Futbol W: PSG Out of UWCL

25:09They want this chance. So I think it's a little bit of excitement, motivation, and maybe it makes them less unpredictable, right? When Beaumati is the center of attention and she is the engine of the team and she is the connector in midfield, she is the goal scorer, that then, once you take that out, yes, are they going to struggle a little bit in that area? Of course. But can they find other solutions? Yes. And I think that that might be a surprise now for other teams to have to figure out how they will defend against them. Because, you know, going up against a Bon Mati, you do have that ability to say, all right, if we shut her down, then we're going to shut the whole Barcelona team down in the way that they operate.

25:48But now maybe it'll be less predictable. And, you know, teams are actually going to struggle a little bit more. Shut down Barcelona, shut down Aitana Bon Mati. We all know that's easier said than done.

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26:44But one team that was able to kind of shut them down a little was Chelsea last time out, but this time they went up against Roma. strong run here in the 13th minute from sandy baltimore she crosses the into the box but alas own goal and chelsea say we'll take that all day long though yeah once again own goal um unfortunately from valentina bargamashi uh yeah this is once again really tough uh defending back to goal 26th minute chelsea double their lead yeah and this time um way to keep the ball in play had the ball across the frame, someone can get on the end of it, and that's exactly what happened.

27:2844th minute now. Neem Charles linking up with Sam Kerr. The shot is saved, but Kennard manages to make it 3-0. Yeah, Sam Kerr obviously creating a lot of these opportunities. It's good to see her back in this form. Once again, Kennard was able to score off that rebound. 48th minute here. Chelsea were on the tack. Nuskin fouled in the penalty box right here. It wasn't called on the field, so of course VAR had to get involved in the decision alley. Penalty. Once again, penalty kick, but I think rightfully so. Obviously, in those situations, you want to go for the ball, and situations like this happen.

28:07Fortunately, it was in Chelsea's hands. Well, Chelsea make that 4-0, and then just a bit after, they make it 5-0. Well, well done to complete this performance here. Obviously coming off of that WSL loss to Everton, you know, that first defeat, seems like they've pulled it back together with that confidence. 86th minute, though everyone was scoring, so the veteran that is Lucy Braun said, you know what, I'm going to have a go-to and that's not a defender's goal. I wasn't sure if this was a strass or a shot, but nonetheless, I'm in the back of the net and they ended up having a great match and win.

28:42Having a great match indeed. Chelsea with an absolute beatdown of Roma here. As you can see, they added to some of the largest margins of victory in the UEFA Women's Champions League history. Well, let's get some more post-game reaction now with our pitch side crew who managed to catch up with Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright and Sonia Bonpastor. I think tonight from the players that started to the players that came off the bench, I think it was a full team performance and exactly what we expect from ourselves. Listen, it's so competitive and I think you see from the league standings in the Champs League that the points are so close.

29:18So, you know, you've got to take every opportunity that you get. And our mindset coming into these two games, weren't it, was that it's a must win for both games for us to set out our target, which was to be in the top four and get that qualification. So, yeah, first and foremost, back to the league, tough game in the league and then all eyes on Wolfsburg. The connection the players can have between them is always the most important thing. So that's why as a manager we work really hard on that because players know each other really well. But sometimes to get that connection it takes time. And I think when you change sometimes shape, when you change the players, it takes a little while sometimes to jail altogether.

29:59And I think that's the main thing for me to make sure like any time we rotate we still keep the quality and the good results. The players want to play games and when you play every three days I think we are so used to that. The main challenge is more to keep them fresh and so that's why tonight it was really good to rotate the squad a little bit. It gives the opportunity for the ones who don't get that many minutes to play and to perform and to show me they are ready to help the team but also to just give some rest to some players and tonight it was perfect in that sense because we could done both all right so west london is happy with that chelsea win let's head to north london as arsenal took on fc 20 seven minutes in caldente taking a shot on goal but it's saved but beth mead would be there to follow up but it is also saved but good chance yeah it's so great to see her back in the lineup and back playing the way that she does especially this season so well done unfortunate no goal there but good opportunity once again little footwork and this time it goes in the back of the net but technical ability to be able to get this ball out in front of her feet side netting a little deflection there all right well let's hear from the Beth Mead they're very yeah they're hard work inside they came out really well which we knew they would obviously we settled into the game we got good patterns of player there was good things it's just now that ruthlessness in front of goal which we were probably lacking a little bit of today and also then so for this uh champions league campaign it's been up and down yes yes and looking into that game next week's chance of top four would you say i mean that's the aim we've got to put three points on the table next week but we had an up and down campaign last time you know you can turn these things around and yeah we just want to finish the champions league year with a yeah with a win and put ourselves in a very good position moving forward.

31:53When you look at it, we've been really close in a lot of games. We've let ourselves down in a few moments, you know, Bayern Munich first half really, really good, second half let ourselves down. We know we can compete, it's just putting it together and you know getting them results over the line sometimes. Elsewhere in the Champions League, Real Madrid taking on a team that Ali will know very well, Wolfsburg 19th minute corner kick for Madrid and whoo! Did they expect that? I got that nice little hitter. I said, okay, Mendez. Obviously terrible defending, but nonetheless, she gets the ball in the back of the net, and they go up 1-0.

32:30Well, speaking of terrible defending here, Ali, have a look at this as Laker receives her second yellow card and then a red one for what was a pretty nasty foul. This is unfortunate because they had such a great start, and now they're having to come back and play down a player, so unfortunate for them. 67th minute, Carolyn, we're playing it off to Linda Caicedo and the Colombian with a nice goal. This reminds me of a Kristen Press run, right? Just from half field, being able to cut in front of the defender, take her out of the game, and then 1v1 versus the goalkeeper here. She does so well. Great goal.

33:09Brilliant. All right, well, have a look at this foul right here from Iris Ashley on the goalkeeper. Oh, Ali. Yeah. The referee says yellow card, but they had to go to VAR, and eventually it would be upgraded to a red. Right, decision? Yeah, I mean, this is so difficult because these are the type of balls that are really hard to defend as well, but really good for Real Madrid to get on the end of that. It just happened to really be a nasty tackle. Cleats up. Yeah, well, if you have a look at this, Carolyn Weir, I mean, she's a name that we know can do some magic when she's on the pitch right there.

33:47so far this season in the Women's Champions League. She's got five gold contributions and look at the company she is in. A massive win. We knew it was going to be a tough night. Wilswog, obviously a really good team, well-organized, physical. They made it difficult for us. Obviously, losing a player just before halftime made it even more difficult for us in the second half, but we stuck to our game plan and really proud of the team's efforts. It was difficult at times, but yeah, proud of the team. I think anything's possible in this format. I think every game is so important, every point, every goal as well.

34:25So we'll just focus on ourselves. We know going away to 20 is not easy. They're, again, another tough challenge for us, but a good one, one that we'll be looking forward to after the weekend. And yeah, we want to go out there and get a result and try and squeeze in that top four. But yeah, it's all about performance and the result and yeah, we'll work for that next week. Always great to catch up with Caroline Ware. But Ali, this is a game you wanted to get to. PSG up against Leuven. 50th minute now. PSG on the attack. Lutcher dribbling past the defender. Shoots at the gold. It's saved. There's a chance for a rebound.

35:02But it just doesn't go in. No, this is, you know, a theme, I think, for PSG. Unfortunate not to be able to put the ball in the back of the net to even get a few points. Yeah, Maurizio with a chance there from distance. but it just misses as well. Into stoppage time, a last chance as well for PSG, and they know exactly the frustration of seeing that go over the bar. Yeah, this is really difficult for a team that, you know, should have been, you know, having more points in winning games and much more successful than they've shown. Unfortunately, they couldn't get the job done and are eliminated.

35:42Could not get the job done, and there you have it. This is a look of the Champions League standings right before matchday six. As we said, Barcelona, Lyon and Chelsea looking nice in the quarterfinals as they can qualify directly there. A couple of the others like Arsenal, the defending champions, still in a spot for the playoffs. But the big story there is in the elimination column because that's where you will find PSG, which is just something that still baffles up now. Now the Parisians eliminated for the second straight season that they're going to be missing out on the knockouts. And Ali, I mean, when you came in and we were looking, going over the show, looking through our notes, you looked at me and you said, girl, PSG, they need to get their act together.

36:25What has gone so wrong for them in this? Well, I think it is a major storyline that they are already eliminated. I think it's shocking they never found their identity. They looked disconnected at times. They've struggled to create their clear chances. They obviously couldn't finish even, you know, in the final third in and around the six yard box. Weren't able to complete, you know, those those goals and put the ball in the back of the net. I think they struggled defensively. There were breakdowns and no cohesion. So it's shocking that they are already eliminated because, you know, this was a year I'm assuming a rebuild year.

37:01But a new coach had come in as well to be able to transition things into a winning way, back to the ways that they used to be. A handful of players move on to Lyon. I feel like that's kind of a theme recently for PSG. And you have a handful of players going to Lyon to be able to strengthen their squad. And they haven't necessarily been able to fill those holes yet. So it's shocking to see them at the bottom of the table. I don't think they had much luck. It's not like they can't get the job done and get points to be able to be towards the top and to be in the playoffs. But, yeah, unfortunate not to be able to win.

37:43And, yeah, I think it feels structural, not just form. I think a huge red flag for the club's project moving forward. I was going to say I kind of wanted to talk a little bit about that project because what now needs to change? I assume you're going straight to the top in terms of the admin, the board, because this is PSG at the end of the day we're talking about. And, of course, Lyon, like other big clubs, will always come and look to strengthen there. But at what point do you have to put your foot down and realize, because they had such a good run in the Champions League for about four consecutive seasons, now to go back to back without even making the knockout stages for a club like PSG, this feels like a total failure.

38:19So what needs to change and from where so that they can be whispered in the same, I suppose, conversation as the Lyons, like the Barcelonas, like the Chelsea's, or even we're talking about rebuilds. Look at Manchester United in their first timeout in the Champions League. And they're doing better than a PSG who have more pedigree in this competition. Right. And you make such a good point because you see PSG who should be, you know, towards the top of the table, who have, you know, one of the best teams in France and in all of Europe. and consistently, I mean, historically, they are one of the best.

38:50So it's really disappointing to not see them where they should be and not see them have that success. But there is no identity. They look completely disconnected. It's very individualized. There's no excitement. There's no fun. No one's smiling, laughing, having a good time, enjoying the football. You don't see that within the squad. Obviously, new coaches come in, so it does take time to be able to develop that strategy and those principles and the identity of what you want the team to or how you want the team to perform. But with a team like this, you should have enough talent to be able to bring the team together and to be able to perform with the personnel.

39:28At least at the high level. At the conversation of playoffs. Of course, and have that consistency. So you can't blame it on league play. You can't blame it on anything other than just leadership. And that comes down to getting the players that's motivated, highly motivated to want to go out there and play the way that you have that style applied. So that's not happening. And there needs to be a leadership check. There needs to be a player check to be able to hold people accountable for not being in the position that they should be in. It's quite surprising and it's really disappointing. And I think that they have to go back to the drawing board from top down to figure out where the issues lie.

40:11But the identity for me, there's, you know, when they play, there's nothing clear through an analysis that you could see that, you know, excites, excites me when I watch them. I don't think they have a good understanding of their roles and what is expected of them. And that's where you see the breakdown happen. You know, it would be great to hear from our girl, Crystal Dunn. I got to I got to ring her up. We've got to ring her off. We've got to see a little inside info. What's going on there? Well, there you have it. PSG, they will not be in contention for any of the knockout phase of this Champions League.

40:45But there's still a lot to play for on match day six. Still a lot to be decided. Here are the fixtures. Juventus up against Manchester United. As Ali said, that's going to be an interesting one. Lyon going up against Atletico de Madrid. Wolfsburg against Chelsea. That's going to be a good one. As well as for Barcelona. They will be hosted by Paris FC.

41:34and offer. While supplies last, ends June 30th. Terms at aka.ms slash collegepc. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. You know those friends who support your preference for podcasts over music on road trips? That's the energy State Farm brings to insurance. With over 19 ,000 local agents, they help you find the coverage that fits your needs. So you can spend less time worrying about insurance and more time enjoying the ride. Download the State Farm app or go online at statefarm.com. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. All right, we're going to get to some predictions now, Ali, because we had you do your homework.

42:11We had you try to figure out a lot of scenarios here because, like I said, still a lot to play for, still a lot to be decided, especially when it comes to a certain team from North London who happen to be the defending champions. So give me your matchday six predictions. What are we seeing happening? Well, I think, you know, there's a big takeaway. The top four for me are going to stay the same. I think Barcelona, you know, Lyon are going to be at the top because of how, you know, they just look unstoppable. Chelsea sent a huge message. I think they'll stay in the top. And then Juventus, for me, is going to be, you know, the dark horse.

42:50They have been, surprisingly, they've only lost one game tied and then won three. So incredible that, you know, their performances that they've had. Arsenal are trending upward. I don't think that they're going to end up being in the top four just because of the inconsistency in their performance. Right. And maybe now when Leah back in back in the mix and then Kim Little, hopefully when she gets back to being fully fit, then she can change their way up at the top four. But we will see about that. I just think, you know, PSG's exit, United's struggles and kind of how new they are and then having to go now and play away, show the difficulty of competing consistently right now.

43:34So my top four are going to be the exact same as the way it looks now. And I think Lyon and Barcelona right now for me will get to the final. I want to piggybacking more on Juventus, but first just still sticking a pin in Arsenal because again, this is the defending champions we're talking about. And it's weird because we almost have to remind ourselves that these are the defending champions here. and you spoke about the inconsistencies. Usually when you get such a big win in the Champions League, mentally that does something wonderful for you, a team like Arsenal that have been rebuilding over the last couple of years or just building, period, to kind of be mentioned in the same breath as the Barcelonas, as the Chelsea's.

44:15They finally got that when they won last final now, but now it feels like we've taken a couple of steps back. What's going on there? Well, I think without two of your main leaders, right, Because Leah Williamson directing in the back line and then Kim Little, who has been brilliant and their captain for, you know, since 2007. Now she's been in the squad and has been their consistent leader within those those three in midfield. And obviously they had the game against Barcelona in the final last season where every single player had to perform their best in order for them to win. Right. We were it was I wouldn't say shocking, but defensively.

44:51And defensively, they had a brilliant game to create those attacking moments where then they were the ones who ended up putting the ball in the back of the net and winning the game. So it was quite a shock for Barcelona to be in that position. And then domestically, I just don't think Arsenal have been performing the way that they should be with the players that they have and the personnel that they have. But I think missing those key leaders in the spine of your team has really hurt them. You know, you can be as vocal as you want on a leader on the sideline, But, you know, when you're able to control, you know, your play and control the team's performance a little bit, being out there physically as a leader, that's so much different.

45:32And I think that that is why they've been, you know, up and down. And obviously rotations, you're having to rest players in moments where, you know, at this level, you have to do that. Just like we heard Sonia Bompastor say, you know, because of the long season, you play every three days, you need to rotate the squad. So that happens as well. And then that just provides that unpredictability and then inconsistency with the relationships that you have with the players around you on the field. So, yeah, I think a little bit of that, but mainly because I think they're two leaders who have been so consistent in the style that they play, the level that they play at, the ability that they have, the talent that they have to keep the team together and to be able to have these complete performances.

46:16That's what I think has really been missing. and yeah I think that's that's really what it boils down to obviously Beth Mead is stepping up now because last year we saw her you know in and out of the squad and she's able to you know get more playing time and she's creating a lot she's scoring goals back at you know some of the best football I've seen her play Alessia Russo is able to be you know the nine that they've been searching for with scoring goals and being able to have that knack for goals. So I don't know. We will see. I'm a little bit, because of that inconsistency and the struggles that they've had domestically, I think that's why I didn't put them in my top four for continuing in this tournament.

47:01Well, looking at the top of that top four, as it stands right now, Barcelona, Olympique Lyon, they're both level on points. Like I said, both teams have shown that they do have vulnerabilities, but then they both have that championship mentality. Nobody knows quite what it takes to win this game, even if you're having an off day. Well, not just this game, this competition, like those two teams. So who wins the top of the table? Who gets it, Ali? I think Barcelona, even though Balmati is now injured and out of the team and the squad. But I do think that they have been unstoppable. The way that they have been performing collectively, not only just as individuals, But as a group, on both sides of the ball, in the attacking phases of the game and the defensive phases of the game, they've shown true competitiveness.

47:50They've shown that quality. They've shown that consistency. And that's what you need at this level. We've said it multiple times tonight, but consistency is key and having that leadership is key. But the quality of the depth that they have, to be able to fill those holes that have now been missing with injuries and just rotations, it's really impressive. And I think that that is what's going to take you far into this tournament because of the amount of games that you have within the season. Bet against Barcelona at your own risk. Not my money, though. I know that's right. Anyways, we're going to look at the top five goals of the Champions League that we saw today.

48:28Ali's going to walk us through them in at number five. Tatiana Pinto here. Yeah, I mean, brilliant. She just steps in. Obviously, defending, you know, is very careless because she's wide open at the penalty spot. So, great, great goal here. Great finish. Nice little dummy there, though. Kept it low, the pace on that. Yeah, nice little dummy. Well, keep your eye on Juventus. Allie has said she feels like they're dark horses. Well, here's a game that we just saw the highlights for. And you loved this run, didn't you, Allie, from Linda Caicedo? Yeah, I mean, she's so young, talented. brilliant vision she had to be able to make that run, stay on sides, get the ball in behind.

49:11Beautiful ball in behind for her to be set up for this goal. Takes the goalkeeper 1v1, puts it right in the back of the net. Linda, que linda! That's what all the Colombians were shouting whenever she touched the ball at the last Women's World Cup. I managed to cover. How about this one, though, from Fiamma against Bayern, too? Yeah, I think she was even surprised that she hit this because of her reaction. Well done. Sets herself up, gets it out of her feet, and chips it right over the goalkeeper, side netting. That was an 88th minute equalizer, too. I mean, if you're going to equalize, girl, you're going to do it with style, for sure.

49:50It hits the top of the post and then goes in, fortunately. In at number two. Now, listen, I could have put this as my number one because, like I kept saying, oh, du Monet, c 'est magnifique. Yeah. I don't know if I can say much more to that, but the technical ability, the way to get it out of her feet once again, to draw the defender in, to just touch it past. Obviously, the defending, I think, could have been a little bit better in the way that she could force her facing backwards, but she does so well here. Top bins, brilliant goal. But there can only be Juan, and let me just say, you know I love me some Lucy Bronze all day, every day.

50:30I did not choose this one, but let's be honest. Did she mean for this? I mean, maybe. I don't know. I think she did see someone back post. I don't know if that was Havana or, yeah, maybe. I'm not sure. Maybe I lied about that. There was really no one running onto it. Yeah, maybe she just chipped the keeper and knew that's exactly where she wanted the ball to be. Who are we to ever question the great Lucy Bronze? As a fellow defender, did you ever try a nice little sneaky goal ever like that? We know defenders can score the odd header here and there, but ooh. Do you know what? I actually scored a Shross against at the time.

51:11It was Sky Blue. Yeah. And the NWSL. And I was playing for the Washington Spirit at the time, and I scored a Shross. And I was very, very happy because it was probably one of my only two goals I think I ever scored. Okay, shoulder pads. Okay, shoulder pads. Of course I remember. Of course you remember that. We're going to get that on YouTube or something. Surely we can. All right. Well, that's going to do it for this edition of Football W. Ali and I are going to look for some more shoulder pads, but we're going to be back next Wednesday as we look back on all the action from Match Day 6 of the UEFA Champions League.

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