Barcelona Steal a Draw in Newcastle

13:34Dan Thomas:There's no doubt about that.

13:35Gab Marcotti:So all to play for for Barcelona next week against Newcastle. Of course, before that though, they've got La Liga action. Full programme of games live for you on ESPN+. Barca take on Sevilla at 10.45 on Sunday. Biggest statement of the day has been made by Bayern Munich went to Italy and thrashed Atalanta by six goals to one. Elize very much the star of the show, the French international. A couple of goals assist as well. Bayern then very much in the driving seat to go through to the quarterfinals. Frank with us as well. Craig, this was so impressive right from the off.

14:11Dan Thomas:And as you said during the highlight, they don't even need one of the top strikers in world football at the moment. Nico Jackson, who couldn't really hold a place down at Chelsea at the end. he's come in and you must think he's won a watch. Filling in for Harry Kane, coming off the bench, playing these kind of games. Bayern, there's absolutely no doubt, although Arsenal beat them earlier in this competition, they're finding their stride a little bit. They are going to be one of the favourites. There was no Kane on the side. But I want to touch on Michael Alissi because you think about the wide men they've had there.

14:43Dan Thomas:And Leroy Sane did a decent job at times, but it was that consistency. He's now at Galatasaray. They gave him a free. Michael Leach is giving them that consistency that some of the wide players previously didn't. And he seems to be doing it almost on a weekly basis, be it in the Bundesliga or in the Champions League. And you think about it, he's not stepped in to Bayern Munich from Liverpool or a big club in Europe. With all respect, he's stepped in from Crystal Palace. Well, the expectations are kind of not a lot. and the way that he's taken that on, he's arguably, along with Kane, one of the first names on the team sheet.

15:22Dan Thomas:I think he's absolutely nailed on, obviously, Franco, to play with France, the way he's playing. But the consistency that Alici has brought to this side and now that Murciel is fit again, the options that Vince and company have, particularly going forward, Luis Diaz, obviously, as well, he's got some brilliant, brilliant options going forward. A Frenchman, Frank.

15:47Julien Laurens:I'm a big fan. I mean, Michael has shown since he signed for Bayern Munich that he's a world-class player. I mean, we talk about Lamine Yamal. That's the same type of player where you have the pace, you have the skill, you have the cleverness, and he's 24. He's not 18 like Lamine, but he's only 24. And you can feel that already the experience is there. Well, unfortunately for him, he is in competitions with the national team with Ousmane Dembélé, the Ballon d 'Or. So it's complicated. It's a good thing for Didier Deschamps. Who would you pick, Fran? Oh, my God. You want me to have an enemy tomorrow when they're going to hear that?

16:31Julien Laurens:No, no, no, no, no. I'm not going to answer that because we are so lucky to have those two. maybe Ousmane Debelé can play in another position that's what I'm saying I think Michael Lise is perfect in that position so I would play Michael Lise if I have to not choose but use them I will put Ousmane Debelé maybe in another position but Michael Lise has to play I mean what a player what a player

16:56Gab Marcotti:we get excited about Luminium obviously 18 years of age adds that little bit of extra to the narrative but when you talk about blessed players in the world Lise is there alright

17:06Alejandro Moreno:Right now, if you're a full-back, somebody says, right, go round the teams, who do you not want to play against? There's no question you're coming up with Alisi. I mean, it's one of those positions, and the thing he does, and we saw it best on his second goal, you know what he's doing. You know exactly where he wants to go, but you can't stop it. Because that first step is so quick, and the quickness of drop in the shoulder, and then, of course, the accuracy on the shot. Yeah, sometimes it's tough to stop somebody like him. And yesterday your bracket had Bayern Munich winning, didn't it, if I remember rightly?

17:38Alejandro Moreno:I did, I'll tell you. If there's one thing, listen, they're going to play against better teams than Atalanta. But the one thing that you will get from this game, if you're any of the other sizes, do you know what? We can't go toe-to-toe, because this team, if you go toe-to-toe, they can rip you apart. So they're going to have to come up, regardless of which team it is on that list, they're going to have to come up with some sort of tactical balance between the attack and defence. Because if you think you can just go and try and just walk over them, it ain't happening. Not in that sort of form.

18:10Gab Marcotti:They're in the conversation, obviously. They were before this match and they will be as long as they're in this tournament.

18:16Dan Thomas:I don't think there's any doubt. And obviously, even if you're struggling in a game and Kane's fully fit, I mean, he could score on a whim, Kane. I mean, he's just such a good player. But you think about it, you've got Leonard Carroll as well, the youngster, they've got Moussi Alla fit now, Gnabry back playing well, Luis Diaz, Michael Alise we sort of touched on, it's all about end product and a lot of these guys are you know, they do the silky things in the game, but their end product is very good and that's, at the end of it, that's what it's all about, you can have all the fancy skills you want and do all the tricks and you do all this, but if you have not got that key pass at the end or that quality to finish, then most of it's absolutely useless and Bayern have got that in abundance, but they've got the same issue that a lot of teams have got that you can get at them at the back so they're not you know they're not alone in that respect but they're a pretty decent outfit uh unless we thomas tuchel mondengro on the next england great you know going to win the world cup he mondengro and the guy that was gone down with burnley has them playing better football and has done for a while than any of them

19:22Gab Marcotti:they will play real maduro manchester city in the next round but of course they're still chasing the Bundesliga title. You can see how that plays out, obviously, on ESPN FC. It continues this weekend as they take on Bayer Leverkusen. Meanwhile in Spain, Atletico Madrid taking on Spurs. A bit of a surprise as Antonin Kinski was brought in to replace Vicario in goal. However, he would only last 17 minutes as Atleti were 3-0 up within that time. Two of the goals, Kinski's fault, poor passes from him. Atleti making the most of it. Vicario then subbed on. Atleti will go on to score two more goals to make it five.

20:01Gab Marcotti:Spurs with a couple back but Atleti of course very much the favourites going into the second leg in North London. Stevie was the right decision to sub Kingsky? Yeah yeah from from two points.

20:12Alejandro Moreno:Number one the right thing to do you just look at the score. The final result 100 % vindicates that the manager and taking them off. Now the question is should he played him in the first place but taking him off the score indicates it and when you're when you're sat on the sideline you're responsible for everything to do with spurs and sentiment cannot come into it it's not a case of well if I take this kid off I'm going to kill his career or he's going to be short for the next six months you have to think what's best for the team and what was best for the team was to take him off and as horrible as it is a decision to make it's the right decision.

20:52Alejandro Moreno:As I said, you're responsible for the other ten players on the field and the whole club. So you have to do what you have to do. And as I said, personally it's a horrible decision to make. I've made it, but it's the right decision. And this was the one thing that Igor Tudor has gotten right since he went into Tottenham.

21:14Dan Thomas:You mentioned it, apart from making that decision in the first place. But he made that decision based on the fact that his number one keeper had been struggling and has been struggling. I don't think Igor Tudor's long for Tottenham at the moment anyway. Not based on this result, I think based on the Premier League and their struggles and their free-falling towards relegation as they are. But look, it's 15 minutes on the clock, it's 3-0, the keeper has gone, and I mean gone at this point. because he just thinks now they're going to press Tottenham and they're going to have to play back to the goalie they might be able to boot it up the field but Igor Tudor whether you know whatever the results are or not he's thinking to himself 15 minutes my keeper is gone this could be 7 or 8 literally it could be a mistake every time the ball goes back because his head, the goalkeeper has his head gone even more now the goalkeeper?

22:15Dan Thomas:Yeah it has it has and it's going to affect that lad unbelievably because that is it's almost it's embarrassing beyond belief but so was the mistakes that he made in a game and a huge game so I think Stevie's right I don't think there's there's any you can't think about what's this going to mean for his career when you're trying to get a result because we're in this business and we're past that stage of putting cotton wool around people. Right. He's had a shocker. He's had to go. I mean, that goalkeeping position, as we always talk about, you're a defender, you might be able to make a mistake.

22:51Dan Thomas:You're a midfielder, you probably can. You're a striker, you definitely can. You're a goalkeeper, you can't. Generally, you can't. And I think the manager was looking, thinking, I have made a right wreck playing this guy here. And if I don't take him off now, I mean, the game's probably gone at 5-2. but how many more mistakes within a first half of football would that, and I think he's 22 years old, relatively young man, but how many mistakes would he have made? And I think ultimately he had to make that call just to get an experienced goalkeeper back in there. Frank?

23:25Julien Laurens:Yeah, I remember that Liverpool goalkeeper where the nightmare in the Champions League final and that ruin his career, I think. And I was feeling so bad for Kinski, but that was the right decision from Tudor. The only thing I would say about the coach is maybe when the player was going out, maybe just go laugh for like 10 seconds. We're going to talk about it after. I had to do that. I'm sorry. Bye-bye. And go back to that. But he didn't move, didn't look at him. That was harsh and hard to watch. But there was no other decision to make. As Craig mentioned, the guy was gone. That was over. And every action, every time he would have had the ball, it would have been a question mark, you know, what kind of stupidity he would do.

24:17Julien Laurens:So that was the only decision to make. That's sad, but it is what it is.

24:22Gab Marcotti:Just take me into Tudor's head. Why he decides to play a 22-year-old who hasn't played since October away against Atleti in the Champions League. I don't remember watching Crystal Mappalas and going, Oh, Vicario was terrible. Everyone's terrible for Spurs. That's just a given.

24:38Alejandro Moreno:There's a little bit of, this could be a great decision. This could be one of those decisions where the guy stands on his head. And Vicario's not being good, so am I really, you know,

24:54Alejandro Moreno:he's not the first-choice goalie, but is he really that bad that I can't play him when I actually don't want to play Vicario? but it also might turn out to be a genius move. This kid could turn into a world better. So it's an ego thing almost. Oh, there's a little bit of that. Right. You know, because I would hope that one of his staff would go, right, you need to think twice about this. Do you sack him tonight? Yeah. Yeah? Yeah. There is not one thing has changed for the better since Igor Tudor walked through the door. So after what, six games is it? Seven? There's not a thing in those six or seven games has gone the right way.

25:36Alejandro Moreno:Every single one has gone down the... I don't think it's that many, Steve. No, it's about four. I don't... yeah.

25:40Dan Thomas:I think it's three or four. Three league games. Yeah, Palli's gone. Three defeats. Yeah, three.

25:46Alejandro Moreno:All right, if it's four or three. Yes.

25:49Dan Thomas:Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. 100%. Yeah, he came in because, I don't know the guy's name, Patrici or whatever it is, an Italian at Tottenham, behind the scenes, he's worked with him at Nivea, so he's brought him in. Paratici. Articci, okay. So, it was close. And he doesn't, to me, know the players well enough to know what his team selections have been a head-scratcher at best. And to go back to your point about Vicario, and he hasn't played well, and we saw Robert Sanchez drop by Liam Rossignor at Chelsea, but their predicament's kind of different. They're fighting at a different end. And whilst Vicario hasn't been good, If that's a bullet point for being dropped, there's another seven or eight or nine or ten could easily have been dropped.

26:40Dan Thomas:And it goes back to that point. None of them have been good. So I'm changing my goalkeeper for a guy with literally no minutes in the Metropolitana, with players like Sarloth and whatnot. They might be firing the balls into the box. He's got to make decisions. So on the old Monday morning quarterback scenario, It was a dreadful decision. And then he's had to backtrack and do that tonight. Look, Daniel Levy's not at the club anymore. We don't know what he would do. I don't know who's making these big decisions. But if he survives to the morning and beyond, I'll be surprised. The big question is, have they got a backup up their sleeves?

27:18Dan Thomas:They're not going to beat Atleti. I wouldn't imagine they'd beat Atleti to get back in this. Their bigger fight is clearly West Ham and Nottingham Forest. So they've got to sit and think to themselves, at boardroom level is this the guy that's going to stave off relegation yes or no and at the moment the answer is a dead no so they're going to have to go and look at another interim somewhere else somebody maybe that's been at the club before has got a bit of experience knows the players it's not just about coaching G'day mate that was my Australian Ange my god they were even talking about Harry Redknapp and Glenn Hoddle Glenn's 68 I think Harry's I might be wrong 79 but I'm not suggesting that's the way they go but that's kind of, and by the way both of those are very good managers in their day but that's kind of where they are

28:05Alejandro Moreno:they have to put their ego aside and what people might think about who they choose for whatever reasons just get your blinkers on and whether it's Harry Redknapp or not I said this when Tudor walked in the question was what does he need to do And the first thing I said was get them together, make them play for each other. That's all he has to do. And he has absolutely not done that. And if we use Harry, never read that as the example, if there's one thing he'll do, he'll get them together and get them playing for each other. And, of course, all the noise outside will be, oh, what are you doing?

28:46Alejandro Moreno:He's a dinosaur. He's passed it. Well, what Harry brings is what you actually need right now to put your ego aside and forget the noise and do what you need to do to keep your club in the Premier League. That's what they need to do. Do you know how,

29:00Dan Thomas:on the other side of it though,

29:05Dan Thomas:if they chuck this away, he should walk. Simeone. Right. Oh, yeah.

29:12Julien Laurens:Yeah.

29:12Dan Thomas:Because I mean, I think people have just had enough.

29:14Gab Marcotti:Because Tottenham are such a bad team. I think you're taking us down an alley that we don't need to go down.

29:20Alejandro Moreno:Surprise me.

29:21Dan Thomas:No, no. But it would be such a big... No, no. But I've seen Atleti be absolutely rotten at times when you don't expect it. And my point is, Tottenham are so bad at the moment that they can ill afford anything else than to turn up at London and make Tottenham look what they are. It's an absolutely dreadful side in turmoil. And anything else, that's what I'm saying. There should be no excuses for Atleti not waltzing in to the next round. Frank, would you sack Tudor tonight?

29:52Julien Laurens:Sorry, I didn't hear.

29:53Gab Marcotti:Would you sack Tudor tonight?

29:59Julien Laurens:Wow. What's the point? Let him finish the second leg and after you will do so. They play against Liverpool during the weekend. No, no. Let him go until after the second leg, so next week, and after you decide. But yes, he should go. I mean, well, you never know. Maybe Spurs can wake up and win 3-0 or 4-0. at home. No miracle can happen, but yes, normally in a normal world, you know, he should get out of the Champions League and Tudor should be out.

30:34Gab Marcotti:It takes two teams to tango, I suppose. You've got to credit Atleti. Absolutely. Did their chances, did the job. Big advantage for them now to go into the quarterfinals. What about that touch? What about that, Steve?

30:46Alejandro Moreno:He's brilliant. He's running over there. He's actually running over there. and he's, I mean it's experience as well isn't it, he just relaxes on it pulls the defender with him and he just rolls it around the corner, perfect I mean, if he had a pair of hands and done it that's how easy he made it look

31:04Gab Marcotti:A lot more Champions League talk then over on Extra Time, as always you can check that out over on our YouTube channel I like things my way my coffee, my schedule and my treatment, so I talk to my doctor about self-injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo Pre-Filled Syringe, which contains F-Gartigamide Alpha and Hyaluronidase QVFC. It's injected under your skin subcutaneously. It means I can inject in my space on my time. It's my treatment, my way. Visit VivgardMyWay.com. That's V-Y-V-G-A-R-T MyWay.com. And talk to your doctor about Vivgard Hytrulo. Brought to you by Argenics. If 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.

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33:05Gab Marcotti:In Turkey, Galatasaray taking on Liverpool in the early game and it would be the hosts who will take a 1-0 advantage into the tyre Anfield in the second leg. Lomino would score early on, Galatasaray thought they got a second. It was maybe harshly ruled offside, but in the end it is the Turkish team who take that advantage to England.

33:24Alejandro Moreno:Yeah, Liverpool were not good today.

33:26Gab Marcotti:Galatasaray were good.

33:27Alejandro Moreno:I don't think either of these teams were good, quite frankly. I was sitting watching it and I had you in my head from thinking, well, you know what, there's two teams here that won't win the Champions League. regardless of who goes through because if whoever goes through if they play the way they did today against either Chelsea or Barca I think it is PSG PSG beg your pardon then they've got no chance you know neither of them could keep the ball neither of them in the final third could make a make a right decision or the proper pass with the right weight and as much as for the neutral it may have been enjoyable because you know two of you liked it It was so frustrating sitting watching it from a football point of view.

34:13Alejandro Moreno:Just the amount of passes on both sides that went astray. And although Liverpool were kind of more dominant, I felt, in the second half, at no stage in this whole game could you sit back and go, this team's in control, or this team's in control. So, yeah, I mean, I was happy when the final whistle went, because if we can't beat Galatasaray at Anfield when we're failing by a goal then we absolutely don't deserve to get through it.

34:42Dan Thomas:I think we knew quite some time ago that certainly Galatasaray but I think we didn't learn anything that Liverpool are not going to win the Champions League. It was a good game though, wasn't it? No, no, yeah, it was a good game because it was frantic and it was hectic and Galatasaray knew they had to play at a high intensity to try and get that crowd behind them and pressure Liverpool into mistakes which they did. and I thought they played probably about as well as they can. Apart from the fact Osman didn't get on the score sheet, but he was a headache, he was a threat, and what he fancies is that he could be a nightmare for back fours.

35:19Dan Thomas:But they're kind of at their level in terms of there's not many more gears, is the phrase that's been used on the show, there's not many more gears for them, right? And away from home, they're not particularly strong. I think for Liverpool, it's getting a little boring now, isn't it? just the same things every game. Same old, same old. McAllister's passing... What's the plan? What's the plan? There is none. Why is he playing Verts on the left? Yeah. Florian Verts... Right, let's be honest. Let's stop going around the bushes with Florian Verts. I'm fed up. What he did in Germany is what he did in Germany.

35:50Dan Thomas:That's gone. He's so lightweight in this Liverpool team. It's unbelievable. He's so lacking conviction in the final third. It's incredible. If it's not goals, where's the passing? Where's those dribbling Maisie Runs he was going at Leverkusen, beating three or four, dropping shoulders, and scoring or playing a pass. Where is it? That's nowhere to be seen. But on top of that, Arne Slott has to take... He's got two wide players that are passengers. Mo Salah, he might as well have got him to Saudi Arabia at the end of the transfer window. It didn't happen. And then you're playing Florian Verts on the left-hand side, where not only does he struggle to affect the game, he has to track back and hit one of the

36:35Alejandro Moreno:most struggling players in Liverpool Here's a question for you Do you think in some ways that Slott's lucky that he doesn't have any he can't really make changes Do you think he's lucky that he can't make changes because as much as we're talking about Florian Verts I mean you can say the same thing about Mo Salah Well at least Verts kick the ball It does absolutely it does absolutely nothing for the team He needs to get dropped again Bill I mean again what does he do does he just say right Frimpong's starting or Ingramore's starting and Sally you're sitting anything is better than what's being offered up now it actually is that stage where anything really would be better

37:17Dan Thomas:wouldn't you rather have Cody Gakpo in the left hand side at least he's at least he'll get some at least he's powerful at least he's physical at least he'll run back I'm also at the feeling with Arne Slott is that he's trying to accommodate players now. Alright, he hasn't got a bunch because he's got some injuries, but he's got some. He's got some on the bench he can rotate. But he wants to get Subozlai in the team. Where am I going to put him? He wanted McAllister and he wanted Gravenberg playing a little deeper, but he probably wanted to get Wirtz and Subozlai in. So he's going to go, well, I want to play Wirtz in the 10.

37:51Dan Thomas:I don't want to put Subozlai out there. I'm not going to play him at right back again. That's a waste. So it's almost like he's trying to accommodate these players to try and get them in the side because Subozlai's been excellent. He's been arguably the best player this season. But you're not going to get the best out of... And we're saying this to... We're sick to the back teeth. Florian Verts is more... He's going to eventually play his best football in a number 10. And if he doesn't, Liverpool are going to have to sell him because he's been a little bit of a waste thus far this season. But as Stevie said, I mean, I don't really care what you've got on the bench.

38:26Dan Thomas:Mo Salah has to take his second trip to the subs bench in terms of not starting. Because he is doing absolutely... Well, he's not doing a lot.

38:37Gab Marcotti:Frank, should we get the offside? What did you think?

38:41Julien Laurens:Yes, I give the offside. Because I think the player was in position of offside, you know, really interferes blocking Robertson. So I have no doubts about that. And I'm fine with that. And we don't know what would have happened if Robertson could have been able to chase. But the fact that he tries to block the player, for me, it kills the action. We can see that he doesn't play the ball and he sees Robertson coming back and blocks him. So bye-bye. It's over for me. It's outside. Frank, the only issue I have with this, right, is he has no...

39:14Dan Thomas:There is no bearing whatsoever and it doesn't result in less pressure on Canati. it has no bearing on Kanati's position who plays the ball it's the two other Galatasaray players that are pressuring Kanati not Yilmaz so he has no bearing on the mistake Robertson can't get close enough to even get close to the ball Kanati's got that he's mopping that up all day and every day he just then makes a mistake so from that sense I don't think he makes a material impact in the play because I think the play is the player's in an offside position. Andy Robertson's slightly affected, but Kanati is not. He's not affected one iota.

40:03Dan Thomas:That's the key, though, isn't it?

40:04Alejandro Moreno:He's affected.

40:07Dan Thomas:Kanati's not affected. Robertson's affected. Yeah, but he's got no material impact on the play because Kanati's getting there first and makes a mistake.

40:18Julien Laurens:Craig, look at the action again. if you look if we can see the action again you see the ref the line linesman is ready to lift and he's starting to lift up the the flag because he sees the obstruction look at him up he does it he does it now because he thinks that use use is offside he's only looking at him he's not looking at what can I think and do or whatever and and so they're gonna look at this action on the guy being offside and on top of it blocking a little bit Robertson and after his way I'm saying it doesn't really matter what Connacht is doing and he's making a mistake they are blocked on that

40:56Dan Thomas:action on the two guys but it does matter it does you have to the player in the offside position right I don't I'll be honest with you I don't want to go over this but let me just say this let me just say this in terms of the current offside law the offside player has to have a material impact in the play. And I am 99.9 % sure that Yilmaz does not. Because Robertson's not really part of the play there. Canati is easily mopping that up. He then just makes a mistake. So, in my opinion, Liverpool have got a little bit, and particularly Canati, have gone lucky there. Who's going through, Frank?

41:37Julien Laurens:I still think Liverpool, if Arnostad is capable of making good choices and strong decisions, And today we were talking about the players and the individuals in place. I really think that you have to restrain the middle of the park. So put a McAllister on the left side, Sloboza in the middle, and Gravenberg a little bit on the right side. Put Verze at number 10, which is his position, and put Gakpo and Ekitiki at front. And so you restrain your defensive aspect and you give a chance. because you cannot play with two passengers. It's Champions League final, and I'm sorry. With all the respect that I have for Mo Salah and Virts, one is not playing in this position.

42:22Julien Laurens:The other one is not there anymore. I don't know when he's going to be back, if one day he's going to be back. But you have to take a decision. That guy cannot play anymore because he's not the player that we used to have, and they were lucky to have. But you have to think about the next game and the next game. You have to make sure you're strong enough. We don't want to talk about Van Dijk and Konate because today they went back to their game, the bad game of the season. And I'm in a neutral point of view. I'm completely neutral. Today was a very average technical game by both teams. And I was more disappointed by Liverpool than Galatasaray because Galatasaray were trying to put some craziness into the game.

43:06Julien Laurens:But Liverpool, come on. That was really the... We saw the season of Liverpool in that game. Sometimes good, suddenly the worst of the worst. Inconsistency. And that wasn't good. That wasn't a good game for me.

43:20Dan Thomas:The worst case scenario, isn't it, going into a World Cup if you're Ibrahima Kanati? Having the season that he's had. I mean, it wasn't just that. Those two mistakes. Remember the one that he lashed at in the first half that fell to, I think it fell to Osserman. I mean, it's just a continue. And listen, Van Dijk's not been brilliant. you've got Liverpool to go through then I think we're in a scenario I probably have because of Galatasaray particularly away from home but they're not a great side we said that when they beat Juventus I think Liverpool will go through but you know what because it's Liverpool because it's this season I've got a feeling it's not going to be an easy night for them at Anfield but just by a smidge and again the first decent side I think Liverpool meet over two legs You say PSG or Chelsea?

44:07Dan Thomas:They're gone. No, if Chelsea can somehow scrape through against PSG, maybe that'll be a better game. But if it is PSG, Liverpool will go. If they get through, they'll be gone.

44:17Alejandro Moreno:Yeah. I actually watched Galatasaray-Juventus. And Galatasaray absolutely bottled it. So, you've got to think, at Anfield, they'll do the same. So, I think Liverpool will just scrape through. They did go through, though. Yeah, only because Juvenas got a man sent off and they were playing against 10 men You say bottle it, it suggests that

44:40Gab Marcotti:if you bottled it then you're gone They didn't bottle it completely because they're through hence they're playing Liverpool It's so nice to be back

44:47Alejandro Moreno:And the fact that they actually were only 3-0 down after 90 minutes was the biggest surprise because it could have been 10 They didn't really bottle it overall though, did they? No, they didn't bottle it If Arsenal win the title, you wouldn't say They should have been 10-0 down They were 3-0 up from the first leg but they never bottled it. They could have been turned down. Never bottled it at all. Is it 5-2?

45:08Gab Marcotti:Okay, just a reminder, what are we doing now? For more of this, go to our YouTube channel and you can check out Stevie's bracket over on ESPN FC. We mentioned PSG against Chelsea, obviously it's Real Madrid against Manchester City as well. These teams know each other extremely well in this competition. Real Madrid, down to the bare bones. They've got a lot of injuries going into this time. Manchester City huge favourites to advance against the most successful side of course in the history of the Champions League. Shall we remind you who exactly? Real Madrid have out. Of course, Jude Bellingham confirmed that he won't be playing in this game.

45:47Gab Marcotti:Kylian Mbappe as well. Hopefully we have the graphic because I can't remember all of them because there's a lot of them. Militao, Alaba, Ceballos, Rodrigo and Carreras as well. and we saw them, didn't we? Against Celta Vigo on the Friday night, they weren't very good then, Stevie. It's difficult to put an argument as to what's going to change between then and now to see them go toe-to-toe against Manchester City, despite the fact that visitors are far from their best.

46:13Alejandro Moreno:It really comes down to an individual bit of brilliance from Vinny. Right. Or Valverde, if he's playing in his right spot. Yep. After that, Courtois. There you go. There's your three. Yes. that can somehow get you through. Because everybody else, I don't see, I don't see producing. They haven't produced. Those three have at times. But Courtois could be absolutely huge. So, I just, I've got nothing positive to say about Real Madrid. There's nothing they do. They don't play as a unit. They're not better going forward than they are defensively. I don't see any real combinations around the field. it's down to individuals as much as NNL, and obviously Vinny.

47:03Alejandro Moreno:I mean, there's really not, there's not that much to hang on to. There's just not. So, City's on a good run. They've got multiple game winners. And yes, we know that they can be vulnerable defensively, but I'd certainly rather have their defence behind me than Real Madrid. So, yeah, I mean, for me, this is City's to take.

47:27Gab Marcotti:It's fair to say that Arbelo has failed his audition, certainly up to now, as to being the next permanent Real Madrid manager. And there's a lot of discussion as to who could come in and fill that void. Jurgen Klopp, obviously, in the running, 2-1. Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino at 9-1. Yet, of course, ESPN sources heard yesterday, didn't they, that he has been linked strongly to the job after the World Cup. He was asked about that at an airport today, saying, all in good time. In football, the timings always dictate for what happens. Football will take you where it wants, not where you want. We heard on Football America's Hercules Gomez furious.

48:03Gab Marcotti:About what? Pochettino flirting with Real Madrid, supposedly. He should be focused on the US team ahead of the World Cup. There shouldn't be any distractions.

48:11Dan Thomas:Yeah. Don't be talking about ticket prices. Well, yes, indeed. That's true. Please, but you're going to be the next... That's a good point. Yeah. Don't you be talking about ticket prices while I'm talking to Real Madrid. All right, Tim Weir. Focus. Could be the next Julian Lopetegui, eh? Exactly. Get the World Cup, get the sack before it starts. Look, at the end of the day, almost every top manager, and he has been at the top of the tree to an extent, and he's doing a better job now. He was going through a rough patch with the US, but then they got some results. They're looking a bit better. But every top manager has their agent looking around.

48:49Dan Thomas:They do. and obviously there's some big jobs going to be floating around. One of them might be Liverpool in the summer. It could be Xabi Alonso. There'll be a lot of talk there. One of them's probably going to be Real Madrid. There'll be others. There might be a Chelsea job. So your agent is going to be talking to people. That's not so much hawking yourself around. It's modern day just what players and managers do.

49:13Gab Marcotti:Could you not have just said, I'm the US manager, I'm focused on the World Cup in the summer instead of all this?

49:25Dan Thomas:it doesn't take much particularly this side of the pond for people to jump off the deep end does it? no but he's not helping himself

49:34Gab Marcotti:that doesn't help him coming out and saying who knows what will happen football is football you don't know when, where it will take you blah blah blah of course he's right but you don't come out and say it do you? You come out and say, my focus is this.

49:50Dan Thomas:I'll be honest with you. And my list of things to do and worry about, Mauricio Pochettino. Frank, your thoughts?

49:58Julien Laurens:Yeah, I don't know. The thing is, Craig was mentioning agents of those coaches, you know, trying to find the next job after they leave. So Mauricio Pochettino could have said what you just said, Dan, saying, you know, I'm focused on what the national team can do and I want to do my best for the World Cup, where at the same time his coach can work with Real Madrid. But he doesn't need to seduce anybody. Because right now, what he's doing with that, that he's not really into the game. He's not really into the job. So if I'm the Real Madrid chairman, I say, well, that guy is not very tuned in. I don't like that.

50:42Julien Laurens:He has a job and he's telling that maybe for the next job he's going to take something. So I don't want that guy. so sure I want to talk to that guy to a guy who say oh no no I'm focusing on what I have to do and I'm going to see after if I can go somewhere I'll say what that guy is interesting he's a very professional person your pronunciation Frank

50:59Gab Marcotti:your pronunciation of focus has improved so much over the years focus focus sorry focus I really want to see I really hope Tim Weir has a press conference talking about focus tomorrow we'll be looking back of course on those big Champions League ties including Real Madrid against Manchester City and PSG Chelsea.

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53:44Gab Marcotti:That is it then. That brings us to the end of today's show. Frank returns to answer your questions on Extra Time. A lot about Igor Tudor, as you can imagine.

53:56Gab Marcotti:Welcome to the latest edition of Extra Time. Frank, Craig, Stevie all here. Should get straight to it. Reach down deep and create an argument for why Spurs won't get relegated.

54:09Dan Thomas:Forrest and West Ham. Yep. Although West Ham, he looks as if he's got, although, you know, if he copters a bit different, but he looks as if he's got a little bit of organisation there now, which he didn't have. Yep. Change of management at Forrest, so who knows? I mean, at the moment, I think, did somebody say that it's Liverpool at the weekend for Tottenham? Yes, Frank Le Boeuf did. Frank did in the show, so they're spiralling towards, and I believe, I might be wrong, their last game of the season, Tottenham. Leeds United.

54:42Gab Marcotti:Who will be in charge? That was the question we discussed. Everyone agreed that Igor Tudor should be sacked before. Oh no, Frank, you said to give him to the second leg. What for? What do you think is going to happen?

54:54Julien Laurens:Well, I think it doesn't help any new coach to come right now, just before playing against Liverpool. And the second leg that you already know is going to be almost impossible to get through. So let him do that. and maybe start after with somebody else. By the second leg, they could be in the bottom three.

55:11Dan Thomas:Yeah, very much. Depending on results of the weekend.

55:13Alejandro Moreno:Just to what Frank was saying there, the thing is, Frank, this is not Liverpool of old that we're talking about. You know, if you're going to play a Liverpool team, this is the team you want to play right now. A team that are capable of giving you goals. A team that's capable of making a mess of it. Yeah, but, Stevie, not as big a mess as talking. I understand. I guess you wouldn't pick it, but it's not exactly the...

55:44Dan Thomas:It's not what we thought it would be. It's not what we thought it would be at the start of the season. But it's still...

55:49Julien Laurens:Stevie, Stevie, you can feel... I mean, you can be the... It's never good news to play an unfield road, you know, when you have to sort out something and get results. I mean, even against the worst of the worst of Liverpool, you know that because of the fans, because of the pressure, it's going to be tricky. So maybe because you play for Liverpool, it's different thinking from you.

56:14Alejandro Moreno:I'm just thinking about the teams that have gone to Anfield and taken points off Liverpool. That's what I'm thinking.

56:22Gab Marcotti:Craig, who are you more disappointed by their performance today? Liverpool or Barcelona?

56:28Dan Thomas:Barcelona. We expected that from Liverpool a little bit. Yeah, we've seen that a lot. You know, we've seen the mistakes at the back, we've seen McAllister struggle this season, we've talked about Salah, we've talked about Verz. Those things are not new. We have talked a lot about the Barcelona back line, but it wasn't really the talking point. The talking point was how quiet they were going forward. So they were a big surprise. that we know Newcastle got a lot of energy and they're at home and it's a big opportunity but to see Laminya-Mal and Rafinha and players like that have such a quiet game that was a big surprise for me today.

57:07Gab Marcotti:Stevie, what is the thought process of Tudor plucking a goalkeeper from the cold in the midst of an unprecedented crisis with the defence low on confidence already?

57:17Alejandro Moreno:Well, he just thinks he'll make a save. So Vecari's not really making they're losing goals. You said during the show, yeah, it's just a gamble that... Yeah, yeah. But ultimately, I mean, and that's why I had two goalkeepers who were, not that these two, I suppose, were on the same level, but I had two goalkeepers pretty much on the same kind of level, and the reason, the way I separated them was, well, who do I think is going to make a save when I'm ours? And that's why I made the change, because I thought one of them would make a save. Right. And so a lot of that comes into it. He probably looks at Beccario, has been brilliant, hasn't really made a save when it mattered.

57:59Alejandro Moreno:And he thinks, you know, I'll put this guy in. He's obviously going to be up for it. And guess what? You never know, he might make a save.

58:05Gab Marcotti:You mentioned before, and I know you've told this story before, of when you knew you were going to lose a player by your actions. Just remind us, obviously, Igor Tudor doing something similar today.

58:13Alejandro Moreno:So I was in charge of New England Revolution in an MLS game. and there was eight minutes to go in the game and we were a goal up I think it was 2-1 and the opposition were coming at us down the right hand side which is in front of where we were sat so it's like the policy we need to make a change here they're coming down this side so considering what we had we thought right we'll put this guy on and said to him right Your only job is, A, do not get ahead of the ball at any stage in this last eight minutes. You always must be in a defensive position. Do not get ahead of the ball. And anything that comes down this side, make sure you close the ball down.

59:00Alejandro Moreno:That's all you've got to do. So he goes on with eight minutes to go. And about four minutes, five minutes later, they had already two or three times gone down the side his side and he was away up here somewhere ahead of the ball the very thing I told him not to do and so I said to Paul I said you know what I said we're going to have to make a decision here and he went what do you mean? I said well we put him on to do a job and he's not he's not doing it it's actually worse now that he's on than it was before and as I'm saying that they went down the side again whipped the ball in the guy should have scored missed it and I went, that's it, we're going to have to do it.

59:41Alejandro Moreno:So by this time, there was only two minutes to go. So he'd only been on six minutes. Let me know. And again, for the split second, I thought, can I do this? And then I went, hold on a second. This has got nothing to do with how he feels, how I feel. We've got to win this game. If I don't make this change, it may cost us two points. So I had to make the change. And obviously, he's like that. and he sees the board coming up and his face just went and everybody on the bench went nothing else I could do I had no choice did he speak to you at all? did you have a conversation with him? I did afterwards I just left him and I got him on his own afterwards I mean I don't think he I don't think he'd heard a word I said did you win the game?

1:00:27Alejandro Moreno:I did yeah we lost 3-2

1:00:30Julien Laurens:oh good no we won the game

1:00:33Dan Thomas:you can say to me I put you on I told you to do this no I did

1:00:37Alejandro Moreno:I sat him down and told him exactly why I did it. But I don't think he heard the word. He was like that. He couldn't believe it. Did he ever play for you again? No, he was done. That was it. Yeah, his head had gone.

1:00:49Dan Thomas:In some sense tonight, in this game, you could argue, you're talking about losing the player, you could argue he's lost both tonight. Yeah, he's annoyed Vacario for dropping him. Well, Kinski's gone, right? He's not playing again, certainly under that manager, but probably under any at Tottenham. And now, A, he's had to ask Vicario to get the gloves on 17 minutes in. And B, he's thinking to himself, when he dropped him, I'm the scapegoat. I'm the scapegoat for all this crap at Tottenham. So now he's going to pick his suit up mentally and think, well, if we lose a game, I'm scapegoat. Well, he's probably not going to be, because unless they get another goalkeeper to bring in.

1:01:29Dan Thomas:So that's the balance in that. Going into that, Kinski's definitely gone. and your other one knows that when Tudor's there, he's basically called him out as one of the biggest problems by dropping. Now he's got two problems. Frank, how would you feel if you were a sub who was subbed?

1:01:51Julien Laurens:Awful, awful, of course. It's a nightmare. I mean, we can see that sometimes it happens. After 20 minutes, there is an injury. You come on and like an hour after you get out. it can happen that's that's okay but like that or what Steve was just referring to that's that's a real nightmare for a player because you you feel that you are a useless person and you made so many wrong decisions and you deserve that because there is nothing you can say yeah I deserve to get out and the coach was right but I don't want to be him tonight you know on the on the flyback when he's going to be in his bed, I think he won't sleep.

1:02:36Julien Laurens:That's going to be a nightmare for him. I feel for him, but that's what we do. That's our job and sometimes we make crazy mistakes.

1:02:45Gab Marcotti:Question to Craig, have you ever played on a pitch where you slipped as much as Tottenham and Atletico players did today and how do you adjust to a slippery pitch? You figure it out beforehand. This ain't it. First we had Koke speaking this year about how slippery and poor the pitch was, the Atletico captain.

1:03:01Dan Thomas:Well, tell the groundsman not to water it as much. Probably watering it at half time. Watering it when you're doing the warm up. That's why we do the warm up, right? Yeah, and that is one of the reasons you go out. If you go out and you've done the warm up and you come back in and you go out and you're slipping all over the place, if you're a coach, you're driving your bonkers. Because usually you'll have to come off and change your boots and all that. So it's one of the things that, I don't know, it's maybe a little bit old school, but when you go out on some of these pitches that didn't have as much grass as they have now, you had to test the studs and players would go back in and you'd change them to put big metal.

1:03:38Dan Thomas:They're all moulds now, aren't they? Yeah, it's a little different. It was these big metal things. No wonder there was as many injuries. I need to do it yourself.

1:03:49Gab Marcotti:I can't even get this stuck. Mum!

1:03:54Dan Thomas:Yeah, they're all sort of those sort of...

1:03:55Alejandro Moreno:Yeah, everything's mouldy. Why am I going through the bag? Looking for one the same size. You did, and a lot of them have been worn down.

1:04:04Dan Thomas:You try to get the backs a little bit bigger, and the fronts a little bit... And you try to get them all the same size. And by the way, some of them are scuffed into a sharp edge. You think that's going to be...

1:04:15Julien Laurens:Guys, have you ever had stunts for snow with a leather... This was a leather thing that you were losing minutes after minutes to finish only with the needle. Wow. I played with that. I played with that, you know, to play on the snow. And that was very amazing. It's really three layers of

1:04:42Julien Laurens:leather, sorry. And during the game you were losing the layers to finish only with the needles. So imagine if you tackle with only the needles, you can create damages. That was insane. I played with that.

1:04:57Gab Marcotti:Last question and it's one that comes around quite a bit. Would Ossiman tear it up in the Premier League, Frank?

1:05:05Julien Laurens:I would love to see. I would love to see Ossiman one day in the Premier League or in La Liga because I think with all due respect to the Super League, I think Ozyman deserved to play in the best league in the world. So, yeah, the Premier League, that would be great, yeah.

1:05:23Gab Marcotti:That's it. That brings us to the end of today's show. The Champions League action continues tomorrow. We've got a bit of PSG against Chelsea and Real Madrid, Manchester City.

1:05:39Gab Marcotti:Shot clocks, big shots, upsets, aces, TGL playoffs are here. First, Atlanta Drive starts their repeat run against Los Angeles Golf Club. Then, Rory's Boston Common Golf and Tiger's Jupiter Lynx face off in their playoff debuts. Who will advance? Keep up. It's playoffs. Tune in Tuesday, March 17th at 6.30 p.m. and 9 p.m. only on ESPN and the ESPN app.