Summary
ESPN FC analyzes Real Madrid's 2-1 Champions League loss to Bayern Munich, highlighting Bayern's superior passing and movement despite Real Madrid's dangerous counterattacking threat. The panel also discusses Arsenal's 1-0 win over Sporting, Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid, and PSG vs Liverpool, with extensive focus on Michael Olise's exceptional performance and defensive vulnerabilities in elite teams.
Insights
- Bayern Munich's technical superiority and possession dominance can be negated if they fail to maintain defensive discipline, as Real Madrid demonstrated dangerous counterattacking opportunities despite losing
- Michael Olise's exceptional ability to beat defenders one-on-one stems from his confidence, mentality, and willingness to commit fully to elite competition despite coming from Crystal Palace
- Elite teams' defensive vulnerabilities often stem from midfield and wide player positioning rather than center-back quality alone—protection systems must work collectively or individual defenders are exposed
- Champions League performance levels differ significantly from domestic league form, with Real Madrid and Arsenal showing higher intensity and tactical sharpness in European competition
- VAR decision-making inconsistency creates controversy when clear fouls (like the Olise penalty) are missed, undermining referee credibility and match integrity
Trends
Elite wide players increasingly require double-team defensive coverage; single defender marking is insufficient against top-tier talentMentality and confidence are separating factors for young players transitioning from mid-table clubs to elite European teamsChampions League knockout football rewards teams with clinical finishing and defensive solidity over possession-based dominance aloneVAR intervention decisions appear inconsistent between clear-cut fouls and subjective challenges, creating perception of biasDefensive transition speed and organization matter more than individual defender quality in modern elite footballTactical flexibility and game management (knowing when to press vs. defend) differentiate elite managers from good onesYoung French attacking talent (Mbappé, Olise, Dembelé) creating selection dilemmas for national team coachesInjury management and squad rotation impact Champions League performance more than domestic league results
Topics
Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid Champions League tactical analysisMichael Olise defensive matchup analysis and player developmentVAR decision-making consistency in European footballDefensive positioning and midfield protection systemsChampions League vs domestic league performance varianceArsenal's defensive approach and tactical effectivenessBarcelona vs Atlético Madrid knockout football dynamicsPSG vs Liverpool Champions League preview and predictionsFrench national team forward selection and squad compositionGoalkeeper distribution and sweeper-keeper role in modern footballHigh defensive line vulnerabilities in elite teamsPlayer mentality and confidence in elite competitionTactical adjustments for second-leg Champions League matchesInjury impact on squad depth and tactical optionsRefereeing standards and disciplinary consistency
Companies
HSBC
Sponsor providing wealth management services; featured in pre-roll advertisement about financial planning and opportu...
ESPN
Host network for ESPN FC podcast and ESPN+ streaming service for live sports coverage
Crystal Palace
Michael Olise's former club; discussed as example of mid-table team from which elite talent can emerge
Bayern Munich
Primary focus team; analyzed for technical excellence, possession dominance, and defensive vulnerabilities in Champio...
Real Madrid
Primary focus team; analyzed for counterattacking threat, Champions League mentality, and domestic league struggles
Arsenal
Discussed for 1-0 Champions League win over Sporting and tactical approach compared to Bayern Munich's style
Liverpool
Analyzed for defensive vulnerabilities and poor form ahead of PSG Champions League match
Paris Saint-Germain
Previewed as strong favorite against Liverpool in Champions League round of 16
Barcelona
Discussed for upcoming Champions League match against Atlético Madrid and tactical approach
Atlético Madrid
Analyzed for Copa del Rey performance and Champions League prospects against Barcelona
Manchester City
Referenced for defensive vulnerabilities and comparison to Bayern Munich's tactical approach
Chelsea
Mentioned regarding manager's unconventional training methods and comparison to Arsenal's techniques
People
Dan Thomas
Primary host of ESPN FC podcast episode analyzing Champions League matches
Craig Burley
Provides tactical analysis of Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid, emphasizing Bayern's superior passing and movement
Ali Moreno
Analyzes Michael Olise's exceptional performance and defensive vulnerabilities in elite teams
Frank LeBerth
Guest analyst providing tactical insights on Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and French national team selection
Michael Olise
Primary focus of player analysis; praised for exceptional dribbling, confidence, and mentality in elite competition
Harry Kane
Scored Bayern's second goal; analyzed as returning from injury with quiet overall performance
Luis Díaz
Scored Bayern's opening goal; noted as underperforming despite excellent combination play
Kylian Mbappé
Analyzed for pace and counterattacking threat; discussed as part of French national team selection dilemma
Álvaro Carreras
Identified as defensive mismatch against Olise; analyzed as vulnerable left-back requiring midfield protection
Manuel Neuer
Praised for crucial saves; criticized for poor ball distribution in first half
Vinícius Júnior
Analyzed as dangerous counterattacking threat alongside Mbappé
Kai Havertz
Scored Arsenal's 1-0 goal against Sporting in Champions League
Mikel Arteta
Discussed for unconventional training methods involving pen-holding exercises
Diego Simeone
Analyzed for prioritizing Champions League over domestic cup competition in substitution decisions
Didier Drogba
Referenced in discussion of player retirement announcements and career transitions
Gareth Bale
Referenced in discussion of Aaron Ramsey's career and comeback from serious injury
Aaron Ramsey
Discussed for recent retirement announcement and career impact of 2010 compound fracture injury
Mariso Pochettino
Mentioned regarding Patrick Ayaman's injury impact on World Cup squad planning
Quotes
"Bayern Munich's football was outstanding. The way they passed it, the way they moved. And it was almost too easy in the end to try to score that perfect goal."
Craig Burley
"Michael Olise, he plays as if he's working up for the game. That in his mind, everything is so slow, and yet he's just gliding past people. He makes it look so easy and comfortable."
Ali Moreno
"Michael Olise is a quiet guy, unassuming guy, but you put the ball in his feet and he is a killer. He is a guy that is going to go out, people have very good sense and instinct about the game."
Craig Burley
"Bayern Munich can be better. That's the scary news for Real Madrid. There is better for Bayern Munich."
Ali Moreno
"It's a clear penalty. Carreras doesn't play the ball, and Olysees is very clever, putting himself between the ball and Carreras. And there's a push from behind."
Frank LeBerth
Full Transcript
Please stand clear of the gap. Another morning, another reminder there's a gap to be careful of. But maybe it's time to bridge the one between your 9-5 and your dream of living life on your own terms. At HSBC, we know ambition looks different to everyone. Whether it's retiring early or leaving more for your family, we can help. Because when it comes to unlocking your money's potential, we know wealth. Search HSBC Wealth Today, HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. HSBC UK current account holders only. HSBC UK current account holders only. Welcome to the latest edition of ESPNFC. I'm Dan Thomas joined by Craig Burley and Ali Moreno will kick things off in the Spanish capital. Real Madrid in action against Bayern. Bayern would kind of dominate the opening exchanges of this game. But it would take until the 41st minute for them to make the breakthrough lovely into play in midfield with C.D.A.S. to get the opener. And then pretty much straight from the kickoff in the second half, Harry Kane would make it 2-0 to Bayern Munich. Some controversy, we would see Jonathan Tau with a challenge on killing in Batte. Arbaloa after the game said he felt it should have been a red. In fact, it was just a yellow. More on that later. And plus late on, Bayern felt they should have had a penalty for a push on in Lise. In between all of that, Real Madrid would get one back, killing in Batte with the goal. Couple of great sayings from Neuer. Really good game as they would finish Bayern Munich 2, Real Madrid 1. Welcome in, Frank LeBerth for the show. Craig, this was fun, wasn't it? Great game. This was brilliant. Bayern Munich, I mean, Real Madrid did more than enough to suggest there's going to be one dangerous animal in Munich. However, Bayern Munich's football, their football was outstanding. The way they passed it, the way they moved. And it was almost too easy in the end to try to score that perfect goal, which made them back in Haughton. But their football was terrific. I don't think Carreras is going to have a post-Dream, Michael Alissi, in his bedroom, because he had a getting my torrid time. But Real Madrid's pace up front, you know, that pace of Mbappe in behind and Veneetzi is in behind, it's always going to be a danger in their way leg. But I was super, super impressed by the way Bayern Munich stroked the ball around. Really impressive. And as good as Bayern Munich was, I can tell you that this wasn't their best performance. They have been better than this, this season. And part of the evidence of that is Luis Diaz, who scores a great goal in the combination, was not very good over the course of 90 minutes. Harry Kane, noticeably coming back from injury and while he scores a great goal, was quiet for most of the game. And you start thinking about players for Bayern Munich that, yeah, they did a lot of good things, in the case of Manuel Neuer. But also he was very poor in the distribution of the ball. The ball over in the first half, Pablo Iglesias turning the ball over as well. And it seems like I'm nitpicking here but and I'm guessing that some of the Bayern Munich fans would say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, we went to Santiago Bernabeu and won the game to one. What I'm telling you is that your team can be better than this. As good as they may have been and as impressive as they may have been, there have been better versions of this of Bayern Munich. That's the scary news for Real Madrid. Yeah, there's something to be said about Real Madrid and what they can do in counterattack opportunities because of the individual talent. But when Bayern Munich are able to connect like they did for the Luis Díaz goal, they're unstoppable. When they get going and you get that combination play that Craig's talking about, then this is a team that are so difficult to stop. And we thought the mismatch was going to be Luis Díaz against René Alexander Arnault. Yeah, at times it was. The real mismatch was Michael Ulisse against Álvaro Carreras. And that's not going away. That mismatch is going to be available to Bayern Munich. So while I'm telling you that Bayern Munich can be better, that's the good news for Bayern Munich fans. There is better for Bayern Munich. That's scary for Real Madrid. We've rarely seen this version of Real Madrid. It's far from perfect. But it was an exciting version tonight. One, it didn't boss the game. But it was exciting. It was defense to attack pretty quickly. It transitioned quickly. And the game was so open in the second half and that suited Real Madrid to an extent. And this is a side that lost to Mallorca at the weekend. This is a side that has struggled. It's off the pace in La Liga. And yet people keep talking about this Champions League energy. But why? Why is this not there on a weekly basis? Because they had 20 efforts at goal. They made Manuel Neuer, we would probably talk about Manuel Neuer making more important saves than Linen. Although Bayern Munich bossed the game. But they had some big chances. And he had to come up big time on several occasions. So you have to ask yourself, where's this version of Real Madrid more often? It can't just be the energy of the Champions League. So they turned up. It's probably as good as they can play. Real Madrid that is. Which makes the game alive and kicking for Bayern Munich. But as Ali said, Bayern Munich can play better. I love the way they played. And for me, it's the exact same story book as Man City. They will outplay Real Madrid. They will pass it better than Real Madrid. But they have to lock the back door. City did not and they went out. And Real Madrid showed tonight that if Bayern Munich don't lock that door properly and sensibly in Munich, they could go out and try to find a pathway a month or two ago for Real Madrid possibly going to a semi in a final was difficult. And it is a mountain to climb. But they showed enough in this game today going forward that they can cause problems, particularly away from home and Bayern Munich are squeezing the game. Frank? Well, I'll be very critical to Real Madrid. I think after 10 minutes could have been 2-0 for Bayern Munich. If Leimers scored the chance that he had, that same chance that Kane had second half on his court. And of course, Supermecano. It could have been 4-0. Yes, it's like Real Madrid had chances. But because Bayern Munich allowed them to be alive, that's what I felt. At 2-0, they stopped playing, got a little bit sloppy. Supermecano made a mistake, they opened up a little bit. Fortunately for them, Neuer was at his base, still at 40 years old. But it's only because Bayern Munich for me allowed them to have some chances, to Real Madrid to have some chances, that Real Madrid is still there. And yes, I agree with Craig. That's dangerous, because you never know what can happen in Champions League with Real Madrid. It's exactly what I've seen, when they won against City, Chelsea, Paris and Germain and won the Champions League, whenever, and nobody would have expected that. So Bayern Munich would love to learn how to finish a game, to score more goals. And yes, I was impressed with Bayern Munich when they wanted to go forward, when they wanted to deal the game and to dominate the game. But they got a little bit sloppy and I'm concerned about that, because yes, Real Madrid will be away from home, but it's still alive. Maybe Carreras, maybe Neesdae. I don't know, maybe a little bit with the flow for the away leg or something. Michael Alessi, holy smokes. He just keeps getting beat. He is one of the best players in the world. Absolutely. There's no question about it. What do you do as a French national team manager? Do you try and shoot home, D'Nbelli, Alessi, I'm missing somebody here. In Bapé. Yeah, I can take him, you're the token of my heart. We're trying to shoot home all these players. Bacola, Dewey. You know, what do you do? It's all very well-sane. Well, you just get them all in the team and then you work it out. It's not as simple as that for the balance, but D'Nbelli will want to play wide on one side and then Bapé might want to play through the middle, but he's so good and he's getting better every time you see him. I mean, he walks past almost every player that come out. It didn't matter if it was Karris, it didn't matter if it was Rudiker, it didn't matter if it was Hoisin. If they didn't double up on him, they were screwed. If he got somebody one-on-one, it doesn't matter who it is, it didn't matter who it was, he was either dropping the shoulder and going on his right foot or he was coming in on the left and playing a ball in. So it's very difficult to defend because he's got that ability, he's got the pace, he's got the trickery and he's got this great skill set that not all wide players have, he can go both ways. Some are pretty predictable in which way they go. Michael Ali says he can drop the shoulder and he can take a defender on anyway, and from a defensive aspect, that's the most difficult part of the game to defend. And this is no surprise to you, obviously, you see him in the Bundesliga week-in, week-out, Ali. And he plays like he's having fun, which is kind of rare in this world. Well, actually, I would say that he plays as if he's working up for the game. That in his mind, everything is so slow, and yet he's just gliding past people. He makes it look so easy and comfortable. I don't think Michael Alisa knows how good Michael Alisa is. He comes across as very unassuming. Yeah. Sort of like the game is going... He's talking about humble Frenchman, Ali. Well, I know that's hard to figure out and that's hard to imagine, but Michael Alisa is a quiet guy, unassuming guy, but you put the ball in his feet and he is a killer. He is a guy that is going to go out, people have very good sense and instinct about the game, and none of it comes naturally. None of what he does looks rushed. Everything looks done at the pace that he wants it to happen. Not that the defender is affecting him, not that the incoming midfielder is affecting him. He is making the decisions. He is in full control of all his abilities, and quite frankly, when you watch him play like this, I can't help but have the comparison with, well, who's better? Lamin or Michael Alisa right now. They are both playing at a high level. Michael Alisa is making it look easy. Do you know what is almost equally as impressive is the mindset, the mentality. You know, we talked about Luz Diaz a little bit. He goes from Liverpool to Bayern Munich. Two elite clubs. But Michael Alisa, with all respect, he is in the Crystal Palace dressing room with Adam Wharton and Mateta, and, you know, and riches the American. He is struggling to name any other Palace players. Yeah, I am. Jefferson Lerber, I have got a few. Number six. And all of a sudden, all of a sudden, you go from that club that generally is fighting relegation, a sort of mid-table, but it hasn't really got this big-time winning mentality. I know they had a great success last season. But he goes from this dressing room to the aura of the Bayern Munich dressing room, and yet it seems that he's never flinched. From day one. From day one, he's walked, I think that's a big step, walking out of that training ground into that training ground. So that tells you that his mentality is that he was ready for that move. He was good enough for that move, and he was confident enough to walk into that dressing room and basically take the ball and run with it. And, you know, that's not just talent. That's a mindset that in his head, he knows he belongs in that stage. And I think that's why we're seeing the type of performances that we're seeing from Michael and Lissie. Frank, what are they saying in France about him? Well, that is right now simply one of the best players in the world, if he's not, and we are lucky and fortunate that he has picked us, you know, because you know that he could have been English if he wanted to, and that's just a threat. I'm very sorry Dan about that, but that's a real threat. You have Saka, so that's not too bad as well. But when you watch him, and it's what French people say, it's like everything is thoughtful. He doesn't do it randomly. He doesn't run there for nothing. He knows exactly, and they should have time on the French TV how upset he was when he was doing runs and not receiving the ball as a leader. He was yelling at everybody, shouting to them, saying, give me the ball, I know, and Craig is right. He exactly knows, and Ali too, sorry, what he wants to do, and how strong he is right now, and then touchable he is. And everything he does on top of it is classy. The guy is beautiful to watch. That's amazing to see the class that he has, it's very thin, and he goes, he eats the pace, and he comes back. Everything seems to be easy. Yes, you have La Minhama like that, and who's the best? I don't know. It depends also on your teammates, but those two guys, amazing. Réal Madrid, we talked about them, they're going to be dangerous away from home, and that's got to be the talk in the dressing room for Vincent Company. But the way Bayer knock it around, and the players they've got, and the players that they can bring on, you've got to fast them to create a mountain of opportunities. The problem is, if at home, and the crowd is pushing you, you're creating these opportunities, and you're out passing your opposition, but if you're not taking them, and they could have killed this game at times today or tonight, but if you're not taking those opportunities, then you're leaving that problem that, when the ball gets cuffed up, those two are going to just run in behind. And I think that is the worry for Bayern Munich, is that they have to be clinical. I mean, it's a game for K, and he's been out injured. He was OK, he wasn't quite at his best, but he's been out. His possession on play is still very good, and obviously his finish was brilliant, so he'll get some more days under his belt, but they have to make sure they're killing Réal Madrid off when they've got good possession, otherwise they will get punished. OK, a couple of housekeeping bits. Arbolau wants a red card. Arbolau wants a red card for Jonathan Tarr's challenge on cleaning Bapé, which of course a yellow has given for. And yellow was fine. Right. You can make the argument, if you're Arbolau, that it should have been a red. I look, Tarr is late. It's a silly foul to begin with from Jonathan Tarr, but I don't think it's enough for a red card. Is there anything else that you want to ask me in terms of a housekeeping bit? No, I will ask Frank though with the same question. Frank, it is high. Well, yes, a bit high, but I think he wants to change his direction because he wants to follow Kylian and Bapé, so he definitely doesn't do it on purpose. And because Kylian gets up and he's not injured, for me a yellow card is fair. Had Kylian gone out, it would have been a different story, I think, but he's OK, no injury. I think a yellow card is fine. I think the referee deemed it. We were all OK with a yellow at the time. It actually looks a little worse when you slow it down like that, but I think Michael Oliver deemed that it wasn't intentional. I think had it been deemed as intentional, he would have probably got a red. I think he felt that it was in Bapé's pace and spinning away, and it was more clumsy than anything else. So, kind of bored the line, but OK with a yellow. Frank, what did you make of the late challenge, which kind of got... No one spoke about it because it was right at the end of the game, where the penalty could have been awarded for the push that we saw. Yeah, it's a penalty for me. It's a clear penalty. Carrera doesn't play the ball, and Olysees is very clever, putting himself between the ball and Carrera's. And, yeah, there's a push from behind, yeah. With the... I don't even know how the VAR didn't say anything to the ref. I mean, that's insane, because that's a real push. It doesn't on purpose. We haven't seen Rick. Can we just show the game? There's no offside here, is there? Can we just show that initial ball over the top again? Like, when it's played in here and there? No, it's not a penalty. I actually... It's not even closed yet. No, I was just saying, I'm trying to work out why they didn't go. I actually think, and I don't know what everybody else thinks, I think this is one of the clearest penalties you'll see, or should have been. There's nothing really subjective here, in my opinion, anyway. That one subjective bit could have been, was it shoulder? But it wasn't. The replay clearly shows it was straight into the middle of the back, and Alessi had a gold-scoring opportunity, and Carreras made no play for the ball whatsoever. The commentators over here, as you know, were waffling, and never even waffling away about something nobody cared about, and nobody even talked about it. But the VAR booth had to be looking at that, and for me, honestly, I thought it was a click. They'd already gone out. Well, and the other thing I would say, usually, when you have an attacking player in that position, that is anticipating a contact, you would begin to go down, knowing full well that as the contact is coming, then you're selling a call. In the case of Alissa, he was not interested in drawing a penalty. He was just bringing the ball down himself, not letting himself go, not doing something that, say, for example, Vinny Jr. would do, is like, you feel that contact, and you start going down. In the case of Alissa, eyes on the ball, he's concentrating on bringing the ball down, and as soon as he feels the push from behind, clearly he goes down because he has been impeded by Carreras. For me, clearly a penalty. Right then, percent is chance, then, of buying going through, Frank. Oh. I give 75 for Bayern 25. Wow, look at the bookies. 70. Mine is 900. I'm 70%. There's still a little bit in there with Real Madrid. 70%. 70%. 70%. 70% for Flue. So this is about 85%, 15%. Well, I'll go that. 85% Bayern Munich, 15% Real Madrid. And I'll just go back to something that was mentioned earlier, and the mindset, or say, for example, Michael Lissi. And the difference between mindset of Real Madrid this past weekend against Mallorca and what we see in Champions League. Today, you saw Kylian Mbappe with a sliding challenge in the 14th minute, and all of Santiago Bernabéu were going crazy. You then saw the same Kylian Mbappe chasing a player down defensively in the second half. So you see that he's capable of doing it, much like the rest of Real Madrid. They're capable of having performances in Champions League. And I agree. This was as good as we have seen Real Madrid play, as well as they have played in this sort of moment, in this sort of event, at least this season. And still, that's not enough to beat Bayern Munich at home. So you take that to the Alianna and Serena. I think Bayern Munich can be better. I think the second leg won't even be close. Still, no Vincent Kupnick quote on the penalty. Oh, we got an arbalo up for the sake of balance. We got our, how come we got our balo? I don't know, I don't know who's talking where. Something needs to scurry around in the background. We'll go back to you. No, we won't. Just a reminder, La Liga continues this weekend. Real Madrid against Girona, Barcelona against Espanol, in the Catalan derby, those games live, of course, on ESPN+. Hey, are you having fun? He's got a shot on my knee. Did you take how I got shot? Brian Pada, senior defensive lineman for Miami. Gunned down. The key to this case, it's Brian. Boy, he's ripped. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody. This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction game, play some of your rest. We had a killer amongst us. Murder at the U, listen now. Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN, unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional cost. Visit activate.espn.com to learn how to access your account, or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. So all the ESPN, all in one place. Sign up or activate now. In contrast to the game in Spain, sporting at Arsenal wasn't quite as entertaining. Both sides would hit the crossfire in the first half. It looked like it was going to finish 0-0, but in the end, a Kai Havertz finish would see Arsenal get a big 1-0 lead to take back to North London. Listen, like everybody else on the planet, apart from Arsenal fans, and sporting fans, I was watching the other game. But result wise, you take that. No matter who the opposition is, Champions League, Codified, you get 1-0 lead to take back home next week. Yeah, and look, sporting are one of the weaker sides left, if not the weakest, so maybe Liverpool are part, because they've been struggling. Arsenal haven't been great recently, and we know that out the FA Cup. They've been rather boring, lost the Carribo Cup final, didn't play well, didn't look like the greatest of games, but I would imagine they're going to be home and dried at 1-0, barring a disaster. But yeah, they're going to have to up their game though. If they go through against sporting, which they should, and get to the semi-finals, if they don't up their game... Oh, let's hope it's not Athlety. Answer Athlety, but don't let... Did you see the open game we saw tonight at Reamadrid Bayern? At the moment Arsenal, whilst they have everybody's talking about the squad, and blah blah, they're probably going to win the Premier League, although they might cough up a few points. That level that Bayern got to and Reamadrid got to today, and they can get better. I don't think Arsenal... I've got to really flick that switch again to get to that level. The Arsenal one today, we can't be negative about Arsenal, beating starting in the Champions League. I'm not being negative about it. They're negative. I'm being... Well, I'll be honest with you, is anybody surprised that Arsenal are winning 1-0 away, one of the weakest teams left? That's all I'm saying. Bigger picture, they have to find the extra gears that they had at the beginning of the season, and they're not going to win this competition. So I'm not negative. I'm just... I'm giving you how it is. It's a real contrast when you watch Reamadrid Bayern Munich here, and then you have Sporting Arsenal here. And they're right in front of us, and we're watching it, and it's kind of like, yeah, these guys are playing a different sport altogether. Over here, it's exciting. It's back and forth, it's open, and there's opportunities, there's goals. Here, it's just so deliberate, and so slow, and so predictable, and it's cumbersome. Negative. It is. More negativity. No, I... This is... I'm merely reporting the news, guys. I almost put a blanket over that game. I'm merely reporting the news. I was going to put a blanket over the screen where that game was. But, Frank, Arsenal fans won't care what these two say, will they? Well, of course not. Nor should they. Of course, of course, because... Well, they have what they can expect from the players. I mean, we have seen Arsenal lately, and even before that, we know how they play. And yeah, when a neutral point of view, it's boring, but it's effective. And tactically, they've done what they did, and what they had to do, and nothing to complain about. And the only time they paced up, with Martin Ali, they found the net. So, yeah, one nail away from home, quite a final of the Champions League. Congratulations to Arsenal. It's not nice to watch, but it is what it is. And don't forget that Arsenal beat Bayern Munich during the group stages stuff. Yeah, but that was when Arsenal were playing. That was when Arsenal, Frank, were playing a bit of free-flowing football, which we know they can do. They were really pressing teams at the Emirates. They were going out from the get-go, and they were 100mph, and they were throttling the life out of teams. And then they were passing, Saka was on form, Odegard was on form, as he was coming in and doing a job. All those things have gone. You talk about dull and boring, and sort of making it a gritty, and grinding performances to get results. Well, that didn't work. Man City and the Carribo Cup final. They tried that approach, and City took the pants down. So, I just think they're going to have to find a different game. So, okay, grinding it out against Sporting. I don't think they're going to be able to grind it out against the likes of Bayern. Because I think if you give teams like Bayern that amount of possession, they'll cut you open. So, I do feel they'll have to get the players fit again, Arsenal that is, and back on form. Otherwise, the semis are going to be a big problem. Just one last thing, we were on Arsenal. We discussed this yesterday, of course, some quite unique training techniques we saw from Miquel Artheta's side. This is... What water? Everybody's holding a pen, and then moving the ball together. Artheta didn't go into much details about what this was about. They're respecting the ball. There is respecting the ball. I'm just wondering if you've seen anything like this before. This is what the Chelsea manager can do. I can do better. Right, this is out-rasenying, rasen't it? Yeah, this is out doing the Chelsea manager. This is just... I can only imagine the ridicule in the dressing room. I mean, maybe this is what we were saying. Are the Chelsea players talking about the Chelsea manager, and are the Arsenal players talking about the IHOL? I hope so, if they have any personality about them. Because if they're not, they're just dead from the feet off. Stevie didn't have a problem with this yesterday, by the way. He said you just lost two games, you're looking to lighten things up in training, do something like this. What, we're not about... That man. Honestly. That man falls out of bed. If he falls on the left side, you don't know what you're going to get. If he falls on the right side, he changes... It's bonkers. Frank, try it. I think... Now, the thing is, I imagine, regularly, Jean-Luc Cavialy asking us to do that at our time. And I say, well, are you drunk? Are you out of your mind? What are you trying to do? They are hidden cameras, you know, to make us stupid or what. Doesn't make any sense. Yeah, I would be, as Craig said, in the dressing room, with all the players, saying, what the hell is the guy trying to do? Come on, come on. You want to hold this pen? This is going to change the way we're going to play. Perfect. You want to hold it together. That's all that's here. Remember when Joseph Engloss... You've got to pick yourself up. Yeah, no, good. I'm not getting involved with that. I remember when Joseph Engloss came in to Celtic, he was a very experienced Czech Republic manager. In training, he used to say, right, boys, one for 15 seconds, but hold your breath. Wow. And we were all like... When do you hold your breath? For the 15 seconds. No, I said to all the boys, did you hold your breath? We're like, no. You stupid. I'll still one, but they're very negative. I'm sure there'll be a lot more positive on the Gabbard Jules podcast. That drops on Thursday. Jules very much pulls with his awesome hat on. I'm going to get rid of this cough. There's no one like you, and there never will be. From the producer Bohemian Rhapsody... And the director of Training Day... May you let your light shine... This April... With a greatest of all time... There are many legends... But there is only one... Michael in IMAX and cinemas Wednesday, April 22. 9-1-1, where is the emergency? It's the middle of the night in a small town on the Jersey Shore. Someone reports an abandoned car on a bridge. A search gets underway for the missing driver, 19-year-old Sarah Stern. Is it a missing person? Is it a suicide? At this point, nobody knows. Old friendships, buried cash, and a sinister plot that was once pitched as a movie plays out in real life. I'm Juju Chang. From 2020 and ABC Audio, listen now to Bridge of Lies, wherever you get your podcasts. Right then, we discussed this at the weekend and it was divided, wasn't it? Ali and Stevie thought that this was right. The red card should have been rescinded. Meanwhile, Shaka and Frank said no. It is a red card. Well, the Spanish Referring Committee came out today and they agree with Shaka and Frank. They said this was a mistake. This shouldn't have been turned. It is a serious foul play, regardless of who touches the ball first. The correct disciplinary sanction should be a red card. The CTA considers that the VAR should not have intervened as the correct decision was made by the referee on the pitch. The referee should have stuck with his initial decision. Ali, they've gone against you. Absolutely, they have. And I suppose they think they're right. I think they're wrong. And I would go back to my initial assessment and that is it's a natural movement of the leg. It's not a follow-through up high. It's a follow-through down low. That again, it's a natural movement of the leg when you're coming in for a challenge. The other thing that I would say is that we're punishing the guy who's willing to go into a 50-50 challenge while we are actually trying to somehow reward the guy that got there late. So, look, he did not go over the top of the ball. He goes through the ball in what is a natural movement down low. It just so happens that Armada's leg was right there. And I'm not quite sure as to what you're supposed to do if you're Gerard Martín with your leg once you touch the ball. Do you cut it off so that it doesn't touch Armada? I don't think so. I don't think it's a... I don't think it's a... When you look at the movement of Gerard Martín, I don't think there's any sort of intent to do what ends up happening. And I know that that's not an excuse and that's not in the loss, but to me it's a natural movement of the game. I was surprised at the time that Vaard did get involved, because I did think it was a red. But I felt that... And I've seen this before with players, I felt that Gerard Martín left his leg in there after playing the ball. And you saw the slow-mo, which sometimes usually makes it worse. But it then turned into almost an ankle-breaking challenge. And there is something about momentum, but I do feel... I felt the referee made a really good initial decision. And then... See, I just feel he leaves the leg in there. Yeah. I don't... I think they got that wrong. And Frank, you haven't changed your mind, obviously. No, of course not. Of course not. For me, it doesn't matter if he's just played the ball and now he plays the ball. The other player, the Madrid player, I don't know who he was, he was against the ball. And yes, there is an action where, at a certain point, if you go over what you have to go, where you have to go, you have to be punished for that. And it's only the result of it. Of course Martín doesn't want to injure anybody. He just wants to kick the ball away. But it doesn't matter. Remember, I'd say that at the last show with Stevie. When Griezmann tried to get the ball, and he was very high with his foot, and he hit the head of the player. He was red-carded. No way he wanted to break the head of the player. It's just what happened. It's just the result of the action. And the result of the action, if it's too much, has to be punished. And it could have been crazy. It could have broken his leg. I mean, yeah. I mean, that's why I still think that's a red card. The thing that I can be convinced about, and we can have discussion, is, look, once you've given the red card, there is not enough evidence there to make that unclear and obvious error. And so therefore, that's why VAR perhaps doesn't get involved. That's part of a conversation that I can have. In terms of the play of the ball, honestly, I still believe that it's a natural movement. And I don't think it should have been a red card to begin with. Well, the two will, of course, go up against each other again on Wednesday, this time in Catalonia. Everyone's going for a Barcelona victory with a section of Frank. You think it's going to be a cut? We've all gone for 3-1. Oh, wow. That's exciting. Yeah. Does that make you feel good? Well, yeah. Oh, it makes you feel like I want to change. Frank, you've gone for a draw. Why? I don't know. I think it can be because we know with the high line with Barcelona, I want to think that maybe they're going to make an error, a mistake, and Atleti will take the opportunity to maybe score a goal. I have no doubt that Barcelona is going to go through because of the second leg. You know, Atleti will have to open up and it's going to be maybe even a disaster for Atleti. But I want to give those suspense. And I think it's possible with the way I see Barcelona playing at home, I think it's possible to have a surprise. Who was the left back that screwed up in the game, got sent off eventually? Ah, that's Nico Gonzalez, who's not a left back. Yeah. He sent me only left him out there to drive, and he hung him. Yes. So he can't make those kind of mistakes again. So it was an entertaining game, that actually. But obviously they went down to 10 men, so that made it more of a backs against the wall in the second half. But you just feel over the two games, although they did do it in the Copa del Rey, Atletico Madrid, that I don't see them doing it over the two legs in the Champions League. And the difference here is that the first game is indeed at the cap now. Yes. Which is the difference in the Copa del Rey, obviously. Yes. Where in that first Copa del Rey match, then it's for nothing at halftime, and you were thinking, my goodness, could this happen again? Well, Barcelona at home, and more importantly, Atletico Madrid away from home, is a different personality altogether. Now, I do think that Diego Cimeone was encouraged by his team performance over the weekend. Underreported, I think, but Diego Cimeone actually, subliminally so, conceded the match to Barcelona when the red card happened. Because there were substitutions to be made. Juliana Alvarez was sitting there, Lukman was sitting there, and he's like, no, I'm saving this guy for Champions League. So I'm going to put in Taufiq, and Morcillo, and you're like, who is this guy, and who's that guy, and who started, well, that's Oved Vargas, and you're, hold on, Cimeone, obviously, obviously prioritizing Champions League. I think he would have been encouraged from what he saw from his team, and had Antoine Griezmann had a better night finishing, this game could have been to nothing within the first 15, 20 minutes. He didn't, it wasn't, and now you have to go to come now and try to recreate some sort of performance. I don't think Atletico Madrid has the personality to do so away from home. That's why I'm giving it 3-1 for Barcelona. PSG are playing Liverpool, meanwhile. Here's everybody's predictions. I'm wondering what they're going to say. Okay. Oh, there we are. Frank's gone for four, Craig's gone for three, I've gone for three, I've got Liverpool getting one, Ali's gone for two. PSG, so I don't really want to preview this game. Why don't we get Don on? Don on, who says that the only one that's on the slot is going to keep his job, because they're going to win the Champions League. I mean, it's hard to... It just is. Unless PSG have a shocker. Yes. Yeah. Over 108 minutes, and I mean a shocker. It's hard to put forward an argument how this shambolic Liverpool side with a manager that seems hanging by a thread, a defence that is all over the place, a midfield that just can't operate like it did last year, a front line with a completely out of form Mo Salah, a passenger, might even be dropped for this game. Who knows? If there's extra bodies, I don't know what the injury count is. Who really in their right mind could put up an argument for Liverpool? I just can't. Yeah. Who's more likely, I think the question to ask is, who's more likely to have a shocker? If we're expecting that the only way that Liverpool advances PSG having a shocker, then who's more likely to have a shocker between these two teams? Without argument, it has to be Liverpool. I think... I'm not saying managers and fans will accept defeat, and I'm not saying they're already accepting it before the game start, but in some sense a family slot gets out of this. And I think they're going to lose, but if they're losing a manner that's... If losing can be acceptable, I think this is where Liverpool are. I think that's something to at least get them to the next stage, possibly. The worry, I think, for a family slot is this could get really messy. Yeah. I mean... Especially after City. I mean, it could... It might not. Yeah. It might not, but it could get really messy, and that, I think, could probably spell the end for him. So if they lose, which I think most people think, but lose with some competitive edge to the game, and it's quite narrow, maybe not a massive issue for them, but a heavy defeat, heavy, heavy, which I think could happen, I think he's gone. Last word to you, Frank. Well, I believe in miracles. I love miracles, but I would be very surprised to see a miracle. I mean, as the guy said, that's not even a surprise that we all predicted a big win from Paris Saint-Germain. And when I saw Van Dijk the last game, not following the guy behind him, when I see Slobodzaj and the Fosgole not following the guy, and that's what's going to happen with Duit, Barcola, Dembilly, and others. So I can't imagine that he can solve the problems, and it's too much. And I'm going to see... I'm expecting to see a shocker. Yeah. Okay. Thank you very much. We'll, of course, be back on the next edition of the show to reflect on both of those Champions League ties. Just taking a look at the significant of that result. They are too clear of Wrexham, and they also have a game in hand. They have four games remaining. The rest have three. The exception of Ipswich, who are looking good, aren't they, to get that automatic promotion spot? Because Borough just fallen apart of Lake Paul K. Oh, no. Borough is going to have to go through the playoff, it looks. It's a lampton, of course, and not only looking to get promotion, but also make it through to the final of the year. Just manages the city. In their way, and the other one is Chelsea against Leeds. Both of those, of course, live on ESPN+. Managed to keep the big boys apart, I see. What are you suggesting? Nothing. Okay. Meanwhile, big news here for the US, Ali. Yeah, it's a terrible, terrible to see for the player. Patrick Ayaman goes down with a non-content injury. It has been now confirmed that he has a... ...suffer and a killer. A killer's tendon rupture, and obviously he's going to miss out on the World Cup. A player that was going to be in the plans for Mariso Pochettino, perhaps not as a starter, but a guy coming off the bench with a big body that could potentially jump on a rebound or a set piece late to score an important goal for the US. Not quite the case now. They discussed that on her birthday. What's the name? Did you get some cake? I did not. He took it all home. Oh, well, there you are. Time celled, selfish. Well, there you go. That's now available on the US. That's it. That brings us to the end of today's show. Thank you very much for joining us. Frank LaBuff is back. Thank goodness for that. To answer your questions on Extra Time, which is next. Welcome to Extra Time. Frank, if you were the centre back for Real Madrid tonight, how would you help Carreras against Alici? Well, you have to be very close to him. You cover him. But you need the help of somebody else. And that's what Leverpult, for example, was very good with Trent Alexander-Arnold, because you had Conate, but you are also Anderson helping him out. And that's the team work. It's not only about the CB covering, but it's a work that's really important. But it's a work you have to do with three guys, because it's how it works. Otherwise, it's impossible. With Michael and Luis Diaz, especially, or Luis Diaz on the other side, that's insane. And that's also the work of the midfielder, ahead of Carreras and ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold. You see Feve Valverde dropping in and double-teaming Luis Diaz with Trent Alexander-Arnold, which then forces Luis Diaz to play the ball backwards. You were not seeing the same recovery runs from Arda Guller from that left-sided position. And so now it's Carreras against the world, to Ameni's having to come out there. He gets himself out of position. Center-back is trying to come out there as well. It attracts attention to Olise, which ends up in the second goal by Harry Kane, because now everybody pays attention to Olise, but they're doing so in a disorganized manner, which then Olise takes advantage of, rolls the ball to Harry Kane, to nothing. Who's in charge of that? Well, like, how much is that? How much is that at Arba lower, and how much is the players on the pitch? Well, I think when a game starts, the players have to take responsibility. Right, decision-making. So you're shouting at Guller, saying, oh, yeah, as a midfielder, I'm screaming at wide players to get back, because otherwise I've got to get my backside over there and cover. Yeah. Right? And that's leaving gaps. And it's a bit, it's too easy to say you send the center-back out, because if the center-back goes out and the rest of the back, the other two don't shuffle across, there's a big gap. So if one, you know, if one and a half shuffles across, and Alexander-Annal doesn't talk in, there's a huge gap for somebody to drive into. So it's not as simple as that. And it only takes one or two people not to be working hard enough for to get disheveled all over the place. Right? I don't believe that Arba lower didn't work on that. It's impossible. I mean, when you have Olise on the right side, and Luis Diaz on the left side, you have to work on that. And Ali was right. Valverde is used to do that and does it easily. But on the left side, Carrera was on his own. And the center-back is not enough to help Carrera in that matter. So, but I'm pretty sure he worked on that. But some people don't do the job. And it's going to be even worse that Tramini is going to be, I think, out for the second leg, because it's going to be, it was red carded or yellow carded for the second time. So it's, they have to work on that. Otherwise, they're going to suffer. It's bonkers. These managers, some of them get paid, most of them get paid big bucks. You look at the same scenario at Liverpool, against City at the weekend. You've got Kierkees, who's struggled all season. And the player supposed to be on that left side to help him is Florian Verst. And Florian Verst A is not, I'm not suggesting he's got a bad attitude, but he's not the smartest in getting back, defending. And also, he was drifting inside quite a lot, and then Kierkees, he was coming out on the left and they were trying to link up. And Kierkees had nobody. And he's against Semenio. Semenio has in good form, big, strong, physical, he can drop a shoulder. And yet a manager sees fit to play, arguably your weakest defensive player on that side, and then wonders why they get punished down that flank. It's bonkers. For Ali, should Arbalo start playing Alexander Arnold in a right wing role and have a better defender slotted in at right back? Right. And so what are the options? Like, here's the thing. So you choose to play Karohal, which is what Frank just alluded to, right? Karohal hasn't been all that great since coming back from his injury. And with all the experience, he has been noticeably late to challenges, late to get himself in defensive positions, late in being able to distribute the ball out of the back. He just hasn't recovered from his injury, as bad an injury as that was. And so then the other option is, okay, well, I can put Feleval Verde back there, but then you lose his engine up and down the field and actually not only in wide areas, but more importantly, in central areas where he can be a present both in the attacking half and in the defensive half. You are sacrificing him and you're wasting him playing out on a right back position. So you start running out of names and out of numbers, and that's why you play Trenac San Arno. I didn't think that Trenac San Arno was the weak link today defensively. It was obviously Carreras. Now, he was sort of picked out of position whenever the first goal happened and that Luiz Diaz was running behind him. But on the whole, you saw what he can give you in the assist that he puts across the box to Kilian Mbappe. And so look, you just don't have many options if you are at Rello. I don't think he's making a mistake in playing Trenac San Arno. I think the mistake is in not protecting him and I think he's addressing that with Fede Valverde. You have to get the same protection on the other side for Álvaro Carreras. Frank, French international, who made a terrible game today, should accompany Benchim for the return leg. I don't think he had a terrible game today. He made a big mistake. When Vinicius Jr. had the chance to score. But otherwise, no, I didn't find him bad. He had a pretty good game and it's not easy to play against Vinicius Jr. or Mbappe. What are the options for company for the second leg? I mean, when you have Ta and Uppermakano, you can travel. On top of it, you have Nair, the guy is still on fire. So I have no worries about that. Uppermakano had a good season so far from what I've seen. But I wouldn't be bothered by that if I was company. If I were company. Missing a chance isn't a certain half of having a bad game. Yeah. It was at the other end, wasn't it? The header that gave Vinicius Jr. the chance. One mistake. One swallow doesn't make a summer down. No, it doesn't crack, but it could have cost him. Yeah, it could have cost him. You want to, well, well, I've always did the AD Shumps. You know, you've got Uppermakano making one mistake, but you've got Ibrahim of Kanati. Yeah. They could play together. He's got a mistake several per game at the moment. Craig, how did you announce your retirement from football? I didn't. I don't do announcements. I just walked away. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. No big announcement? No. I did announce, actually, I tell a lie. I did announce my retirement from football. OK. I didn't go on TV and announce it. What did you do? I just gave an interview to a reporter. Did you? And what reason did you give? What do you mean? Why did you retire from international football? Because I was too slow, too old, too injured. OK, there we go. In retrospect, you didn't have to make an announcement. My dad told me to retire. OK, yes. I remember you telling me this story. To my face. Yes. Look at that. Look at that. Well, you know, and I knew that deep down. Because once you can't do the things that you used to do, the game's up. At that level, anyway. And you're just hanging yourself out to dry. But in terms of finishing playing, I'm just off you go. Didn't Leymann say to Shaka in the tunnel, I thought you'd retire. Yeah. Yeah. And that little tight tunnel I had. I said, I thought you'd retire. When did you announce yours? How did you announce it? I don't do announcements there. No. No. Well, actually, I was in conversation to come and join you guys here at ESPN. Well, that was happening. Turn your back on the Philadelphia Union to do that. And I did. Yes. Actually, it was due to USA at the time then. Oh, wow. And so while this was happening, and then that was happening, contract negotiation was going on. I said, you know what? I'm done. Because much like Craig, I felt like, yeah. Yeah. I don't have it. And you know what? I didn't want to be a cheerleader in a locker room. The veteran presence. Right. And all that. That just doesn't quite work. No. No. Frank, what about yourself? I came to the world of football without any announcements. So I decided to do the same for the exits. And I went to Qatar. So I guess it was a kind of an announcement of my pre-retirement. So I guess everybody understood what I was about to do. And then you were so rich, she didn't need to tell anyone anything. Exactly. Yeah. I'm wondering why I still talk to you. I could say divorce, Frank, but I weren't exactly me. Right. For Frank, who would be your starting forward lineup for France? We're going to ask you this so much, aren't we? Don't ask it. Well, it's written down. It's my job to ask. I know that question. Go to the next one. Have a bit of stomach. No, I'm not having stomach. Go the way that you think this shows you go. Extra time. Whatever you call it. Okay. I'll cut all those previews. At least say it on Bappé, will they both make it? Yeah, yes, of course they will. Yes. They will. I will put them Bappé. I will put them Billy on the right side. Right. Right. Um, sorry. Dan Billy on the right side, Mbappé on the left side, Ekitike as a striker and Olyse behind Ekitike. There we go. And Ramsay just announced his retirement crate. Despite his amazing career, do you think Ramsay never reached his full potential because the horrible injury he suffered at Stoke in 2010? I don't know. I remember Toc doing that. That's when he broke his leg, isn't it? Yeah, it's not just the broken leg. I think I believe it was a compound fracture. So I might be wrong, but I think the bone was out through the skin. And I think, and I said this at the time when I was working back in UK TV, that I have so much admiration for any player, not physically, because physically that had been tough to come back from. But mental, if you've got the mental fortitude to come back from an injury as horrific as that, can you imagine going into the first real challenge? Yeah. It doesn't matter how big your shin part is, can you imagine the mind you've got to go, you've got to commit again to that 50-50. And so I had a lot of, he was a really good player, played at Juventus as well, had a great career. I heard Gareth Bale talking about him actually playing for Wales. I would say him and Bale working in the talisman, although Bale was obviously the headline star. But again, just to say, to come back from that type of broken leg and how bad that must have been mentally, it must have so much mental strength, incredible. Good stuff, nice one. Thank you very much guys. ESPNFC returns to your screens tomorrow, of course, there's two remaining. Champions League's tie, PSG taking on at Liverpool and it's Barca Athletic. Stuart Robson, oh, Stuart, I've won.