Real Madrid Hangs on for Victory

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0:34Hello and welcome into the latest edition of ESPN FC. Kay Murray, Craig Burley and Stevie Nichol here in the studio. More Champions League action to get you through today. Kicking things off with Real Madrid taking on Juventus. It was a game that would finish 1-0. Didn't see too much in the first half. Certainly in terms of goals. In the second half though, there was a big moment, Stevie, when Thibaut Courtois would deny Dusan Vlaivic. Yeah, Vlaivic got through on basically a clearance. It wasn't a pass to him. He outstripped Militel, but once again, Courtois to the rescue. And then after that, we saw Vinny Jr dribbling into the box.

1:10He take the shot himself, but it hit the post and then it came back out, Jude Bellingham there for the rebound. 1-0 it would finish to Real Madrid. It makes it three straight in the Champions League for the victory. For more on this, let's welcome in Nader Manua. It's in the end, though, it did come down just to that one goal. Volvini and Jude combine in Real Madrid with the 1-0 win. Craig? Yeah, and funny enough, the Bellingham goal came at a time when Juve, although with less possession, were starting to be looking a much more dangerous side. We saw the Vlavic chance. There was a couple of other instances where Real Madrid were playing this.

1:45It wasn't a high line. They had basically squeezed Juve just outside their own penalty area. And Stevie mentioned it. It wasn't even a pass. It was more of a clearance that got Vlavic in. but he had 70 yards to run. Now, they did that a couple of times, which, you know, was a little concerning from a Real Madrid perspective. So, Juve were better in the second half. They did create some more chances. You saw some in the highlights. Real Madrid had their own. I think going forward, it was decent from Real Madrid. I think there are worries still at the back. I mean, both themselves and Barcelona, it's going to be such a difficult game to pick at the weekend because of these issues they have on their side.

2:23I mean, Valverde played right back. it was Asensio and Militao and Carreras you've got Rudiger's out Hoyssen's out, Alexander Arna's out Carvajal's out so it looks like that could be the back four at the weekend and whilst Valverde has done that job and he's done it reasonably well I do not like young Asensio alongside Militao Steve and I were talking about this he just makes a lot of rash decisions and I think this is a concern for Xabi Alonso for the weekend the upside is the three points Mbappé still looks sharp and Jude Bellingham gets himself back on the score sheet, gets more game time and I don't think there's any question that he will start at the weekend You have those same concerns at the back then that you were discussing with Craig, Stevie 100%, absolutely 100 % Mbappé really looks as though he's back to the guy that was at PSG every time he gets it he looks as though he's going to beat somebody or create or score but unfortunately for Madrid right now a little bit like Barcelona as good as they can be in Lut going forward you have no idea what's going to happen defensively It helps to have a world class goalkeeper doesn't it Nadem?

3:34He's going to have his work cut out on the weekend Yeah absolutely he is but this is why they pay him that big money because he should be able to make a difference like that and I think interestingly for the guys talking about the Real Madrid defence I think Asensio blocked a shot from Losa Penda and I think he's had to come off because of a hamstring injury in that time. So going into that game on the weekend, is it going to be Choumeni that's going to be finishing in that back four or is the manager going to try and find something a little bit different? But again, for this game today, I think in terms of the tactic, it looked good.

4:04You can see the expected goals, all that stuff, the amount of shots that they had, the amount of territory that they had. But I think if Juve were probably a little bit more adventurous, they probably could have had one or two more opportunities in transition beyond that one for Dusan Vlajevic. So, yeah, I think Courtois is going to be busy at the weekend, but I think it makes for a great game of football. You've got to have that great goalkeeper when you have a dodgy defence. Just ask Nathan and Man City. Even though they've kept a couple of clean sheets recently, they've gone out and bought Don Arma, who's obviously a big presence in the goal.

4:36But we were talking about this. This game is sort of, in the end, is taking care of itself, although there were some scares in the second half. and maybe Juve, certainly Vlavic should have done better and Appenda should have done better. They had a sort of two-on-one there. So they did have their chances, but if we push it forward a little bit, as we probably are going to, is I'm looking at team selection all the way through. Mastantwano didn't start tonight. They've got Ardegula, Brahim Diaz played. I think he's unlikely to play at the weekend, but is it a solid midfield? Is it Chiumeni? Is it Camavinga?

5:08Is it Bellingham? Or does he throw an Ardegula in there? as an extra playmaker, or there's Mastantuano playing the right. So there's all these sort of things that are popping up into, I think, Chabby Alonso. This is definitely, you know, they had the Madrid derby, which was very poor for him. Hence there's been more pressure on this game. They were very poor in the Madrid derby. He got his team selection very wrong, particularly Bellingham, who wasn't fit. And this is his biggest game by far, certainly since stepping back into Spain. And he has to get his team selection correct at the weekend.

5:41to make sure he's getting the result against a Barcelona team that, come on, they are there defensively. I know they're both not great defensively, but them defensively, they are there for the taking. You've got to think he has to be strong in the middle, which means that Goulart or Mastantouane don't start in there. He's going to have to go with strength. You know, you can't take a chance and playing a ball player, shall we call them, against Barcelona when you're backline, and as Nadam was saying, even Asensio could be out, you can't afford to take a chance in the middle of the park. So absolutely, in my opinion, 100%, he has to go strong.

6:24And it wouldn't be the worst thing, because that backline of Barcelona, Mbappe could do that on his own, never mind Vinny or whoever else on the other side. So it has to be solid. I think there's definitely one place up for grabs in the front three. If he plays the 4-3-3, you'll have Vinicius on the left, You'll have him back through the middle. And there's a place in the right. It's not going to be Rodrigo. It's Mastin Tuano, probably, or Arda Goulier. Maybe playing a little bit wider. So that's the one spot. Bram Diaz played there tonight, but hasn't really started a lot. There is one spot definitely up for grabs if he goes strong in the middle of the park.

7:00And at least Jude Bellingham's fit for this game. Because obviously that was the problem, wasn't it, in El Derby? Yeah, and listen, whilst it didn't look good in Xabi Alonso, it didn't do Jude Bellingham any favours. because no players, you know, maybe there's one or two, but most players are going to say, yeah, I'm ready. Yeah, I can play. I'm good to go. And he'd had 20 minutes of football away from home at the Metropolitan in a derby. And listen, it wasn't just Jude Bellingham. That's not why they lost. But when you're in the middle of the park and you're not fit and you're not sharp and you're sucking the air in every time you make a run or having to chase back and make a tackle, it's not easy.

7:37But he's had more game time now. he's got a bit of a tap-in goal tonight but it's a goal so that's definitely good news for Xabi Alonso. Barcelona dominated the dual last season Nade and it's really hard to call when it's these two teams coming together regardless of what's happened between the two in their other games this season. Yeah absolutely and I think with the fact that his new manager in Xabi Alonso with a slightly different style of play and from Barcelona's standpoint we've seen the sort of issues that they've had now with say that high line in some of the games that they've had recently even at the weekend you know they win the game but the opposition side at Huron are thinking how many chances could they have taken could the game have gone in a different manner so I think as we approach this one especially with the basketball injuries as well it's tough to read because there's no side that feels almost like a shoo-in to win this game of football and in some ways you know this is kind of how we want it instead of one team always just being on the loan you know on the lower side and hoping to sort of get into the game as an underdog instead you're going to have two teams they're going to go toe-to-toe with each other but carrying their imperfections as well.

8:38So I think it's going to be a fantastic game of football and well worth tuning in for. Nadam, how big a goal is that for Jude Bellingham today, given some of the background noise that's going on at the moment with this player? To be honest, I think it would be bigger if you would have scored it on the weekend. I think as you approach this Barcelona game now, I think that's the moment which will probably shine more. Those lights will be brighter. I think this game against Juve today was a game which many people expected Real Madrid to win, enough for them to be playing at home against the Juve side that But, you know, I think before the game, the manager, Igor Tudor was saying, like, they'd have to have the game of their lives to win it.

9:12You know, that's not really the type of game where those moments can be appreciated as much. But it's good for him to be out there, as the guys are saying, for him to be looking fitter, to have sort of had that impact and to get a taste of, you know, scoring goals again. Because if we're going to see him at his absolute best, that's what he's going to have to do. Lots more between now and the end of the season. So it's a start. It's not necessarily a defining moment, but hopefully for him, it gives him some confidence. There's not a footballer on the planet who after scoring a goal, the next time they step on the field, doesn't think they're going to score a goal.

9:42Again. That's just exactly how it works. As soon as you've scored a goal, the next game that comes around, you're running on the field going, I'm not going to score again today. 100%. That's a big goal for Bellingham. Big goal. Let's save our powder a little bit. We've got a lot of classical preview shows this week. You're right. The Classico is coming up on Sunday. Before that, though, we're going to tell you everything you need to know about it and some specials on the way to it. But this is the big game on Sunday. Our coverage will begin at 10 a.m. on ESPN+. You can catch the game live on ESPN2 on Deportes and streaming on the app as well.

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11:04And talk to your doctor about VivGuard Hattrulo. Brought to you by Argenics. Liverpool were looking to put four losses on the bounce behind them when they took on Eintracht Frankfurt. It didn't get off to the best of starts when in the 26-minute Rasmus Christensen scored the opener. However, more goals would follow. Eketike started and scored in this game. We see goals from Van Dijk and Kanate, both from corners. Cody Gakpo in on the action and Sir Bozlai too. Stevie, that was a much-needed win for Liverpool. Other than going one behind, after that, this was the perfect game for Liverpool against a side who tried to sit kind of deep, but who really defensively are not particularly great.

11:46And to score five goals away from home, after losing four on the trot, I mean, it was huge. As I said, the goal kind of made you sit up a little. At the time, Liverpool were in total control. And for the first time this season, as I said, after the goal, they were in total control of this match, which is, we haven't been able to say that since the start of the season. So, yes, it's against a side that doesn't defend well. But at the end of the day, you only can do what you do, whoever's put in front of you. And so everybody's going to come off the field, please. Virts is going to be happy. Two assists, five goals.

12:24Slott's going to be happy. But for all the positive stuff, they still look vulnerable defensively. And still, as good a result as this is off the back of four defeats in the spin, you could easily argue, I think, that Brentford away at the weekend is bigger. because this Champions League table that we'll see in a bit will unfurl in the end and most of the elite teams will be through but Brentford away at the weekend late game on Saturday some changes to this game to this team today that made you think is that a rest for the weekend? Mo Salah has been in poor form spent the bulk of the game on the bench Kirkez wasn't involved Robertson played when Izak scored Steve and I looked at each other and said he should have played against Chelsea Iketiki Iketiki sorry Izac has a groin injury reportedly so that may be a decision made for Arnie Slott at the weekend it might be made for him but I think it's crystal clear even if Izac wasn't carrying an injury or isn't still carrying one at the weekend Iketiki is the guy this season and it just makes it even more strange that two huge games Chelsea away and Man United at home, that he's been the guy putting his hand up, saying, I will deliver for you.

13:52I can make the difference. And I know he had his little faux pas in the Carabao Cup, which he missed the Crystal Palace game away because of taking the shirt off against Southampton. But that apart, he's been the best player. And again, he showed tonight his confidence in the final third, his ability to finish, his ability to run with the ball. So, what way does Arne Slott go at the weekend? You know, Cody Gakpo's pretty much undroppable at the moment. He's a big threat. He's scoring goals. He's running in behind. He gets in at the back post. You know, Eketiki, I think, has to start. Is Mo Salah an automatic start at Brentford away?

14:28And that's why he was getting a rest. I don't know, Stevie. Where are we? I think, again, we're kind of back to square one in terms of who's playing and who's not. But I think... back in the team after that little cameo. That's the problem. We don't know that there are so many variables that he could or couldn't do. The one thing I will say though, the only good thing about playing against Brentford is they've got a taste of what's going to happen against Manchester United because Brentford ain't going to try and pass it out from the back. Brentford are going to try and play it long. Brentford are going to try and get in behind.

15:03We'll find out if Arne Schlott learned there against Manchester United because Brentford are going to pose the very same problems. After that, well, let's see. What do you think of what the boys have been saying, Nadem? No, I think it's fair. And to talk about this game in particular, I think when they did go 1-0 down, you sort of questioned it a little bit. But then you look into what Frankfurt have done this season so far. They've conceded 18 goals in seven league games. You know, that's the worst defensive record in all of Wundersliga. So I think for all the problems that Liverpool have had throughout the season so far, I don't think being able to attack and potentially scoring goals is one of the main ones.

15:41And so you see the goal from Mekotike at the start. That's a great goal. I think the timing of the run from way before the pass was even ready to go there. Incredible. And then the two set pieces. Like, come on. I know you can have players try and disrupt people's runs. But at least have players who at some point could affect someone. Because those two players that were there for Canate and for Van Dijk. they're basically like the smallest speed bumps in the world for these guys just running, just get a free header in you know, that's so, so poor on so many levels but from when they had that 3-1 lead you could see some of that confidence start to come back in and I think some of the midfielders Curtis Jones, Soboslai, Virts as well some of the ball playing was really good but it was very much against the wounded Frankfurt side I think we could see that as the game progressed but as the guys have said, on the weekend against Brentford, you can sort of feel a bit of tension about that, because for Brentford themselves, they can go into the game and be ready to suffer, be ready to not have long periods of time on the ball, but know that in the likes of Thiago and others, they can just get those runs in behind, try and prey on mistakes.

16:41And if they do take a lead, make it as hard as possible for Liverpool to sort of continue with what they want to do. So I think the manager, he'll know himself that, you know, that is a priority now heading into the weekend. Because, you know, as it stands, this Champions League table, whether you're in 12th now, whether you're in 1st, there's still so many games to go that your future can be decided. But if it's another defeat in the Premier League and say the likes of Arsenal get even further ahead of you, that quest to catch them up just feels a little bit tougher and a little bit further away at this moment in time.

17:07So, you know, bring on the weekend. You can tell the game's changed because it wasn't that long ago. And we always talk about how the game has evolved and certainly the pitch is bigger now. There's way more space to operate. And I'm not going to go over the Erling Haaland scores lots of goals and Frank saying there's 20 better strikers in the league. But in some sense, to Nadam's point there, it has become, although maybe there's, you know, some seasons there's less goals, some seasons there's more. It does seem that it has become a little bit easier to score, particularly from set pieces, because it wasn't that long ago.

17:37The basic principle of set pieces was put your biggest physical players on their biggest physical players. It seems a lot of managers have got away from that. It's put some of the smaller players on to try and block them, and then we'll put the big players. And it's just, you've got Gabriel running over people, you've got Van Dijk running over people, you've got Harry Maguire running over people for MyUnited. it just seems some of the defending or the defensive tactics from set pieces, particularly when we watch the Premier League, is a head scratcher. You know, I think one of the games I saw Alexis McAllister at Liverpool marking was it Gabriel or whoever it was and you think, what the hell is going on?

18:15So, you know, as Nathan said, some of the people like Kanati and Van Dijk, if you're not putting a physical threat against them, they're running over the top of you and if you get a good delivery into the box, they're going to go and attack it. And your smaller players have got no chance of stopping them. It makes absolutely no sense. Because when you put somebody who's physically inferior against a Gabriel or a Van Dijk, there's no way they're going to be able to block them. Because it's just going to run over the top of them. And then what you're doing is you're giving them a running start. Anybody the size of Van Dijk or Canati or Gabriel, you give them a running start, I don't care how good you are in the air.

18:56When you're actually jumping from a starting position, you're never going to be able to be physically strong enough to withhold a challenge, or actually jump high enough, because they've got such an advantage on you. So it makes no sense the way they go about it today. And everybody goes in the dressing room after and I imagine this is how it happens now, because it certainly happened in the day, was pfft wasn't my fault. I did what I could Whereas in some sense, when you're seeing these goals from set pieces, I think sometimes there's a... Going back a little bit to how it used to happen, I don't want to harp back, but it's responsibility.

19:35And I know a lot of managers look at the stats, how many teams lose goals from set pieces, if it's zonal and how much of it's a hybrid and how much of it's man for man. But if you at least give your main players responsibility to pick up at dangerous set pieces, in dangerous positions, then there's accountability there. And I think a lot of it these days with a lot of this zonal marking, there's just no accountability. Well, he got a run on me, it wasn't my space and it wasn't my man. And we're seeing a lot of goals from set pieces where centre-halves in particular and big strikers are just overpowering the opposition.

20:09And we saw that in the Frankfurt game tonight. In terms of it being Frankfurt tonight, who concede a lot of goals, and it being this stage in the Champions League, is this still what Liverpool needed before the weekend in the Premier League? Yeah, it was a bit like when I said, you know, when you score a goal, the next time you step on the field, it's a little bit similar. Because you've got a lot, like somebody like Verts, for example, tonight got so many touches, got so much space to be able to pick passes. And it's just about getting in a groove. And so when you get the opportunity to get started in that groove, then you can't wait to step back on the field to continue it.

20:42So, yeah, in terms of competition, it wasn't the best. but in terms of just taking the pressure off Liverpool a little bit it's nice to have a couple of goals and to be able to roll the ball around and come off the field and get changed and be relaxed about it. What are your thoughts about the weekend and what team we might see, Nadam? It's a good question. Firstly, it feels weird again seeing Mo Salah on the bench but then also for the way that they played it wasn't really that true, true width on that side from somebody who's done the job that he's done for the years that he's done for Liverpool and if Brentford are going to be playing in a back three or possibly back five perhaps it is going to be a case of having two central strikers so maybe it will be different you know who knows maybe Keirza will get a start alongside maybe an Eketike I'm not sure but I think in terms of other decisions for the weekend like I like the fact Andy Robertson played today and I thought he did well overall you know you do need some of that old school sort of mentality and thought when the chips are down at times and who knows maybe that gives a bit more confidence to a Van Dijk to a Canate than on the other side you know they can just fall in line with say the way that things have been as opposed to the way that say some of the results have gone in recent times so i think heading into the weekend is positive now he's got options he's got good options because people have actually played well as opposed to say the last games where he's looking at his bench looking at his team and wondering like who is the right person for this moment but then also i think more importantly as the guy said right at the top maybe an injury for he's back in this particular instance is a good thing, because in some ways, as they've kind of alluded to, Eketike is ready.

22:14Alexander Izak is somebody who they're trying to get ready by giving in minutes, and in reality, I think the right decision for these last few weeks would have been to be starting Eketike and finding a way to get Izak involved with him, instead of trading one for the other, and unfortunately picking the wrong one. Anni Slott needs to be up his game, doesn't he? I mean, I'm looking at that thing behind, no, Steve, I'm not being serious. I'm looking at that behind Nadim and thinking, he hasn't been rude to Nadim yet, like Jorgen Klopp. It's true, he is. I'm looking behind you at that famous, infamous...

22:41And I'm thinking, we need to send Nadam to Liverpool in a difficult moment to ask a difficult question to see if we can get Arne Slott to bite. Yeah. Yeah, that's fair. But unfortunately, I couldn't have gone to the game on the weekend because every fan in there would have hated me anyway with it being Liverpool and United. But I'm sure my time will come. Are you over it? He bit it the weekend, you know. He bit it the weekend a little bit. Yeah, I mean, talking about United's long balls and sitting in, it was just kind of the first time I've just heard them just turn a little bit. And listen, it's difficult.

23:19Four straight defeats, you lose to one of your biggest rivals, although not at the moment, but historically, the biggest rivalry. You're not playing well. You've got all these issues you need to solve within new signings and different players and loss of form for some. but he did just give out a little rattled message at the weekend. He had a defensive tone about him, didn't he? Yeah, yeah. Unlike Liverpool. That's definitely the time to send Nadam in. Make sure to check out the latest Gab and Jules podcast on Thursday. That will drop and they'll be looking back on everything that we've seen this week in the Champions League.

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25:49Let's tell you that they're still looking. Chelsea out to build on that win over Benfica in the previous round. This definitely helped them. Kenneth Taylor with a foul on Buonanotte. Initially a yellow, giving us a red. Yeah, I mean, I'm OK with that. I know, but today's game, you do that, you get a red card. It's just that straightforward. It's going to be Mark Gew who opens the score in here. Listen, you don't come into the home of the world champions with ten men from the Eredivisie. And expect it. And expect not to get your pants taken down like Ajax had here. But more goals would follow. 27th minute.

26:27Moises Caicedo loves the long-range goals, doesn't he? He is one of them. Yeah, he loves the deflects and even better, doesn't he? Goalie was about to just eat this up and then there's a little touch there. I guess that goes down as Caicedo's. Would this turn things around, though? There's going to be a foul from Tosin on Moro in the box. Ref points to the spot. Ref was in a good position. He stands on his right foot, right on top of the laces. Voutvekars puts that away. Doesn't need to nibble there either. But Voutvekars went from scoring a penalty to conceding one here. Bad tackle here on Enzo Fernandes.