And welcome back to the P .D. Football Podcast.
My name is Presh. My name is Darren. And how
are you doing today? I'm good, I'm good. At least,
uh, fatigued. How's everything on your end? I
see. My cousin was on the podcast last week and
he made a joke. He's like, ask him how you're
doing. He's like, work fatigue. But yeah, I watched
Avatar again, myself. For the, how many times
now? The fourth time. In the movies. Yeah. i
uh i'm just such a big fan you know an avatar
movie being in theaters it just it comes out
once in a while and it's a it's a well if you
think about it big jim said work started on the
first one in 1996 so 30 years three movies 10
years per movie it's more more rare than two
world cups Something every 10 years. That's something
to get excited for in my mind. But not everyone
is. Well, the thing is, it's the highest grossing
movie of all time. The first one. And the second
one is the third highest grossing movie of all
time. So clearly it connects with people. A lot
of people. And I guess it super connects with
people like me who go back time and time again
to... And just watch it over and over. Yeah.
Like it's a comfort kind of thing that like...
In 2009, there was something called Avatar Depression.
Or 2010, I should say. No, I've never heard of
that. People were so sad that they couldn't live
in Pandora, the world inside Avatar, that they
got depressed about it. It was a worldwide phenomenon.
Articles were written about it. That really sounds
like a dumb thing to get depressed over. Also,
kind of the point of Avatar is that the world...
Our world, Earth, is Pandora. It's a metaphor.
But... Anyway. So, unfortunately, this is probably
going to be a quick show. I only had time to
watch one match and... Oh, well, one match properly
and to analyze it. And the rest will have to
be looked through the lens of highlights. Yeah,
I mean, I think I also watched, like, one and
a half, two games. So yeah, probably the most
professional podcast on the waves right now,
I think. Yeah, probably. Who's doing it like
us? Who's doing it at this level? Yeah, not to
make any excuses, but there's a lot of things
happening in life, you know, so you can't always
get the priority. For me, at least. So we're
going to start with Newcastle 1, Barcelona 1.
and Newcastle made three changes to the team
that lost to Man City in the FA Cup, with Dan
Byrne in for Sven Bottmann, Jacob Ramsey in for
Joe Willock, Joe Linton in for Nick Voltemoder,
and with a change of shape into a 4 -3 -3 instead
of the 4 -2 -3 -1 that they were playing. Anthony
Gordon apparently was not feeling well and missed
the training session that morning, so he didn't
start. Which I think is a big blow. He's the
highest scoring player this season. So, you know,
not ideal to lose him. Not the ideal circumstances.
Yes, but instead Will Osula got a chance in the
lineup. Which, you know, good for him. But how
does Woltemar feel? How does Johan Wisse feel?
You know, the two guys that were brought in for
big money this season. Yeah, I mean, you know.
Their performances have improved, so I guess
they've got to fight for their place. So, I don't
know Barcelona's starting XI well enough to comment
on it. I've been meaning to confront you this
past couple of episodes, but you haven't been
on. Yes, about Eddie Howe's high press. Yes,
Eddie Howe has abandoned the high line, or the
high press, I should say, the high aggressive
press that he's been linked with for many years.
That's a good sign. I just offered it as a critique
if he's changed his coaching. I haven't been
watching much Newcastle games, so kudos to him
if he's defending better. I don't know, because
the thing is, has it worked? He lost against
Man City, he did beat Man United, and then he
lost to City in the FA Cup. So, so far, mixed
results. Mixed results, I mean. And he lost to
Everton as well. Okay, then I guess it hasn't
been a good change, but at least he's maybe showing
some adaptability. I just think it's more sustainable
to play in a position -based as well. He isn't
playing position -based, but I'm saying instead
of very aggressively high -pressing, because
that takes so much energy and so much, you know...
Focus, it's very difficult to play like that
for the entire season. And Klopp and the Liverpool
team of the past showed how close you can get,
but every time it wasn't enough. It never beat
a possession -based system. Yeah, I mean, I guess
it's a style of football that is commonly associated
with the Premier League, with England in general,
I guess. So I guess Eddie Howe has his own philosophy.
And yeah, but I'm saying I just don't think it's
sustainable. So it's good that he's changed plans.
But I do think it should be scenario based. So
sometimes it's good to press high. Sometimes
it's good to play on the counter. Sometimes it's
good to, you know, you know, you should have
or rather your gameplay should be a toolbox so
that in every game you use the correct tool for
the correct puzzle. or the correct thing you
want to do. So in terms of gameplay, Newcastle
went direct to try to exploit the Barcelona high
line. Plenty of balls over the top for the wingers
to run onto, Ilanga and Harvey Barnes, which
in the first, like, maybe 20 minutes, they tried
it at least three or four times. So it was a
very clear game plan for them to go after that
high line. They did press a little bit. Well,
not press. when it's called defending in the
mid block right so when like when it gets to
newcastle's midfield that's when they apply the
pressure yeah but it's not the same as a high
press it's it's applying pressure and high press
are two different things uh yeah i mean a high
press is usually triggered off the opponent's
mistake or yeah well this this is them moving
into a zone And I thought it was the perfect
start from Newcastle. They didn't let Barca settle
at all. And for the first 20 minutes, they didn't
have a single shot and had very little possession.
And according to you, Barcelona are the best
team in the world. So to do that to the best
team in the world, I think that's a... a very
good sign you know that Newcastle were really
up for it I mean Newcastle they have I think
they're putting good performances against everyone
we know they're capable of it I think it's not
exactly surprising I guess the main thing the
question has always been consistency from them
you know if they can consistently beat the bigger
teams I guess so that's how the first half was
kind of characterized But when Barcelona did
get the ball, roughly after the 20th minute until
the end of the half, it became a little bit more
50 -50. Barcelona were very poor going forward.
Yeah, I think Hansi Flick mentioned he wasn't
happy with the in -possession play at all. So
I think a lot of things, a lot of misplaced passes.
So in the last five minutes or so, it just became
end -to -end. But there was no cut and thrust
from either team. Barcelona actually, I was surprised
with how well they actually... defended for a
team that doesn't usually defend because I think
they allowed Newcastle a lot of chances but I
think besides the goal maybe there was only one
or two clear -cut chances so I think they also
used the mid -block it was also something new
from Hansi Flick I guess both teams were playing
for to still be in the tie maybe or to not exactly
let the occasion get to them I think. they were
managing the moment maybe but that was the most
defensive I've seen Hansi Flick if I did notice
anything alright so the first half ends 0 -0
without any like major major chances they are
like decent half chances but nothing like you'd
be like oh the whole match depended on that you
know thing but the second half follows the same
pattern as the you know the last five minutes
of the first half both teams counter attacking
each other and it's becoming like a basketball
game but just both teams no quality in the final
third both teams are just you know wondering
squandering yes they get to the final third mess
it up the other team counters mess it up in the
final third the other team counters it's very
like up and down up and down it kind of Kind
of the perfect game of football if you're into
that sort of thing, which I am. If you're a neutral,
I guess. For the neutral fan, as they say. It
depends what you're into. Now, you would obviously
hope that they would score, but once in a while,
just seeing the attacking football is much more
fun than watching a team sit deep and cover all
the channels and make it difficult to attack.
This is the game I would rather watch. That's
all I'm saying. Lewis Hall, I thought, was the
man of the match. He did a fabulous job to keep
Lamine quiet, but also he got forward quite a
lot, which, you know, doing two jobs very well.
And the team that I thought of immediately was
Man United. They're the team without a good left
back. They should go in for Lewis Hall if they
can. Man United could go in for him. I mean,
I still think Chelsea could have kept him, and
in Chelsea's system, he would have been better
than Cocorello for me. So that's just my personal
opinion. But yeah, I think he could go to one
or two of those clubs. I think I would take him
at Arsenal as well, to be frank, because I still...
Hold on. Listeners, Darren has only waxed lyrical
all the time about... Al Calafiore as the X -Factor.
I was going to say I'd play him as a centre -back.
I'm not too happy with Gabriel. Oh, wow. I'm
not too happy with Gabriel. He's getting play
off the year shots and you're not happy about
him. Yeah, the last three games I haven't been
happy with his passing in particular, his playing
out. I think he's made a lot of erratic mistakes,
but we'll talk about that later. All right, back
to the game. Around the 80th minute, Barca gained
possession and tried to retain the ball to slow
down the game instead of attacking. And ironically,
this has the opposite effect as Jacob Murphy
gets forward, plays a one -two, and then puts
in a great cross. Harvey Barnes is unmarked with
Rafinha just ball -watching, and he scores with
a scrappy finish. But, well, that's what I initially
thought. On second look, the keeper could have
done much better than... he did against Harvey
Barnes. Barnes took a tame shot and the keeper
kind of bumbled it in. Yeah. And then, oh, sorry,
we just got into individual moments I didn't
mention. That was an individual moment, the Harvey
Barnes goal. Another individual moment is they
get a last -minute penalty kick as Malik Chow
brings down Daniel Olmo in the area. Honestly,
a Stonewall penalty is just one of those ones
where you're tired, you know, your brain is tired.
And Olmo just came on, you know, he's fresh,
he's dribbling, he's twinkle toes, and he's coming
into the box, and you just take him out. I mean,
yeah, they gave Barcelona a bit of a lifeline.
I think in the end, it wouldn't have mattered.
I think even if Barcelona had lost, I still would
have thought they'd got through at the Nou Camp.
So, yeah, Lamine Yamal converts, and I would
say that he had a stinker. He had a really poor
game. He did. And obviously a goal covers everything
up, isn't it? It can, but... Well, people are
not going to look back at this game and think,
oh, Jamal had a stinker. They're going to think
back and say, oh, he scored a last -minute equalizer.
Yeah, but that's because he'll probably have
five or six good games. But I'm saying that's
just how things work. Yeah. But it only gets
remembered as such if you had a good season,
is what I'm saying. No one will really remember
the performance if he doesn't have any good games
after this and help Barcelona win the Champions
League. I was trying to make a comparison with
Salah, who drops stinkers all the time, but he'll
get a goal. And it's like, oh, but he scored
that game. What, you're ungrateful for that goal,
is it? Yeah, but Jamal hardly drops stinkers,
though. All right, I'm not... Again, it feels
like you think I'm attacking Jamal. I'm just
trying to draw a comparison with another player
that does what he does all the time. Anyway,
I thought a draw is probably a fair result because
both teams had good opportunities. Not great
opportunities, but decent chances. But with how
it panned out and the last minute of it all,
it probably feels like a loss to Newcastle, I
would say. Probably, and I think Barcelona also
were bad. That was one of their worst games of
the season. I doubt they'll be that bad again.
I think Newcastle might have missed the beat
to try and get the win at least, but I don't
see Barcelona being that bad again. I think it
would have been a mental boost if they had won
the game. They could go into the Camp Nou with
a little bit more positivity. I know what you're
saying, they probably would have lost anyway,
blah, blah, blah, but I think... you just feel
more confident and more energized if you... When
you have something to defend, yeah. You feel
like you've won. Not feel like you've won, you
did win. Now that they've drawn, I think they're
going to be a lot more feeling worse. I don't
know what to call it. Low on motivation, I guess.
Low on motivation, yeah. I think. I have no idea
what... Yeah, it could go both ways, you know.
I mean, mentality is the... Oftentimes when a
game is that close, mentality is what divides
it. If the second game was to be as close. But
it would require Barcelona to play badly. I don't
think even Newcastle at full tilt versus Barcelona
who play moderately well would be a close game
right now. Alright, so that's Barcelona versus
Newcastle. Now we're going into the miscellaneous
section. I didn't do notes for any other matches,
so we're just going to be kind of freewheeling
here, chatting about the other results. Yeah,
I mean, I watched a couple of games. Which one
did you watch? The Arsenal game, obviously. Okay,
well, we'll get to that. The first game of the
midweek games was the 7 .45 game at our local
time. Galatasaray won, Liverpool nil. And so
I slept at 6 o 'clock, hoping to, not hoping,
set my alarm to wake up at 7 .30 for the game
at quarter to 8. And I just slept all the way
up until 10. Sometimes that happens. Yeah. So,
you know, the phrase, God gives his biggest naps
to his sleepiest soldiers. That's what it says
in the Bible, I'm pretty sure. That's me. Well,
God bless you. Right. The only things I can say
about this is stuff that I've read on Twitter
and from the highlights that I've seen. So Allison
was injured, which forced Mama Dashvili to play.
But now I just want to take you back to our last
episode. OK, you weren't here, but let me just
repeat. I said, why is Slott playing Allison
and not rotating in the cup? with Mama Dashvili,
and now Alisson got injured. Does he not see
any, like, a link from that to that? Like, oh,
I overplayed Alisson, and then he got injured.
Does he not connect the dots in his mind and
say, oh, I should be rotating? You would know
better than me in terms of what his patterns
of coaching are this season. No, no, no, no.
Did Arteta play Raya in the FA Cup against Mansfield?
No, but I'm saying, what did he do last season?
He did the exact same thing. He doesn't rotate.
He'll play that first 11 into the ground and
then complain that he doesn't have quality backups.
Yeah, I mean, maybe that's a character trait
of his. It could be something related to the
Dutch train of thought. I know they're very big
on momentum because Louis van Gaal used to do
the same thing, if I remember correctly. A lot
of Man United fans. would complain about the
lack of rotation. Speaking of which, the midfield
was not rotated again. The same midfield three,
Sabotsla and McAllister -Gravenberg, have played
in the last five matches. Without all of them
90 minutes. Actually, no, let me take that back.
In the FA Cup game, McAllister was replaced.
But most of the time, they're all playing 90
minutes. And Jones can't get a look in. Okay,
Endo's injured. Who else do we have? Trey Neone,
who's a youth player, but he's like, quote -unquote,
next up. You know, like the next good academy
player, and he's not getting any minutes. Yeah,
sorry, I just needed to vent about this guy not
rotating at all. Even Rio Ngamoa played 70 minutes
in the FA Cup and he got zero minutes against
Galatasaray. You know, is 70 minutes a week too
much for him? Then he shouldn't be a professional
athlete. That's disgusting if his body could
handle it. But if it's not just being an idiot,
then he needs to go. Right? Yeah, I mean, I guess
these are things for the Liverpool board to discuss.
Last season was hard to criticise him because
you guys won the league. So I guess now, if those
problems were there last season, I guess they're
more in your face now because Salah didn't have
the season he had last season or no one had that
sort of season that could make up, I guess, for
the deficiencies in the system. But it depends.
If the results were there, would people be criticizing
it? So at the same time, I think, yeah, he's
going to be there till the end of the season.
So right now, I tend to agree with you. I think
rotation is the best way to go. I've always been
a big fan of Guardiola. I've made that point
so many times. I've always thought that rotating
players is probably the best way to go about
coaching. Even Mourinho, when he was successful,
different style of football, but was very big
on rotation. I agree with you. Whether the Liverpool
board agrees with you or not, we'll see. This
is what Klopp would do. We shouldn't go backwards,
and I don't want Klopp to be the manager again,
but I'm just pointing something out. He would
play Robertson, a youth defender, Konate. and
then a youth right back. And then in the next
game, he would swap. A youth left back, Van Dijk,
a youth center back, Trent. You get what I'm
saying? Yeah, so they learn off the players next
to them as well. Yeah, so there would be two
youth players, two seniors. Two youth players,
two seniors. So that, you know, all sections
are kind of covered by a senior player who can
take responsibility. And there's a younger player
who can learn from that positioning. And, you
know... Develop. Develop, yes. How are players
going to develop if they don't get any minutes?
Explain that, Slot. But he won't because he doesn't
listen to the podcast. But if he did, you know,
I'd like an answer. He still wouldn't listen
to Liverpool fans. He'd tell you guys to be grateful
for the Premier League he delivered. Yeah. He
actually did say that. Not so many words, but
he did say that. Anyway, so I did watch the highlights,
and we have to give some credit to Galatasaray.
They scored from a corner. Victor Osserman won
the first header, put it, and then I'm not sure
the name of the player, but they scored at the
back post. Oh, yeah. I did see the goal as well,
so don't remember the player. So that's all we
can really say about the game. Because again,
neither of us saw it, but we did see a lot of
poor sloppy play in the highlights. And I mean,
if anything, I think Galatasaray, they don't
seem to be that good of a footballing team. Just
shows how important the atmosphere can be, because
I think they're kind of living off of how difficult
the stadium is to go to. You don't see, like,
if you compare them to Bodo, I guess, maybe we'll
speak about Bodo later, where you see a lot of,
at least, a tactical identity that they're executing.
Whether you agree with it or not depends on your
interpretation of football, but I think with
Galatasaray, it just seems like that's a crazy
difficult place to go to, no matter who you are,
just because of the fans. A counterpoint? I just
think we're bad. Yeah, but I'm saying it's not
just you guys. Did we see, like, I don't know
who's a good team. PSG go to Galatasaray and
get beaten. I'm pretty sure they got a couple
of big scalps in the group stage at home. We'd
have to go look at their results. I don't recall
Galatasaray. I guess Juventus, but Juventus aren't
Juventus of old anymore. They did get to the
playoffs, I remember, by getting one or two big
scalps. I forgot who they were, but generally
that ground is difficult to go to. My point being
is... I'm going off they beat Juventus and they
beat us. And neither of us or Juventus are like
in the best moment right now. So they're beating
teams based on name, not on... If we look at
the Man City game, Real Madrid are not in a good
moment. All right. Okay. Are we done with Liverpool
and Galatasaray? Do we have anything else to
say? Yeah. I mean, I'm done. Okay. Atletico Madrid
5 Spurs 2. Obviously the big talking point about
this match was that the goalkeeper Kinski was
given his Champions League debut and he made
two huge errors and conceded three before getting
subbed. So my heart goes out to this poor chap.
He was crying as he came off and it wasn't a
nice thing to watch. And I blame, I place the
blame firmly on Igor Chudo's shoulders because
why would you... give this guy this is the first
game to start him you know that's one two when
he's coming off he didn't try comfort him at
all he just you know let the guy go off down
the tunnel crying it was such a heartbreaking
moment you know that's not how you treat somebody
else i can understand if it were a more senior
player and a senior player was letting down the
team you know sub him and and you know we'll
chat about it at halftime or after the game whatever
A youth player or a younger player, it's very
difficult, you know, that situation. You have
to manage the emotions as well. Yes, it's very
poor from Igor Trudo. And at the time, I said
it was a bad move to bring him in based on what
I knew about him. But now I'm confirmed that
it was a bad move. And Spurs are really in danger
of going down. They really are. They are. I mean,
it was a poor performance, I think. It's hard
to say, like, to judge. I guess Atletico are
pulling off a lot of big performances in the
big moments as well. So, you know, I don't think
Spurs necessarily had an easy game, I think.
Everyone expected them to lose anyway, not get
hammered or cave in the way they did. But yeah,
they're in a difficult situation. The only thing
I can really see, I think of all the teams in
the bottom of the Premier League as well, they
have the toughest fixture run. So I think the
only thing I can, the only sort of... hope I'd
give them of staying up right now is probably
just if one of their players has like a great
individual run until the end of the season and
but I don't even see who that is to be honest
maybe Solanke yeah because uh again based on
highlights because I didn't watch this match
the second goal from Spurs okay this seven goals
is far too many to go through individually but
I will say for the Solanke goal that was a top
quality finish who was it Pedro Porro won the
ball after a poor pass from the goalkeeper Oblak
and he passed it to Solanke and Solanke finished.
quite powerfully. So, yeah. Yeah, I mean, Tottenham's
defending was poor, but I also think Atletico's
foot goal was a really, really good counter -attacking
goal, like the classic Champions League goal.
Alvarez ran all the way from, like, the middle
of the field to the goal and scored. So, yeah,
based on highlights, I assume that this was a
very sloppy match because Van de Ven also slipped.
And like I mentioned, the Atletico keeper passed
the ball straight to a Spurs player. So... Individual
errors all over the place. Out of the seven,
at least four were individual errors. So, not
good. Yeah, anything else you want to say about
this game? I mean, I think it wasn't this game
in specific. I'd say that... It was a common
pattern in all the games that maybe bar one or
two teams, it was atrocious defending this week.
I think some of the team structures, who usually
play well, at least from what I saw, the highlights
we watched, the goals were just so much space.
Speaking about teams that are usually quite good
but conceded some horror goals, Atalanta won
Bayern Munich 6. So based on highlights, it was
diabolical defending from Atalanta. And they
also kept getting caught in transition. Yeah,
it was like shocking. Even the amount of space
Olise had. And obviously, I'm not trying to put
down what Bayern did. I am. Like in terms of...
It's a Champions League victory. It's a 6 -1
victory. But I still think Bayern are not as
good as everyone might think they are. That's
what I'm saying. No, no, no, I'm not agreeing
with you. I'm saying I'm not trying to take away
credit from the individuals or some of the football
they do play, which is really good. I'm just
saying that they haven't really been tested.
I think they've lost, what, one game this season
in the Champions League, one game in the league.
And I think when we played them, it was one of
the easier games we played this season. But at
the same time, I'd say that... We could have
said the same thing about PSG last season when
we beat them and Newcastle beat them. So I just
don't necessarily see Bayern as being on the
same level as Barcelona right now. I'd put them
probably just below Barca on the same level as
Arsenal, but everyone's opinion is different.
I just think that the amount of space Atalanta
gave them was ridiculous, though. It seemed almost
like a Europa League game, not to offend that
competition. I don't think Bayern themselves
would have expected the game to be that easy,
have that amount of space, especially to the
players we've mentioned. Well, I am going to
disrespect Bayern Munich and say Atalanta made
it too easy for them. They're an average team
that looks amazing because Atalanta were very
poor. I don't think they're an average team.
They're about to break every record in the Bundesliga.
Yeah, in an average league. This is the thing.
I had a thought. What if Bayern came across a
really defensive side that, you know, won't put
up with their bullshit and, you know, makes the
spaces tight? And then I thought, oh, they did
play that team. It was Arsenal and they lost.
So I don't need to do a thought experiment. It's
happened. Yeah, but I mean, that's always been
the case with Bayern. How does it translate from,
like, how do you interpret how good they are
in the league and whether or not it will translate
into the Champions League? Because Pep Guardiola,
everyone, or most people, recognize him as the
best coach in the world, but he wasn't able to
get Bayern Munich to the same heights as Jupp
Heynckes, despite probably having a more complete
squad all around the pitch. So it's all interpretive.
It's like, what will translate? Because they
always dominate the league nine times out of
ten. That's, I guess, why people gave Klopp so
much credit at the start of his Dortmund career
because he kind of was able to compete with Bayern
Munich. The same thing he did at Man City. Obviously,
his competition at Man City was slightly better,
but he was performing against a juggernaut with
a team that he had to build himself. It's hard
to gauge with Bayern Munich. I think if they
have momentum, it's always going to be a game
of margins. The players they have are match winners.
I think if Kompany can make it a game of margins,
their attack can win them the Champions League.
I wouldn't be surprised if they win all the way.
Also, don't rate Kompany. Just mentioning he
got relegated from actual league. But he could
win a treble. Oh, Slot could also win a treble.
No, he can't. Why not? Not this season, but maybe
in the future. Who knows? We in three competitions,
aren't we? You can't win the Premier League.
Why not? It's unlikely. I agree with that. But
why not? But they're almost guaranteed two trophies.
Two bullshit trophies, bro. Okay, so if they
win the Champions League, are they still going
to be frauds? No. You're a fraud until you prove
otherwise. I was going to call him Jason. A League
Cup and a Champions League semifinals? It's also
a good season. How is that different to what
Guardiola did? What would have made Guardiola's
buy -in? Exceptional then. Because you're looking
at his Bayern team in a vacuum. Pep has won the
Champions League three other times. Yeah, but
I'm saying specifically at Bayern Munich. We
call the company a fraud, but he's outperforming
Pep at Bayern Munich. Outperforming? World football
was way stronger when... Not when Pep was in
the Bundesliga. I think so. No, I think when
Pep was in the Bundesliga was probably at its
easiest time. No, I'm saying world football.
I didn't say the Bundesliga. So, in that same
season, it was the MSN. They won the treble,
didn't they? Yeah, no, but I'm saying, hypothetically
speaking... That's why I'm saying it would have
been harder for Pep to win the Champions League
because... World football was harder. Yeah, but
at the same time, that's just an excuse, is it
not? How is it not? Okay, it is an excuse. It
is an excuse. But I'm saying it's a reason. Yeah,
so, like for me, if he's doing better in the
same circumstances than Guardiola, like Messi
and Ronaldo don't have to be there for him to
be outperforming any season that Guardiola had
at Bayern Munich, just off their domestic performances.
It's not like... Okay. What's the Bordeaux Glimpse
manager's name? I don't know. Okay. Whatever
their name is, they can also win the Champions
League. That means they're the greatest ever.
No, I didn't say that. I'm saying... You're saying
because Kompany may win the Champions League,
that means he should be held in this regard.
They play good football. I don't think their
football is bad. But you see what I'm saying.
I could also say, oh, Newcastle are still in
the Champions League. No, I don't see what you're
saying. I need you to explain how are they not...
Okay, let's take another... Okay, the only team
that's been better than them in the Champions
League so far is Arsenal. So which metric are
you using to say Bayern Munich have been average?
So when they win games, their performances don't...
They've scored the most goals in Europe this
season. You can say this because of the Bundesliga,
but they scored the most in the Champions League.
I'm saying when I've watched them, they've looked
average when they've won. That's all I'm trying
to get at. Yeah, but then, I mean, which team
hasn't looked average when they've won for you?
Arsenal and Bayern are the best teams statistically
in the world right now. And you say they both
look average. PSV aren't really the PSV of last
season. They might be peaking now. Barcelona
is also hypothetical. I believe they're the best
team in the world, but they still need to prove
it. I think we... There's not something we need
to debate. In about a few months, we'll see who
wins the Champions League and we'll all agree
that company is a fraud. And we'll all agree
that it won't be a Premier League team. Okay.
Leverkusen won, Arsenal won. So based on highlights,
this was an even match. Both teams had decent
chances to score. The Leverkusen goal came from
a corner and Robert Andres is unmarked at the
back post. And this is not what I would expect
from the best defence in the Premier League.
And I'm not saying that snarkily or ironically.
Arsenal are the best defence in the Premier League.
It's shocking that they conceded a goal like
that, unmarked. Yeah, it was a poor, maybe a
lapse in concentration. I think no one picked
up the marker, just like really. So I didn't
write it down, but I think it was just after
halftime. Yeah, it was. So perhaps they didn't
settle, they didn't... At least we didn't play
well at all. Like I think from the start of the
game till the end, I don't think... Like Arteta
made a few structural changes. I think... Zubamendi
was a little bit higher, which maybe trying to
get his passing, his line -breaking passes a
bit more up the field made a bit of a difference.
I think Declan Rice was deeper, but I think the
structure just wasn't the same. I think he was
trying to overcompensate for your carries too
much. I've given him his props in the last few
weeks, but I don't think he's the type of player
you have to build a system around, and I think
right now... At least in that one specific game,
it seemed like Oteta was trying to use his transitional
power above everything else. So I didn't really,
I didn't agree with Oteta's approach yesterday.
So I think Arsenal got a bullshit penalty. There
was contact on Maduweke, but not enough, in my
opinion, for him to fall in the manner that he
did. I mean, it's a game of margins, you know.
Arsenal are the team that we use the Marlins
the best, whether you think it's right or wrong,
but we do use them the most efficiently. Well,
it's definitely wrong to dive. It's definitely
wrong to your opinion, to your mind. All right,
fine. In my opinion, it's bad to dive. We have
the new Jose Mourinho. In my opinion, I'm happy
with that. Arteta's the villain of the Premier
League. I agree with that. He is the new Jose
Mourinho. Just everybody dreads playing him.
Which is strange. I mean, Pep Guardiola lost
his head completely yesterday in the press conference,
but no one brought that up. What did he say?
He was just... I mean, you should go look at
it for yourself. I think he was like... You could
see he was... He was touched. And I love him.
I love him, but... This is something if Klopp
or Arteta did, we wouldn't hear the end of it.
Yeah. So, Kai Havertz scored the penalty. Slaughtered
it away pretty well. And it's pretty funny how
respectful he was when he scored. Or when he
celebrated. In comparison to Chelsea. Yeah. Because
every time he plays Chelsea and scores against
them, he goes buck wild and celebrates. And,
yeah. I just wonder what they did to him over
there at Chelsea. I just hope he stays fit. For
me, personally, he's one of my favourite Arsenal
players as well. If we can get him back, I think
the dynamics of the front three improve a lot.
I did see one attack in the highlights that Jokre
has kind of slowed down the attack. The ball
is going to Martinelli. He picks it up and then
he passes to Martinelli. But at that point, the
defender had time to close down the angle. Martinelli
still got off a good shot. Martinelli played
decent. He's been very good in the Champions
League. He would have had a better shot if Jokers
had just let it go straight to him, I think.
Again, though, I would also say that we were
very sloppy, our structure. A lot of the reason
we were able to keep Leverkusen at bay again
was just Declan Rice's closing down, man. His
ability to read the game. I think he's having
a crazy season. He's probably carrying us more
than any player so far this season. I think we
could have even lost that game without him. He
made a lot of good interceptions, beat the press
a lot. I think the midfield was looking disjointed
whenever he misplaced the pass or did something
wrong. Yeah, I'm just thankful we have him right
now. Speaking... Okay, sorry. Are we done speaking
about this? Yeah. All right. PSG 5, Chelsea 2.
I heard that this was a decent match, but Chelsea
kind of collapsed in the last 10 minutes. So
it looks much worse than it actually was. It
was actually a very tight... Yeah, I heard that
Chelsea played actually well. However, it's done
now. So watching the highlights, PSG scored some
absolute stunners. I think that they are the
favourites for the tournament again. They're
the team that really impresses me every time
I watch them. I mean... Not a group of frauds.
I would say they've been inconsistent this season.
I've watched them a bit this season, so I wouldn't
say they've been as good as last season, but
they are peaking again. But I think with last
season, it was just the Champions League that
they weren't playing well in. They were kind
of like... They went on a crazy run in the league.
But it's the same thing about Bayern, right?
I don't care what they do in Liga. No, but I'm
saying right now, their form... is is is petri
in both i think they conceded a lot of chances
to chelsea so they did uh in the highlights for
chelsea's first goal there was just a huge gap
uh marlo gusto just walked in there and scored
there were like no pressure on him nothing because
there was such a huge gap i think like personally
i think Obviously, my favorites are Barcelona,
but the way I'm seeing the things we've seen
in the past in the Champions League, Real Madrid
would be my second favorites right now because
I think they're going to find a way to win in
the margins, which is what the Champions League
is all about. And it would be sad because then
people would start calling Arbelor a genius,
but I'm pretty sure they're going to be very
competitive for the rest of the season. Okay,
well, we're not even there yet, but I disagree.
Let's just finish off with this, right? So I
don't think PSG have the best defense, but their
attack is so stacked. So say it's the 80th minute,
and you've defended so well against, like, Bacola,
Douay, and Dembele, and then 10 minutes, I mean,
in that last 10 minutes, they bring on Farid
Skellier to run at you, and, like, who else do
they have? Who else do they have? Yeah, I don't
know. That's what I'm saying. Who else is a good
player for them? Oh, Douay. No, I mentioned Douay.
Oh, did you? Bacola. We'd have to go through
their options. I think it's... They have... Yeah,
okay. Whatever the case is... Oh, Ramos. Gonzalo
Ramos. Yeah, as for Chelsea, I don't know what
to say about them. I mean, I think they seem
to be a bit of the opposite of what they were
under Maresca in terms of... They're playing
well now, maybe even like similar football, but
I think they were very much a team for the big
occasion under Maresca, whereas now they've lost
three games to Arsenal and one to PSG. So I think
now they seem to have lost the big game magic
a bit, you know. I didn't watch this game, but
I heard Bodo Glimt were, again, very good on
the transition. tore Sporting apart. So congratulations
to them. I mean, we'll probably meet them in
the quarters. So I hope their run ends in the
next leg, but it's good to see them. If they
manage to get past us, if we get through as well,
then I would want them to win the Champions League
out of this for the story. So I neither watched
this nor watched the highlights because I could
not find the highlights package for this game.
It just seems like nobody cared about this, or
nobody cared to make a highlights package. But
apparently Bodo glimped up playing the best football
in Europe. That's what I'm hearing. I mean, they're
very, like, you can see that they're, at least
in the games I've watched, or from what my brothers
told me, because he's watched their games, they're
just very, like, efficient, I guess. They execute
their plans within a very small degree of anything
going wrong. So right now, it's like they're
having the perfect game. A bit like Inter Milan
last season, but how long can everything come
off? Are we done with this, or do you have anything
else to say? A good week for the La Liga teams,
as I think we discussed it before. Well, we're
not done yet. Oh, you mean for this game? Yeah.
Okay, yeah. Okay, Real Madrid 3, Man City 0.
And I'm totally the opposite of you. I think
Man City are going to go through to the next
round. I think they have them right where they
want them. 3 -0 down? Yes. Okay, they have them
right where they want them. Well, it's obviously
unfortunate the score, but they're not out of
reach. And Madrid have very poor defenders that
can be exploited. They've had that before and
won the Champions League. This is not the team
of 2018. That's what everybody keeps assuming.
But it's not just the team of 2018. There have
been many times where they've been completely
out of form in every other competition except
the Champions League. And they've still won it.
Again, in these moments, they had literal geniuses
at the wheel. I'm talking about Luka Modric,
Toni Kroos, right? And Carlo Ancelotti and Zidane.
Yeah, I mean, that's all hypothetical because...
The rest of the team, I'm not saying they didn't
matter, but like Benzema had extreme clutch,
like to the nth degree. Who does Madrid have
that has clutch like that? Maybe like Rodrigo?
Vinicius has clutch. Probably if he doesn't have
anything else, he has clutch. I don't know about
that. Mbappé has clutched, definitely. I think,
yeah, two World Cups, he's been the best player
in two World Cups. Sure. At the end of 24. No
Champions League, though. He'll get it. I'm pretty
sure he'll get it eventually, so... Okay. I just
don't think Madrid are as good as people think.
Same as... I don't think they're good at all,
but I think... They just got a freak result,
and now suddenly they're the favourites for the
Champions League, is it? No, I'm not saying...
They're the favorites based on anything football
-related. I'm saying they have the mentality,
and I think that's the most important thing in
the Champions League. And I disagree with that.
This is not the same team that did three in a
row. It doesn't have to be, though. Yeah, but
the players that had that mentality are no longer
there. Didn't you just say football's not as
good as it was? They don't have to have those
players to win right now. But I think you're
deliberately ignoring my point. I'm saying the
same players... that I hear don't, I'm not saying
their quality of play, I'm saying mentality.
Do you think Trent has the same mentality that
Carvajal had at the height of their performances?
Do you think Carreras has the mentality of Marcelo?
Do you think anybody in the team has the mentality
of Cristiano Ronaldo? Take that out of it. He's
a freak. Mentality -wise, they're not even close
to those teams. I think that's your opinion.
But I think Vinicius and Mbappe are two of the
biggest mentality players in the world. And I'm
saying based on one result. What about winning
1 -0 against Benfica and being the worst team
by far? Yeah, I mean, that's happened in the
past. Benfica are a much worse team. They lost
to AZ Alkmaar in the season they won the Champions
League. This is Real Madrid. As long as they're
in the game, they can win it in five minutes.
I think you're just looking at a name and being
lazy in your analysis. Sorry to say. Because,
just because they're... I agree that they're
not the Real Madrid of old. I'm just saying,
I think they can, as long as they stay in the
game, unless a team thrashes them. they can win
that game in the last 10 minutes, 100%. All right,
like I said, City are going through. It's pretty
clear in my mind. And is this the right time
to say that I didn't watch the match? I didn't
watch the match. You said City were going to
thump them in this game. And I didn't watch the
highlights because, once again, there wasn't
a highlights package available. So what am I
supposed to do? And I'm glad if Abelor, I don't
know if he followed my advice, but I did say
that Valverde needs to be closer to goal. He
could be good as a number 10. That's not the,
I mean, excuse me. Thank you, Abelor, for listening
to me. Okay. Now here's the rub. If you want
Trent to play as you assume he would play, he
needs Valverde to hold his hand. Valverde can't
get forward. Yeah, I don't think Valverde has
to be a right back. No, I'm not saying right
back. I'm saying he needs to be at the right
-hand side at midfield. He cannot get forward
because if he does get forward, that entire space
is left open. But I think they could just use
a different right winger. I think Valverde is
much better centrally. No, not winger. I'm saying...
So they're playing 4 -3 -3, right? Yeah. The
midfield three, the right -hand side and midfielder.
I don't think Valverde needs to hold his hand
as much as you think. Have you watched Trent
play this season? I don't need to watch him play.
I've watched him play over his whole career.
He's a dogshit defender. No, okay, let me take
that back. He is a dogshit defender, but it's
not that he's bad, which he is bad, but it's
also that he's lazy. Yeah, but I think you're
overanalyzing him a bit. Why is that? Because
I think he's the type of player that can create
chances. That's all Madrid needs. Has he even
made chances this season? He's been injured for
like most of the season. Yeah, but when he's
played, once again, I feel like you're basing
it off his name and reputation, not on what he's
done this season. No, I'm basing it off of how
I analyze coaching. I think players have to be
played into form. You have to look at, like you
can say, oh, okay, take this player out now.
Or below, whoever it is could be saying, we need
this player for the big moments, even if they're
not the best defensively. If it works out, if
Real Madrid beat Man City 3 -0, what can you
say? Well, what I've heard is they had three
Castillo boys playing. And the big name or the
big story of the night is that there's a guy
named Thiago Pitak who was very good. Now, I'm
not sure what position he plays or whatever he
did, but apparently he was very good in the game.
Yeah, I mean... You watch La Liga more than me,
so I'm sure you can speak to... Can you at least
tell me what position he plays? I don't know.
All right. Thanks to our La Liga correspondent.
I mean, I said I prefer La Liga, but I've kind
of admitted that I haven't watched much football
this year at all. Not just La Liga, Premier League,
anything. That's why I haven't made the last
few episodes as well. All right. But yeah, the
main story is Thiago Patak. He's the... Well,
a lot of Real Madrid fans are saying he should
be starting above whatever person is in his current
position. Let me check quick. But, I mean, at
the end of the day, I haven't watched much football,
bro. I just know La Liga tends to come out on
trumps when it comes to Champions League and
Europa League. I don't know why you're checking.
This is right here in front of me. Patak, he
was on the left -hand side of midfield. So the
midfield was Choumeny, Valverde on the right,
Patak on the left and Goulet in the 10. Yeah,
but I think the little bits of the game... I
mean, I did watch the game. I just didn't take
cognizance of the guy's name or whatever. But
from what I noticed, I think Goulet was playing
slightly deeper and Valverde was occupying the
higher positions in most of the game. I think...
mostly for his counter -pressing as well, I guess,
to put pressure on the Man City midfield, on
Rodri and the centre -halves. I've always thought
Valverde is one of the best players in the world.
Again, when you're asking me, is this Real Madrid
team having players of all... I think they have,
in a lot of positions, one of the two or three
best players in the world. But it's different
than... You know the team that did the three
-peat? It's not just that they had world -class
players. It's just they also had a certain magic
about them that you can't quantify. But not before
they first won. Before they won the first, before
they won La Decima, or not even because Modric
and Kroos weren't there for La Decima, but before
they won the first of the three -peat, they were
always being compared to Xavi and Iniesta, saying
that they would never be there. these are players
who aren't on that level and then they want everything
so i'm saying if they can break that once these
are some of the best players in the world easy
kamavinga with confidence too many with confidence
the squad's not as bad as everyone thinks it
is i just don't think they have the the guidance
you know i that can be argued i don't know much
about albaloa honestly but because what he's
done is kind of gear the team towards Mbappe
and Vinicius to an extent. They don't track back
at all. In the games that I've watched them,
the two games against Benfica and one La Liga
game that I watched, they don't track back. They
just play like in transition. But I mean, I think
he had Valverde leading the press yesterday,
so that showed some sort of adaptability on his
part. Maybe he's learning on the job. You never
know. Could be. Could be. Are we done here? Yeah.
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