Ramble Reacts: New money gubs old money

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3:44Hello, everybody. Welcome to Ramble Reacts. PSG hammer Real Madrid to set up a final with Chelsea. I'm Marcus Speller. And I'm David Cartlidge.

4:06Welcome, one and all, to Rabble Reacts. It's a Rabble Reacts for the Club World Cup because it demands our attention, damn it all. And it's football that's happening. And a huge game happened at the MetLife Stadium in the northeast of America, David. PSG beat Real Madrid 4-0. The new money have gubbed the old money. There is no doubt about it. Right now, David, Florentino Perez is seething. He is fuming. This is Sir Alex Ferguson levels of those bloody noisy neighbours. I know Paris and Madrid aren't neighbours, but you get the picture. what did you make of this yeah it was it was phenomenal it was uh it was a continuation of um of what we've seen from psg this season still this season technically um little had changed from from what they have shown everybody in the champions league and such and it was it was like they they continued on from the incredible performance in the final um they just played their game they stuck to what they know they didn't change anything up they didn't think oh we're facing Real Madrid, we better keep it tight at the back, lads.

5:17But no, they just went straight out and it was fantastic, really was. Playing some of the best football we've seen in a long, long time, I think, at any level of football. Yeah, you mentioned that Champions League final. In their last seven games, PSG have beaten into 5-0 in that Champions League final. They've been at Leicester Madrid 4-0, Bayern 2-0, and now Real Madrid 4-0, among a few other results. They've only conceded one goal in that time. People may say, yeah, but it's just the Club World Cup. They're playing big sides and not only are they beating them, they're taking them apart. I mean, Real Madrid looked, if you blurred the faces and the kit, you'd think, oh, this is a side from a country whose league I'm not into, I don't really watch, and clearly a far inferior opponent.

6:01Because, my goodness, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, just to mention those three, they looked so ordinary against them. And I understand, David, that the heat and the long season and da-da-da-da-da, but it was more down to PSG just absolutely schooling them. Yeah, absolutely. They overawed Real Madrid from the first minute. I think it's very difficult for any team to live with PSG in any conditions. So, you know, throw in the heat here. But look, I don't think it came down to the conditions. I just think it is simply the fact that Real Madrid are at a certain place. under Xabi Alonso.

6:42Everything's very new and there was a switch in formation here. And then PSG are well further down the line and they're over there, they're tweaking and they're figuring out what their system is. They know who they are now. They have the clearest identity that they have ever had since QSI came into the club. We're talking about how good PSG have been in this tournament and how good they were against Frankfurt. Madrid didn't have to give them two goals though did they I mean look PSG would have won this game at Acanta but bloody hellfire the two opening goals I mean the fourth one is just symptomatic of of that stage of the game and the scoreline but the first two goals that Ruiz and Dembele scored my goodness it was piss poor I mean again PSG I know that they can force team into errors and they They can put the willies up people and so on.

7:40But come on, that was seriously bad stuff from Real Madrid. Yeah, it was shocking. It was just amateur stuff, basically. It's not what you'd expect. And people are going to say, oh, they didn't have Huyzen playing. Trent Alexander-Arnold wasn't playing as well. But come on, you don't make errors of that level. And young Asensio at centre-back has made quite a few at this Club World Cup. So it'll be interesting to see where he figures for Xabi Alonso in the next few games and such as they move on in pre-season. I should say, David, for those who haven't seen it, because not everybody's been tuning into the Club World Cup or maybe have taken advantage for the temporary free viewing that DAZN have provided us.

8:26As you said, Asensu's had a bit of a nightmare. I mean, he just essentially gives the ball away inside his own box to, was it Dembele, who then goes to round the goalkeeper and it probably would have been a penalty, but Ruiz puts that to bed. And then Antonio Rudiger, an experienced defender, just absolutely shat the bed and Dembele just bears down on him and grabs the ball the easy way and slots home. You know, and it didn't really get any better. Ruedrood chasing the game 2-0 down after nine minutes. We're never going to get back into it. Ruiz made it 3-0. They were so, so dominant. Ruiz, obviously, with his brace, was given, as it was on the coverage, superior player of the match, which I quite like, actually.

9:10I think that probably did describe his performance that well, because they were definitely superior. But, David, a word on Ousmane Dembele, who, a man we know his transfer history, obviously didn't start his career at Dortmund, but he got there and had a huge money for Barcelona. There was accusations that he wasn't the most professional when he played for Barcelona. You know, gaming late into the night, turning up late for training, racked up the fines, a lot of injuries as well, which, you know, you can't blame the player for. But didn't have the best of times there, certainly to begin with.

9:48It maybe improved a little bit later. Goes to PSG, Mbappe's out the way. He's now being tipped for the Ballon d 'Or. In fact, Kylian Mbappe said that he would vote for him. Would you go along with that as well because his transformation under Luis Enrique in this last, we say last couple of years, but particularly the season has been extraordinary. It's been absolutely phenomenal. It really has. I mean, the turnaround in his career, the turnaround in terms of how people view him. He was a bit of many jokes before when he was at Barcelona and such, but he has become a very, very serious player at PSG and all credit to Luis Enrique for doing so and saying look Kylian Mbappe is going to go we're not going to get a big start immediately replace him we want you to kind of play that centre forward slash false nine type role okay we're going to take you off the wing and look we want you to score goals but we want you to aggressively press as well and he's probably the most fearsome attacker in terms of his pressing right now the way he has down on defenders gives them no time on the ball but then also pounces on any hesitation at all that he may sense is remarkable so I'd back Mbappe in this sense and say yeah he'd get my vote if I was also a player How crucial is he to Luis Enrique's system because you see what they've been doing particularly in this Club World Cup we saw them grow into the Champions League it seems a long time ago now that they were beaten by Arsenal and even, don't have to go back that far, it seems a long time ago that they were beaten on the night by Aston Villa which of course wasn't enough to overturn the aggregate score but it's quite clearly they go for an early onslaught absolutely blitzed teams early on and crucially it works.

11:40They get a goal or two and they're ahead and then to chase them is so, so difficult because they're such a unit and it just it's so impressive because look how much football they've played. And they've played at a high-octane level, right? And here they are doing exactly the same in the heat. They don't look like they're bothered by these conditions. They don't look bothered by the amount of games they've played. No, not at all. They genuinely look fresh. Yeah, it's incredible. And Dembele himself, who leads the line, if you like, vital to the system. I mean, it reminds me just a little bit when Samoletto played at Barcelona, when he was harassing defenders, he was leading the charge.

12:27And when you see them, if the midfielders see the striker doing that, who's, you know, strikers, I mean, maybe I'm being a little bit old-fashioned here, but maybe seems a bit lazy or whatever, but perhaps that's, maybe I'm talking about yesteryear. They see him putting that shift in and then dropping back in with them and soaking up the pressure. That just, that filters through the side. Yeah, they've got three starting forwards there in Kvatchkiller, Due and Dembele who all press as a unit. And Luis Enrique has been very keen to make sure that everybody feels like part of the system and it's not just where it used to be under Mbappe and then 10 more.

13:04Everybody does their job right now and it encourages everybody. Look, if they're pressing from the front, the midfield can push up. If the opposing team gets around the attack, then the midfield are there to gobble it up and the attackers fall back as well. And it's a brilliant understanding that they've got between each other. They've got so much energy and dynamism all over the pitch that you would think that this team, that their enthusiasm and their desire to win, I mean, it would almost trump any kind of tiredness. I know that's not scientifically the case, but basically what I'm saying is, sorry Spurs, I don't think they're going to be tied for that Super Cup final.

13:48If there was any hope, they're thinking, oh, they've gone all the way. And by the way, I don't think any Spurs fans are delusional at all about that. But you heard Pep saying about Man City that if we go all the way in this competition, it will impinge on our Premier League season. Now, I know the Premier League is more of a slog for Man City than the league would be for PSG. I don't think it's a farmer's league, but come on, we know that they dominate that league. But this PSG side, they just look as though they can go and go and go. Incredibly impressive. But even those who come on, the substitutes, they make an impact as well.

14:25Gonzalo Ramos scored. He did a lovely Hal Robson-Carno-esque type turn and finish, which was quite pleasing, I'm sure, to Wales fans. This episode of the Football Ramble is sponsored by Square. Square is the system that powers half the places I go. From the place where I buy my morning energy drink to the place where I buy my evening energy drink, I'm constantly tapping to pay and thinking, that is fast. Well, that's Square. Whether you're selling doughnuts, grooming dogs, running a bar or all three, in which case, hats off to you, Square helps you run your business without running yourself into the ground.

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17:16Selection varies by location. See Lowe's.com for more details. Soil offer excludes Alaska and Hawaii. Hi, Pod fans. Max Rushton here from the chart-topping Guardian Football Weekly Podcast. Don't like to crow. If you enjoyed the World Cup with us, you'll be glad to know we're back for the new Premier League season. Expect three episodes a week, questionable predictions and the biggest stories in soccer from the Premier League to the Champions League and beyond. Watch now on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

17:46But where do you put this team currently? Obviously, it's not early days, but early days maybe for this kind of chat. we remember Pep Guardiola's Barcelona who did they revolutionize or perhaps reinvent stuff or whatever you know whatever you want to say yeah you know the influence they had from football from top to bottom grassroots all the way to elite level is still being felt and that was Guardiola. Luis Enrique he's a different type of manager he's been around for a long time but in terms of the quality of the teams are we looking at a PSG side now and results will dictate of course if they you know if they could win another Champions League I think we would be saying this are we putting them up there with Guardiola's Man City Barcelona team maybe even Luis Enrique's Barcelona team are they creeping towards that do you think that kind of 21st century football status in in one of the best teams we've ever seen I mean it is there for them to do so.

18:50I think right now there's still a lot to do. They need to win. They definitely need to repeat the Champions League. I think if they can get back-to-back Champions League, Liga, again, with all respect, you'd look at it and you'd think, okay, they should win that. Absolutely. Do you think that's maybe where people will go, because it's not La Liga or Serie A or the Premier League, people will go, it's solely judging them on the Champions League because they've been destroying the teams from La Liga and the Premier League. Yeah, exactly. That's the thing. Anybody put in front of them, they've had no trouble with.

19:22Look, it's still a 38-game season. The league is still there to be won. And we have seen in the past as well, other teams have won it. But looking at the future, definitely, it's a very, very young squad. Luis Enrique seems extremely hungry. We know if they do have an issue, they've got some money there to use to bring in somebody if they need to as well. There's a lot working in their favour. And what I'd also say is you look across that team right now, as well as the age, I'd probably say aside from the centre-backs, you've got players who are top five in the world in their positions. So we're talking about Hakimi and Nuna Mendes at full-back, Donnarumma, one of the world's top goalkeepers, the midfielders.

20:10I'm not too sure I've seen a better midfielder than Vettinia in the past few years. You've got Vitinha, João Neves, a very young lad coming on as well. And then you've got Barcala, Due, Dembele, Kvatch Kelia as well. These are all pretty young guys still. And some of the best wingers, some of the best attackers around right now. It's remarkable how they are now and how they could be in the future as well. Yeah, totally. And it's all really happened since Kylian Mbappe left PSG. I mean, this was built as sort of, you know, Kylian Mbappe at the centre of it. But again, due to the way the game panned out, PSG completely put that to bed early on.

20:49Now, with Mbappe, he left PSG last summer. Real Madrid finished second in La Liga to a very good Barcelona side, one of the players who would be after Rubellon Dore himself in Lamin-Yamal, of course. But they lost the final of the Copa del Rey. They lost to Arsenal in the Champions League pretty handedly. I mean, they got bossed by Arsenal, let's be clear. They've now just been hammered by PSG in a tournament where Florentino Perez encourages players to treat this like the Champions League. And let's be honest, Real Madrid wanted this. You could argue, well, I don't want to say more than any other side, but certainly the powers that be were, as I've just mentioned there, very, very forthright in what they wanted to do in this trophy, which was, of course, win it.

21:32So has Xabi Alonso got a bigger job on his hands than perhaps many thought? because he takes over a squad with some great individual talent. But as a team, he's got to make it gel. Yeah, absolutely. And look, we mentioned Mbappe. He showed tonight, I think, why PSG got rid of him. He was non-existent in terms of pressing, in terms of contributing to the team. Vinny Jr. was exactly the same as well. And therefore, you remove the individual. Xabi Alonso has got a big job on his hands. to get a system working where everyone is in it together and two guys out of the starting 11 aren't just chilling while the rest of the team does all the running.

22:19And that's what it looks like right now. And people were concerned about this when Mbappe was signed. And it has been apparent often that he doesn't track back and neither does Vinny. And I don't believe in this notion that sometimes some players are too good to not trap back or anything like that. OK, if you've got Ronaldo and Messi, I'm talking greatest players of all time here, fair enough maybe. But Mbappe is nowhere near that status. So in Vinny isn't either. Those two have got to change a lot about their games if Xabi Alonso is to be a success at Real Madrid. Yeah. And what made Real Madrid so successful in recent years, particularly in Champions League, was a number of things.

23:05but having a younger Luka Modric in there was one reason. Of course, he's 39 now. It was incredible that he came on after an hour in what was his last appearance for Real Madrid. And at the same time, PSG brought on two 19-year-olds in Zaneem Mayulu and Warren Zaire Emery. And I don't think either of them would have been at all perturbed by Luka Modric coming on, which shows you, again, the confidence they have and how down on their hunches Real Madrid were. No disrespect to Luka Modric, of course, one of the best players we've seen, certainly in the 21st century. But another player who Real Madrid have been missing is Tony Cruz.

23:46And interestingly, because he retired last summer, in an interview this week, he said, I'm not going back and Real Madrid knows it. It's funny that he had to state that. But anyway, he said, they're missing a player like me and are still searching. The problem is that there aren't many like me and the ones out there are hard to sign. It's an interesting point of view. I would call it arrogant, but I don't think it is. I think it's spot on. It's absolutely on the money. And it was something that was brought up regularly last season since Tony Cruz has gone. They are just missing that recycler of possession that they need.

24:25Somebody who can just come in, put a foot on the ball and change the tempo, whether it be to slow a game down or just to speed it up and just open up the field a bit more. They've missed Tony Cruz considerably so, and they're going to miss Luka Modric as well. Because not only are there not many players out there to potentially replace them, there's just not the players at Real Madrid, I don't think. That skill set just isn't there. They've got some brilliant midfielders. They've got some really, really have. But nothing like those two. Very, very unique what they did. and you know that along with Casemiro formed probably one of the greatest midfields we've seen.

25:03Yeah. They could do with an Adam Wharton. I'm telling you. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Don't give them ideas, Marcus.

25:11If we want to see Wharton playing for England, let's put him in a midfield with Jude Bellingham. It just might encourage Tuchel. That's all I'm saying. Or, I mean, maybe Xabi Alonso could become player manager. He may well need to if the midfield is going to be destroyed like that. Well, look, it will be intriguing to see what Real Madrid do next season and what they're going to do in the transfer market because you would imagine after that performance, Perez may think, OK, we need to get some reinforcements here. I mean, it wouldn't be surprising if they tried to sign Vettinia or something like that.

25:47But we shall see. But PSG kind of march onto the final where they will face Chelsea, of course. Early in the tournament, I thought that Chelsea might win this. It just felt like something that would and could happen. After seeing the performance against Real Madrid, I have doubts for that prediction. Well, I'd be interested, before I say anything else, I'd be interested in what you make. Because, I mean, how did Chelsea try and stop this side? I don't think they'll come out in the manner that Real Madrid did, which was a bit, you know, naive, shall we say. Give the ball to João Pedro and just tell him to shoot on sight, presumably.

26:31Precisely. They're going to have to get around the chief problem that teams encounter when they face PSG and that's being able to play out the back. If you can't play out the back against PSG, they will murder you. That's just what they do. They will swarm you. They will create chances and they might create about nine or ten chances. they'll take three or four of them and they'll just put you to the sword. They're ruthless like that. And that's what Chelsea's got to be aware of. But like I say, I think Chelsea might actually sit in a bit deeper and try and soak up a bit of pressure and then look to break on them.

27:06So I don't think they'll get as much space against Chelsea as they have done against Real Madrid. But that being said, I'll be interested to see how Chelsea do create chances. And it might be that João Pedro needs those shooting boots on again for some pot shots. Yeah, although I'd love to see an old-fashioned English striker performance from Liam Dillap. Get the ball up there. Get him, stick that arse into those defenders. Turn them, roll them. Come on. That's what I want to see. And yeah, I'm going to stick with my prediction. I think Chelsea are going to bloody do it. There you go. You got that on tape.

27:45Not that we use tape, of course. It's been a while. Now, staying with Real Madrid and PSG things, former Real Madrid and PSG manager Carlo Ancelotti has been sentenced to a year in prison by a Spanish court for tax evasion. Naughty Carlo. He was accused of failing to pay a million euros in tax on his salary during his first spell at Real Madrid. A million euros. Do you know what I mean? I mean, there are loopholes and there are loopholes, aren't there? He's got off lightly there. He's got off very lightly. You've got to remember Cristiano Ronaldo. though. He got 18.8 million, I think it was. He did.

28:20And that's why he had to go to Saudi to try and recoup some of that, I assume. But rest assured, everybody, Mr. Ancelotti won't have to serve time in prison because that's not how the system works, everybody. Come on, Carlo, do the right thing, as everybody should. If you want your services, if you want your health care, you want your public transport, pay your bleeding taxes. absolutely pay your taxes take your vitamins and drinking milk children yes they are called vitamins here though david um there we are everybody thank you very much for listening to the football ramble part of the acar's created network myself uh pete and andy are back on friday to talk more football of course make sure to subscribe in your podcast up so you never miss an episode thank you very much david a pleasure thank you very much mr speller not at all uh And well done to PSG.

29:12Good luck to Chelsea. And we'll see you on Friday.

29:24The Football Ramble is a Stack production and part of the Acast Creator Network.

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