Mourinho's First Misstep

23:50were you stalking me? the little mouse he was by the way mainly because he didn't have his teeth in yeah but hey I hadn't just scored the winner against Real Madrid the winner against Oxford United in the FA Cup is a little different than the winner against Real Madrid. But as he said, you take those chances all the time. That's what strikers do. Most of the time, the Courtois pads it somewhere else. It doesn't come to you. The one time it does, on a big occasion, you get the winner there. Huge result for them. I didn't expect this, not because of the transfer window that they've had and Manuel Pellegrini has complained about.

24:25The players that they had missing their last game out away at Levante, they got wall at 5-2. Real Madrid, 100 % record at the start of the season. looked as if they were getting that momentum. This is a result. Even though Real Madrid have struggled against Betis and Sevilla, or not struggled, they haven't got the best results in the last few years, we all thought they were going to do it today. We all thought they were going to continue to get the victories and to march on. But a little bit of a reality check. And what have we said about this Real Madrid side, whether it was Alonso or Ancelotti at the end, and now Jose Mourinho.

24:58When teams sit a little deeper and they get a lot of men behind the ball, Barcelona have been a lot better and a lot smarter at breaking those teams down and that's where Real Madrid have struggled and that's one of the reasons they haven't won any titles in the last couple of years Meanwhile, just one last thing, Mario, you haven't been with us for a while, I'm not sure if you've followed this news but Julian Alvarez is the most popular player at your former club, Atletico Madrid he's back in the squad, he will feature, you expect tomorrow against Atletic Club, just talk to me about the feelings from the fans and how much it's going to take for him to try and win them back

25:36There is no much love for Julian from the fans right now. This issue or this problem is only created by Julian when he told or when he said what he said before, that he wants to live, he wants to follow his dream, that he was not playing in Atletico de Madrid. And the only one who can resolve this is Julian. Scoring goals, playing well, with good attitude, being professional. and he's the only one who can change the situation. Let's see, because the other day when he played, you can see that the attitude was not the right one, was not the one that Julian used to have. Now that he has to stay, he has to remain here, even if he don't want, it's his time.

26:17So we will see with the matches done, but I think if Atletico wants to compete, they need the best Julian or they need the goals from Julian. And now it's everything on Julian. Let's see from tomorrow. That will be live tomorrow. Athletic Madrid taking on Athletic Club. Mario, thank you very much. More, we'll be hearing from Jose Mourinho a little bit later on in the show. Confirmation there then. La Liga continues tomorrow in Bilbao. As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Granger has your back. From professional-grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly.

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27:42Visit your nearest croc store today.

27:48Right. Oh, yeah, there was another game. Ipswich down against Liverpool today. Portman Road. This game was over in the opening two, what, ten minutes. Izak with a brace. That was it. Done and dusted. Stevie, you've been critical of Izak. Yep. Obviously, since he's joined, had the injury last season. Yep. Big player today.

28:09Gab Marcotti:Huge. You know, people always question when former players talk about confidence. And I criticised Izak at the weekend against Forest, talking about his first touch. And he started the game with a poor first touch against Forest. and it got worse. And that was his confidence. And today, after, what, four minutes, with a superb ball from Cody Gakpo, his first touch was absolutely exquisite. One touch put him right in the position to get a strike with a second. It was a great strike, loads of pace, on target. That's all you can ask for. Now, fortunately, the goalkeeper threw it in, but who cares?

28:49Gab Marcotti:And, of course, what happens a couple of minutes later? Again, a ball from Gakpo, first touch, couple of little steps, sticks it into an empty net. The difference between a player who's confident and who doesn't think about making a mistake, who doesn't think about his control, who just automatically does it, is night and day. And you saw that in those two goals today. That's why Izak got his two goals, because that first touch was what we expected. It's been a long time coming, but it was absolutely top class. One of the things we looked at during the game, and I see what Stevie thinks of this, because I know I heard him talking about this during the game, was, all right, this is a great win.

29:30It's Ipswich. They're not the best. They defended horribly to start with. But he's got an early season decision to make about Florian Wurz, who, if we're being honest, was absolutely bang average again, right? I mean, pretty much non-existent. are you going to keep shuffling Dominic Sabozlay from pillar to post or are you going to

29:54Gab Marcotti:what's the way forward I think it's straight forward now that McAllister's fit I think you have to play Gravenberg, McAllister and you have Sabozlay sitting in front what he was doing in Germany with Leverkusen is not working, has not worked in the Premier League last year and from what we've seen this year his game is not working. Isn't it a bit harsh? Liverpool just won 2-0. No, it's not. It's not a bit harsh. It's not a bit harsh. How long do you give somebody? He's had 14 months, 15 months. I mean, how long do you give somebody? And at the end of the day, Slobber's eye, you need Slobber's eye in the middle, 30 yards from goal, where teams are absolutely scared stiff and that means they're going to have to come out and close him down.

30:46Gab Marcotti:And guess what? When teams come out and close him down, that leaves space in behind for somebody like Isaac or Barclay coming through from the wide area. So you're actually killing yourself on two fronts. You're not getting the best out of Slobber's Lie and you're getting nothing from Verts. Whereas if you put Slobber's Lie higher up, you're absolutely getting everything, including defending from the front. Verts doesn't close anybody down properly from the front. I'll tell you who does. So I was like, he's on his mark, he's off. He's getting after people, chasing them, closing them down. So I think he's had plenty of time.

31:26Gab Marcotti:Ira Ola has given them three games. And he's not shown anything. So now it's time he has to take a seat. And I'll tell you why it's not harsh. There's no point in saying, well, we'll put him on the right. They've tried that. They've tried that. It didn't work. He's either going to do it as a number 10 or he's going to sit on the bench. And I go back, I tell you why it's not harsh, because you can be a passenger when you're playing a promoted side. You can have a passenger or somebody who's non-existent. I mean, he should have been bossing that game today. He should have looked a million dollars on that ball against Ipswich.

31:58Right. You know, little balls around the corner, little one-twos, playing people in. None of that. None of that. And when you play better teams in the Premier League or the Champions League or whoever it is, you can't have that player. you cannot have that liability of that passenger, you need somebody in there that's either you can have a guy in there who's not as good defensively if he's producing going forward when he's not producing going forward you need somebody that can do a bit of both and I think that's a decision that Areola is going to have to make, on the plus side you know, because they had two of them before they had Isaac and him, on the plus side Isaac looked a lot sharper today I've got to mention

32:35Gab Marcotti:after what I said about Arojo the other day. I've got to mention Arojo today. You know, I did not expect him to play right back. And yes, it's against Ipswich, but I thought he played really well. And it looked a different defence. You know, keeping a clean sheet away from home is absolutely huge. Because that means you've always got a chance. Particularly when you've got talented players up front. and so the way they defended today I was never scared that Ibschews were going to break them down or score even on the counter-attack on the odd occasion it happened I never felt as though they were going to do that and so I've got to give a little bit of praise to Orojo because I said he was a bit of an embarrassment in the weekend but today he did everything he was asked for and made us look solid there's a lot of Liverpool fans obviously they'll watch Liverpool they'll watch the Premier League they may or may not watch Spanish football.

33:33We've seen him play that right-back role several times in Classicos. And it's not because he'd been playing there for the bulk of the season. It was because, whether it was Hansi Fleck or even Xavi before him when they won the title under Xavi, they moved him to right-back. And he hasn't looked as pacey, because I don't think he's been fit. But one of his big assets is his pace. But he's looked a little cumbersome. I think it's confidence, match sharpness. But when he played right back in the Classicos, it was because he had Vinicius Junior for pace. So it's a position that he's played. He's not great on the ball, but at least defensively, he'll give you something.

34:14I mean, you're not getting that from Frimpong, are you? Let's be honest.

34:17Gab Marcotti:And I hope that Areola, regardless of whether he sticks with him at right back or not, whether Frimpong comes back in, or whether it's Connor Bradley, whoever it is, I hope he learns from today, particularly away from home, because Orojo was not doing what Liverpool full-backs have been doing for the last 10 years. Overlapping, being high up, being in the middle of the park. He didn't do that. He was more of an orthodox full-back. And compared to what has happened previously, and I'm including last season, you have to think that had a difference defensively from a counter-attacking point of view.

34:57Gab Marcotti:So I hope he learns from that and whoever plays there sits a little bit more because they've got enough players going forward that can hurt the opposition. You don't need to keep flinging your full backs and leaving big holes. So that's what I would like to see happen. Marcola, give him 20 minutes. Yeah. Did you like what you saw? Yeah, what's not to like? Guy's a player. The better Liverpool get as a unit, the better he will be because then he will get more of the ball and we'll see more of the skills that he has. Are you feeling happier with things, Liverpool-wise? Absolutely. First win of the season.

35:30Gab Marcotti:You can't sit and watch what Liverpool have been playing like and dishing up for too long now. And not... For a change to sit and watch a game and be comfortable. A great start. A great finish. But more importantly, Isaac gets two goals and then from a defensive point of view, it looked pretty solid. We had Beth on yesterday and you were talking about the regrets maybe from the transfer window, what you could have done. Without a doubt, one of the positives is keeping hold of Gakpo, yeah? Two assists today. Oh no, yeah. Imagine if he had gone. I mean, that would have been... It would have been crazy anyway, but it just shows you how bad a decision it would have been.

36:13Gab Marcotti:The two passes he gave for Izak, you know, I praised Izak's first touch, but the two passes were absolutely perfect as well. particularly at the end selling them to Tottenham is one thing selling them to Man City is even more bonkers bearing in mind Tottenham are not a rival really but Man City why are you looking at it like that? Thanks for telling us Tottenham not a rival Friday night action then saw Liverpool win what else is coming up in the Premier League I think it's fair to say the biggest game so far this season takes place on Sunday Arsenal taking on Chelsea both 100 % of course going into this clash it's the only time you're going to be on boys He's not on tomorrow, so let's take a little look at it now.

36:51As well, can him, Gab Marcotti. Gab, so many different subplots going into this tie.

36:59Yeah, and obviously, you know, Chelsea have scored a ton of goals. They've conceded a lot of goals. Arsenal looked invulnerable, and then we saw that kind of first half against Villa, and you're thinking, ooh, is there a recipe there? I think on paper, you could look at Chelsea's counterattack and assume that that's going to be on the back of Arteta's mind, given how devastating Chelsea can be in transition. So for me, the interesting thing is going to be, all right, does Arteta kind of let them have the ball and try to just out-physical them a little bit? Or does Arteta go for the jugular? Do we see them have more of the ball?

37:36Bearing in mind that Moises Caicedo is a major, major doubt for this game. He came on in the last outing against Brighton and then came off again, never a good sign. I think without Caicedo, even if Rhys James is back in midfield, Chelsea are going to be pretty undermanned. It was interesting, the Brighton game, I think I might be wrong, was something like 26 % possession. It wasn't a lot, but it was really good counter-attacking football. Slightly different from the Fulham game, where that front three were excellent at Craven Cottage, particularly Cole Palmer had a terrific game. But it'll be interesting to see how Chelsea approach it, bearing in mind Arsenal are resolute and strong if they're going to try that kind of same approach and sort of let Arsenal try and dominate and sucker themselves into a counter-attack.

38:25It's an intriguing early look at the runners and riders and who's going to, if anybody's going to put up some sort of challenge to Arsenal over the course of 38 games, we'll get a little small glimpse, possibly, of how Chelsea are going to go about it. But what you can say, although they've lost goals at the back, as Gab said, the front guys that have played, you know, Rodgers was influential against Brighton, I think for the Pedro Neto goal. Neto had come into the side. He didn't start, I believe, at Fulham. João Pedro, it's bonkers how he didn't go at the World Cup. The whole political thing with Neymar, when he was, you know, João Pedro should have gone.

39:05And Cole Palmer looks like Alonso's maybe getting in his ear saying, come on, you didn't go to the World Cup. You know, we know what you can do. We've seen your quality in the Premier League. We need you to be running games for this team to take. And he looks like he's got that little bit between his teeth again. But what I would say, Arsenal could just bare their teeth and this could be all over. So who knows? We've seen in the past when it comes to big matches and we've looked forward to ties that have involved Arsenal, they haven't lived up to expectations because Arsenal have very much taken the win out of the tie.

39:40Are you expecting the same sort of formula for this?

39:43Gab Marcotti:Yeah, I think so. There's no question Chelsea are going to let them have the ball. So it becomes a battle of Arsenal's front players. If Arsenal's front players are on the game, then this is a comfortable victory in my opinion. Yes, Chelsea will give them some problems on the counter, but we're talking about the best defence by a long way in the Premier League. And so that means that Chelsea, at the very least, have to be at their very best. What's your prediction for this? I'm going to go 2-0 Arsenal. 2-0 Arsenal. Gab, what are you going for? Look, I think Arsenal are favourites. I'm going to go Arsenal as well.

40:26But just on the back of what Stevie said there about Arsenal having the best defence, We said that last year when you had Jurgen Timber and William Saliba in there. Those guys aren't there. Just think it's a different type of matchup against this Chelsea side. Especially also remember that midfield's changed as well. Interesting to see if he maybe opts to use Rice a little bit differently. Maybe we see Zubimendi for some more control. Maybe Bruno Guimaraes. Arteta can second-guess himself sometimes. Guimaraes, not surprisingly, when he came on against Villa, played a cutlery peach of passes. He just, he sees that pass very early.

41:06He'll get more of the ball. Well, Newcastle had quite a bit of the ball, but he'll get better possession at Arsenal. He's got better movement in front of him because he has better players. If he plays, and that'll be interesting to see, if Gimaraes plays, he could really pull the strings in this game. I'm with Stevie. I'm going to go 2-0, 2-0 Arsenal. 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 Crocs store today I get so many headaches every month.

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43:22approach as a referee was always to allow the game to flow and whenever possible I prefer to apply a high threshold for contact which the players liked however if I saw a foul challenge that needed me to take the appropriate action I would give it from the correct position Craig you went on yesterday when these uh quotes appeared what do you make of it and what do you make of it he's just a plumb isn't he yeah he's a complete and subtle plumb and you know The other thing is, he is and always has been, even when he was referring, a bit of an attention seeker. And the problem I've got with this nonsense is that, and we were talking about this earlier off camera, we live in a time now where, because of social media in particular, the conspiracy theories surrounding this game are...

44:12The numbers are... the amount of people out there who think everybody's giving decisions against their team, and we had the thing with the referee that was effectively sacked, David Cout, with Jurgen Klopp, all this sort of stuff starts fueling the fire of fans about decisions that go against their team, and people start looking back through the archives and go, look at that! And I just think that makes these current referees who are all professional and they're all trying to do, you know, for the most part as far as I know, they're all trying to referee the game as they see it and I just think this makes it even more difficult for not only referees to referee the game, but how they go about their lives, even outside of the game, because of this sort of nonsense you against my team that's always been there a little bit there's always been a little bit of that or a lot of that to referees, but even more so now in the age of social media and the conspiracy theories that are out there and this just, for me This kind of nonsense just gets in the heads of people who think that way.

45:15And I think it makes the officials. Every time now a decision is made, this weekend and going forward, I'll be thinking about what Mike Dean has said and how referees are against your team. And that just does not help the current crop of referees. All that to try and impress Jamie Vardy, Gerb. Yeah, look, I could say Mike Dean is a dinosaur. He stuck around longer than he should have because this was before Howard Webb and you had somebody in charge who maybe didn't have the gravitas to get rid of him. But, like, frankly, this is just offensive. You know, we can make a joke about it, talking about impacts people today, but what about all the players out there who are trying to train, trying to do their best, trying to work hard to do their job and to win the game?

46:05What about the other referees and assistant referees who are out there and trying to be professional? What about all the fans who fork over their money because they believe, and then you have a guy who decides that, oh, rather than do my job properly, I'm going to play a little game with myself and try to stay in the center circle as long as possible. I mean, this isn't funny. You're just making a mockery of the whole game. Yeah, okay, so, you know, you're not corrupt, but you're corrupting your own job by turning it into a game between you and yourself. you're sick this isn't funny this is just I don't know I wish there was a way to go after him retroactively because I don't know how this is amusing at all it's just an insult did it end up affecting games results league titles I don't know probably not I would hope not but this is just something coming out after the fact and kind of laughing at everybody who loves football and devotes their life to it

47:05Gab Marcotti:I don't get this I really don't get how people are getting upset about this and how all the stuff that everybody's saying about it. I really don't get it. Really, Steve? Mike Dean hasn't refereed for, what, 20 years? No, no, no, no, no. He's a referee. No, it's less than that. No, it's less than that. What, 10 years? But anyway, so, I mean, number one, do you really think he did any of that? I don't think so. I don't think so. I think somebody actually went for it and he did. they used the exam as a few games where he didn't bite the whistle well let me ask you a question remember this nonsense came out where Liverpool players were passing a piece of paper on during a game nobody could have cared less how come now it's a referee doing something or saying he did something and everybody's getting carried away because referees are out there referees are out there putting themselves in front and centre of the vitriol which they have forever in a day right and this we can all put up or we can all accept bad referees and bad decisions because that's a human reaction.

48:10That's an opinion. What you can't accept is a referee in games at elite level that are worth millions and millions and supporters, players are paying a lot of money, supporters pay a lot of money to go to games and travel to games. You travel 500 miles to go and watch your team play and the cost and the time at that for Mike Dean to play a game.

48:35Gab Marcotti:So you think Mike Dean was ever put... See, it's great that we've got 7 million cameras, we've got 1 ,000 programmes, we've got millions of analysts, we've got pundits, we've got everyone. Not one person ever has said a word that ever noticed anything like that. Because you put a referee on a pedestal... What were we doing? No, you put a referee on a pedestal and you think a professional referee doesn't need to be under that microscope, surely? He only retired four years ago. The referee's not under any more microscope after Mike Dean opening his trap than he was before. I think that's naive, Stevie.

49:03No, he's not. I think that's naive to say. Referees go out

49:05Gab Marcotti:And referee the game That's what they do They're not Mike Dean's talking about I've stayed in the Senate I've circled for 15 minutes Right I mean really Do you really think that's true But Come on But why come out and say it Come on Do you really think That's an impossibility So you don't think This is fueling the fire Of the We already Let me tell you In about a week's time In about a week's time It'll be something else But why even Mike Dean Why even say it Because it's Mike Dean He wants this attention That we're giving him right now He's wanting the attention. Craig said it when he refereed, he wanted attention.

49:38Gab Marcotti:And guess what? He hasn't been refereeing for however long it is, and he's getting more attention. It's funny that. I've had 10, I've had 7, now you're seeing 4. You talk about stretching the truth. Holy smoke. Let me tell you how words matter. Let me tell you how words matter. Maybe somebody can correct me if I get this wrong here. I think it was Mourinho, Roma, Anthony Taylor. Exactly. Anthony Taylor attacked with his family, going back to the airport or through the airport because of words, right? Words matter, particularly nonsensical words like this, because it fuels people out there who haven't got a brain in their head and struggle to behave.

50:19We already have too many of them. We have too many people who think every Tom, Dick and Harry's against them, and sometimes they take the law into their hands and there's repercussions, and now we have a referee, I think, making this worse. Go on, Gab. well the model should shut down then second what i second what craig said referees represent authority they represent institutions they carry a certain responsibility with them even when they're no longer refereeing it's a little bit like policemen if you had a retired cop saying haha guess what i used to do i used to break into steve nichols house and and play with his underpants when he wasn't looking and guess what you know others did this too uh let me tell you If he did that, he wouldn't do it again.

51:04Even if he was making everything up. Even if Steve invited him in. No, sorry.

51:09Gab Marcotti:I'd stop there. I don't get it. I don't actually correlate the Mike Dean situation to Jose Mourinho. I think that's a different thing. But what about what Gav's saying? As an authoritative figure, you take it for granted that as a professional, you're going to go out there and do your best job, which Mike Dean wasn't. They've always been authoritative figures. No, but the problem is with him coming out and saying that, that not only tiles his reputation, but all referees. I disagree. I'm sorry, I disagree. Why? I don't see how him trying to tell us what he did, and we don't even know if it's true, because it probably isn't, because it's so far-fetched.

51:48Gab Marcotti:And I use the example of standing in a circle for 15 minutes. Give me a break. That's the problem we've got. It's one guy coming in with that clap trap. Stevie, it's either not true and he's a liar or it's true and he made a mockery of the game. He is a referee. When people look at him, they look at referees. And that's why Craig says this undermines other referees today. Because you want people walking around saying, okay, they're either liars and fantasists or they're people who go and make a mockery of the game while they're supposed to be at work. The outcome is the same. Right. Okay. we've cut this right down to two things, right?

52:30Gab Marcotti:He's either making a mockery of the game or he's a liar. And if you go and find me and him standing in the centre circle for 15 minutes I will 100 % agree with you that he's making a mockery of the game. There's evidence of him not blowing a whistle for 15, 20 minutes. He said he would try and stay in the centre circle because it was all part of a game. He would try. So why would you go in with that, Mike? I just don't believe it. What if it is true? What if there is evidence of that? Well, if it is true, then it's unprofessional and he shouldn't have been refereeing. But I still don't see how that applies to all the other referees.

53:03Gab Marcotti:Really? No. Because he does that. Stevie, because he does that. Listen, Gab's bringing up the police thing. Because one policeman decides to do something, so we're going to tarnish every other policeman. That's what you're doing. When Bruce Grovelar was done, yeah? was there not any questions about every other player and who else is taking bribes or bungs or allegedly doing this, that and the other doesn't that have a domino effect on everyone within the profession I think that's kind of where we're at well who who number one, how long did that last? a week? how long did that last? you're avoiding my question well one Liverpool player taking bribes allegedly does that take effect on other Liverpool players?

53:52Gab Marcotti:Yes it does. It just means people are going to say well as I said yesterday anybody with common sense is going to figure this out. That doesn't mean to say there are complete numbskulls out there who have just decided oh I remember Mike Dean when he was refereeing us against so and so and we lost the game because he was doing this and he wasn't doing his job properly and blah blah blah. I mean it's a never ending. But it tarnishes You've got to look at it rationally. It tarnishes the profession. That's my point. Well, my point is for two seconds, and it's all on one man, because I can assure you, I never went straight to, oh, every referee must be corrupt then.

54:28Gab Marcotti:Everybody else is unprofessional. Everybody else must be doing it. But as soon as we... Tell you what, if we start doing that with everyone, then we're great. Let's shut everything down. But it's a ridiculous thing to say. Of course it's a stupid thing to say. At a professional level. Because, again... That I don't disagree with. It might not be this weekend, but it might be the next week. Whatever it is, six months down the line, and a referee will have a horror show, and whatever it is, and people are going to be looking at... No, people are not going to be looking at just his decisions. Where did he run?

54:59How far did he... What are we going to do?

55:00Gab Marcotti:And that's fine. And by the way, that's fine. He has brought that on, that everything he did is questionable. 100%. I just don't see how you start bringing other referees... I think the referees need less scrutiny, not more. I think the scrutiny is part of the problem in terms of the referees are now worried. So it's taken some of the neutrality out of the game. The decisions, they're frightened. They're almost like, you know, well, you know, they had to make a decision before then VAR came in. They've got a bit of help now. They don't always get it right. We certainly can debate that. But now they have this other scenario where when they make a decision, they're not taking the game serious.

55:41Look at Mike Dean. It's not just Mike Dean. It's hem, hem and hem and hem.

55:46Gab Marcotti:Brian Clough said those very words 50 years ago. And guess what happened? I only got worse. All right. So it's the end of the world. YouTube is available. I've got you. Namaste. It's very apt what Frank is doing as we're talking about Steve's yoga on YouTube.

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57:27Why wait? Ask your doctor. Visit BotoxChronicMigraine.com or call 1-800-44-BOTOX to learn more. Meanwhile, in Italy, taking a look at what's going on, Coleman with a big win against Genoa. Saturday, though, Inter take on Napoli. Sunday, Juve against AC Milan. Gab is with us to talk about those two big games. Let's talk about Inter-Napoli first, Gab. Yeah, I mean, Max Allegri had an absolute nightmare at home against Coleman. Who'd have thunked it? But just sitting back and not wanting the ball and trying to play and letting Cuomo stomp you all over would be a good strategy. He's got to bounce back big time against an inter side that have looked good.

58:12They have looked good even with certain players like Marcus Turan, maybe not quite at his best. That's okay. Francesco Pio Esposito, of course, is there. Let's not forget also Roma-Atalanta. The pretenders, Daniel Malin continuing to bang in the goals. Atalanta also an exciting attacking team. and then on Sunday I think we're going to get a better sense of what Milan are all about how quickly they're metabolizing what Ruben Amarim wants them to do a lot of wheeling and dealing this summer no more Rafael Leal but it's all eyes on that Gonzalo Ramos, he scores some good goals he also misses a lot of goals and we'll of course be looking back at Inter's game on the next edition of the ESPN FC

59:02Real Betis speeding Real Madrid by one goal to nil in dramatic fashion. Parrot would score the only goal in the 81st minute. Real Madrid scored but then the goal was rightly chalked off for offside. They were then awarded a penalty. Kylian Mbappe would see it saved. It looked like encroachment, however it wasn't given. Here's Jose Mourinho.

59:37I haven't seen it. I haven't seen it in detail, and I can't comment on that.

59:48I think we played a great game. Sometimes we lose, and you don't know why, and you do not know how to explain it.

1:00:02very dominant, strong defenders who controlled absolutely everything.

1:00:10A lot of attacking plays, a lot of chances to score.

1:00:17If it ends in a tie, it would still be frustrated because we played better. Gemma, who is this man? I didn't see it. Yeah, right. Yes, the nice brother of Jose Mourinho. I told you, in the pre-game, he has changed. Something has changed. Wait for it, because this is just the first book of the new era of Jose Mourinho. And I think it's true. He cannot blame his players. They did everything they could. Maybe you can blame Mourinho, because we were talking during the game that the best player of the match was being Arda Guler, and he takes him out. and maybe he's not daring to substitute some key players, something that we talked in the past in this Real Madrid.

1:01:03And at the end, I think the physicality of the team, Betis got much better. So he cannot blame the team. He doesn't want to get into controversy with the referees at the very beginning of the season. We were asking the Spanish FA, they sent us, oversend the rules. And according to them, it is correct both decisions the offside of Carlos' peak goal. There is a game five seconds ahead of the goal and it is correct. And also the encroachment of Marc Barta is correct according to the rules. So I guess Jose Mourinho wants to wait for a better occasion to complain and put fire into everything. Mourinho didn't see it, Stevie.

1:01:45There's no way of seeing it. I've got to say, I'm a little disappointed.

1:01:47Gab Marcotti:I was hoping he would lose. I'm disappointed. He definitely saw it, by the way, yes? With iPads and everything. Goodness, I pads on everything. Yeah, 100%. But he's definitely keeping his powder dry. Yeah. And, you know, what he said was right about the first half. He wasn't right about the second half. No. But he's pushed that away. He's decided that that doesn't count. And he's concentrated on what his boys did in the first half. It's a bit like him being happy. No. It does feel weird. It was extremely... It was way too calm for my life. An extremely rare occasion. It's like golf course great.

1:02:21Gab Marcotti:Yeah, it was disappointing. I thought he'd give us something. Yeah. He was nothing. Well, you know, they didn't defend the corner kick well enough. Wasn't exactly the tallest player. It got the first header and Troy Parrott with the finish. And their own finishing wasn't clinical enough. So, you know, that's on them. You can play as well as you want. You can possess the ball as much as you want. They created some chances in the first half and not a lot in the second or not as much. They had a penalty. the opportunity from that. So, yeah, it wasn't a terrible game, but bear in mind this is a Betis side that got walloped by Levante not too long ago.

1:03:03So, you know, it's... Yeah, I'm a bit like Stevie. I thought he was going to come out all guns blazing, but I think we're going to see that Mourinho at some point. But he's definitely keeping his powder dry a little bit. If they keep losing, we'll see. Obviously, Gemma. Sorry, can you repeat? If they keep losing matches, he can't keep this up for much longer. No, that's for sure. You can have this for granted. But it's just for games. Champions League is coming. It's too early to start complaining on the referees. He's done that in the past. And the truth is that this version of Mourinho, he's trying another approach with the media, with the players, with the Bernabeu after two disappointing seasons.

1:03:48I guess he considers he needs to bring a little bit of peace. And he's been very, in his press conference, he has speak a lot about football and not controversy. And I think that's what is going to happen in this case. He said he didn't see the controversy well enough. He wants to re-watch it, revisit it, and then he will give an opinion. But yeah, if the thing gets more spicy ahead of the derby of Madrid, ahead of El Clásico, I think we will see the old face of Mourinho or the grumpy brother of the Mourinho twins. But you know, the thing is, it's not, it isn't, on the face of it, it isn't a controversy.

1:04:27Because that's the law. It's the law, yeah. The fact that even Stevie... 13 years ago, Mourinho wouldn't have come out and gone, I didn't see it. Well, the fact that, you know, we've both been in the game a long time, some a little longer than others. And we've never, I've never seen a, We've never seen a scenario like that from a penalty kick, right? But if those are the laws, and they've slowed it down on the VAR, and they can see there's no foot on the ground, then the offside wasn't a controversy, and this is just people not understanding how the laws are interpreted. So, yeah, it is where it is.

1:05:04He has a big Champions League game in midweek. Two defeats in the spin, if that's the case. It's then going to be difficult going back into La Liga. but this certainly was far from the ideal scenario from tonight. Gemma, thank you very much. Are you going to any other games this weekend? No, I'm going to watch Valencia Barcelona on TV and just enjoy it. Fiesta. Fiesta in Seville. Thank you very much, Gemma. Much appreciated. A reminder that that Valencia Barcelona game is on Sunday at 10.15. Before that, tomorrow, Athletic Club against Athletic Madrid. Those games live on the ESPN app. That is it.

1:05:40That brings us to the end of today's show. Thank you very much for joining us. Extra Time is with us in a moment. Gab back along with Craig and Stevie to answer your questions.

1:05:55Welcome in to the latest edition of Extra Time. Excuse me, Mr. Craig and Stevie is with us. Gab Marcotti as well. Mr.

1:06:02Gab Marcotti:Moderator, can I just correct you on something that happened during the show? Yeah, what happened? About Troy Parrott. You said, Troy Parrott is from Northern Ireland. Okay. And so when you asked me the question about what other Irishman scored, the reason I didn't say John Aldridge is because John Aldridge apparently was from the Republic of Ireland, although he was actually a scouser. Right. And the answer I was looking for was a Northern Irish player called Gerry Armstrong. Right. So it just depends how technical you want to get. Okay, apologies. The island of Ireland, I think he meant. You can always let it go.

1:06:41Gab Marcotti:If you tell a Nolan Irishman he's from his era, then he won't be happy. Right. McElroy. Okay. Troy Parrott was born in Dublin, but, you know. Sorry? He was born in Dublin. Who? Troy Parrott. Well, he plays for Northern Ireland. What? John Aldridge was born in England, but he plays for Republic of Ireland. Are you sure he played? It just makes a point. Are you sure Troy Parrott played for Northern Ireland? Yeah. Are you sure? Why did your eyes do that? Did he? Troy Parrott played for the Republic of Ireland. Oh, you're just down the biggest... Is that a game? I'm going to have to go. I haven't got to pick the dog up.

1:07:17I think you could have let it go. No one would have noticed. Not if you had just let it go, but no. No one would have noticed. Yep. But now they went down this deep dark hole. It's not only you to be wrong, is it?

1:07:28Gab Marcotti:Now you know I keep losing bets. Wow. I did expect... And by the way, you didn't know because somebody in your ear told you that. Well, you got me confused because we were talking about it's going to Hatchaker Island. As he said, nobody batted an eyelid during the show. No, no, I'm minded. Remind everybody how wrong you were. Who would have thought, Stevie? You were defending Mike Dean, which I wasn't expecting, and now you've come up and done this. I used to lose a fortune to Hanson and Betts, you know. Because I was like, the same as I was right there. I was so sure I was 100 % right. Right, OK, come on.

1:07:56Gab Marcotti:So, Sam, about the Liverpool jersey, you and Don. It must be. I don't know. It must be. Stevie, what's the bigger deal for Liverpool today? The Azak brace or keeping a clean sheet? What are you happy about? Keeping a clean sheet. Yeah. Oh, it's Epswich, for God's sake. Surely you're happier we use that getting a couple of goals. That's not the question. The question is, what's the bigger deal? The bigger deal? This is the first clean sheet Liverpool had since Epswich. Here comes a fact. Here comes a dodging fact. Yes. Yes. Where was their last clean sheet? 1948. Jerry Armstrong. Mike Dean was the referee.

1:08:32Gab Marcotti:Mike Dean was the referee. Yeah, there you go. You're a good mate, Mike Dean. Yeah. No, it's important. It doesn't matter. Liverpool haven't been able to keep a clean sheet against anybody, regardless of whether it's Epswich or anybody else. I don't care if it's Epswich, it's a clean sheet. That's what counts. Gab, Juventus have the most Serie A titles. Ready for this one, Gab. Juventus have the most Serie A titles, Milan has the most European titles, and Inter Milan is the only Italian team who's won the treble. I want to know from Gab, who is the actual GOAT team of Italian football?

1:09:07This is like a recipe for disaster, so I'm going to swerve this one. Okay. The GOAT team of Italian football is the great Torino side of the 1940s, the one that tragically perished in the Superga air crash. They averaged more than three and a half goals a game. They won five league titles in a row. And I think everybody, even fans of those clubs, would recognize that as the GOAT club. Oh, Italian football. Good answer, Gab. Who was the most physically imposing player that Craig and Stevie faced? Billy Whitehurst. Easy. OK. Easy. For those who don't know much about him, just...

1:09:48Gab Marcotti:Billy Whitehurst was a centre forward in the... Did he have any connections to Ireland? No. In the 80s. And there wasn't a centre back on the planet who didn't want anything to do with Billy. Right. Billy was just legendary, universally known as keep out the way, because it can only go wrong. Right. Craig? I didn't play against him, thankfully. No. He's a hard chap. A very hard chap. Did you play against any hard chaps in your playing days? Yeah, some of them were my teammates, like Mickey Hartford and Vinnie Jones. Right. Mick Mick Mick was another one universally feared Mickey Hartford feared if Mick and Billy if Mick Mick Hartford and Billy Whitehouse were in a room you needed to find an exit and get out quick because you didn't want to get caught in the crossfire if those two had decided to have a Barney I know if you ever accidentally caught any of the two of them yeah I'm sorry about that

1:10:57Gab For those who don't watch much Serie A, how would you describe Marco Palestra and what can he bring to Chelsea?

1:11:08So, he spent, well, to give you a sense, he's an Atalanta player who was on loan at Cagliari last season. He was playing for a smaller team. For a very young player, showed so much personality, you know, playing as a wingback or as a fullback. He is very athletic. He's very quick. And he's really unafraid about going and taking people on and also going back and defending at the other end. I think I'm saying he's played both sides, both right and left. I think he's probably a little bit more accomplished on the right. But either way, he's still producing. Sorry, he's still developing as a player.

1:11:53I think he's very good. And I think, you know, given the situation with Chelsea's right back or Chelsea's wing backs in general, where, you know, you've got guys like Hato who took a while and is now taking off. You've got Rhys James who's being used more and more in midfield. You've got Giovanni Kenda who's probably more of an, even more attack, more of a winger even, but is still very, very young. I would expect there'd be space for Palaiso this year if he stays fit. Right Scottish people, the Scottish Professional Football League has banned all away fans for attending matches between Celtic and Rangers this season.

1:12:27Have you ever played in a match where the away fans were not allowed to attend and was it a bit strange? No. I was just talking to Stevie about this during the games today. The last thing Scottish... You don't want trouble, right? Obviously, that's stating the obvious. You don't want any trouble. The last thing these games need is having no away fans at games. It's ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous. But it's where we are, and unfortunately in Scotland, like a lot of countries, there's just too many idiots. And this Celtic Rangers thing is just constantly pathetic. It really is. And they're all as bad as each other.

1:13:11and you know what I really don't follow anymore I can't I can't be bothered because it's the same same crap day in day out week in week out is that the rest of Scottish football and the best thing could have happened last year was hearts win the league because the rest of Scottish football don't want to listen to either the people in Edinburgh don't want to listen to it the people in Dundee don't want to listen to it and the people up north don't want to listen to it it's the same tripe week in, week out, day in, day out. It's the same sectarian nonsense. What skills do your kids go to and all that?

1:13:47It's from hundreds of years ago. It never changes, Stevie, does it? And so it boils over, and now you can't have away fans. When I was playing at Celtic, when you go into Ibrox, our Rangers were coming to Celtic. I wanted to see a big Rangers-supported Celtic and a big Celtic-supported Rangers. used to take up the whole behind the stand, or at least the bottom half of it, but I think back in the day, when you come out of Ibrox on the left-hand side, the Celtic fans had the whole behind the stand, behind the goal, which I don't know how much, it had to be, I don't know, they had at least 7 ,000 or 8 ,000.

1:14:20Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know, but it was a lot. And that just made for, yeah, it did make for, you know, there's always going to be something spilling over, but to have this scenario now where... Have you ever played anything like that, wearing Sony Eaton. You must have seen it. No, I've always been. Have you always been away fans?

1:14:40Gab Marcotti:There's always been away fans. Obviously Craig played in the middle of it. He was in the middle of the whole thing, which we weren't. But the one thing that I have a problem with... This stems from a Rangers Celtic game not long ago, and I think there was like 500 Rangers fans. Really? Are you telling me that the police can't control 500 fans? that you've got to completely and utterly say there's no away fans. You can't take care of 500 people. Seriously? That to me is garbage, but obviously worse is the whole sectarianism and the whole other stuff that goes on. It's just ridiculous. That is it.

1:15:23Gab, what are you doing this weekend? Anything exciting? No, I'll just be catching up with a lot of football on television. By the way, just a point about Stevie not seeing away fans. Maybe he just didn't notice, but it was pretty common in the 1980s in England for away fans. Chelsea fans were banned from travelling to away games for three or four years. West Ham fans as well. He's not had a very good day. Maybe he just didn't notice them at Anfield, but they weren't there. He's not had a very good day today. No, absolutely not. I know. There we go.

1:16:00Gab Marcotti:Leeds as well. Irish so Troy Parrott Michael so it was just exclusively those teams it was no it wasn't every club in England but it was it was a lot of clubs obviously it was a big hooligan problem in the 1980s and at some point I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

1:16:31Gab Marcotti:Are you sure they were in the first division? Chelsea did spend some time in the first division. I can honestly tell you. You're asking me if Chelsea were in the first division. That's it. When Kenny scored those goals. Thank you very much. The early 80s, they weren't in the first division. I know that fact. ASPN FC is back tomorrow. I'll answer the second question tomorrow as well.

1:17:10This 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.