Man City in Real Trouble

0:00America leads the world in medicine development. It matters. We get new medicines first, nearly three years faster. Five million Americans go to work because we make medicines here at home, and not relying on other countries keeps us safe. But China is racing to overtake us. Will we let them? Or will we choose to stay ahead? When America leads, America cures. Let's tell Washington to keep us in the lead. Learn how at americacures.com. Paid for it by Farma. Welcome into the latest edition of ESPNFC. I'm Tom and I'm joined by Alim Reno and Craig Burley. Great Champions League Day once again today. We'll kick things off. And the San Tiago burn about Real Madrid taking on Manchester City. Madrid, of course, has been awful this season so much so that City with the favourites going into this tie. But it certainly didn't play out that way. It was the Ferry Valverde show. He was fantastic. He would bag an impressive hat trick in the first half. And there was no coming back for Manchester City overall below his side then very much

1:03with the advantage going into the second leg. Next week for more on this, Jürgen Klinzmann joins us. Jürgen, this doesn't make sense. In the real world, if games are played on paper, Real Madrid lost a chlatafi last week. They were terrible. Yet they come into a Champions League night. They turn it on again. Ferry Valverde, the star of the show. Yeah, because it's a team and obviously the individual players, when the occasion comes up, they raise their game. And what Federico, where they showed us tonight, was just memorable. It was unbelievable. It was just pure art that he executed. All three goals, very difficult, very special goals. The last one, obviously, the chipball over the defender. And then his kind of move finishing it off reminded me of Pele in 1958 World Cup final. It was so, so special. I mean, this was a very special game for Real Madrid.

2:06They almost wasted it. At the end, they gave two, three occasions away. Opportunity away to Manchester City. Obviously, they give the penalty away. They would have been the four nil. Then probably the whole thing is done by three nil. Very good result, obviously, is no doubt about it. But it's not done yet. I mean, anything can happen in Manchester. If they score first half an hour, the first goal, then we have a game. But what we saw tonight was fantastic for Real Madrid. Well, this come from. Look, I don't want to get to mindset it just yet, because we're talking about Real Madrid, and they're big night for them. But it takes two to tangle. For Real Madrid to play like that, it's going to need to be a bit of a gift, because we've seen them every week. And they've been poor. But I'll give them credit. They took advantage of City's shocking play. And I said, we'll get to that. But a big night for Valverde, who is an always a willing runner, apart from everything else, big night for the

3:07youngsters in the middle of the park, big night for Venetius carrying the ball and running in behind. And that's the working hard. So lots of good stuff from a team perspective, which we've not seen. Very clinical in the final third penalty apart. And took advantage of all the things we've talked about leading up to this game. And I did say to you, this two-legged tie will boil down to how City defends. And they were absolutely awful. And Real Madrid took full advantage. So I've got to give them a lot of credit for that, because Arbaloa must have been having sleepless nights going into this game. So a big, big performance from them, which is going to, as Jörgen said, Eti adds a different story. But if I was Real Madrid, I would be lapping up the fact that City are going to have to be even more open than they were tonight at the Eti add. And maybe in Bapu, we'll be back unlikely. But that space is going to be there.

4:08If I was Madrid, that's what I would be thinking about. Hey, they're going to come out as and we're going to punish them again in Manchester. Is it too simplistic for me to say they just try hard in the Champions League? We saw a time where there were three on Doku, helping Trent Alexander-Arnold, which we don't see when it's a La Liga tie against Che Tafé. They just don't need that, they'll do it. But they, as it got Doku or Semen, you're running out of office, but every's playing. Yeah, but we see how exposed he's been. And we've just seen this as Jörgen said, it was a team effort today, which is something we've criticized Real Madrid all season four, because you're waiting for an individual to do something special. And an individual did something special today in Fede Valverde. But it's not simplistic then. It's factual. It's the truth. It's not just about observation. It's not just about our own analysis or our own biases. You actually watch Real Madrid play today against Manchester City. And then you

5:09contrast that sort of performance against what we have seen against Hitafé or even Celta de Vigo where they won barely, but they won. And it was big celebration because somehow this team is able to beat Celta de Vigo. It became a big deal. They had lost two matches in a row and a Liga coming to their match against Celta de Vigo. It's a match that they probably should have lost themselves. So there was no momentum coming into this game for Real Madrid. And yet, to your point, you're seeing the team working, rallying numbers around players. It became a 2B1. It became a 3B1 when they needed to defend. And they knew they needed to help turn out Alexander Arno. And to that point, I'll say this about Fede Valverde. We go and describe players as in midfield players as box-to-box. And we do that freely and openly. This guy's inline to inline. And he covers every single piece of grass there is to cover on the field and does it with quality. There is one instant early on in the first half where Trenel and Alexander Arno was taken to pieces by Doco. And Fede

6:14Valverde runs past Trenel and Alexander Arno. Almost pushes him out of the way so that he can go on challenge across from Jeremy Doco. And so when you have that kind of work from your team captain, that sort of effort, if you are next to him, you better bring it to. So if you're Thiago in the midfield, you're going to have to bring it. If you are true on many, you're going to have to bring it. You're going to have to elevate. So it's not just leadership of people just yelling out and screaming out instructions on the field. It's an example. And when you see Fede Valverde running in the manner in which he did today with quality on both ends on the field and you're around him, you better bring it. And I think it's something that Real Madrid did very well today that they don't do often individually. I would just say about Fede Valverde. If you didn't think so before tonight, he has elevated his status in Real Madrid from a nice, good, solid player over the years to legendary status. When you do this in Champions League in a magical Champions League night at Santiago Bernabéu, your level is elevated. Fede Valverde did that for

7:19himself and his club today. So you can just even matter who the coach is. Is this just all about players? It's always all about players, mainly. I think that the coach still matters, but to a certain point. What really impressed me tonight was the chemistry they had. They were feisty. They were running for each other. They were fighting for each other. I mean, in his junior was all over the place defending, helping out. They were unpredictable. And it takes those nights in the Champions League, those special, special games, to pull that stuff out of very special players. It's difficult in the normal championship in Aliga to be motivated, but not to that extent. It's my city coming in, or by a Munich, or the big names. Then they show their real qualities. What was fun to watch was that they were there for each other. It was a real team effort from Real Madrid tonight. That makes them

8:22do absolutely one of the favourites to win that trophy. Greg Berley, Manchester City. A shocker. From team selection to performers to defending, to the goalkeeper, to Harland, to Rodry. I feel a bit for him in a sense that he was left exposed. I mean, how the hell, as Semenio, who he has played in that position before, played almost as a number nine alongside Elling Harland with Semenio on wide right, Doco on wide left, Bernardo Silver tried to float in between. And it left. Hit left, Rodry exposed. Now, they brought rounders on to try and helping it helped a little bit at a half time, but a lot of the damage was done. You had Nico Riley back at left back, but he has played this season, but not recently. And he got caught for the first goal, because you had gay pushing into midfield. I mean, where do you start with this? Trying to be too clever. Yeah, I mean, we've seen this before. We saw it in the Champions League Findings Chelsea. We've seen it in multiple games in Champions League knockout, apart from the

9:26year they won it against the Inter, where they were the heavy favourites to win the competition, be it the quarterfinals or the Semen Finals, and they have put on a defensive nightmare. And they did it again tonight. They did, I mean, let's be honest, most of the lower league teams in LaLiga don't allow Real Madrid, those kind of chances. Okay, they play a bit deeper, and it is sometimes more difficult. But City know that. And we said before the game, you're only downfall Manchester City will be your backline. Right? If you leave your backline exposed and you defend like that, that's the only way, that's the only key to open the door and they did it. And how do you explain a goalkeeper coming out? Who can see the penalty box? It's in front of them. The corner of it is in front of them. The only way that he doesn't noise in his penalty box is if he closes his eyes. So why does he then drag his arm away? It's unexplainable. Not taking anything away from Valverde.

10:28It was great. But one kick from Côte-Oire, where a midfielder playing a left back gets caught. I mean, it's just not acceptable at this level. But I think we'd all agree. Rodry is a brilliant footballer, one of the best in the world in his position. But I think we'll also agree that after being out for nine months or so with an ACL for any player. But particularly somebody who's in the engine room, it's not easy. And he's been back and he's had injuries, he's been in, he's had injuries. You cannot leave him exposed, particularly away from home. And I thought Guadalajola did that. And when he became exposed, the backline became exposed and Real Madrid found more space in there for players to operate. And then because of that space, it sent a half for squeezing in, filled backs for squeezing in and then they've been playing that ball in behind. So I think all in all, from back to front, goalkeeper included. It was a shocker. Manager included. It was a shocker from Manchester City because they gave everything to Real Madrid. They gave

11:33them every tool the night that they needed to get the result. But you still got to take it. And Real Madrid did that. So City, I've got this in them. But I thought they'd learned the lesson, even from the first game at the Bernabéu and this Champions League season. Well, they won the game, but it was crazy open, just too open. And I thought, well, they're going to learn the lesson, at least be a little bit more cute and clever and they will not. To further the point, if you're peg guardiola and you are analyzing this match, coming into the game and thinking about what are some of the things that you can take advantage of when you're facing this version of Real Madrid. Anybody that has played against Real Madrid this season in La Liga in particular knows that that midfield is an area of concern for Real Madrid. And if you put enough numbers in the midfield, you're going to dominate games and you're going to dominate possession and you're going to push them back and you're going to get them stretched because defensively, they can get stretched because defensively they can get disorganized. But if by design,

12:39peg guardiola and his staff on the board as they're putting their game plan together, they have brotherly running around Bernardo Silva and then that's it in the midfield, then just in numbers alone, just simple math, it becomes a 3v2, 4v2 for Real Madrid naturally. So you're already given the initiative to Real Madrid to be able to dominate that area of the field which then forces the defenders from Manchester City to get themselves that opposition. So I don't understand. So your question is, is he overthinking this? Is he getting too cute? Yes, yes, the answer is yes, because there is no chance that you can put that on the board and say this makes sense. Now, you've convinced yourself that you need to play Savinio and Semenio because Savinio had a great game against Newcastle in the FA Cup. And you're thinking, well, he can take advantage of Mendi on one side and then Doku can take advantage of Ternel Alexander Arno and I want to play Semenio because physically he can dominate the center backs. That's why you're telling yourself,

13:40but in order to do that, you sacrifice so much in the midfield which then allows Real Madrid to find outlet ball, in transition, they get going. You can't keep up because defensively you don't have the players to do so in the back line. Three nothing. Was he trying to beat you clever, Jürgen? Well, I mean, when you're down three nil after 42 minutes, you know, then you're made mistakes, obviously you made mistakes because you offer them too much until that point. And then it's difficult to get back into that game and I think they actually made maybe quite content to go home to Manchester with three goals only, you know, with that result because it still gives you hope. I mean, there's still a chance to make it happen at home in Manchester. But what was yeah, what's interesting to me was they were never able to get Elin Harland into the game. You know, they were never able to create chances, real chances where you say, okay, you know, despite the two, three that were more mistakes by Real Madrid than their own created chances.

14:41And yeah, that makes you look kind of like your game plan didn't work out at all tonight. But still, I think, you know, the result is still doable. But I mean, I was so impressed by Real Madrid and their feistiness, their dynamic, their aggressiveness all over the field. It was fantastic to watch from their perspective, obviously. And he was a passenger again, this guy. I mean, he got a few old Marmar Mouss. You know, you kind of know Elin Harland is going to play most of the time, but he's had injury, but he's got a great record. But again, he's in Newcastle, a weekend, he was excellent. But, you know, he chose not to go, he chose to go with this sort of Samenia Harland, which was just on balance because you got docu, Samenia Harland, Savinio, and you got Bernad herself a da thing about all over the shop, which he does. He, you know, he's a great player, but he lacks a bit of midfield discipline. There's no doubt about that. Natural midfield discipline where you just go, right, you sit there and you do that and you do

15:44let's be hard to beat for 15 or 20 minutes, because Real Madrid have got their tails up. So they lacked that, but one of the other things with this Guadaluo, the team, is continuity. If I said to you, what's the best team? I mean, most of the sides, I think it's bassy, you could probably say it, even maybe Real Madrid, whenever these fit, even though they've had the struggles, certainly Arsenal, to probably pinpoint their best team, Bayern Munich, pinpoint their best 11, within 9 or 10. You know, Nunez at right back, then he's out. Cousin of it right back, Cousin of it sent a half, Nico Rylet left back, Nuret left back, you know, Semenio in the wide right, you know, Ryan Cherokee having a very good season, and he's out the team, Mermush, Ennen out, sort of injured, Foden had a little spell, and then he was back out. It just seems to me, with this city side, every game that comes up, every important game, the whole dressing room apart from one or two sitting there going,

16:45Jesus, am I playing today? I mean, Don and Rumi's playing, you know, they sent it back to most of the time, probably playing it, and Rodri if he's fit, probably Harland. The rest of them are like, you know, nobody knows, Philbax don't know if they're playing, so they don't know what your Philbax are in there, so even though you've got two very experienced centrebacks, we haven't played a lot together in Diasing and Gay, but they're experienced, you've got two Philbax, you've probably never played within a back four because he keeps shopping and changing, like he does the midfield, like he does the wide areas, so I just don't think, I don't feel there's a lot of consistency and continuity within the team selection, and it's not all injury because you look at the bench in the last few games, the city bench that is, and it's really strong, it's really strong, but it could be strong by five of the players that played tonight, sitting on the bench, and when you have that many changes as often as you do, and it's a big criticism I've had with Athletico Madrid in Cimeoni, continually changing teams, I think it's difficult to get that, that workman-like unit, as a back four as a midfield, and all this

17:50depressing, and I think he saw that with some of the goals tonight that the city gave up, was that he had filled back, you know, filled back up there, and I sent a half back in one drop, I mean, it literally was all over the place, and one ball quite often, one ball in behind a simple ball really opened them up. I don't know where I go in terms of the second leg because, yeah, give me a percentage for that, where would you have us? Where would I have this set of game, having watched them tonight defensively, and knowing what Real Madrid will do in the second leg, I think it really is 80% minimum, right, for Real Madrid to go through, and maybe a 15 to 20% chance of setting up in a good night, but that good night going forward has to align with a good night at the back, and there's the problem. 80-20, Ali? 80-20, 90-10, oh really, I mean, look, you watch, you can make stats look whatever however they want to look, but you see the stat line of

18:51Erling Highland today, and if I were him frustrated, of course I would be, but also be embarrassed. You got out there 82 minutes, and you only get 10 touches, and which one of those touches was actually memorable, important, impactful. You're supposed to be the best out-of-notch striker in the world, and while I'll be the first one to defend him, when he's not quite getting the service that he requires, 10 touches in 82 minutes. You can already, you called him a passenger, I don't think you can even call him a passenger, you can even get him the bus, it's just not, you're going to need a whole lot more from him and players around him to try to expose Real Madrid defensively, but you look at the intensity with which you ask about the intensity initially of Real Madrid today, the intensity with which Antonio Ruiger was playing defensively today against Erling Highland, and it's not about whether who cares more about it or who's more engaged or who's more committed, but if you just watch them play and the energy with which Ruiger is playing, as compared to Erling

19:55Highland, you go, that guy's into it, that guy wants it, there's hunger there, there's competition there, which you didn't quite get that feeling from Erling Highland. Another image that I think shows that very clearly as to the desire of Real Madrid today, as compared to that of Manchester City, when two or many gets injured in the second half, and he's kind of looking around like, like, I've done my job, maybe it's time for somebody else to come on the field. Of all people, Vinny Jr. is a one-tone, hey, you okay? You all right? Then come on in, stay in the party, because this is our work together. You don't often get it out from Real Madrid, you get it tonight, in order for Manchester City to turn this around, they have to completely change the level of performance, and there has to be a significant drop of in Real Madrid, that's why I have it at 90-10. If you wanted to do it, and I'm not putting myself up for any extra work here, no? All right. During the weekend, but if you wanted to do an analysis piece, on how to beat the Shevel down out the shape and pinpoint where City went wrong defensively,

20:58not just in the goals that they conceded, but in other parts of the game where Real Madrid had chances, it would probably be one of the easiest games to sit down and look at the tape and go, there's the problem, there's the mistakes, and there's where Real Madrid took advantage. That's how bad it was from this team tonight, and it almost smells a little bit where I think the common consensus is that the manager is going to believe in City at the end of the season, I mean, he's not really showing away from that himself, and it almost smells like he's thrown this sort of desperation, he's got one Champions League with City, and it's almost like he smells like he's got this desperation to try things, to try, he's trying anything to get over the line, to get a second one, and when you're taking as many chances as he did tonight, against good players, even though they've been struggling, you're going to get punished. You're going to just go back to Harlan, 10 touches in 82 minutes, is that embarrassing? Oh, absolutely, it's embarrassing for him, it's embarrassing for the team because they didn't

22:00deliver him anything to work with, and so that's a lot of frustration that comes up, and you had that feeling from the beginning, obviously they had a superstar Real Madrid, and these three goals from Valverde, they were fantastic, but you have to approach a game like this with some old kind of things, like you win your battles, you win the game, and they pretty much they lost everyone on one battle in the first half an hour, Real Madrid was all over them, and they didn't give him anything, and when you're an hour forward that really lives from the deliveries from the site, or some balls through the middle, and using your strengths to your best of your capabilities, and you're not getting delivered anything, then every minute you lose confidence, every minute you lose the desire to fight your way through, and this was just a really bad day in the office for Alain Harlan, for himself personally, but also for everyone around him, and

23:05the beauty of the game on the other side is, you give him a ball in the Manchester next week, and after five minutes he heads it in, and it's 1-0, the stadium will rock, and suddenly the momentum changes, but the way we saw it tonight, it's very unlikely. Well Jan's been on the phone, said everybody else's fault. Just briefly, the other thing is, let's not forget, this city side, and I think Jörgen said they were kind of thankful to go back to Manchester, so just been three, particularly with the penalty message. I mean, you don't know how a game is going to go, but you would imagine with that kind of space, they're thankful there wasn't a fit killing in Bapu, because that could have been a bloodbath for them, leaving that kind of space for in Bapu to run into, so in some sense the cards fell their way in the end, because it was almost a sort of Tottenham-esque performance from last night, I'm so grateful. Yeah, that's not good. Alvaro Abelau could lead Real Madrid to the double, they are of course still very much in the title.

24:08You can see how that plays out this weekend, Real Madrid first the strike as they take on LJ, and then it's Barcelona against Sevilla on the Sunday, all these games live on ESPN Plus. Quick time out, some breakfast intel you want to know about, Codiac frozen power waffles and flap jacks are built for busy mornings. Heat it, eat it, and you're out the door. No long prep, no complicated game plan, they're packed with 12 to 14 grams of protein per serving a good source of fiber and crafted with 100% whole grains, not refined white flour, so you're getting something that actually fuels you, and there's depth on the roster. Buttermilk and vanilla, blueberry, chocolate chip, even gluten free options, breakfast that delivers, snack that delivers, find Codiac frozen waffles and flap jacks in the frozen aisle at your local grocery store. They're the ones with the bear on the box. When was the last time you felt in control of your business finances? Expenses tracked,

25:08invoices sent, taxes ready. That's where found comes in. Found brings your banking, bookkeeping, invoicing, and taxes together in one simple app. Manage expenses, invoice clients, send payments, and prep for tax time right where you bank. Join the hundreds of thousands who have already streamlined their finances with found. Open a found account for free at found.com. That's f-o-u-n-d.com. Found as a financial technology company, not a bank, banking services provided by lead bank member FDIC. What a game in France PSG taking on at Chelsea. Chelsea, arguably the better side in the first half. It would be too, too, when a huge mistake from Jorgensen would take place about 15 minutes to go. Virginia makes most of it to make it 3-2. And from that moment on, Chelsea collapse. Come out scarlier, excellent coming off the bench, meaning that PSG now have a 5-2 advantage going into the second leg. Jorgensen, was this about Chelsea losing it in the 15 minutes, or PSG applying the pressure, the experience that they've had obviously from winning the title last year?

26:10Well, I give the credit to PSG. At the end, we so determined, so crucial with their chances that they had obviously cross-cale as two goals. They make it now a three-go lead. I don't think that three goals really kind of describe that game the right way. I think Chelsea was throughout the first hour, certainly even. It was a good game, it was an open game. They went into each other, so we saw quite a few opportunities on both sides. But 5-2, obviously, it's a heavy result. It's again, like Real Madrid, too. It's a three-go goal advantage now that you go back to London. Still somehow doable, but minimal chances, similar to the other game. But it's impressive what PSG can do when they're bringing certain players like Juarez-Kelia from the bench. They have so much quality. And also how they execute it, they want one of the other chances. Mendenbel is goal fantastic. Everybody thought he's going to pass it over. And then he says, no, I don't do that myself. Finns it off. And then Vitini has goal.

27:14I mean, if you look at it and says, basically scored this goal like he would be playing Street Soccer. It was a cut the ball and then saw the goalies off the line. So I just chip it over. I mean, this is champs league. This is now crunch time. When he comes up with a move like that, it's fantastic. But now, obviously, we are in the most exciting time of the year. We've been marching the April games, you know, now around of 16. And this is what it really comes down to and we saw some fantastic goals today. I mean, was it the Jorgensen mistake was to make it free too? Yes, absolutely. Which is, you can't sort of legislate for that like last night. Tudor couldn't legislate for Kinski's mistakes. So you can't legislate for that. But once it happens, it's happened. And even though you've played relatively well, a pretty well away from home, you find yourself free to free to down. All right, you might be

28:14thinking, well, we've played well. We'll get back, get back in this game. We'll go and try and play again and create some more chances. Is that the smart thing to do away from home against a side that is dangerous as PSG where you might say to yourself, well, he's made the mistake. It's free too. We're away from home. That's not a bad result to go back to London with. Let's just camp in a little bit and make it really difficult for them. And if we get a chance, coughs itself up, then fine. But don't leave yourself open like they were for the goal that went down the right hand channel for garbage killers that might have been his second where Jorgensen didn't get down very well. But Chelsea were attacking at that point. And PSG broke down that side and it was a terrific move. A little flick fully overlapped and then the ball caught back. But don't give them that opportunity. Don't give them the opportunity to get a fourth or a fifth. Because now, I mean, we're talking a bit sick. They have possibly a smudging of a chance. I don't see it for Chelsea. Not against this PSG side. So don't give them the opportunity. Although you've

29:17had a decent night. You've played some good football. There's nothing wrong. We said, you know what? We'll take this back to London and we're going to run with it. But they kept playing because that's the way they wanted to do it. But that was the downfall in the end because they got punished. And they... I would be hugely surprised if this tie was overturned. Is this a bit range ready? We've seen PSG struggling in the league. None of their star players shining and yet it comes to the Champions League night and they up that level. Yeah, I don't know that they up that level. As high as Real Madrid did today. In fact, I disagree slightly with Craig in thinking that I believe Chelsea is more likely to turn this around than Manchester City. It's likely to turn around the game against Real Madrid. And the reason I say that is because up until the big mistake from Jorgensen, Chelsea were very much in this picture. You think about how the second gold comes about for PSG. Colt Palmer has a chance with his left foot inside the 18-yard box.

30:18Savanoff comes up with a save and then off the counter. That ball goes in. It changes the story. I thought Chelsea for long periods of time today were better than PSG. I do believe that 5-2 and I agree with Yurgen on that is that 5-2 doesn't really paint a clear picture as to what this game was and how good Chelsea was for long periods of time. Now, where I agree with Craig is their management of the game. Late in the match was disorganized at best, but embarrassing to some degree as well, in not understanding what this game required in the moment. You cannot allow 3 to become 5 as quickly as they did. But in terms of the totalitarian of the game, I thought Chelsea was closer to PSG than Manchester City was to Real Madrid. And I do think that PSG tried to elevate their game and were not finding it very easy to do so. And defensively, they can get exposed. The first half, Chelsea had multiple opportunities where if they find the right pass or make the right decision,

31:22PSG were very much stretched and very much exposed. Chelsea were unable to take advantage of those chances. Much like Dembele was able to take advantage of his opportunity on transition. And the many times that then PSG got out in transition and ran at Chelsea in the second half, particularly late in the match, they were far better and far efficient than Chelsea. You're going to get one of the different, sorry, I think one of the differences is that you could argue that was one of Chelsea's best performances of the season and they lost 5. They would have to perform at that level and better again and PSG to have an off night, which could happen. Whereas City, it could go either way, City are a better side than Real Madrid. Not tonight, but they are a better side. They just had a shocking night, absolutely shocking night. But they are a better side. So where I would come from if City can be a lot better and they say a lot better in the second leg and that's what I think

32:23gives them a little. They could go either way either of them. But my worry for Chelsea is they've played a damn good game tonight and lost 5 goals. City have had an absolute shocker. I should have lost more than 3 but did lose 3. So I think their room for maneuvering getting better is a lot more, particularly at home against this Real Madrid side. But yeah, we'll see. This game was so frantic and this Craig says at 3.2, if you're a senior, how difficult is it then to kind of change everything? Put the handbrake on, shut up, shop and think, right? Okay, we've got 15 minutes. Let's see how 3.2 isn't the worst going in the world to take back to Stanford Bridge. Yeah, they had two pieces to it. How the players react and they rely on experience on the players to say, you know, calm it down now. Let's keep the 3.2.4 right now and maybe you get still an opportunity to equalize, but let's make sure that we're not considering another goal. Then the other side is then as a coaching staff, these are the worst games,

33:26you know, when you go back into your office, basically the next day, after probably a sleepless night, where you admit to yourself to say, what did I do wrong now that we conceded another two goals? Because once that third goal comes from Metinia, you just have to make sure that shut it down. It's just shut it down. But obviously, when it goes a different way, these are the moments where where you as a manager, as a coach, you're going to blame yourself for that next couple of minutes, 10, 15 minutes. When you could see it, could see it more two more goals. Jules will then be absolutely delighted with that result and you can hear more from him, alongside Gav, of course. On the latest edition of the Gav and Jules podcast, that drops on Thursday. As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Granger has your back, from professional grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery. They're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest

34:30questions. And because Granger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner and protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRanger, click Granger.com or just stop by. In Pro Football, if a coach can't see the whole field, he's missing out. It's that simple. If you run a commercial trade business and you don't have service Titan, you're coaching blind. You need real-time visibility into project profitability. You need to know which jobs are making money and which ones aren't before it's too late. And you need to see the entire business in one place from service work to construction. Service Titan is the end-to-end platform that helps you do all that and more. Win larger contracts, accelerate your workflows, and maximize your profit. Visit servicetitan.com to learn more. Bye, Leverkusen 1, RSTAL 1. In the early game of the Champions League, not particularly memorable considering what we've seen elsewhere today, but in the end, it was a late Cai Havards penalty, which means it finishes 1-1, RSTAL the favorites, going into the second leg.

35:30Yeah, it's still win-ass. Oh, this wasn't great. Fun wasn't great. It was Jorgen. What did we ask you? Let's just say it's such an exciting game, I know Jorgen. I ain't talking about it. No, I was such an Arsenal specialist. Yeah, exactly. Well, this is a... Go on, Jorgen. It's a missed opportunity for Leverkusen. It was really a missed opportunity, because I think Arsenal today was not the Arsenal we were used to over the last months, and that what they showed in the Champions League and in the Premier League so far at this season. So there was a huge opportunity for Leverkusen to win this game. You give away then. I mean, it was a very, very soft penalty. You know, he gave that penalty. I wouldn't have given it, but at the moment, you go down to a tackling. You risk something. You know, and I was stupid to go down into a tackling in the box, because if you don't play the ball, which he didn't, he didn't get any close to the ball, then you might touch the other player, the striker. So you risk it.

36:31So you give away that 1-0 lead. That's not a bad result going then to London, and it gives you a better chance. But yeah, it was unfortunate. And then obviously, that's the typical German story, then Harvard's steps up, he just came on, and he scores against the club that he played 10 years for. So that's the side story to it. But I thought, you know, by Leverkusen, I should have won that game. I'm just looking for a spark from Arsenal at the moment. Something. It's the problem is they've got used to grinding results out in the Premier League, which we've talked about a lot, and there's no problem, and they're going to win the league as a result of it. But when it comes to trying to find that spark, up the gear, do something special against opposition that aren't as easy to predict as maybe others, that they can't find it. So all of a bit safe from racing. Rubin Mende at the moment, Ezi was flat. Sack has been poor. Jacques Rés just worked him in light. And yeah, they're still going to be tough to beat, but they are...

37:32And I know they haven't been great recently to watch. And they can be good to watch. They can be. But the spark has gone from them. Now they may crawl over the line and several competitions. Still, I don't know. But I'm just looking... Look at the pace in Bayern Munich last night. Look at the way they transitioned. Look at how clinical they were. Look at the passing and the runners and the wide players and the finishing. All that stuff. They just smashed Atalanta. Just it was like... It was like men against boys. And as Jörgen said, they gave a lever cause inside that haven't been brilliant this season. You know, the Sack 10 Haga after two games. The Danish guy comes in. They're a decent side, but they're not... They're not really a threat in this competition. And yet, they really should be taking a lead to the Emirates. It just feels like Arsenal are just doing enough. Enough to take a result back to the Emirates. Enough to get another three points in the Premier League. And I just feel they're better than that. Now, I don't expect them to entertain every time they go out.

38:32That's not their job. But it might cost them. And I don't expect them to put lever cause in the second leg. But if they play a Bayern or a Real Madrid PSG, but whoever it is, and they're thinking they can just flick the switch and then go again. It's not like that. You have to build that momentum up. And I feel some of the key players have lost that momentum, particularly Bakaia Saka, who's been a talismic for them. You know, Oda Gardner's injured again. We've talked a lot about Eze. I think, you know, Declan Rice is getting... He looks to me as if he's getting deeper and deeper. Zubin Mendi is a kind of square passing guy. So it's a little flat from Arsenal at the moment. And I think they need to find a spark in their game to almost pick up the final part of the season and get a bit of... A bit of pace about the game and a bit of dynamism about the game, which I think is gone in the last walk, at least a couple of months. Although they are still top of the league, and they're still one of the favourites.

39:35But there's not a lot to like about the way they're playing at the moment. For context. Just so that we have a very clear idea and thought as to what Violet Recuse in having this season. You just mentioned Violet Munich. There are 22 points behind Violet Munich. They're sitting six in Bundesliga. And it's a team that, if you look at who's on the field right now and compare that to the glory year, where it's Fabiolonso, most of their stars from that team are spread all over Europe. So think of words and Frank Pond and Granny Shack and this guy and this. They're not here. This is a sort of team that has been put together and have been impressive in the sense that they've been able to make this run in Champions League. But they haven't been consistent enough in Bundesliga. And more times than not, when they get pushed in Bundesliga from the league teams, from the better teams, top end teams in that league, they come up short. This is not a great Violet Recuse team. So that's one side of the conversation. The other side of the conversation is TV directors

40:36tend to focus on certain players out on the field as they're doing the TV coverage. And they sort of, they break to that player to follow a storyline coming into the match. Well, apparently, when it comes to protagonists and Arsenal, it's a said-piece coach. They break to this guy all the time. And honestly, there's nothing wrong with doing that because when you look for protagonists on the field, guys that have that dynamic movement that Craig is talking about, the penetrating paths they're running behind, it's not happening. And so where is the goal gonna come from? Then that's why they show the said-piece coach. He tends to be far more of an important figure when you're covering an Arsenal match than the players out on the field. He seems to be more interesting than those guys out there. And that's because the performances do not have any spark. They don't have any creativity. They don't have anything that you go. Men, that was good. And if you contrast it to what you just mentioned there, by a muni, you go. How is this thing better than that?

41:37Now, Arsenal fans would say, well in the league phase, Arsenal beat Bayern Munich. I'm telling you, where they are right now, you cannot objectively say that Arsenal are better than Bayern Munich, comparing the performances that we have seen over the last 48 hours. If you don't think momentum and taking that confidence of playing well and playing at a pace and really strangling a team and getting a stranglehold on the game, which I felt Arsenal were going to do today, I thought that this is the perfect game for them. Again, like the game in Italy, last night, you just throttle the opposition with your quality. And I thought, well this is a perfect opportunity for Arsenal to go and do that. The second game makes some changes at the Emirates' rest and players. But they can't, they don't have that luxury because of this performance and recent performances, results have been okay, but performances. But if you want to look at what what momentum does, you've only got to look at PSG second half of the year last year.

42:38The momentum they had in performance from Christmas to the end of the season was incredible. And they were averaging the Champions League, they barely scrapped out of this big 36 team league into the knockout stages and then domestically they picked it up, they were just battering teams and then everybody came their way in the Champions League, they were just getting better and better and better and better. And so it got to the final game and they walloped in to buy five goals. That's momentum. The big question with this Arsenal team is, can they find that again in their performance? I do agree. I think that switch from the buy-in to the Arsenal game has turned. I think buy, they're not without their imperfections, buy-in unit. But they have a bit of pace about the game. They've got a lot of quality about the game and they've got a superstar. Like, at least they were, obviously, was fantastic. Who's Arsenal superstar? Your man on the bench telling you must do it corners. I want to get a manager that they believe in.

43:40Yes, and then, in terms of the really want to play. Jürgen, we're just in the old tier. Arsenal is still favorites. I just want to go back to what Craig said about Arsenal switching that switch when they need to. Is there something that's happened like on a week-to-week basis as a coach? Is it difficult to find that extra spark when, really, for the last couple of months, you've just been telling your team about getting a result? Well, it's more like looking it into different faces throughout the season, throughout the year. You know, you have your up and downs and every team has that. But really, the big teams and the big players they kind of know how to time it. You know, when to peak towards the end, like now, March, April, that's the time to peak. So they may be in October, November, but you don't see much for them. And they make stupid mistakes or they're a bit sloppy in what they're doing. But then, you know, once you get into the new year

44:40and February passes by and now it's crunch time. And this is where you look very, very carefully about your leaders in your team. You know, the ones that has raised the voice in the locker room. Your coaching stuff is on high alert. You know, you had enough time now as a coaching staff to observe all your opponents that you deal with if it's internationally or nationally. And you know, there are strength weaknesses. And you maybe here and there, you copy something and paste it into your program. So what I really liked on that game today was by a Louis Leverkusen used Arsenal corner kick variation and scored on them. I love that. I love that because throughout the year, talked about the fantastic corner kicks from Arsenal that they are almost unstoppable with it. And now they opponent did it because they watched it long enough now. So it is about, you know, having the right timing, having the momentum. I mean, you don't do it purposely because you are used to go from game to game to game and you always try your best.

45:41But you go through those faces and you hope that, you know, towards the end of the season and when it really, really matters like now, March, April, that you peak and then obviously you keep peaking hopefully to the World Cup. Of course, one negative from that win from Bayern against Atalanta or Zellfonso Davies coming off in tears results, apparently, suffered a strain of the posterior thigh muscle which means, which I believe, I believe it's your hamstring in layman's terms. He's going to be out for a few games according to Vincent Company and, of course, his absent would be a massive impact. One goes on Canada. He won't be available then further clashed against by Levycuse on Sunday, on Saturday, sorry, that you can see on ESPN Plus. The Bodo Clint Fairytale continues 3-0 as their victory against Sporting to put them very much in the driving seat going into that second leg in Portugal next week.

46:42If you're ready for an oil change, trust the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts to recommend the best products for your vehicle. Right now, get five courts of Valvelin full synthetic motor oil and a Wix filter for $35.99 and receive a $15 O'Reilly gift card after rebate. Upgrade to a Wix XP oil filter for just $2 more. Limits apply. See store for details. Stop by your local O'Reilly Auto Parts store or shop online at O'Reilly Auto.com. This college basketball tournament moment is brought to you by Marriott Bonvoy. In a 2019 NCAA tournament, 12-seated Murray State was led by projected lottery pick, John Morant and the opening round against 5-seated Marquette, a ramp put up a rare triple double, scoring 17.16 assists in 11 rebounds. I wish I wouldn't be able to get a triple double without my teammates making shots. He followed that with 28 points against 4th-seated Florida State. Marriott Bonvoy, where Game Day checks in. Clinton Yeats here, Game Day brings the excitement.

47:43Your stay should feel just as memorable with Marriott Bonvoy official hotel partner of the NCAA and US soccer. You're connected to a portfolio of brands designed for how you travel. Some offer complimentary breakfast, others give you room to spread out, space to stay productive, or extended state comforts. So whether you're a traveling fan or part of the team, Marriott Bonvoy celebrates the moments to live on before and after the game. Marriott Bonvoy, where Game Day checks in. There's still one more topic to cover, really. And of course, that was the King's Kingston in spurs to play against. I'm going to go to a Tottenham Bar to watch this. Can we go away to New York with all your friends? All the way to New York. We've not got any friends. Oh, no, that's true. You're in Clinton, man. Yes, we're not supposed to. Oh, I suppose we're passive-aggressive ways against our producer. The big question. Obviously, you're again, we discussed it yesterday. Would you have done what Tudor did? Well, I think if you ask him today and he reflects about, you know,

48:44this is making before the game, obviously, to play him and then, obviously, to zap him out after 17 minutes, he would rethink the whole situation, you know. It's, obviously, it's a killer for the kid. It's the worst, I think, you know, that could a goalkeeper go through. And I feel for the kid, you know, because my own son is a goalkeeper. And I hope he never gets a moment like that, you know. He will obviously make mistakes and he will make similar mistakes like Kinski did there. But obviously, then get pulled off after 17 minutes in a game, a sold-out crowd in Madrid, 68,000 because you have these two blackouts, basically. It's simply brutal. It's brutal. So I think we all, we all felt for the boy and obviously, you know, you're in the ground and you get back up and you get going. But this is a massive shock or for a young player like him.

49:44You're going to take, I just want to ask about Tudor's decision. You're going in the first place to play him. A head of the car, as you said, this is a 22-year-old who's never experienced the Champions League before hasn't played since October in the carabal cup. A lot of this has to fall at Tudor's feet, doesn't it? Well, you know, he's the only one that sees the kid in the training sessions. In EC's also, it'd be Cario, obviously, in the training session, he feels, you know, the understanding that he has with his teammates, with the backline and he tries things out. So, I mean, he's not putting him in, not being convinced that he can do the job. You know, I mean, he was convinced before the game that he can do the job and it was just too much for the kid in that moment, you know. I mean, there's always arguments, you know, when is the time for a young goalkeeper to come in to step in? You know, some is like, for example, in Italy, they don't give a player's really a chance very, very early. They say they have to get experience somehow. And then you have other countries like maybe in Germany or in the Premier League where they say,

50:45you know, you throw him in the cold water and he has to swim. And that's what happened there. He threw him in the cold water and in that moment, the water was too cold. So, he made those huge, huge mistakes. And then the other story to discuss, certainly is then, you know, how do you react to it? Just drag it out until half time, you know, maybe then you can talk to him. And then you explain to him that you will sap him off and bring back Vicarly in that moment. He decided to do it after 17 minutes. And that's a huge punishment for a young kid like him. It's a big story because, no, I rephrase that. It was a story because it was unusual to see that. And it is, however, there is a huge, there is such a bigger picture here for sports. The first thing first, two doors of Dead Man walking. He said four games, he said four defeats. I saw it today, one of the stats boys said, in those four games, they've only been leading

51:46for five minutes of a game. So, that's the first thing. And the second thing is, in obviously, Jörgen's a former Tottenham player. The sort of laughing about relegation has gone now. You know, man, six weeks ago, man, won't be as, you know, look at, look at Bunley, look at West Ham, look at Forrest, look at Leeds. That's gone. So, all this kinsky scoff was, it was a story of the day and, you know, should he have done it, should he not have done it. I think for a few of Tottenham fans, or a few of the other teams in the relegation battle, at the moment with their mentality and who's coaching their team, it is more than feasible, they could go. And I mean that, they could go, yeah. Because I'm unsure, they have the fighting qualities. They've got better players in the other teams down there. We're not seeing it, but they have better players in terms of talent level.

52:46But they don't have the fighting quality to get out of an ugly, pressurized, relegation battle that is, you just have to roll your sleeves up and get a result anywhere you can. They don't have that and they don't have the manager for it and they're not going to come back against the LED. The whole thing it spills from behind the scenes to the managerial appointments, to the performances, unfortunately for them, they have one of the great stadiums. But the rest of it is a shambles, not utter shambles. You're obviously going to see the speculation about who's going to take over from Igor Tudor. Tough suggestions is that he will still be in charge for the press conference ahead on Friday. Who would you choose at the moment to come in? Well, whoever you choose, what you need is, you need a person that can connect to everyone emotionally, that knows the club, that feels the club,

53:47that feels the people, because to get out of this mess, they need to develop a fighting spirit, a really nasty, ugly fighting spirit. And that goes only over the emotions. So you don't need to have to bring in the mastermind of tactical stuff or whatever. You need to have somebody there that really gets everybody on board and go and get these games now done in a positive way and gets everybody behind the whole fact that they are in danger going down to the championship. So no matter who you put in charge now, it goes only over the emotions, over the willingness to suffer, and to fight, and to be ready to maybe take the ball away from some ballboys on the sidelines. Thank you so much. Jürgen, I heard that you were off for the job, but wanted to stay here talking to us about Milky Way's and Curly Wurley's. Was that true? Yes. Exactly. We're talking about chocolate. Sadly, we don't have a chocolate discussion

54:47before we come on the show. You hopped off with your little bit of sugar into it. Jürgen, would you want the job of fail for it to you? Who wouldn't want the job of it? You're going there. Yeah, it is. Beautiful. Thank you very much, Jürgen. You've got my vote on it, I'm sure. I'd like to see you with you. I want to see you. Clint's a nickel burly touchline. I want to treat her everybody. Thank you very much, Jürgen. Just to remind her plenty more stuff on the Champions League over on our YouTube channel. Be sure to go to ESPNFC and subscribe. That brings us the end of it today, Jürgen. Be sure to stay tuned for extra time. Well, come in to the latest edition of Extra Time. Thank you very much for all your questions. When did the clock change? Two weeks in England. Nice to meet you. I suppose that's what you're referring to, because we're having to be later than normal, which puts you. You know, some of us need beauty sleep. Yes, yes. More than us, yep. But it'll be it for me.

55:48Craig, six Premier League teams qualified for the current round of the Champions League, but none of them won. Will all the physicality and intensity of the Premier League work against them at this stage of the season? No. Just have to be better. Right, and without getting into this discussion again, you know, I don't think I disagree with some others on this show that the Premier League is particularly strong. I don't think it is. I think asking what I can't be very... And I've always felt when Arsenal apart, who haven't played well recently and didn't play well today, when the rest of them came up against better teams, a lot of us surprised by his performance that the Premier League teams would struggle. Because I just think underneath the underbelly of the Premier League, although Chelsea played relatively reasonably well, but lost five, I think the underbelly of the Premier League isn't particularly strong. I don't think the physicality is going against them. I think they just played some really poor games and made some really bad decisions. And that's why Chelsea, but particularly Man City

56:51are in a pickle going into the second leg. Yeah. Liverpool just haven't been great all year. You know, and that's why they lost to Galatasaray. So which Premier League teams are going through? Newcastle Barcelona? No, I don't think... I'm also going to go through... OK. Real Madrid will manage the city. I think Real Madrid will go through... PSG. I think Arsenal could be the only one to go through. Wow. Possibly Liverpool. Wow. I think so. Allie, Pedrille found Ferdinand. That's 1A and 1B right there. Yep. The Saples in Onges. Yeah, I did it, but I love them. I love them, but you've got to pick one first. OK. Are you picking first? Oh, first? Yes. Do we, do we have a boot in Valvier, originally, at the top of the boot? Well, I think so. Yeah, come on. Noft, noft, noft. Madrid. Pedrille? Oh, Valerde. Pedrille, but it's... It's tight. Berlin, who knows? It's tight. Pedrille. Considering Manchester City's spending over the last two seasons,

57:52how big a blow would finishing this season trophyless be? I think it'd be a big blow. Spent again in January with Mark Gaye and Semenio. Really, not... shouldn't be any excuses. Uh, have a big squad, no matter what he says. Do you remember last year, though? Ah, squads too big. Yes. But later than the big squad, I got to tell players they're not playing. Yeah. They had injuries, and he's gone, Mark, I got injuries when he's making a guy. He doesn't know what... Let's be honest. He knows he's leaving in the summer. And he's probably going to leave empty-handed, I would think. So, yeah, they didn't address the full-back areas in the transfer window, summer transfer window. And that was a huge mistake. Huge mistake that you went into a season with Nico Riley, and Mateusz Nunes playing as your full-backs. Going up against the elite of Europe. That's... that's... that's pure recruitment. How did it feel, Ali, when the team worked so hard against superior opposition? But then the goalkeeper gives them a goal

58:53and throws the game away, asking for a friend who might be a Chelsea supporter. Yeah, I think you were seeing that reaction from Enzo Fernandes, who... There was a sequence of play later in the match after they were already given up that gold to Vydinja in which Jorgensen tried to play that same sort of pass. And ended up being a turnover, but the receiving player from PSG was in an outside position, and that's why the gold didn't count. But it was essentially the same decision, and it's almost as if to say to Jorgensen, in this is what I think Enzo Fernandes is coming from, he's like, did you not just... Did you not just see what happened? You're trying to do this thing? Go keep him. But it's not just about the goalkeeper, and of course it's a physical mistake, it's a decision mistake as well from the goalkeeper and the execution of that particular sequence, but it's not just that, it's about what sort of mindset and groundwork does the manager

59:56actually put forth an idea where the goalkeeper feels like he needs to play this ball. Now, it should be on Jorgensen to see the whole field and say, no, no, this is not on, especially when you just made this mistake. I'm just lumping this ball of 60 yards and we'll see what happens over there. And that's on Jorgensen, but I think it's the whole culture, if you will, of now goldkeepers getting too cute and trying to play balls into spaces that they should. Do you know what my favourite part of today was? I thought, and we reached it yet, it's the end. Surely. Yeah, this is going to supercede to the end. Although the end is... OK, it's my favourite part, it's where we call Jack. So, my favourite part was the game was 4-2 and producing Mike and Jack, Jack Patel, they went off to do the job, it was very professional. Some people say Jack's spelling, but sometimes, apart from the 300 graficaeros today, that's another. So, they went off the top. So, I've seen you, Lads, and then just at that,

1:00:57a golden, and we shouted, Jack, and like a couple of clowns, they came running back. Well, particularly Jack, because he's somehow in his head, he thought, oh, calmness, calmness. But it was 4-3, and he couldn't come running back. See, it was 5-2, oh, I was so happy. It was like, just a seeded reen, OK. Three teams lost today, Ali, by 3. Who's the better chance of coming back? Chelsea City or Sporting? I'm Sporting. I'm going to say Chelsea. Chelsea? Not Sporting? I'm going to say it's 30. Not Sporting? No. Have you seen Border Glyn? Oh, excuse me. Wow, it's a hearing issue. What about Sporting? What about Sporting? I think they would be, they would be the fate and favourites I imagine. What, they would be the fate and favourites I imagine. Are we from home? So again, you know what, I'm just, I'm just, I'm putting out my stool that I think the puts on. Tell you what, Border Glyn's recorders are we from home? Tell me. No, I can't. Good, all right. Thank you, thank you.

1:01:58Bad, there was breaking news coming. Craig, which team was more undeserving of a draw? Arsenal, Barcelona. Boy. Yes, that's a tough one. I mean, there was a sub-story in the Liverpool's in game because Robert Andrew, I mean, he could have been in Red Card after five minutes, two yellows. But that isn't taking away from how bad Arsenal were because once that didn't happen, Arsenal were terrible. They were really poor. Barcelona by their standards were. Who's luckier to get a draw? I think you'd have to say Arsenal got luckier because the penalty was extremely soft. OK. As opposed to Barcelona. That was... Bassa... Danny Orwell. Yeah, that was a good way to play for more money and a bad way to play for Malik Joe. Yeah, that's all. I would say, I would say ask. Would you concur? I would concur. That is it.

1:02:59That brings us to the end of today's show. Tomorrow, Craig's got a special tactical breakdown. Yes, he does. He's the city I guess. Which he offered himself. My phone will be off tomorrow. All day. What ring me about analysis? Pete wrote so many ideas, don't worry. So many, I'm going to poo poo. Craig, then, back tomorrow, alongside K to reflect on the Europa League. Hold line up now. You've got strawberry dreams, blue Hawaiian, sunrise, and vice guava. And they all bring the monster energy punch. So if you've been living in the white can, branch out. Ultras got a flavor for every vibe. And every single one is zero sugar. Tap the banner to learn more.