Haaland Hits 300 Club Goals

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24:32Over in the City Hour, we were treated to quite the entertaining game between Inter and Napoli. Napoli found themselves 2-0 up away from home, but then Inter managed to claw their way back thanks to goals from Lautaro Martinez, who got the winner, and Marcus Turan, as Inter got the win. We still have Robbo and Don Hutchison here with us. Robbo, entertaining game from two top contenders. it certainly was the first half was fairly even you know in terms of chances in terms of the territory what the sort of style of football they were playing into probably the better team for the first 20 minutes then Napoli started to create one or two chances and Giza was getting forward Hoyland was trying to run down the channels but they had a bit more of the play then they scored the two goals very soon after halftime and it's almost as if both teams said okay now we're 2-0 down Inter we've got to go and attack we're going to go all out attack we're going to get ball wise the wing-backs will be higher up the field, we'll get crosses in.

25:26And Napoli said, OK, we're going to sit, you try and break us down. And it just played into Inter's hand. And they looked like scoring every time they went forward. They created lots of chances, they missed chances, they made lots of changes as well. It just changed, the whole game changed. And then when it went to two all, there you saw the chance that Anguissa had because Napoli came out and played again. And then, of course, the last-minute goal in normal time by Martinez. But what a great game of football. There were so many chances. There was some good attacking play, some poor defensive play as well.

25:57Ball given away in bad areas. That was the case for the first goal for Napoli. All in all, it was a typical brilliant Serie A game. Brilliant Serie A game indeed. But, Robin, when we're speaking about the mentality, just sparing a thought now for Napoli as well, how do they let that 2-0 lead slip away? Well, again, it's that mentality. You're 2-0 up. Now, is it the players that decide we're going to drop deeper and we're not going to press the ball quite so high and we're not going to make forward runs? Or is it the coach? Now, I've got a feeling that it's usually the players. The players, you know, look around each other and say, don't make mistakes, don't make forward runs, don't do anything silly, just sit in and make sure we don't lose this game.

26:38And then the manager has to make changes because things aren't going their way. And you could see that Inter were going to get back into it. So I think it was the players that changed the mentality for both teams, particularly for Napoli to go deeper. and then the manager had to follow suit. We saw that with England at the World Cup when we criticised Thomas Tuchel. Well, it happened again today, but I don't think again it was the coach's fault. I think the players decided we're going to drop deeper, try and break us down, and eventually Inter did. Love Robbo. He had to throw some shade at Thomas Tuchel in England there.

27:08Of course he had to. Don, what did you make of the game and what Robbo just had to say? Yeah, I think Robbo nailed it. I think it was a fantastic game. I think Inter under Kivu have built an extremely strong squad. They've had the best squad in Serie A now for the last two or three seasons. But what they've added, they've added goals. Esposito's grown into being a fine young Italian striker. They've got Ange Bonny. They've got Turam. But they've got one of the best marksmen, I think, in world football in La Tata Martinez. I mean, when Barcelona were sniffing here, there and everywhere for a number nine and they were trying to find strikers, he's the man.

27:43He's the man that guarantees your goals. He would have cost a fortune. I worked on the Calgary game last week when they won 1-0. It could have been six. They put four past Monza on match day one. Another three tonight. They're going to take some catching. There's one or two teams like Gasper and his Roma. Fabregas' Como, that might run them a little bit close. But the size of Kivu's squad and the goals that he's got in that team and that squad is phenomenal. Chaka, throwing it back to Napoli now, when you're 2-0 up and you do blow that lead, albeit you are away from home, who do you blame, the manager or the players?

28:14Well, a little bit of both to build on what Rob was saying. now you go 2-0 up, I think naturally you try to defend that lead and you sit back and you defend and you trust that the opposition, even though you're away from home doesn't break you down. But if as a manager, like we're sitting on the sidelines and sees this happening, sees this team dropping deeper and deeper, now this is where I think he has to step in and he has to make sure the players don't just become defensive or start dropping deeper. He has to make sure that they at the very least, continue to press higher up the park because they've dominated to this point.

28:51But we know Allegri is very defensive in nature, so he probably sees this happening. He's probably all right with it. The players are doing this almost naturally. And as a result, that encourages Inter, and you end up with the scoreline that you did today. So I think this goes both ways. The manager, in this instance, Allegri on the sidelines, I think has a duty to identify when those things are happening and either make changes or stand at the sideline and shout at people just to make sure at the very least you're pressing higher up the park, that you're being a little bit more on the front foot, a little bit more aggressive in defending that lead.

29:29You allow Inter, their quality at home, that kind of room to play in, to come at you. This is what you get. Rob, final one on this because Don touched on it, The fact that, you know, this looks like it could be an exciting season in the city. Obviously, Inter doing what Inter do. Napoli have shared some recent success as well in Italy. You see what Cesc Fabregas is doing with Como as well. Yes, it should be a good season. But as Don said, Inter have a great squad. You know, they've still got some old players there that are still performing well. But now they can be changed on a regular basis. Jelinski was the holding midfield player today.

30:09He brought Chanalonu on to take control of that area when they went 2-0 down. Barella is sort of middle-aged. But, again, they're players that eventually will leave and have to drop out. But they're bringing in players that can do their job. So they've got such a big squad. They don't have to play every week, these players now. So he can rotate his squad. And Don mentioned some of those players that came on in this game. Obviously, Jones came on. They've got Stones as well to play as a defender. And there's every possibility that Inter have another great season this year and win quite comfortably, I would say.

30:44All right. So, so much for an entertaining season. I was trying to make things a little bit more competitive for the city. But I guess not. It's competitive. What about the Bundesliga? How competitive will that be this season? Well, this is what match day two had to offer. Mönchengladbach losing to Elfsberg there. Cologne losing out to Stuttgart. And Bayern Munich with a 0-0 draw with Schalke. Interesting. Buy five quarts of Mobile One full synthetic motor oil and receive two times O rewards points. Plus, get a$10 gift card and receive a 2311 die cast after rebate. Terms and conditions apply. Get details at O 'Reilly Auto Parts.

31:24This episode is brought to you by Facebook. So you were scrolling on Marketplace, and there it was, the bike you'd been searching for. You sent a message and it turned out the seller was super chatty, kind of funny, and an avid cyclist. The next thing you know, you're in a cycling crew. Well, a community cycling group. The thing about Facebook, you might find more than what you're looking for. From a browse to a bike ride, this summer, find more on Facebook.

31:57Atletico Club de Bilbao got a pretty big win over Cholo Simeone and Atletico de Madrid after first half, where Atletico de Madrid did indeed play pretty well. However, they came out a bit complacent in that second half. Cholo Simeone spoke after the game, but first let's hear from David Hanco with our Alex Kirkland. David, thanks for talking to ESPN. What's your analysis of what happened there? Yeah, basically you could say we lost it in 120 seconds. We lost this game, so it was really bad start to second half and we were not able to recover. and you know it's gonna be difficult here also last year it was not an easy game we lost here as well so and based on that the the first half were really really we played really well we were we were running we were fighting for the second ball we know there what they're gonna do and we created also also quite a lot of opportunities and yeah in the end it's gonna cost you when you don't score and then yeah like I said for two minutes we turned off and then of course they were defending very well and they are good and on ball as well and yeah we were not able to come back.

32:59You mentioned those two minutes, two goals. What exactly happened with the plays for those goals? Yeah, like I said, I don't know if we fall asleep a little bit after the halftime that we felt like, OK, we are playing well. It's going to come like the chances are going to come. We're going to score and just like bam, bam. And then they score. We were there. I was close to the first goal. I blocked the shot, you know, it goes to the opponent and not to our players. So, yeah, you could say it's a little bit unlucky, but definitely we could do more. We could more be better in defending in those two situations.

33:31And then after the first goal, I think, in my opinion, we should try to just kick it long, you know, and go from that. And we try to play again to show, like, okay, it was just mistaken. Unlucky again, we conceded another one. So, yeah, yeah, that was a really tough, difficult two minutes. And I just hope it's a good slip for us for the upcoming season and what is going to be in front of us. and maybe it's good it happened so early in the league. To be honest, the match had been going very well. We felt positive heading into the second half, but we failed to deal effectively with events that unfolded during those few minutes.

34:13Ultimately, the responsibility lies entirely with us, the coaching staff, because we didn't give the team the start for the second half that the situation demanded. and the players weren't able to resolve the issues that arose.

34:29All right, well, Stuart Robson is still with us. Robbo, you were on the coverage for this game. This is a pretty bad result for Cholo Simeone to swallow. It certainly is. I mean, for the first 20 minutes, I didn't think they played particularly well. They had the big chance, which we just saw, that hit the post. I thought Athletic Club did well in their pressing and stopped Atletico Madrid building through midfield. They didn't create that many chances. But it all changed in the second 25 minutes of the first half. They started to dominate the game without really creating lots of chances. But they were the team at halftime going into it.

35:00And those couple of minutes after halftime, complacency, poor defending, wrong attitude, whatever it was, they then didn't have the ability, they didn't have the individual brilliance, they didn't have the combined effect of two or three players linking with each other to ever break Athletic Club down. It was a poor second half performance. that Lukman didn't really get involved in the game. And what he's become, Diego Simeone, is a reactionary coach. So when things start to go wrong, he makes four changes all of a sudden. He changes the shape of the team to a 3-5-2. He then changes it back to a 3-5, played with 3-4-3.

35:39He changed the system completely, changed the players, and they never got into any rhythm. And they need rhythm because they haven't got individual players that can change a game. I said it after the game. You haven't got a Jamal. You haven't got an Mbappe. You haven't got a Bellingham. When I've seen them play this season, the last two or three seasons, when things are going wrong, one of them might do something brilliant. That's not going to happen with Atleti because they haven't got those players. Even when they talk about Alvarez, I don't think he's a world-class player. He's a very good player, but he's not a brilliant individual player that's going to change the course of a game.

36:10And that's the problem today. They weren't able to pass their way through. They weren't able to dribble their way through. And without Saul, they couldn't cross balls into the box. Poor performance today. Yeah, I was going to mention Julian Alvarez, but we'll talk about him in just a bit. Xhaka, it doesn't get any easier now for Atletico de Madrid. Ancelo Simeone, they have Liverpool next in the Champions League in about two weeks' time. They have the Madrid derby as well. So, quick time to turn things around. It really is. And this was the first of three away games for Atletico Madrid. Liverpool in the Champions League.

36:39Real Sociedad in the league before they go back home. So, it was always going to be a little bit of a testing run. I think one of the big misses for Atletico Madrid, and I agree fully with everything Robert just said, but no Julian Alvarez, less about Julian Alvarez, but more no target man in front. And while certainly on the day Atletico Madrid posed some threat down the right-hand side with Simeone and Lee Kahn in, there was just nothing through the middle for them. And so Bilbao coped with the Atletico threat reasonably well. You did see Alvarez introduced later on, but at this time the game's all but done with Bilbao leading 2-0.

37:26And now, to Robbo's point, no real possibility. Well, I more will credit Bilbao for how the way they just shut the game down. got their 2-0 lead, shut the game down, didn't allow Atletico Madrid any opportunity to get back in it. And then they took that late chance with Atleti rather stretched. A lot of questions for Simeone here, especially again, kind of given the next two games to come on the road before they get back home. Well, Atleti wasn't the only Madrid side that had to swallow a loss and an upset because yesterday Real Madrid lost. And this is Marca's newspaper reacting to it. Primer golpe, the first blow.

38:09Real Madrid, of course, taking the first blow of the season. A 1-0 loss to Real Betis after Kylian Mbappe had a penalty save. They considered letting him retake it after Marc Bartra appeared to encroach the area. But officials stuck to their decision. And here's the law. They said if a player is airborne when a restart is taken, for example, at a penalty kick, their position is now determined by the projected position of their feet if they were touching the ground. Airborne only applies when the whole of the body is off the ground. In other cases, a player's position at a restart is determined by the position of their feet or any part of their body which is touching the ground.

38:49Bravo, what do you think about this whole situation? Do you agree with the law? Well, what I would say, wasn't Shaka a member of IFAB for quite a while when he came up with all these laws? Exactly, we're going to get to Shaka. I was not a run then. Don't blame me for this, Rob. I was not a run then. So, in terms of... And Xhaka put me in my place earlier on today and said by the laws of the game, it was the right decision. But in my view, I think he's... I didn't agree with the law because he's got an advantage. He's a half a yard over the line when he's getting to the ball and he actually stops Mbappe getting the knockdown.

39:27So, it's a silly rule and I think there's got to be... Yeah, it's got to be some change in that. Because how do you know? You've got to take replay after replay to say his foot wasn't touching the ground. It's obviously in the air there, but he's got an advantage. As far as I'm concerned, he's in the box. It's as simple as that. But the law said that's OK. Silly last, Shaka, that you came up with?

39:53I'll repeat something I said earlier around the disallowed Nottingham Forest goal. You would say to the strictest. By the letter of the law, it stands. And the referees, between the referee and the VAR, they got it absolute right. But from a footballer's perspective, from a footballing perspective, it just feels wrong. Yeah. But that's the law as it's written. That's the law that the referees have to follow. You can't argue with it as it stands. Robbo, you're going to join IFAB and have a rule change? Yeah, let Robbo do that. Robbo, you do that. All I'm going to say is no wonder they sacked Shaka as an IFAB member.

40:35Quite rightly so. He made the decision to leave. He holds too many hats. He wears too many hats. You know, multi-taps. That's what he says. That's what he says. I got sacked. I got sacked. I was trying to help you out, Shaka. All right. Well, here's what's coming up in La Liga for you on Sunday, 10, 15 a.m. Kickoff features Valencia up against Barcelona. Join us 30 minutes before for the pre-show. and you can find it on the ESPN app as well as ESPN Deportes. This episode is brought to you by Facebook. So you were scrolling on Marketplace and there it was, the bike you'd been searching for. You sent a message and it turned out the seller was super chatty, kind of funny and an avid cyclist.

41:19The next thing you know, you're in a cycling crew, well, a community cycling group. The thing about Facebook, you might find more than what you're looking for. From a browse to a bike ride, this summer, find more on Facebook. Hey, Chicago, class it up with Crocs. You know back to school is coming in fast. So why wait to find your new fave footwear? Step into a local Crocs store and step into your new look. Try it, style it, make it yours. Because the right pair doesn't just show up, it shows off. First day fits, handled. Walk out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest Croc store today.

42:07Alright, that's a wrap for this edition of ESPN FC, but don't go anywhere because Extra Time is next.

42:23Welcome into Extra Time. Alexis Younes hanging out with Shaka Hislop here in studio. But we've got some others. We've got the one and only Stuart Robson and Don Hutchison, who had to battle train delays to get here, Don. But I heard you got to call some friends in high places. Let's see the work I have to do and how much I stretch for this show, Alexis. Essential workers. I'm moving trains out of the way. Commitment. I'm getting here on time. I'm going through rush hour. I'm not in a position like Shaka or Robbo where I can call the butler. Oh, weather. Or my chauffeur to come and pick me up from central London.

42:58I do the hard yards for this show. Yeah, Robbo doesn't know anything about public transportation. Robbo? Public transportation? Right, right. Forget about it. Robbo's got his own streets. Robert's got his own streets. Never mind, private gents. He's got his own streets. Apparently on the commentary today on the Atleti game, Mark Donaldson said I was in some sort of back room. This is the backdrop here. What did he say? He said, Luis Garcia's got a castle and I've got some dodgy back room. Oh, that is indeed confirmed. Mark Donaldson did say that. Robert, you're going to have to have a word with him.

43:37Have a word with him. All right, let's start off with the first question now. Who had the worst start to the season? Aston Villa or Spurs? Shaq? Spurs. Yeah. Spurs has got to go. He's looking pretty dial. Yeah. Spurs have not... Not... And here's the thing, right? Here's the other thing, right? This is arguably Spurs' best performance of the season. Yes. They didn't have a shot on target. Yeah. They didn't have a shot on target. And their best performance of the season. We're trying so hard not to laugh Spurs fans. I apologize. Don, what about you? You agree, Spurs? The most spursiest thing ever.

44:14Wow, we brought back the Spurs thing. Yeah, it's the most spursiest thing ever. Such an improvement. They were amazing. They were great. Spurs are back. How many shots do they have? Zero. That is true. He is very Spurs-y. Oh, boy. Oh, it has to be Spurs because I think when they bought all the players, you know, many people would say, oh, they could challenge this season. Oh, I know someone who was saying that. I think even Shaka said they might do that. But... Nope, nope, nope, nope. I did not. Nope. I actually have a bet with our previously mentioned Spurs supporting producer that they will not finish top four.

44:52And Shaka said if they do... Has anyone checked in on Mike? He's yelling in my ear right now and he says that we cannot linger on this question. Well, let's just linger. Let's see if Mike's okay. Yeah. He's a Spurs fan. done, he's not been okay for a very long time. It's like Stockholm Syndrome. He's just used to it. All right, next question. Which Manchester City player will be most important this season? Rank Enzo Fernandes, Anderson or Boadi?

45:27I guess rank them in order. Because of his athleticism. Yeah, so I'm going to go with Anderson to start with because I think he's going to start every week. Then we'll go with Enzo Fernandes because I think he'll play the second most amount of games. And then Boadi will be the third because I think he'll have to be integrated into the team and play maybe every other week or every other couple of weeks. So in that order, I would say Elliot Anderson can do most things you want from a midfield player. Likewise, Enzo Fernandes, although I think he's slightly overrated, and Boadi in third position.

45:57But he will get better and better. Wow, Robbo, tell us how you really feel. I'm going to go the opposite. I'm going to say Boadi. I think Boadi is an incredible talent. And as the season progresses, we'll see more and more time for Manchester City. So I'm going to go Boadi, Anderson, Fernandes. All right, Don.

46:20I'm sorry if I'm going to drop this name in. So just get ready to pick this little name up that I'm going to drop. We've got three names to go with. Three. I worked, Xhaka. He's not on that list. I worked the other day with Noel Gallagher. And Noel Gallagher is buzzing. Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it. He is buzzing with Man City's window and the January window with Mark Gehie and Semenyo. The window that Man City have had, he is buzzing. And he said, I don't know too much about Njai. I don't really see Everton play too much. However, my Evertonian mate has convinced me by the end of the season, he'll be your favourite player.

47:03So I know he's not on the list. I just wanted to give Noel a little mention. I'm going to totally agree with Robert. Yeah, I was about to say, the only reason, the only reason Don told our story was to tell us he's hanging out with Noel Gallagher. Exactly. I was going to say. There's no other reason. He was purely name dropping. I'm telling you now, I'm telling you now, Noel Gallagher will not go on stage next week and say, I'll tell you what I was having a chat with the other day. Don Hutchinson. I do not. No, he'll be on stage and somebody will say, I heard you were having a chat with Don Hutchinson the other day and you say, who?

47:37Who are you? Who are you? That's it. I'm going to dare him. I'm going to dare him to wear an Everton number four shirt next time he goes on stage. I'm sure that'll go over well. So if he doesn't wear that shirt, what does that say, Don? Let's go with that. I think it would just come for a point. Yeah. He can wear the 10 dog over there. Yeah, right. The 10 dog. That's just the cheapest. I'm going to dare him to wear the number four shirt. I'm going to dare Beyonce to wear an Arsenal shirt. That'll say nothing. That says nothing. But we'll give Don props at least. He knows have dialogue with you.

48:17We saw A$AP Rocky. Oh. We saw A$AP Rocky and Rihanna in one of the stadiums today. Hello. No, no, no. He was at one of the games. She and he were at one of the games today. So when you're on comms, Robbo knows, and the camera pans on some famous people, you've got to be half-clued in on who they were. And you knew who A$AP Rocky was. You knew who they were. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nobody has to feed you the info. All right. I was down. No, no, no. I was on it. Look at Gen Z done. Look at Gen Z done. We've gone. Well, at least give him a video. Do you know why? I've heard it on now. Do you know why? Can I just give a mention to my commentator, Joe Spade, who's absolutely amazing?

48:54and he thought A$AP Rocky, he thought A$AP stood for as soon as possible. Oh, jeez, Louise. Yeah, I have to say no, no, no, joke. So you said as soon as possible Rocky.

49:11Whenever you're ready, Rocky. Anytime, Rocky. You know, don't say as soon as possible, Rocky. Oh, boy, what about. Tell me. Oh, we'll go on to the next question before anyone else has any name drops. In an interview, Boadi said that he watched Pep City most of his life from age 8 to 18. Given that he was five years old when Sir Alex left Manchester United, are we entering an era where City has more prestige than United for non-UK wonder kids? No. Can I propose we ask the Manchester United fan that question? No, because you already know my answer. I'd have to be absolutely not. I would like to volunteer.

49:53that what Sir Alex Ferguson did back in the day, the game was different, the game was not very much gone as it is today. So there is no comparison. And also, I'm not trusting the opinions of 8 to 18-year-olds who literally were just born and came into the world and all of a sudden Manchester City is a be-all end-all. Do you know what I mean? Like, I'm sorry. If you're 25 and under, I don't want to hear it. I'm not entertaining. any football discussion color in colorado wow i knew that was gonna happen

50:41but robo you have this question i'm sure was not for me sorry ezio

50:49Oh, God, that was so good. As it's DJ half in there, how are we going to sort of mention people? I've got a couple of mates I want to mention as well. Exactly. Oh, good. Jack, while we're at it, any names, any mentions? I've already mentioned Beyonce. I was talking to Beyonce. That's true. And I dare to wear an Arsenal shirt for the next concert. Right, so I'm glad everybody agrees with my response to that question. I agree that was really entertaining. Okay, thank you. See? Fantastic. There you go. That's my very unbiased opinion. That was so good. Next question is an obligatory percentage question for Doc.

51:29Percentage chance that whole city can finish in the top half of the league. Oh, boy. Wow. Oh, boy. I love how he puts his specs on for it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for Nadam's interior designer, decorator, whatever it is. The answer to that is zero. Oh, zero. Zero. Zero is a very low number. Zero. Well done, Shaq. We are not finishing in the top half.

51:59Zero is very low indeed. Shaq says zero is a very low number. All right, so zero percentage for that one. Tenedem's interior decorator. Sorry. Next question. Shaqa, does it bother you that keepers don't get enough credit for their positioning when players miss shots? The discourse always seems to be about the shooter missing and not the keeper making it difficult for him. As a goalkeeper, no, it doesn't bother me. We are used to being underappreciated. Here we go. We are used to carrying teams on our back and not being given the credit. We are the first team player in the team. That is who we are by nature.

52:37Next question. Okay. Do not let Robbo or Don. Do not let Robbo or Don. Don and Rob don't have a say in this. For all, who is the best number 10 in the Premier League?

52:54Brian Cherky.

52:58Yeah, I would go along with that at the moment. I mean, that's a great show. Because he's doing things that other players can't do. He's picking up passes. He's scoring goals. Yeah, I think he's, in terms of how a number 10 should play, he's the perfect number 10 at the moment. So, yeah, I'd go along with him. Yeah, what we've seen so far this season, I don't think there's much of a debate of what we've seen so far this season. All right, so before we sign off... I'll tell you who's not, Alexis. Who? I'll tell you who's not, the player to watch this season, which I picked a couple of weeks ago, Florian Burtz.

53:34Oh, I was going to give everybody a chance to do one more name drop. But, I mean, Don just dropped Florian Virits. No, because you said to me a couple of weeks ago, who's the player to watch this season? And you did choose him very confidently, too. The answer should have been, I know, the answer should have been Cherky or Cole Palmer. That's the answer. Cole Palmer's looking good. All right, well, that's going to do it for extra time. Robbo, anybody you want to big up? No? No, I'm good. We're all good? Yeah. All right. No, not now. It's all been done. Don's done it all for us now. Don's did it.

54:14Guys, remember Don's friends with Noel Gallagher. All right. Make sure to tune in to ESPN FC. We are on seven days a week.

54:50This episode is brought to you by State Farm. No two football players are exactly alike, and the same is true off the field. That's why State Farm gets to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.