Real Madrid and Barcelona clash on Sunday

0:00Pays Checkout is offered by your banks and credit unions. So when you shop online at participating merchants, your cards appear in one place. Pays. It checks out. Activation required. See Pays.com to learn more. Terms and conditions apply.

0:21Hello and welcome into the latest edition of ESPN FC. Kay Murray, Alejandro Moreno and Shaka Hislop here in the studio. A little later on, we are going to be talking about El Clasico coming up on Sunday between Real Madrid and Barcelona. But first, we must look back on what we've seen in the Champions League this week. After four straight losses, Liverpool got back to winning ways with that 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday. One of the papers saying, what crisis? With a picture of Sir Bosley after his goal. Let's welcome in Frank Leboeuf and Mark Ogden to talk more about this.

0:57and given that Mark Ogden is here, he loves to talk about crises. Let's ask him, what crisis is Mark? Well, obviously, four straight defeats. They hadn't lost five in a row since 1953, so Liverpool were in a crisis and they were on the brink of a deeper crisis, but they've kind of paused the crisis by putting five past Eintracht Frankfurt. But listen, it's important to win the game, isn't it? It's important to win to end that run, but Eintracht was so poor that I think it'd be a bit too premature to say that Liverpool were out of the slump They've got a tough game at Brentford at the weekend. But we saw flashes on Wednesday night of what they're about, of what Virts can do, of what Ekotiko, what a great signing he's been.

1:36But I think we have to have the caveat that Eintracht and Frankfurt were very, very poor. Yes, Ugo Ekotiko is pretty good though, Frank. He should be starting more often for Liverpool, shouldn't he? Well, he should be starting every time. You know, Liverpool plays right now and it shouldn't be an issue. And that should be absolutely normal. And also listen to the political aspect of the game, let's say, and the money talking. But yes, Ekitike is showing to the world that right now he has no lack of confidence whatsoever. And like Isaac, every time he gets the ball, he's a threat. He goes forward, he's fast.

2:19and he also has the time to apologize to the Frankfurt fans who have brought their money, but a goal against them. I mean, it's not like Hanna Slott hasn't seen what Hugo Ekitike can offer Liverpool this season. Yeah, I'll tell you what it's obvious to see in what would be the comparison between Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak. When you watch Ekitike play, there's a lot of life in those legs. And when I say that, I mean, for people that may not understand it, is that there's electricity. There is dynamic movement. There is explosion to those legs. And in order to have that in your game, you have to have strength.

2:59You have to have a certain level of fitness. And obviously, you have to have natural talent and natural athletic ability. Isaac may have that when he is fully fit, may have that when he is actually ready to go. He doesn't look ready to go. He looks like a guy who missed preseason. And while everybody was talking, is he going back to Newcastle? Is he staying here? Is he going there? Is he going to Liverpool? He was not working at the level that he should have been. Now, some people would say it's a speculation. It isn't. Because you see the evidence in front of you. Ekitike, when he starts running, there's a change of pace.

3:34And there's explosion. We're yet to see that from Alexander Isak. And so, as it pertains to that comparison, right now, there is no comparison. Ekitike should be playing. And it's something that we have brought up time and time again in discussing it in this show. We're playing Alexander Isak because he's the big signing. But if it is about performance, Ekitike should never have left the field. And so we got to see the two from the start in this game against Antark Frankfurt, but Alexander Isak had to come off with a groin injury. What's the latest there, Mark? Well, Liverpool are still waiting to assess the damage.

4:09Andy Slott will speak on Friday about Isak, but I got a real sense that Al Nislok was frustrated with Isak as well as with the injury last night because he was talking about how he thought he was ready. He said before the United game last Friday that basically he's no more excuses now. He's had plenty of time to work. He's been at Liverpool for seven, eight weeks since he's moved from Newcastle. Now, you know, Ale's right. If you miss a pre-season, it takes a long, long time to get over it but Liverpool have done everything right. They said it went away with Sweden. They did everything right. Everything that they have done in terms of getting him fit has been done so they were expecting to be ready to play two, three times a week.

4:42And he came off at half-time with a groin strain. Look, I mean, he looked a mile off last night, and he looked a mile off against Man Utd at the weekend. And Ekotike looks a totally different player, much more dangerous. He looks like the full package. He's the main guy right now. Isak is the shallowest former self. And, you know, maybe he should have tried a bit harder than the summer, like Ali says, and trained harder to make sure he was ready for the move. He looks nowhere near ready. And I think there's a concern at Liverpool now with slot that it might take him, you know, too long to get ready.

5:12We can't forget that Mo Salah was off to the African Nations in December. It could be away for six weeks. So they need ESAT to be ready sooner rather than later. But if he's out for two, three, four weeks of the groin strain, it puts him back again. So he's paying the price now for the summer that he had. And that was his choice. He chose not to train. He chose to stay away from Newcastle. He could have gone about in a different way. And he's paying the price. It might ruin his season. It might mean that the whole first season that he had at Liverpool is ruined by the fact he didn't train properly in the summer.

5:39Mark, you mentioned Mo Salah. he didn't start this game does he start at the weekend? Well if Isak's injured I think there's every chance he will do I think obviously not starting against Frankfurt was a surprise but that wasn't the biggest call it would be a big shock if he doesn't start against Frankfurt because I'm sure Frankfurt won the Champions League match day three it's a game that Liverpool needed to win but they could have afforded to lose it because there's so many games to turn it around in the Champions League but I think to drop him for a Premier League game is a different story altogether and with Isak missing I think I'm pretty sure that Salah will go straight back into the team.

6:14He'll play his usual role and Ekotike will fit in somewhere else. But, you know, Ekotike has to start. Cody Gakpo has to start. Nobody talks about Cody Gakpo, but he's played a massive role for Liverpool recently. He works so much harder than everybody else. He's doing the running for Mo Salah that maybe Darwin Nunes and Lewis Dias did last season. So I think it'll be Gakpo, it'll be Ekotike, it'll be Mo Salah at Brentford. It should be like a perfect situation for Anaslott when you take a look at the players, whether they're fit in, farm. He can just go, you, you, you're in. You're doing well.

6:41You're in. Different from what we've seen from Ekki Tike so far this season, he's an absolute must on the team sheet. We know Mo Salah, his importance to Liverpool, how good he is in the Premier League. We know Alexander Izak and how good he's in the Premier League, albeit for Newcastle United. So it should be pretty straightforward. But for all the reasons that the guys just pointed out, Alexander Izak hasn't delivered on, well, early promise so far. He's struggled to find any kind of form. who knows when that will come if that will come this season similarly with Mo Salah well we've seen kind of lean periods from Mo Salah and then he burst onto back onto the scene with spectacular effect you're kind of waiting for that to happen but in the meantime Liverpool are not playing well and while Mark says Mark says that Liverpool could afford to to lose to Frankfurt in the Champions League in terms of the Champions League format but in terms of where they are the four games that they lost going into that one I don't I just don't see how losing to Frankfurt or the game against Frankfurt was anything but a must win they delivered on that and now it's up to them to build on it but Anaslaut does have that problem on his hands because you're not quite sure who his best front three are for all the reasons that I just just explained and now while Alexander Isaac and I mentioned we know how good he is how good he can be you also know that he comes with periods on the sidelines because of injury.

8:06You saw that during his three years at Newcastle, and clearly it's spilling into what's happening at Liverpool. Now, he has to get that right. He has to find form because otherwise this season may slowly slip away from Liverpool. What did you want to say, Frank? I think Anastasia is moving forward in that matter. He's not thinking or he stopped thinking I'm talking the fact that somebody has the price tag, the other one is a big star. I'm talking about Mo Salah. I'm talking about Alexander Izak. I think he's moving forward in a way that he put a Kiteke, he put Mo Salah on the bench. And when Izak got injured, everybody would have thought that Mo Salah would have come on.

8:50No, that was Keza. Keza had a very good game, working hard, running his socks off every time he gets the ball. So maybe I'm not slowly saying, OK, now Fed up. Without maybe what the board is expecting, you know, the big time player playing, I'm going to play the players who deserve to play. And for me, seeing Eketike starting, seeing Keza coming on half time where Mo Salah was still on the bench, it's a sign where everything is changing for me. Yeah, we obviously know Frankfurt's weaknesses. So all these goals that we saw put past them, we're seeing that in the Bundesliga this season as well. They're conceding so many goals, even though they're scoring a lot too.

9:30We know their weaknesses. As for Liverpool, though, they've bounced back to winning ways. But when you take a look at what's coming up for them, they've got Palace, they've got Real Madrid, and Man City in three of their next five games. Those are going to be the real test, Ali. I'd say going to Brentford is going to be a test. Because as important as the win was to stop the bleeding against Antark Frankfurt. I think the fact that the win came in an explosive manner and where they decimated Antark Frankfurt and took him to pieces, and I think that elevates the confidence of the team. That elevated confidence is kind of shaky if you're unable to go to Brentford and get a result.

10:13You build some momentum going forward. You build some momentum in order to double down on that momentum, in order to really secure that you're moving in the correct direction and you're training in the right direction, you have to go to Brentford and you have to win that game. It's gotten to the point now for Liverpool that everything is hinging on the next match up until they get themselves in a situation in which they string results together. And they haven't been able to do that. And in fact, when they string results together, it was going in the wrong direction. And so while we may focus on Crystal Palace and we may focus on Real Madrid and Manchester City, And yes, of course, those games bring a lot of attention.

10:53I think if you're Arnest Slot, you're thinking, Brentford, Brentford, Brentford, also Brentford, and by the way, Brentford. And in the subject of Brentford, we talk about who may be included, who may not be included. If I'm Arnest Slot, I'm keeping Florian Verts on the field. Because for the first time in forever, we actually saw an inspired performance from Florian Verts that was closer. Maybe it's the fact that he was playing in Germany. Maybe that was it, that he felt at home. You saw him getting on the ball with confidence. Little flick on passes here, passes down the side, assisting on goals, participating in every aspect of the game for Liverpool on the offensive side.

11:35You've got to keep him on the field because he, too, is building some momentum. You sit him on the bench because you're sacrificing him for Mo Salah, I think you're sending the wrong messages. So if you're going to sacrifice somebody, don't sacrifice Florian Verst because he actually played well against Heinrich Frankfurt. Also, I found Arna Slott's comments about being able to press Frankfurt better because they don't play the ball long. I found that so odd. Now if you're Brentford, how are you going to approach this game on the weekend? To Ali's point, what Arna Slott is admitting pretty openly is when the ball is played over, our press, we struggle.

12:17And so now, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to come up with a game plan as to what to do. Which, by the way, you are. Doctor.

12:28I don't know what to say to that. But my... Moving on. You're not. My point is, Arnest Lord is just kind of detailing everybody's game plan. How to play against Liverpool. Or more to the point, where they struggle. and they have makes me all the more confused. Because we are speaking about Stoodles. I'm very sorry but I want to make sure Ali who do they play Liverpool? Who do they play at the weekend? Brentford. At Brentford. Did you get that Frank? I wasn't sure. Because you said it only six times. Brentford. It's also Brentford. At Brentford. The world's biggest soccer tournament has arrived, and you can trade the entire tournament on Kalshi.

13:19On Kalshi, you can trade every match from the opening stage all the way to the final. France is currently trading at 17 % to win it all, meaning a$100 trade pays out over$550 if they win soccer's biggest prize. On Kalshi, you're trading against peers in a live market, meaning there's no house. And as the probability changes, you can buy in and out of your position. For a limited time, download the Kalshi app and use code FC to get$10 when you trade 10. K-A-L-S-H-I. Kalshi. Trade on anything. 18 plus only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors.

13:59Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see kalshi.com slash regulatory. So your team just got knocked out of the FIFA World Cup. Brutal, right? Well, the good news is you're not done. It's time to jump on the Leyes bandwagon and nobody loses on the bandwagon. No upsets, no heartbreak, no stress, only good times. So join Leyes on the bandwagon. Grab a bag of Leyes. Get ready for the next match. Cheer for whoever you want. Leyes keeps the party going. Leyes' official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026. But it is El Clasico this weekend. Real Madrid against Barcelona.

14:35No, it is not. In fact, we wanted to show Mark Ogden something that we've seen this week because it is first against second in La Liga. But our Martin Einstein caught up with Marcus Rashford, that is English star Marcus Rashford, ahead of the match. And we wanted Mark to see what he had to say about a certain subject. How many times have you dreamed about playing against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu with the FC Barcelona jersey? No, I think for me it's the biggest game in football and it's a game that even for me, of course I'm from Manchester, it's not the biggest game in England or in Manchester, so even for me from a young age we are always watching El Clásico, if there's one game to watch is this game.

15:23And playing it? No, playing it is of course going to be an unbelievable experience, but for me it's about winning, so to make the experience memorable, after they tried to help the team to win. So this is the main objective. And of course, it's a great team that we are playing against and they're in really good form. So it's not going to be easy, but we will give our best to win the game. What is the player that you see, you know, Frank Sessions that, wow, it's crazy. I mean, I cannot believe it. Lots of the players have lots of qualities. For Paul with the standouts is of course Lamin and for me Pedri is unbelievable.

16:06I think his understanding of the game is one of his main strengths. Of course his ability on the ball is clear to see so this is not surprising. Maybe if I had to say one thing, maybe he's dribbling. He's very good at dribbling, but again, he's not surprising because his ball retention is so good. He very rarely loses the ball. What do you think has changed you? What happened there and what is happening here to see the markers that we've seen shining at United? Yeah, I don't think there's much change in me. I just feel it's a new environment, new culture and it's one that I looked forward to coming here.

16:53But what wasn't working back then? It's difficult to put your finger on exactly what it was. And your perspective in your mind? In my mind it's so many years in one place, people forget this, but 23 years of my life was with Manchester. Sometimes you just need a change, so I think maybe this is the case with me. At the minute I'm enjoying everything, so I just continue the way I am and keep pushing to do that little bit extra. Yeah, like this, I think it will be a positive season. It was specifically that last bit, Mark, that sometimes people perceive you as miserable and we suggest that maybe you've been in Manchester too long.

17:51Who, me or Marcus Rashford? Can that be your excuse? Yeah, maybe, yeah. Listen, I just think it's more about gritty realism, isn't it? That's what it is about Manchester. There's no point in pretending. You just get to the point. Look, I mean, Marcus Rashford, they're talking about what's changed. Again, he just won't kind of accept that he was part of the problem at Man United. He's almost suggesting that nothing has changed and he's just in a different environment. I mean, he lost his focus, he lost his discipline, he lost his form, and I think he needed a move. United needed him to move out as well.

18:27So I think everyone at United is delighted that he's doing well because it means that he might get a permanent transfer and they might get the money for him. But I don't think there's a path back for Marcus Rashford at Man United. And yes, he's playing well at Barcelona, but he hadn't allowed at Man United for a good two or three years. If he is part of the problem at Manchester United, so far he's proven to be part of the solution for Barcelona this season. And an unlikely part of the solution as well. When you were thinking about what the front three of Barcelona would be coming into this season, well, Laminya Mar was going to play, Rafinha was going to play.

19:02Lewandowski was going to play. You know who wasn't going to play? Marcus Rashford. Well, injuries happen. Many injuries. Multiple injuries. Ferran Torres, Rafinha, Lewandowski. And so, here is the opportunity for Marcus Rashford to provide something different that Barcelona doesn't quite have naturally. And it's that change of pace. But he's also provided a final touch. He has found productivity. He has found, dare I say, consistency in his game. Where has this been? Manchester United fans may ask that question. Well, I'll tell you where it's been. He finds himself in a situation in which this is his last chance at the big time at Barcelona.

19:44Somehow, somehow, and there is an element of great fortune, not good fortune, great fortune from Marcus Rashford, that he finds himself into Barcelona, into a team that is set up for success and set up for productivity offensively. And there he is benefiting from all of it. But to his credit, he has assumed the role of Barcelona and has taken to this role very well. His scoring goals, if you're Barcelona, you're excited to have him. Can I also say a little bit in Marcus Rashford's defense here, and while I get what Mark's saying, he certainly didn't do himself any favors. If we talk about problems at Manchester United, everybody who moves away seems to be doing pretty well, albeit most of them in different leagues, though Marcus Rashford and his performance against Newcastle United in Champions League spoke for itself.

20:33So it just feels like Manchester United's problems are a lot deeper than just the individuals. And it's easy to blame Marcus Rashford, and admittedly, he didn't do himself a whole lot of favours. but there is something far more deep-rooted at Manchester United that is the cause of a lot of the issues. To the point where Harry Maguire, who was all but out the door a season or two ago, is now the only feel-good story coming out of Old Trafford. That speaks to, again, issues within that football club that transcend players and what they may or may not be doing. Yeah, you know what we need to do, don't you?

21:11There's another classic, because obviously this one's in Madrid. For the next one, we need to campaign for Mark Ogden to be sent to Barcelona so he can put this theory to the test himself. Does that sound like a deal to you, Mark? Yeah, I'm happy with that, but I prefer Madrid, so send me to Madrid. But yeah, I'm happy with Barcelona. And there it is. Just keep him away from the sun. Just keep Mark away from any kind of sun, please. Let me just say this. Don't send him anywhere. Just keep him in Manchester. Don't send him anywhere. We were about to send him to Barcelona. He was complaining about that.

21:43You stay in Manchester. We've got a few days to see if we can get him to Madrid. Because El Clasico is coming up. The first of the season will be in the Spanish capital. It will be right here as well on ESPN. Plus ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. Be sure to be with us from 10 a.m. Eastern. For all the build-up, kick-off is at 11.15. And you may remember that it was all Barcelona last season. In every single competition that they faced Real Madrid, they got the better of them. So what is going to come of the most recent Clasico, which we have got coming up for you on Sunday? Sid Lowe and Luis Garcia have been looking ahead to it.

22:23Thanks, I think one of the great things about the Clasico is we always build it up. And there's always a risk when you build a game up that it's not very good. But this one almost always is. It never lets us down. It's a special game. It really is, isn't it? It's a special game. We were talking no longer ago, Sid, about the Derby. something happened Real Madrid's favorite in the end will happen because it's a special one yes this one is even more special and you know you we looked at this there was that there was a nil-nil draw I think four years ago now and it's the first nil-nil in 37 games so this is a game that has the size of the clubs the enormity of the fan base the fact that it's international and then has the best players and they do it every time so I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to a game being open again I'm looking forward to really good players doing really good things again because they almost always do yeah because i don't think that they arrived in the best moment of the season i think that they both teams have been exposed have been vulnerable at the back they got the results i think they are the top of the table because of something but in the moment they have been tested they they they didn't get it right i think the real madrid still need to prove that they the xavi alonso is working on something the ideas are there you can see that at some point you see with good football but of course the the the results are coming because Kylian Mbappe is in a fantastic form and in Barcelona exactly the same that high line is still giving them so much trouble so much problems I think it's a header for for all the defenders when they see each other just running back chasing players and yeah they're going to get the results because what you said because the best players are up front so if Barcelona don't get this high line right and they haven't so far this season this is perfect for Mbappe isn't it because if ever there was a player that was good at running into space.

24:06If there's a player that has the athleticism to punish you, it's him. It's him and he's in a fantastic moment. He's enjoying himself. He's looking and getting the goal. Something that the last year, if you remember, the first two months or so, he was struggling to find the net. He was in the right position, but he was missing that confidence, I think, that he was. And right now, everything that he gets is inside the goal. What about Lamine? I mean, what do we think we'll get from him in a game like this? against Real Madrid, who I think have been defensively a bit stronger until that Dardabee against Atletico and they conceded five.

24:40But what kind of performance do you expect from him? Showing off. I think it's one of those special moments that he's enjoying. I think that being at the Bernabeu, knowing that last year was a total disaster for Real Madrid, he wants to show off. He wants to make the team, the game, something about himself. And every single time that he's on the ball, I think he's going to try to show to the rest that he's the best player in the world. Barcelona's high line, Mbappé running beyond it, Luminium all let's try one more shall we is there a player that no one expects that's going to play brilliantly is there a is there an unlikely hero coming I'm not sure if we can find someone else but I think that someone that I'm sure is looking forward to get a good result is your bell in the game I think that you need to show tomorrow it needs to show on on Sunday and needs to have a good performance he's been very quiet apart from the injury but I think he needs to get back on is best and Real Madrid needs him.

26:02Chelsea's talented teenagers shone last night in a 5-1 win over Ajax. And one of them that very much stood out was Esteval. Once again, here is Enzo Maresca speaking about the player after the game. With young players, most of the time you are a little bit worried because they play one game, two games, good game. They score and they think that they are already top players. The good thing about Esteval is that we don't need to be worried about that because he's very humble, he's very polite. He wants to work hard. He has fantastic family that they are very close to him. And for me personally, it's fantastic because he's a special player but at the same time, you don't have to be worried.

26:46Now he's going to play one game, two games, score and he's already thinking that he knows how good he is. But the good thing is that he's a very simple guy, a simple boy. And here's Jarrell Hato on the player. Have I seen a teenager like this? Yes, maybe Lamin-Yemal, but I cannot name anyone else. Frank's still with us, but Ale, that's quite the statement, isn't it? Yeah, and I think the best thing you can say is what Maresca said initially as he was referring to Esteban and saying he has a good game and he doesn't show up the next day and be like, yeah, what's up? Yeah, that's right. I'm Esteban, baby.

27:26You know, you like me? Uh-huh, I like me. Because if you are a veteran player or a player who has been around for a while and knows how difficult this profession is, you appreciate a young player who's as talented as Tebow is that still shows up the next day and does his job, as he's required to do and he's asked to do. That garners respect within the locker room, and I think it garners respect and appreciation from the coaches as well. and it can only allow him to continue to grow and mature and as he does that he can only get better the future for esteval is as bright as bright can be and he's not quite la minya mal status just yet but he is well on his way given that you did that so well how esteval could be going into the dressing room but isn't i wonder if you could do how frank leboeuf might be going into the dressing room oh yeah i want to work up no hey they work up yeah it's right here in my car they work out so we're going to come to you on a bit of humility here frank although i don't know if you're the perfect person for it but when it comes to us it does sound as though he's doing all the right things off the field we definitely know he is on the field yeah he has before before answering to your question, let me answer to Mr.