Man City Mend the Gap

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0:42Welcome in to the latest edition of ESPN FC. I'm Dan Thomas, shown by Craig Burley and Shaka. Here's how we'll kick things off in the Premier League, Manchester City, taking on Brentford. Not really too much to report in the first half, although Brentford fans want a new year sent off. Shaka, what did you think? Yeah, early on, there was a coming together between Nunez and Shara. I thought Shara's first touch let them down. I was OK with the no-call. City would kick on in the second half. Another great goal from Doku. Haaland and Mamouche making it 3-0. For more on this, this all came in. Frank LaBeouf.

1:11Craig, you hit the nail on the head. This was not a 3-0 win for City. Well, it was a 3-0 win, but it didn't feel like a 3-0 win. Yeah, no, no. Something like that. And as I said, before they got on the score sheet, it looked like, you know, Thiago could have put Brent for the head. I thought Brentford would, and we were talking on yesterday's show, I thought Brentford would have been a little bit more front foot and a little bit more open, but they were not. They did open up in the second half, but they were more resolute. They defended deeper, and that made it difficult for City, who were taking all these touches again.

1:40And Cherokee was guilty today, got taken off, but there was no space to operate. And it felt like City were almost trying to walk it in. And it took Doku, once again, to do him a little bit special, albeit he got a bit of luck with the bad pass that came back to him, but the finish was fantastic. And that sort of got them off and running. Then obviously Haaland bundles one in and Mermush finishes it off. And it's over to you, Arsenal, who play West Ham tomorrow, your old team. I can't see it. I just, I can't see West Ham beating Arsenal, but they are fighting probably with Tottenham head-to-head for the remaining spot.

2:15Euphorys are not out of it. So they have got a lot to play for, but they really lack quality. And I just, although City have piled the pressure on, I'd be surprised if we were sitting here tomorrow at this time and West Ham had beat them. I just can't see it happening. At times during this game, I thought you saw the best of City, but then you see why they're trailing as they are, why they haven't secured this title race. And controlled large spells, especially early on, up against Brentford. At times, Brentford didn't seem to have a kick, didn't, to Craig's freezing, weren't playing on the front four.

2:49But then you see City defensively. We have those two shadow shots. The first, I'm with Craig in that I didn't think much of it. I thought it was a poor touch from Charter to start with. The second, I am not at all convinced by it. That quite easily could have been given. Both could have easily been given. And had they been given, I'm not sure there was enough to overturn it. So you see this kind of poor defensive side to Manchester City that continue to haunt them all season long. caught away with it today just to keep themselves in this title race. But this is why I think City have shown themselves, at least thus far, to be second best.

3:29Frank, Doku's having a lovely time at the moment. Yes, indeed. And I was so happy that he was here today because otherwise... Yeah, that was the kind of game that I saw today. You know, that was insane. I was hoping that Doku would get all the balls, you know, to make sure that he can attack and show us some entertainment. But otherwise, the others are also disappointed. And thank you, Mr. Dokut, who made my 90 minutes quite OK. But I wasn't happy with City. Yesterday, we talked with Craig about the tactic that Brentford will have and that they would open up and try to play, maybe suit Manchester City better.

4:13In fact, they had the right tactic where they kind of parked the bus and City was unable to create almost anything. For me, it's a clear penalty on the first foul on Chad because there is a real push. And when you're at full speed, you cannot control yourself. And it's a real push from Nunez. But, well, it's football, so it's full of other decisions, but whatever. But I really was disappointed by City. the fact that they keep on being so slow on the last third, not having any runs around to make sure that they can do something. And again, they have only Doku who can create something, change the pace of the game.

4:56Otherwise, it's very flat. But in fairness, they've put themselves in a position, OK, they stuffed it up against Everton, and that's why they're in this position where they're sitting, sort of waiting to see what happens tomorrow. but they've manoeuvred themselves without playing brilliantly into the position again where if Arsenal, and I don't think it will happen, but you never know, if Arsenal somehow lose tomorrow, they'll probably win the league. So it's not, you know, after, was it Monday's game or whenever it was against Everton, the position they're in is they've chucked the ball back over into Arsenal's court and if they lose, Arsenal that is, then City will feel confident about winning two games or three games, whatever it is, to win the league.

5:39Let's just remind you how things stand at the bottom of the table because West Ham obviously are fighting, along with Spurs, for survival. So West Ham very much with something to play for tomorrow as well. They won't roll over against the league leaders. Frank, I'm just wondering if what happens today with that win for City psychologically has any effect on Arsenal going into the clash on Sunday. Yeah, it's always a big pressure when you know that you have to win because it's not even a draw away from home You have to win and against the team while we were fighting for for for their survival And and that's going to be tricky for Arsenal because they have no other choices.

6:20They know if they draw Manchester City, which I think is going to play on on Wednesday If they win, they're going to go first and it's going to be hard for them to catch them back. So So, Arsenal has to win. Know the pressure. But I think they handled it pretty well after they lost against City. Manchester City was for one day first. And because Manchester City didn't play Arsenal, they had a chance to go back in the first position. And they did that. And they handled the pressure pretty well. I guess I don't see Arsenal losing against West Ham. But a draw is possible. And a draw is impossible for Arsenal.

6:57So, the pressure will be there. it's going to be intense for both teams for different reasons but I think it's going to be interesting to watch a draw of course means it will then go down to goal difference if they all win out. Shaki you've been banged on all the day that you think West Ham are going to get something from this game I think there's every chance listen West Ham are where they are and deservedly so the only reason they are not relegated at this point is because since losing to Nottingham Forest first week of January West Ham have lost one game at home Manchester City dropped points at West Ham.

7:32And all of a sudden, they've put together a bit of a fight, building on that home form, and kind of understanding West Ham and a lot of the psychology around that club. They welcome teams who are flying, who are looking to lift titles, coming late on, and just playing party pooper. I think that plays into their wheelhouse. this is don't take this for granted if you're Arsenal what's going on for? what's going on for? I'm backing my old club to get something out of this you do realise the game's not at Upton Park don't you? it is right? no it is no not Upton Park at West Ham you're talking as if it's the Upton Park it's the Upton Park atmosphere and teams don't want to go there but they have lost one game since the since the first week of January at home.

8:24I'm expecting Arsenal to flex their muscles tomorrow against this West Ham team. As, at this moment in time, the best team in England. They're in the Champions League final. I'm expecting them to boss this game and win this game. Is there an argument to say we haven't really seen Arsenal flex their muscles against an opposition that's had something to play for? Would you say they flexed their muscles against Atleti? I thought Arsenal were outstanding against Fulham. Yes, but Fulham are on the whole. Right. To your point, I guess. You know, if Arsenal play anything like we saw, opposition aside, like we saw against Fulham, I think they cruise through these last three games of the season and it's in no real doubt.

9:06I don't think Arsenal have put together two performances like that back-to-back all season long. So while you take the Fulham result as a standalone result and what it is, they're still question, Manchester, whether Arsenal can or will do that in back-to-back games. Well, they did flex their muscles, in a sense, against Atleti. It wasn't in a footballing entertainment sort of way, but it was just snuffing Atleti out, who were pretty bad, it has to be said. But pressure does amazing things to players and teams, and we've seen it with Arsenal, we've seen it with Arteta, we've seen it within the crowd.

9:46So the pressure does amazing things. But that pressure is also West Ham's because Arsenal can do Tottenham a favour by putting another nail in the West Ham coffin, which I'm sure Tottenham fans will be hoping a bit of a juxtaposition that Arsenal are going to win the league. But Tottenham need to survive. They need to survive. So I've been down there at the bottom fighting and scrapping. If you make it really ugly and tight for these bigger teams, then they can get frustrated. My question would be on this big pitch at the London Stadium, whether West Ham, although Shaq said the home form is better, is whether West Ham have enough about them.

10:21And they have been defensively getting better under Nuno because he couldn't fix it at the start. They've started to be a bit stronger defensively, but I just don't see enough from them, West Ham, that is going forward. You got an Arsenal win? Yeah, I got an Arsenal win tomorrow, yes. What did you say in the end? He sort of mumbled something. He moved on. We just agreed to move on. We just agreed to move on. He gave up his spiel and then he realised he was waffling into a West Ham call. That wasn't quite sure how to get out of. And he's up. He's up. 3-0 Arsenal, he said. Frank, what are you going for quick?

11:02I'm going for Arsenal. Right. I'm sorry for the armors, but I don't see that coming against Arsenal. Yeah, they need the three points. They're going to get the three points. They're going to fight for that. We'll of course be discussing that game on the next edition of ESPN FC. Be sure to join us for that. Thrivent believes money is more than numbers. It's a way to care for the people, causes and community you love. That's why Thrivent brings together a unique combination of financial services and generosity programs, offering advice, investments and insurance to help you plan your finances while creating opportunities to give back along the way.

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12:46Meanwhile, no surprise that it is Valverde and Chiumelli on the front page of ASS and Mark of the Madrid-based newspapers. Half a million and get running. Iron Fist, says the front page of ASS. It has been such a soap opera that has just seemed to be snowballing over the recent months. So let's just take you through exactly what has been happening as we count down to our Clásico on Sunday. Let's take it all the way back to the Spanish Super Cup. Of course, Real Madrid losing against Barcelona. Xavi Alonso then leaves the club by mutual consent. They bring in Alvaro Arbeloa and just days after that appointment, it all goes wrong in the Copa del Rey as they lose to El Vecete and are out in the round of 16.

13:29Fast forward after some horrible results. they find themselves out of the title race. That away loss against Mallorca, home draw against Girona, hands the title to Barcelona. And then they showed up a little bit, didn't they, in the Champions League? They at least tried, but even that wasn't good enough as they would be eliminated by Bayern Munich. Now off the pitch, there's been drama as well. The Carreras and Rudiger incident. Carreras confirmed an incident with the teammates that reportedly Rudiger slapped him back in April. This then continued. Off the field problems. Kylian Mbappe injured.

14:02He's off in Italy in vacation. And it's not only that, but also with Mbappe, we're hearing reports as well that he's fallen out with an assistant coach. And that Valverde and Chiu-Ameni incident, of course, we talked about of late on Friday, they were fined€500 ,000 each. Here is our blower for the first time on that incident.

14:28The players have already expressed their regret, acknowledged their mistake, accepted the consequences of their actions and apologized to the fans, the club, the locker room and to me. And that's enough for me. What I will not do is publicly burn my players at the stake because neither Fede Valverde nor Aurelia Ntrua, many, deserve it. given what they have done for this club over the years. I have always felt it as a fan and over these past four months, from what they have shown me day by day, both of them, what it means to be a Real Madrid player.

15:09But Chouameni trained with his Real Madrid teammates. Of course, Valverde is out. However, it looks like the Frenchman will indeed play in our Clásico. So much drama. It's like a mini soap opera. And let's get the latest, shall we, as we go over to our team in Catalonia. Luis Garcia, Alejandro Moreno and the beautiful Ian Dark. I can't live up to that billing, but thanks very much indeed. Yeah, what a drama, even by Real Madrid standards, an explosive week. What mood can they possibly go into this Clasico in after the dispiriting, depressing kind of week that they've had with the headlines. Yeah, definitely not the best one.

15:50These kind of games, you kind of marked it on your agenda, on your calendar, when it's going to come. El Clasico, and you're looking forward. If you are a player of Real Madrid, if you are a player of Barcelona, it's an exciting game. It's always special for you as a player, for the crowd, for the supporters. I'm not sure if that's the way they are thinking right now. I'm not sure if they are going to enjoy it. You always enjoy it until the end and you see the result. But right now, by the situation that Real Madrid is having, by not being in a great form, by not having chances of winning a trophy this season, I don't think that's the right moment to get a special game like this one.

16:28And I think that's the feeling of Real Madrid. They just want to arrive here, play the game, and really wait for the end of this season and try to go on holiday. Ali, are you surprised that Suameni is going to start this game after being fined half a million euros this week by the club and being involved in this world? A hunch-up, wasn't it, really, with Valverde? Well, he needs that appearance bonus. I'll tell you that much. I'm not surprised because I think Chouameni in particular, given what the reports have been, he needs to be out there in the field. The players have to take responsibility for what has gone on inside this locker room.

17:10and Chua Mene is at the forefront of that. So if you're out of Eloa, if you sit him down, that's a problem. That's going to create a story. So you might as well put him out there because who else is going to be available for you to do the job that Chua Mene does for you? I think you need not only Chua Mene to be on the field, you need him to play, you need him to play well, and that goes for the rest of Real Madrid. They need to play well. Where that confidence is going to come from, hard to tell. They're manufacturing a feeling about this team. But truth be told, if we're betting money here, if we're putting money on something, what's more likely to happen?

17:47For Real Madrid to get absolutely housed and destroyed by Barcelona or for this team to somehow manufacture a performance and win? I think my money would go in the direction of Barcelona having a runaway victory against this group of players. Yeah, and they've won all 17 home games this season and tend to rattle in three or four goals every time they play. Real Madrid, they've won five of the last six Clasicos. Where are you expecting the story to go with Mbappe here? Because he's been in the headlines as well, late back from the holiday, away, when people think he should have been getting treatment, all that kind of thing.

18:21We'd expect him to start here, wouldn't we? Yeah, at least that's what the papers are saying, that he will be ready. I think he must be really happy of what just happened between the two and many, because no one talked anymore about his holiday and the situation. I think it was giving a few days off to rest, to recover a little bit. I'm sure this kind of play always trouble with someone responsible of their treatment and looking after them. And while he was enjoying, he wasn't expecting, I'm sure, to be in this situation. But I'm expecting him to be because, as I just mentioned, on this game, all the top players have to show up, has to show the commitment, the responsibility of this Real Madrid after a very bad season, try to at least win the Classic.

19:08Because that cleans a little bit all the things that happened before. They could make a big statement here, couldn't they? They'd love nothing better than to spoil Barcelona's party. But are they good enough anyway? And are they good enough after the week they've had? Let me just touch on Mbappe very quickly. We did a timeline of Real Madrid since January. We could have done a timeline of his season. Because early on in the season, you would have thought, man, this guy is really bringing it. He's scoring goals while the rest of the team was struggling. He was scoring goals, and it felt like it was Mbappe's team because Vini was focused on, am I arguing with Xavi Alonso?

19:44Am I listening to Xavi Alonso? Does he like me? Does he not like me? Why is he taking me off the field? And Mbappe was the guy. And then somehow his performance has dipped. The production has gone. And then all that love and all that equity that he had built with the Real Madrid fans seemed to have disappeared. And so if you were to do a very informal poll with Real Madrid fans now, they would go 80-20, 90-10 for Vini Jr. as the leader of this team in the attack. The season for Mbappe went from great to not so good to now it's like he's not committed to the team. He should leave the club. That's how quickly it has changed for him.

20:21And that's how fickle the Real Madrid fans are. But it also has to do with his behavior, the lack of performance, and it reflects poorly because the team haven't been doing well. Had Real Madrid been winning games, all of this would have gone sort of under the table. Nobody would be talking about it. But because they haven't been playing well, they haven't been winning games, they're not going to win a title in anything. Then everybody's highlighted, including Kylian Mbappe. As to your question, Ian, because I took the scenic route to get there, for your question. You're allowed. Are they good enough?

20:52Well, they've proven that they can be. They can be. And that's the frustrating part about Real Madrid. Well, the first Clasico this season, that was the best performance under Xavi Alonso. Disciplined, tight, great plan. They carried it out, but player power took over and Alonso went. And player power is going to get rid of Arbeload, too, isn't it, by the look of it? So they can be. Will they? No. This team is not together right now to put together a performance. And I think you're going to need one against Barcelona. Quick word about the prospective champions, Barcelona. If they don't do it tomorrow, they're going to do it anyway, aren't they?

21:28Yeah, at some point it will happen. And they don't have, yes, with a single point they will make it happen. But I'm sure, I'm totally sure that tomorrow you're going to see a hungry team trying to go, maybe not to try to score 10. If they can, they will do it. But at least to get the result and celebrate it in front of the rival. They only need a draw. Before we go, Ali, that Manchester United-Sunderland game, the Cunha incident, where are you on that? What about it, Ian? Are you suggesting that this was a dive? 100 % a dive. And let me just tell you, I know I have a very open mind when it comes to drawing files.

22:05This would be frowned upon in my diving camp. We do not teach this in my diving camp. It is frowned upon. 100 % a dive. Embarrassing from Mateus Cunha. That's just about it from us. We're just opposite the railway station here. The backside of the railway. Yeah, we know all the scenic venues here. if Real Madrid lose this game and lose the Clasico and Barcelona are champions and they're swinging back the champagne I think Real Madrid will want to go over that railway station get the first train out of town great stuff guys as always thank you very much of course the boys will be there tomorrow for Barca against Real Madrid our coverage begins live 2.30pm Eastern on ESPN plus and ESPN and straight after that game we'll be talking about a certain Leon Alnes.

23:22I would like to play with the Argentine Selección. It would be a dream. It's not normal that a player like Leo didn't have any Selección. There are many like him in the world. What was his strategy then? Secuestrarlo. It was spectacular. We need to send a video with his own players so that they can see and they can invite them. The desperation was to bring them to play in the Argentine Selección. Perder a player of the league. Messi would be sitting here with me talking.

23:55Just a reminder, if you're on the West Coast, be sure to register for our watch party. Carlos Puyol will be there. Also, Edm Hazard. But of course, most importantly, Alexis Nunez will be at NOS. That's a good caveat. The Torch. Be sure just to click on the QR code to register. If you've ever wanted real energy without choking down something that tastes like regret, Bucked Up is the answer. The flavor is the thing people keep coming back for. Insanely delicious, which is not a phrase usually associated with energy drinks, and they're built on real science-backed ingredients. Clean energy that actually works without the garbage you don't want.

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