --> 00:02:31.879 top eight. The rest of them... They haven't gone 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:33.719 through yet. No congratulations for them. Nothing. 00:02:34.020 --> 00:02:38.900 You get nothing. Anyway. So, the first story 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:42.219 I want to bring up is On A Slot. You've been 00:02:42.219 --> 00:02:46.539 waiting for this. Not wait, like, okay. Waiting 00:02:46.539 --> 00:02:48.620 24 hours. I've been telling everyone who wants 00:02:48.620 --> 00:02:52.039 to listen to me how pissed off I am, but now 00:02:52.039 --> 00:02:53.400 it's time to bring it to the podcast. Is this 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:56.860 where the On Slot agenda, well, I guess you could 00:02:56.860 --> 00:03:00.000 say it began last week? Is it an agenda if he's 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:03.900 doing bad things? No, not necessarily. An agenda 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:06.479 is if he's doing something good and I still find 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:09.240 the bad in it. He's doing bad things. I get you. 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:13.620 So in his pre -match conference, so last week, 00:03:13.699 --> 00:03:17.419 he said the Liverpool fans were questioning whether 00:03:17.419 --> 00:03:20.060 he could be successful in the future. And he 00:03:20.060 --> 00:03:22.659 said, I don't know why a club like that would 00:03:22.659 --> 00:03:25.300 question me when they've only won two titles 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:28.710 in 30 years. Highly disrespectful. Highly disrespectful. 00:03:28.729 --> 00:03:32.909 I mentioned this last week. I was extremely just 00:03:32.909 --> 00:03:35.370 pissed off. Maybe he's holding the fans to a 00:03:35.370 --> 00:03:38.729 higher standard. That's not what he's doing. 00:03:38.849 --> 00:03:42.250 But all right. So in his pre -match conference, 00:03:42.370 --> 00:03:44.750 he brings up two title wins in 30 years again. 00:03:45.610 --> 00:03:48.669 right just totally disrespecting the fans again 00:03:48.669 --> 00:03:51.729 he then goes on to say that the only reason we 00:03:51.729 --> 00:03:54.490 won the league last year is because psg knocked 00:03:54.490 --> 00:03:56.490 us out so we could concentrate on the league 00:03:56.490 --> 00:03:59.750 did you see these no i didn't he said the only 00:03:59.750 --> 00:04:01.610 reason we won the league that's ridiculous did 00:04:01.610 --> 00:04:04.530 you really say that is because week to week we 00:04:04.530 --> 00:04:07.009 weren't focused on champions league we were focused 00:04:07.009 --> 00:04:10.650 on the league and that's why we won now i don't 00:04:10.650 --> 00:04:13.389 know if he hit his head or anything but i for 00:04:13.389 --> 00:04:17.019 context on that we were 15 points clear after 00:04:17.019 --> 00:04:20.639 being knocked out by PSG, right? Five games. 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:24.339 Five games. And it was like February, right? 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:28.980 So, yeah. Then in his post -match comments after 00:04:28.980 --> 00:04:32.360 the game versus Karabag, if you want to... Oh, 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:34.560 we will get to that just now. He said he was 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:37.040 glad we made it to the last 16 because two years 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:39.040 ago, we were in the Europa League getting knocked 00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:43.500 out by Atalanta, which, once again, disrespecting 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:46.529 the fans. The more of these silly comments that 00:04:46.529 --> 00:04:48.670 he makes, the crazier he looks and the more that 00:04:48.670 --> 00:04:51.949 fans want him out. Results aside, why would you 00:04:51.949 --> 00:04:55.290 say this to us? What is his thinking? I'm guessing 00:04:55.290 --> 00:04:58.430 he's trying to lower expectations, right? I think 00:04:58.430 --> 00:05:02.649 he's just hurt. He's hurt that the media is speculating 00:05:02.649 --> 00:05:05.829 about his job, that Chubby Alonso is waiting 00:05:05.829 --> 00:05:09.470 in the wings so apparently that all the fans 00:05:09.470 --> 00:05:13.779 are very frustrated with him. I think the pressure 00:05:13.779 --> 00:05:18.220 is building on him, and he's just saying, rubbish. 00:05:19.660 --> 00:05:23.600 He's just like, you know, like when you're floundering, 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:25.500 you're just grasping for something to hold on 00:05:25.500 --> 00:05:28.319 to. Oh, he's clutching at straws. Clutching at 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:30.620 straws. That's exactly the phrase that I was 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:33.180 thinking of. Yes, that's what he's doing. He's 00:05:33.180 --> 00:05:36.600 clutching at straws. He's making excuses. Is 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:39.819 that what you think? I think so. So, yeah, we 00:05:39.819 --> 00:05:42.620 won 6 -0. But you have to look at the opposition. 00:05:42.980 --> 00:05:46.860 We played Karabag, who are very poor. We could 00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:50.500 have won that match with some junior players. 00:05:51.019 --> 00:05:54.160 And he refused to rotate once again. I cannot 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:56.060 believe this. You know, last week we were speaking 00:05:56.060 --> 00:05:58.139 and I was like... He never rotates. He never 00:05:58.139 --> 00:06:04.589 rotates. We're playing Karabag. Excuse me. In 00:06:04.589 --> 00:06:08.189 the 70th minute, he brings on Trey Neone and 00:06:08.189 --> 00:06:10.709 Rion Gamow, our two youth players, to get some 00:06:10.709 --> 00:06:16.850 exposure. 20 minutes. That's a... That's a waste, 00:06:16.850 --> 00:06:19.269 I guess. Well, not a waste, but... Okay, it's 00:06:19.269 --> 00:06:21.529 good that they're getting experience, but 20 00:06:21.529 --> 00:06:25.889 minutes, that's a joke. It's... Especially when 00:06:25.889 --> 00:06:28.850 the game's already dead, right? By the way, he 00:06:28.850 --> 00:06:32.290 arrested Eka TK on the weekend to play him against 00:06:32.290 --> 00:06:36.319 Karabag. Right? Now, I understand in hindsight 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:39.459 everything looks... It's easy. It's easy to speak 00:06:39.459 --> 00:06:42.420 in hindsight, right? But Karabag, we banged them 00:06:42.420 --> 00:06:45.980 6 -0 and Bournemouth, we lost 3 -2. It would 00:06:45.980 --> 00:06:47.959 have made a lot more sense to bench him against 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:51.259 or manage his minutes against Karabag, I feel. 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:55.620 And in fact, I said that before. So, it's not 00:06:55.620 --> 00:06:58.319 in hindsight, is it? Yeah, I mean, I agree. If 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:01.519 he needed rest, did he actually... That's what 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:05.019 slot... told us before the Bournemouth game that 00:07:05.019 --> 00:07:07.480 the reason he didn't play or he didn't start 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:11.560 him is because he's managing his minutes. Do 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:13.420 you think his minutes need to be managed right 00:07:13.420 --> 00:07:17.920 now? Yes, because we don't have Isaac. We don't 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:22.360 have quality backup options. So if he gets injured, 00:07:22.459 --> 00:07:25.420 we're in a bit of a pickle. We have to play Federico 00:07:25.420 --> 00:07:28.959 Chiesa up front, which I would love, but apparently 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:31.279 he's not good enough. According to slot, according 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:34.800 to a lot of fans. He's definitely good enough. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:37.579 You know, my opinion doesn't count for anything, 00:07:37.699 --> 00:07:41.500 but I rate Chiesa. And he scored last night. 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:46.759 Very happy for him. Very happy for him. Our next 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:49.899 story is about Sporting Lisbon. I have not watched 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:52.060 a sporting game in several years, so I don't 00:07:52.060 --> 00:07:54.519 know anything about their current team. But based 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:57.600 on the fact that they're from a non -top five 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:00.160 league, I feel that they've done phenomenally 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:02.899 well to finish in the top eight. So they beat 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:05.360 PSG last week, and they scored a last minute 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:08.040 this week against Athletic Bilbao to secure automatic 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:11.139 entry into the round of 16. Seems like anyone 00:08:11.139 --> 00:08:20.959 who gets rid of Amorim gets better. That's okay, 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:23.459 you're not being fair. Well, they actually second 00:08:23.459 --> 00:08:27.490 in the league. But Porto, like, having a 99 % 00:08:27.490 --> 00:08:30.810 record this season. Yes, I did a quick Google 00:08:30.810 --> 00:08:33.370 while I was writing this up and I was like, you 00:08:33.370 --> 00:08:36.070 know, it's not bad. Benfica, one point behind 00:08:36.070 --> 00:08:39.789 them, though. Sporting, I mean. Any attackers 00:08:39.789 --> 00:08:42.529 you sign from those teams will flop. Yes, so, 00:08:42.610 --> 00:08:47.230 I don't know. Okay, we said we're not going to 00:08:47.230 --> 00:08:50.070 speak about Arsenal, but do you have something 00:08:50.070 --> 00:08:52.149 you want to say about your careers? You seem... 00:08:52.659 --> 00:08:56.759 No, I mean, I'm just... I don't have much to 00:08:56.759 --> 00:08:58.419 say about him. I like that he gives us another 00:08:58.419 --> 00:09:00.399 option, but at the same time, he's extremely 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:02.320 frustrating. So why did you make that comment? 00:09:02.980 --> 00:09:07.940 Oh, because it's a league that's like... Why 00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:10.759 doesn't it translate? You have so much hate, 00:09:10.919 --> 00:09:13.120 so much... I don't know what to call it, but 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:16.940 you can't let a feel -good story about Sporting 00:09:16.940 --> 00:09:19.539 Lisbon go by without hammering them with the 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:25.039 jokers. I can't exceptionalize the club that 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:28.480 produced Cristiano Ronaldo. All right. I don't 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:29.980 know what that means. I've never heard the word 00:09:29.980 --> 00:09:32.720 exceptionalized before in my life. Well, it's 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:35.100 to put on a pedestal. Put them on a pedestal. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:39.580 I can't look at them positively. I see. I'm kidding. 00:09:41.220 --> 00:09:43.379 But yeah, just take my hats off to them. That's 00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:47.320 an extremely powerful achievement. Yeah, it is 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:50.580 very difficult. Finishing ahead of the likes 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:54.980 of PSG, Newcastle, Bayer Leverkusen, Dortmund, 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:59.440 Inter. Maybe Benfica go on to win it. No, we're 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:01.899 talking about Sporting Nusby. I'm saying four. 00:10:02.570 --> 00:10:04.250 Yeah, we'll get there. We'll get to them. We'll 00:10:04.250 --> 00:10:09.350 get to them. The third story and the big talking 00:10:09.350 --> 00:10:11.870 point of the week is that Real Madrid lost to 00:10:11.870 --> 00:10:14.450 Benfica 4 -2. And we'll have to go through a 00:10:14.450 --> 00:10:19.110 playoff to make it to the next round. I was watching 00:10:19.110 --> 00:10:21.110 the Liverpool game. After the Liverpool game 00:10:21.110 --> 00:10:23.529 ended, coverage went over to this game and the 00:10:23.529 --> 00:10:27.529 score was 3 -2. We'll speak about it from Benfica's 00:10:27.529 --> 00:10:29.889 point of view just now. But in terms of Real 00:10:29.889 --> 00:10:33.500 Madrid... Raul Asensio does an extremely petulant 00:10:33.500 --> 00:10:36.419 tackle and gets a second yellow. And then one 00:10:36.419 --> 00:10:39.299 minute later, Rodrigo gets a second yellow for 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:42.779 descent. Both of them extremely unprofessional 00:10:42.779 --> 00:10:45.279 and childish straight cards, in my opinion. I 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:48.259 mean, it's seeming that Javier Alonso was right. 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:50.519 Whether his tactics were right or not, it's a 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:53.460 different question. But at least on the squad 00:10:53.460 --> 00:10:56.159 dynamics. Again, I haven't watched this game 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:58.019 and I haven't watched any of the previous games. 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:01.419 Albaloa has taken charge of. But from what I've 00:11:01.419 --> 00:11:03.799 heard, he kind of allows them to do whatever 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:09.460 they want. You know what Ancelotti used to do? 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:11.340 Just put them all in their best position and 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:16.480 kind of let them do what they're best at. I guess 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:19.600 it's worked for them. It's worked for maybe other 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:24.200 clubs. It's hard to think in the modern era that 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:27.539 they can compete that way for me, though. I do 00:11:27.539 --> 00:11:32.799 expect them to... How long can you give players 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:35.480 the authority in a dressing room before they 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:37.980 clash with each other? I think the old squad, 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:42.460 it worked because there was maybe one guy who 00:11:42.460 --> 00:11:44.799 stood out as the main star. I would say there 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:48.279 were more predefined roles. Yeah, exactly. Like 00:11:48.279 --> 00:11:51.679 Ramos is a leader. Ronaldo is a leader. Let me 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:54.899 not say that. There's a hierarchy to things. 00:11:55.659 --> 00:11:58.679 And the Madrid team understood that at the time. 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:01.399 Currently, everyone thinks that they're the biggest 00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:04.299 star. And, I mean, the players list, it's not 00:12:04.299 --> 00:12:07.259 the same level of quality, especially in midfield. 00:12:07.379 --> 00:12:10.759 I mean, Kroos and Modric, practically irreplaceable. 00:12:11.019 --> 00:12:15.399 Yes, practically. Then Benfica get a free kick. 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:18.419 So now Madrid are two men down when defending, 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:23.059 and they concede. I really feel if both of them 00:12:23.059 --> 00:12:24.779 had kept their heads, Madrid could have maybe 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:27.379 tied it up 3 -3 and gone through automatically. 00:12:28.769 --> 00:12:32.750 I also think this reflects extremely poorly on 00:12:32.750 --> 00:12:35.570 their mentality. I think this shows that this 00:12:35.570 --> 00:12:38.029 is not the Madrid of old who were like a real 00:12:38.029 --> 00:12:40.870 team. And this is just like a group of talented 00:12:40.870 --> 00:12:44.830 individuals who, you know. They're all fighting 00:12:44.830 --> 00:12:47.990 for who wants to be number one, I guess. Yeah, 00:12:47.990 --> 00:12:51.570 like stardom instead of like trophies. Like you 00:12:51.570 --> 00:12:54.110 get stardom from trophies, not the other way 00:12:54.110 --> 00:12:56.809 around. You're not a star and then trophies come 00:12:56.809 --> 00:12:58.970 along. I mean yeah I guess it's like this whole 00:12:58.970 --> 00:13:01.850 thing of like DNA what is a club's DNA and I 00:13:01.850 --> 00:13:05.490 mean I guess with Real Madrid they've succeeded 00:13:05.490 --> 00:13:09.970 that way for so long maybe they do still win 00:13:09.970 --> 00:13:11.909 that way but it's hard for me to see right now 00:13:11.909 --> 00:13:14.529 that they especially because I think Barcelona 00:13:14.529 --> 00:13:17.870 are so good right now and I think they'll always 00:13:17.870 --> 00:13:21.710 be a proxy oh my god this guy he's out of Barcelona 00:13:21.710 --> 00:13:24.919 are one point ahead of Madrid in the league Yeah, 00:13:24.940 --> 00:13:27.299 but I'm saying in terms of where they're positioned 00:13:27.299 --> 00:13:29.840 for the future, I see Barcelona as being one 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:32.659 of the best positioned clubs in terms of their 00:13:32.659 --> 00:13:35.559 squad. They have a few things to do. They're 00:13:35.559 --> 00:13:37.340 already one of the top teams in the world. They 00:13:37.340 --> 00:13:40.519 have one of the best coaches. And I think two 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:43.159 or three more signings and Barcelona will dominate 00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:45.220 La Liga again like they have for the last 10 00:13:45.220 --> 00:13:48.139 years. All right. That's your point of view. 00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:52.279 All right. Now, on the flip side of the coin, 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:56.019 we have Benfica. So they are currently managed 00:13:56.019 --> 00:13:58.940 by Jose Mourinho. The special one. The special 00:13:58.940 --> 00:14:03.220 one. When he took over, they won zero points 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:06.740 in the Champions League. Right? They beat Napoli, 00:14:06.860 --> 00:14:09.620 Ajax, and were leading Real Madrid 3 -2, and 00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:12.000 they got to nine points. Still undefeated in 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:16.000 the league as well. Yeah. I have no idea about... 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:19.879 I read that as well, but I have no idea. Yeah, 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:24.480 they are. Okay. But they were still going out 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:27.379 on goal difference. They get a free kick and 00:14:27.379 --> 00:14:30.460 Mourinho motions for the keeper to go up. And, 00:14:30.539 --> 00:14:33.299 well, the keeper scores to make it 4 -2 and sends 00:14:33.299 --> 00:14:36.539 Benfica through to the playoffs. One of the craziest 00:14:36.539 --> 00:14:40.580 things I've ever seen. But if you take it into 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:44.379 context, first of all, the referee was totally 00:14:44.379 --> 00:14:47.820 on Benfica's side throughout the game. I know 00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:51.460 this is not popular to say, but Madrid were really... 00:14:52.009 --> 00:14:55.110 Not treated very nicely by the referee. Including 00:14:55.110 --> 00:14:57.450 the free kick that they scored from. The fourth 00:14:57.450 --> 00:15:00.610 goal. Was not a free kick. Bellingham got the 00:15:00.610 --> 00:15:04.889 ball. It's karma. Bellingham got the ball. And 00:15:04.889 --> 00:15:09.370 the ref gave the free kick the other way. It's 00:15:09.370 --> 00:15:12.289 karma for the three -peat. The second thing is. 00:15:12.429 --> 00:15:15.409 Like I just mentioned. Rodrigo and Asensio were 00:15:15.409 --> 00:15:18.509 off. So they were defending with nine men. But 00:15:18.509 --> 00:15:23.970 then. Wait, who's the chap from Morocco who missed 00:15:23.970 --> 00:15:30.590 the... Brahim. Brahim, Mbappe and Vinicius all 00:15:30.590 --> 00:15:32.990 weren't defending. So they were defending with 00:15:32.990 --> 00:15:36.690 six men. I mean, excluding the keeper, five men. 00:15:37.169 --> 00:15:40.950 So Benfica had eight versus five in the box. 00:15:41.289 --> 00:15:43.129 On the last kick of the game. On the last kick 00:15:43.129 --> 00:15:47.830 of the game. So of course... Again, what is the 00:15:47.830 --> 00:15:50.679 thinking behind those players staying up? I assume 00:15:50.679 --> 00:15:52.919 they thought Courtauld will run out, catch it, 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:55.700 throw it up the field, three of them, one of 00:15:55.700 --> 00:16:01.799 them will score a score. But, you know, I guess 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:03.879 there's no difference between losing 3 -2 and 00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:07.200 4 -2 to them, right? So it makes sense from a 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:11.000 certain point of view. From Madrid's point of 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.840 view, yeah. Yeah, if you're trying to win or 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:16.120 you're trying to salvage a draw... It doesn't 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:19.059 matter if you concede another, you know, you're 00:16:19.059 --> 00:16:21.539 going to do all you can to score. Yeah, I mean, 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:25.940 it makes sense. And I mean, kind of given who 00:16:25.940 --> 00:16:28.379 they are, Madrid is always going to play to win, 00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:32.759 right? On the, I already said the flip side of 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:36.399 the coin. So the other flip side, in fact, let's 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:39.580 get another coin in, right? And the team that 00:16:39.580 --> 00:16:41.679 were knocked out because Benfica came through 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:45.860 was Marseille. And Marseille, managed by my beloved 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:49.240 Roberto de Zerbi, my favorite coach in the world, 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:53.519 extremely naive and got knocked out because of 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:57.980 that. It's a damn shame. I wish he was at a club 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:02.720 with a good defense so he could focus on the 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:06.779 attack and really tear some people apart. I would 00:17:06.779 --> 00:17:09.940 really love that. But it's a damn shame that 00:17:09.940 --> 00:17:12.150 the conditions aren't right for him. Anyway, 00:17:12.210 --> 00:17:16.190 you were going to say something? Was I? No, I 00:17:16.190 --> 00:17:17.750 don't know. You looked like you were going to... 00:17:17.750 --> 00:17:19.849 No, I mean, I was just like, yeah, I was going 00:17:19.849 --> 00:17:21.569 to say the same problems repeating themselves 00:17:21.569 --> 00:17:24.750 from Deserby, but you said it, so... Yeah. Do 00:17:24.750 --> 00:17:26.990 you have anything to say about Madrid, Benfica, 00:17:26.990 --> 00:17:29.970 Marseille? I mean, I'm just excited to see more 00:17:29.970 --> 00:17:33.089 of Jose Mourinho. I've missed him in terms of, 00:17:33.109 --> 00:17:36.490 like, since he left the Premier League and La 00:17:36.490 --> 00:17:38.359 Liga, I haven't really... been able to watch 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:40.880 much of his games. We literally spoke about this 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:43.059 last week and I was saying we need him back. 00:17:43.319 --> 00:17:45.559 Yeah, we do need him back. He's a character. 00:17:45.700 --> 00:17:48.299 We need characters. We can't have these bland 00:17:48.299 --> 00:17:52.160 LinkedIn managers anymore. We need like... I 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:54.119 would love for him to find a way to adapt his 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:56.180 philosophy to the modern game just to have him 00:17:56.180 --> 00:18:00.099 back. I heard and I think I mentioned this last 00:18:00.099 --> 00:18:02.799 week that Perez is looking into him to be the 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:05.559 new Madrid manager. It could work. I mean... 00:18:06.190 --> 00:18:08.289 What do you think? Do you think he could manage 00:18:08.289 --> 00:18:12.269 that squad? No. This is looking like they might 00:18:12.269 --> 00:18:17.990 have to get Ancelotti back. Mourinho works with 00:18:17.990 --> 00:18:22.630 real men. Yeah, he likes workman -like players. 00:18:22.650 --> 00:18:27.849 Yeah, these Prima Donna guys that throw hissy 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:32.480 fits and want to be the superstar. doesn't track 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:35.000 back, he hates those types of players, and every 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:38.259 single Madrid player is that. So, maybe not every 00:18:38.259 --> 00:18:39.980 single, but you get what I'm saying, most of 00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:42.339 them. I mean, and he was the one who kind of 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:46.220 assembled the successful squad. Did he? Did he? 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:51.299 Well, I mean, whoever assembled it, the DNA was 00:18:51.299 --> 00:18:53.720 laid during his time. I think they give too much 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:57.440 credit to him, but whatever the case is, even 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:01.420 Valverde. I heard, you would think Valverde is 00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:04.460 the most like, Mr. Real Madrid, I'll do whatever 00:19:04.460 --> 00:19:08.960 for the shirt, etc. Right? He was complaining 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:12.500 that he has to play right back. Because both 00:19:12.500 --> 00:19:15.799 Trent and Carvajal are injured. So he's been 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:17.839 the one that's... That's filling in. That's filling 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:19.900 in. I mean, he's played right back quite a lot. 00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:22.259 Yeah, but he threw a hissy fit and said, I want 00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:24.160 to play in midfield. And that's part of the reason 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:27.259 Alonso got sacked, apparently. This is just what 00:19:27.259 --> 00:19:30.329 I've read. Players shouldn't have that much control 00:19:30.329 --> 00:19:33.849 in a dressing room. If I tell you play right 00:19:33.849 --> 00:19:36.250 back, you're playing right back. If I tell you 00:19:36.250 --> 00:19:39.150 you're not playing at all, you're not playing 00:19:39.150 --> 00:19:40.910 at all. I'm in charge. You're not in charge. 00:19:41.089 --> 00:19:43.630 I mean, it doesn't make sense if players like 00:19:43.630 --> 00:19:48.809 Messi and Ronaldo could recognize that the coach's 00:19:48.809 --> 00:19:51.230 authority mattered. There were many times I'm 00:19:51.230 --> 00:19:53.309 sure Messi or Ronaldo didn't agree with their 00:19:53.309 --> 00:19:56.420 coaches. They play to the best of their ability 00:19:56.420 --> 00:19:58.900 within the system. This is the thing. This new 00:19:58.900 --> 00:20:03.339 age group of players, they're just not the same 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:06.099 anymore. The mentality is not the same. The mentality 00:20:06.099 --> 00:20:08.079 is not the same. The professionalism is not the 00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:11.619 same. Even like 10 years ago, I would say. But 00:20:11.619 --> 00:20:13.400 I guess 10 years ago, people would say the same 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:17.140 thing about the previous generation. But I do 00:20:17.140 --> 00:20:19.180 think there was an acknowledgement that football 00:20:19.180 --> 00:20:21.839 was advancing. rapidly at one point, especially 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:24.880 during the Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp rivalry. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:28.980 And then it just shut down. So I think a lot 00:20:28.980 --> 00:20:33.380 of it is due to maybe like an over and like giving 00:20:33.380 --> 00:20:36.019 players, maybe not just players, but personalities, 00:20:36.299 --> 00:20:38.500 big personalities, too much power within the 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:41.400 game. Because even if you look at refereeing 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:44.579 committees, I think, look at the Premier League 00:20:44.579 --> 00:20:47.059 refereeing committee, how much... of attention 00:20:47.059 --> 00:20:49.079 do they try to bring to themselves through their 00:20:49.079 --> 00:20:51.220 like media statements through campaigns and i'm 00:20:51.220 --> 00:20:54.000 like there's no there's no need for a refereeing 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:57.099 organization to be doing that that's true our 00:20:57.099 --> 00:21:01.839 next story is psg psg drew 1 -1 with newcastle 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:03.940 and finished outside of the automatic round of 00:21:03.940 --> 00:21:07.759 16 spots so my question is are we overrating 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:11.259 louis henrique and psg it's hard to say like 00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:15.059 i mean to The only parameter you can really judge 00:21:15.059 --> 00:21:17.599 PSG on is winning the Champions League, and I 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:21.539 guess he did that last season. There's always 00:21:21.539 --> 00:21:25.700 generally a drop -off the season after you win 00:21:25.700 --> 00:21:28.759 the Champions League. Maybe Real Madrid would 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:32.359 be the exception. So it's hard to say. I've always 00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:34.359 thought they were slightly overrated as a team, 00:21:34.460 --> 00:21:37.599 but I don't think Luis Enrique is overrated as 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:40.859 a coach. He got the dynamics out of them that 00:21:40.859 --> 00:21:42.980 were required to win. In my opinion, I think 00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:46.160 it's a bit of both, but I don't think Luis Enrique 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:47.980 is overrated. However, I think the achievement 00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:51.700 of their treble is not the best treble I've seen. 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:54.779 I wouldn't compare it to Man City before them 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:57.940 or Barcelona or Inter Milan. I mention this because 00:21:57.940 --> 00:22:01.819 the trophy kind of covers everything up, right? 00:22:02.059 --> 00:22:06.109 But last season, PSG kind of... Just got by. 00:22:06.109 --> 00:22:08.450 They stumbled through the group stage. Yes, that 00:22:08.450 --> 00:22:12.369 first of all. They didn't make it the top eight 00:22:12.369 --> 00:22:14.410 last year as well. They had to go through a playoff 00:22:14.410 --> 00:22:16.529 as well. Newcastle also hammered them last season 00:22:16.529 --> 00:22:19.509 in the group stage, right? I cannot recall. I 00:22:19.509 --> 00:22:24.029 think there was a 4 -0. Possibly. So they just 00:22:24.029 --> 00:22:27.269 kind of... They just made it out of the playoffs. 00:22:27.730 --> 00:22:31.650 And then in the playoffs, the round of 16 and 00:22:31.650 --> 00:22:35.700 so on, they... Just made it past Liverpool. It 00:22:35.700 --> 00:22:38.099 was 1 -1 and they got passes and penalties. Curtis 00:22:38.099 --> 00:22:42.700 Jones and Dawa Nunes missing penalties. Arsenal, 00:22:42.779 --> 00:22:45.940 I'm led to believe it was quite close. Yeah, 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:48.400 and Aston Villa. Aston Villa, extremely close 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:50.880 as well. The only thing is the final. The final 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:55.160 was a blowout. But that was just a very disappointing 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:57.920 final. People remember the final. They don't 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:00.220 remember the road to the final. And that's why 00:23:00.220 --> 00:23:04.599 I'm wondering, is PSG overrated? Last week, or 00:23:04.599 --> 00:23:06.680 was it two weeks ago, I came on this podcast 00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:10.019 and I said, when Anastat gets sacked, I want 00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:13.880 Luis Enrique. I don't want Xabi Alonso. And I've 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:17.559 been thinking about that and I'm not 100 % sure 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:20.359 that I feel that way anymore. All I want is an 00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:22.940 experienced coach. That's all I'm trying to get 00:23:22.940 --> 00:23:28.460 at when I say he needs to be replaced. Yeah, 00:23:28.519 --> 00:23:31.839 I mean, it would all depend. Either way, I think... 00:23:32.750 --> 00:23:35.890 A large part of the reason that PSG did win the 00:23:35.890 --> 00:23:38.150 Champions League was management coaching. Because 00:23:38.150 --> 00:23:41.390 I think, especially with regards to man management, 00:23:41.569 --> 00:23:43.430 if you look at your guys' squad, I think you 00:23:43.430 --> 00:23:46.430 guys have a lot of top talents. The recruitment 00:23:46.430 --> 00:23:48.690 around it, probably midfield recruitment, he's 00:23:48.690 --> 00:23:50.750 one of the best in the world. It would still 00:23:50.750 --> 00:23:54.009 make sense maybe to get him because I think a 00:23:54.009 --> 00:23:55.410 lot of the moments, like you said, the games 00:23:55.410 --> 00:23:59.019 were on a knife's edge. His substitutions were 00:23:59.019 --> 00:24:00.759 better than the opposition's. Whether he had 00:24:00.759 --> 00:24:04.079 more options or not, it's debatable because he's 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:05.859 also coming from a league where he doesn't play 00:24:05.859 --> 00:24:08.420 at the same intensity every week. So he has to 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:11.079 get his team to raise their level every game. 00:24:13.059 --> 00:24:15.380 Hilariously, sorry to interrupt you, but last 00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:18.980 year, Arnold Slott said that's a huge advantage 00:24:18.980 --> 00:24:21.869 that you can rest your... You know, you're starting 00:24:21.869 --> 00:24:24.430 11. The week before they played us, that weekend, 00:24:24.710 --> 00:24:28.049 they played an entirely changed first 11. And 00:24:28.049 --> 00:24:32.170 then, you know, their first 11 against us. So 00:24:32.170 --> 00:24:35.069 don't you think... Yeah, it could be argued either 00:24:35.069 --> 00:24:37.089 way. You could argue either way that, oh, it's 00:24:37.089 --> 00:24:38.950 not competitive and that's what's keeping them 00:24:38.950 --> 00:24:41.670 uncompetitive. Or you could say, because it's 00:24:41.670 --> 00:24:44.730 uncompetitive, they can rest players during the 00:24:44.730 --> 00:24:47.269 league and be more focused on the Champions League. 00:24:47.690 --> 00:24:49.470 Yeah, I think it works both ways, but they're 00:24:49.470 --> 00:24:51.710 so dominant in their league, so it's hard to 00:24:51.710 --> 00:24:55.529 judge, like, is that treble, like, are they the 00:24:55.529 --> 00:24:58.210 best team in the world? When Man City won the 00:24:58.210 --> 00:25:00.069 treble, they were unquestionably the best team 00:25:00.069 --> 00:25:03.410 in the world. I would say no, because the best 00:25:03.410 --> 00:25:05.410 team in the world is Chelsea. They beat them 00:25:05.410 --> 00:25:08.690 at the Club World Cup, don't they? No, but... 00:25:09.569 --> 00:25:11.369 Realistically speaking. No, I'm being realistic. 00:25:11.509 --> 00:25:13.609 They beat them at the club World Cup. I don't 00:25:13.609 --> 00:25:15.250 think Chelsea are the best team in the world, 00:25:15.309 --> 00:25:18.549 but okay. In terms of... Okay, where's your trophy 00:25:18.549 --> 00:25:22.750 that says that they're not the best team? Because 00:25:22.750 --> 00:25:24.710 they have a trophy that says they are. Okay, 00:25:24.789 --> 00:25:27.250 I don't know. That's what you think. I don't 00:25:27.250 --> 00:25:29.490 think that they have a trophy that says best 00:25:29.490 --> 00:25:31.849 in the world. Yeah, that says they're the Club 00:25:31.849 --> 00:25:34.430 World Cup champions. If that makes them the best 00:25:34.430 --> 00:25:36.230 in the world, then that's your decision too. 00:25:36.529 --> 00:25:38.829 It's the Champions League winners of the past 00:25:38.829 --> 00:25:42.589 couple of years. Look, I don't need to justify 00:25:42.589 --> 00:25:44.849 the Club World Cup. That's a prestigious tournament. 00:25:45.130 --> 00:25:47.450 I don't know why you're coming down on it like 00:25:47.450 --> 00:25:48.829 this. Chelsea are not the best team. They're 00:25:48.829 --> 00:25:50.509 not even the best team in the Premier League. 00:25:51.230 --> 00:25:53.819 The league's not over. We don't know how things 00:25:53.819 --> 00:25:55.539 are going to go. Liam Razen, your title charge 00:25:55.539 --> 00:26:03.200 coming up? Never. But either way, I could say 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:05.000 they were the best team in the world last season, 00:26:05.059 --> 00:26:07.539 but throughout the season, I thought you guys 00:26:07.539 --> 00:26:10.920 were. For the first six months, I thought you 00:26:10.920 --> 00:26:12.880 guys were comfortably the best team in the world. 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:17.099 With Man City's treble, they were the best team 00:26:17.099 --> 00:26:19.819 in the world from start to finish. With Barcelona's 00:26:19.819 --> 00:26:22.700 treble... Bayern Munich's treble they were the 00:26:22.700 --> 00:26:24.539 best team in the world throughout the whole entire 00:26:24.539 --> 00:26:28.960 season so in that sense I think PSG are slightly 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:34.400 overrated yes alright and then our next story 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:37.940 Napoli lose to Chelsea 3 -2 and are knocked out 00:26:37.940 --> 00:26:42.180 of the Champions League completely Antonio Conte 00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:44.319 I was going to say what is the problem with Conte 00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:47.640 in cup situations this is what I don't understand 00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:50.180 because at first I would have I used to think 00:26:50.180 --> 00:26:53.420 that it's hard to do anything with a back three 00:26:53.420 --> 00:26:56.579 beyond a certain point in the Champions League. 00:26:57.299 --> 00:26:59.799 Excuse me, so he plays with a back three at Napoli? 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:02.480 Yes, from what I've seen, yeah, he still plays 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:04.240 with a back three. I'm asking a question, I have 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:06.759 no idea. Oh yeah, he does. Conte and his back 00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:08.660 three, I don't think he shifts from that very 00:27:08.660 --> 00:27:11.400 much. Didn't he play with a back four initially 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:15.039 at... At Chelsea. No, no, no, at Juventus, like 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:17.849 when he first signed. Oh, maybe, maybe those 00:27:17.849 --> 00:27:20.589 days. And then he transitioned into a back three. 00:27:20.589 --> 00:27:22.269 I think when he found the back three, he's never 00:27:22.269 --> 00:27:23.470 turned. But don't quote me on that. But he had 00:27:23.470 --> 00:27:25.430 a small period in Chelsea where he managed with 00:27:25.430 --> 00:27:27.670 a back four. And I think when he started at Napoli, 00:27:27.769 --> 00:27:30.049 he also managed with a back four to keep the 00:27:30.049 --> 00:27:31.930 dynamics from the previous coach going. But he 00:27:31.930 --> 00:27:33.630 switched it to a back three. And you're saying 00:27:33.630 --> 00:27:35.410 the back three is the problem then? I thought 00:27:35.410 --> 00:27:38.609 that. But Thomas Tuchel won the Champions League 00:27:38.609 --> 00:27:41.849 so brilliantly, I was shocked. So there's been 00:27:41.849 --> 00:27:44.490 managers influenced by Conte and Zaghi last season. 00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:47.500 that are very directly influenced by Conte who've 00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:49.640 done better than him in the Champions League. 00:27:49.720 --> 00:27:51.960 So I don't know why he can't translate his philosophy 00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:54.440 into the Champions League. Could just be a mentality 00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:58.920 thing. In the big games, he can't get the team 00:27:58.920 --> 00:28:02.359 up for it. Maybe it's something related to his 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:05.019 personality, right? A number of things could 00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:08.900 be the case. I didn't watch this and for some 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:13.039 reason there's no highlights available. Well, 00:28:13.160 --> 00:28:15.960 one for the Madrid game. two for the Napoli game 00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:20.480 I did find highlights for the PSG game so it 00:28:20.480 --> 00:28:23.319 really depends on the club certain clubs release 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:25.359 highlights and certain clubs don't and I just 00:28:25.359 --> 00:28:27.380 don't understand why it might be the agreements 00:28:27.380 --> 00:28:31.599 they have with broadcasting people not even it 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:36.059 could be that's almost certainly the case but 00:28:36.059 --> 00:28:39.660 yeah so Chelsea were leading 2 -1 And Napoli 00:28:39.660 --> 00:28:43.319 were leading 2 -1 and Chelsea had to come back 00:28:43.319 --> 00:28:48.759 3 -2. So it was quite the comeback from Liam 00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:51.480 Rosinho, who hasn't put a foot wrong yet, I don't 00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:55.779 think. I mean, he lost to Arsenal. That's a foot 00:28:55.779 --> 00:28:59.420 wrong? No, no. Well, we'll see. They're the best 00:28:59.420 --> 00:29:04.549 team in the league. That's in your opinion. No, 00:29:04.589 --> 00:29:06.170 I'm saying Arsenal are the best team in the league. 00:29:06.170 --> 00:29:07.809 Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, in my opinion. So losing 00:29:07.809 --> 00:29:11.569 to Arsenal then, is that such a big... No, but 00:29:11.569 --> 00:29:13.789 it's still a foot wrong. In your first or second 00:29:13.789 --> 00:29:16.809 game, you know, losing to Arsenal, is that a 00:29:16.809 --> 00:29:19.269 foot wrong or is that just you came into a wrong 00:29:19.269 --> 00:29:21.849 situation? Yeah, it's not. I mean, it depends 00:29:21.849 --> 00:29:24.789 how you interpret it. But if you're judging it 00:29:24.789 --> 00:29:32.170 by victories... then it's a loss. Okay. Because 00:29:32.170 --> 00:29:35.109 I don't think they've played... Well, my friend 00:29:35.109 --> 00:29:36.890 is a big Chelsea fan, and he says they haven't 00:29:36.890 --> 00:29:38.809 particularly played well. They've just been playing 00:29:38.809 --> 00:29:44.309 games. So, yeah, I guess this podcast needs to 00:29:44.309 --> 00:29:47.250 watch more Chelsea games. Yeah, I mean, the one 00:29:47.250 --> 00:29:49.990 thing I'll be interested to watch, because I 00:29:49.990 --> 00:29:52.329 guess I'll give Liam credit for this. It was 00:29:52.329 --> 00:29:53.890 always something that I struggled to imagine 00:29:53.890 --> 00:29:57.730 how... someone could do because of the way Maresca 00:29:57.730 --> 00:30:00.730 played, I guess. And I still rate Maresca very 00:30:00.730 --> 00:30:04.349 highly. But he managed to apparently squeeze 00:30:04.349 --> 00:30:06.789 Cole Palmer and Esteval into the same team and 00:30:06.789 --> 00:30:08.789 the dynamics were off the charts. I didn't watch 00:30:08.789 --> 00:30:11.430 it, so I still need to see that. But the thought 00:30:11.430 --> 00:30:14.589 of it excites me as a football fan to watch those 00:30:14.589 --> 00:30:19.269 two play together. All right. Lastly, Bodo Glimt 00:30:19.269 --> 00:30:21.849 and Katterbag made it into the next round of 00:30:21.849 --> 00:30:25.250 playoffs. And I... You know, I could point out 00:30:25.250 --> 00:30:29.049 many teams, but I think the two of them are... 00:30:29.049 --> 00:30:32.390 I don't want to be rude, but they're small teams, 00:30:32.490 --> 00:30:35.690 smaller teams. The Minnows. I didn't say that. 00:30:35.750 --> 00:30:39.150 He said that. They're smaller teams, so them 00:30:39.150 --> 00:30:41.329 getting through, I think, is a fantastic achievement. 00:30:41.329 --> 00:30:45.130 Same as Sporting. Sporting is more... It's a 00:30:45.130 --> 00:30:47.869 high profile. Yeah, Sporting is more like... 00:30:49.919 --> 00:30:52.140 Impressive because it's the top eight, but still, 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:56.480 to make it to the playoffs, I think is a just 00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:58.539 fantastic achievement. Bodo Glimp doing it by 00:30:58.539 --> 00:31:01.859 beating Man City last week. And what did they 00:31:01.859 --> 00:31:04.680 do this week? It was a win against somebody. 00:31:05.160 --> 00:31:09.619 They beat Atletico Madrid 2 -1. So, you know, 00:31:09.640 --> 00:31:13.240 hats off to them. Karabag lost 6 -0 to us, but 00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:17.279 still made it through. I think it's time we did 00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:20.210 speak about Lopo versus Karabag. I just, just 00:31:20.210 --> 00:31:23.150 some random thoughts I had. Okay, yeah. I mean, 00:31:23.150 --> 00:31:25.809 a vent. It's not a vent. It's just, I wanted 00:31:25.809 --> 00:31:29.049 to say, we scored another free kick goal with 00:31:29.049 --> 00:31:33.170 a guy doing a backheel. Or, you know, like a... 00:31:33.170 --> 00:31:37.329 A layoff. A layoff, yes. But this time, Sebastian 00:31:37.329 --> 00:31:40.549 laid it off and Salah scored the goal. Okay. 00:31:42.150 --> 00:31:45.809 Ekotike, we've been struggling to get goals on 00:31:45.809 --> 00:31:48.769 the counter. There's a lot of goals. I've been 00:31:48.769 --> 00:31:53.069 noticing that everybody is selfish. Gakpo, selfish. 00:31:53.589 --> 00:31:56.349 Ekotike, selfish. Salah, selfish. Salah is a 00:31:56.349 --> 00:31:58.710 little bit less selfish, but still, if we had 00:31:58.710 --> 00:32:01.670 to put them on a selfish scale, all of them would 00:32:01.670 --> 00:32:04.589 be in the top 5%. Very highly selfish players. 00:32:04.890 --> 00:32:08.170 Extremely selfish. I love Ekotike, though. The 00:32:08.170 --> 00:32:10.869 thing is, he's the one that's allowed to be selfish 00:32:10.869 --> 00:32:13.130 because he's a striker. And he makes things happen 00:32:13.130 --> 00:32:17.440 almost every time he gets the ball. So, yes, 00:32:17.539 --> 00:32:21.160 we... I hate to say it, but it reminds me of 00:32:21.160 --> 00:32:25.380 Thierry Henry every time I watch it. I don't 00:32:25.380 --> 00:32:28.700 know. Arsenal fans are acting like a certain 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:32.160 country that feels like they have a 3 ,000 -year 00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:36.819 -old... What's the word? Claim on Nekotike because 00:32:36.819 --> 00:32:39.910 Henry played for their club. No, no, no. I'm 00:32:39.910 --> 00:32:42.789 not talking about you. I'm talking about Arsenal 00:32:42.789 --> 00:32:45.369 fans. Arsenal fans have just been thirsting over 00:32:45.369 --> 00:32:48.349 Eketika and we wish he was our player. Because 00:32:48.349 --> 00:32:50.349 he does look so much similar to Henry. It's almost 00:32:50.349 --> 00:32:53.589 like if Arsenal were to sign a player that reminded 00:32:53.589 --> 00:32:55.809 you of your favourite Liverpool player, would 00:32:55.809 --> 00:32:59.079 you be... Well, again, I have to just mention 00:32:59.079 --> 00:33:00.799 what Arsenal fans have been telling me. They're 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:02.599 telling me Declan Rice is better than Gerrard. 00:33:03.259 --> 00:33:06.619 Shouldn't I be looking at Declan Rice that way? 00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:08.640 I just want to know which Arsenal fans you've 00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:12.460 been talking to. No, just on the internet. I 00:33:12.460 --> 00:33:16.160 don't think that... I have never seen that much. 00:33:16.599 --> 00:33:18.759 No, I've actually never seen a single person 00:33:18.759 --> 00:33:22.779 on my timeline. Alright, well, I'll get a collage 00:33:22.779 --> 00:33:28.960 together. print it out and give it to you alright 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:31.759 that's all I really wanted to talk about that 00:33:31.759 --> 00:33:35.960 one free kick I was really enticed by it and 00:33:35.960 --> 00:33:41.359 also we scored another set piece goal which after 00:33:41.359 --> 00:33:44.619 177 quarters without one we've scored two in 00:33:44.619 --> 00:33:47.220 two games I've seen a lot of football coaches 00:33:47.220 --> 00:33:50.359 actually meeting in pre -season. I don't know 00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:52.420 if it's connected, just something I've noticed, 00:33:52.460 --> 00:33:54.819 meeting with American football and basketball 00:33:54.819 --> 00:33:57.440 managers. Coaches, I don't know if that could 00:33:57.440 --> 00:34:00.259 be related to set pieces coming into the game 00:34:00.259 --> 00:34:04.720 more. I think, obviously, Arsenal's now the main 00:34:04.720 --> 00:34:07.819 example of it, using it as a tactic. But I think, 00:34:07.859 --> 00:34:10.400 from the facts I've seen, it's been increasing 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:12.920 for the last five seasons, teams using set plays 00:34:12.920 --> 00:34:16.320 generally. I think it was just Arsenal and Brentford 00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:21.119 who were... Arsenal, Brentford and Aston Villa 00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:25.360 all had set -piece coaches, I believe, and the 00:34:25.360 --> 00:34:28.539 rest of the league didn't. No, but I saw some 00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:30.880 stats the other day that said even throughout 00:34:30.880 --> 00:34:33.119 Europe... Prior to that. Throughout Europe, in 00:34:33.119 --> 00:34:36.480 the last five years, it's like close to 35 % 00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:40.199 or 45 % up set -piece goals. Oh, that's incredible. 00:34:40.460 --> 00:34:43.840 I didn't know about that. I'll have to think 00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:45.860 about that. I think Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:48.099 a lot of teams have scored more set pieces than 00:34:48.099 --> 00:34:51.840 ever. I think the game is becoming more and more 00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:54.880 tactical. Alright, that's all I wanted to talk 00:34:54.880 --> 00:34:57.099 about today. Do you have anything you want to 00:34:57.099 --> 00:35:01.219 bring up before we close up here? Nothing specific. 00:35:01.340 --> 00:35:05.539 Just excited about the draw. Let's see who plays 00:35:05.539 --> 00:35:09.360 who in the playoffs. Hopefully... There's a couple 00:35:09.360 --> 00:35:13.400 of surprises. Hopefully one of the big teams 00:35:13.400 --> 00:35:17.460 gets eliminated. Oh, yes. I meant to come back 00:35:17.460 --> 00:35:19.940 to this, but Benfica, one of their potential 00:35:19.940 --> 00:35:23.800 opponents are Arsenal. And I would love it. Love 00:35:23.800 --> 00:35:26.880 it if Mourinho took out Arsenal. It would be 00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:28.260 incredible. I mean, they have to get through 00:35:28.260 --> 00:35:31.440 another tie first. So, let's see. We'll see. 00:35:31.840 --> 00:35:35.360 I would love to get Benfica, though. Definitely. 00:35:35.940 --> 00:35:39.190 The special one. special one teaching Arteta 00:35:39.190 --> 00:35:43.710 a lesson. I would love it. Love it. I mean, he's 00:35:43.710 --> 00:35:47.849 taught Arteta a lesson, so it wouldn't be new. 00:35:48.909 --> 00:35:52.030 Alright, thank you for listening. Please remember 00:35:52.030 --> 00:35:54.929 to rate, review, subscribe, give a like, etc. 00:35:55.309 --> 00:35:59.050 Comment, tell your friends, spread the word, 00:35:59.170 --> 00:36:01.130 yeah. Importantly, it needs to be a five -star 00:36:01.130 --> 00:36:04.480 review. You can find all our links at pdfootball 00:36:04.480 --> 00:36:08.500 .com. That's pdfootball .com. Please tell a friend. 00:36:08.579 --> 00:36:11.019 Tell that friend to tell a friend. Tell a family 00:36:11.019 --> 00:36:18.440 member. Yeah, goodbye. You say goodbye. Goodbye. 00:36:19.099 --> 00:36:22.400 Oh, it's fuck the fans, is it? You hate them, 00:36:22.440 --> 00:36:22.699 is it?