Arsenal and Spurs kick off Champions League campaigns with wins – Football Weekly

17 Sep 2025 · 49 min · 18 chapters

Ask about this episode

Ask anything about it. ChatGPT or Claude reads this page and answers with the times it was said.

Connect VO and ask about every podcast you hear, including the moments you saved. Add to ChatGPT · Add to Claude

In short

The episode is a round-up of Champions League matchday 1 plus domestic cup results and a few football news items. Arsenal beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in San Mamés, with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli scoring after coming on. Panelists debate whether Arteta’s substitutions show “genius” or just perfect timing, and argue Arsenal’s depth (“closer”/super-sub impact) is now a real strength.

Notable examples

Martinelli’s pace exploiting tired defenders; Trossard’s “false nine/left” role; Raya’s quiet night; mention of Arsenal’s upcoming away trip to Inter. Spurs beat Villarreal 1-0, described as workmanlike and lucky, with an early own-goal-like finish; Thomas Frank’s first Champions League win. Juventus-Dortmund ends 4-4, framed as chaotic entertainment; Real Madrid beat Marseille 2-1 via a controversial handball penalty; Carabao Cup: Brentford and Palace win on penalties; Grimsby beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0.

Guests

Barry Glendennig, Nicky Bandini, Philippe Auclair, and Max (panel host).

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Champions League Highlights

0:51 to 1:40

Recap of the Champions League matches including Arsenal's and Spurs' performances.

“A great night for Gabriel Martinelli as Arsenal win in Bilbao.”

Arsenal's Victory Over Bilbao

1:40 to 4:00

Discussion on Arsenal's key players and performance against Athletic Club.

“Let's go to Bilbao, Athletic Club 0, Arsenal 2.”

Tactical Analysis of Arsenal's Strategy

4:00 to 7:20

Analysis of Mikel Arteta's tactics and substitutions during the match.

“I mean, for Martinelli, Nicky, it's like sort of the perfect moment to get a chance that plays totally into your strengths, i.e.”

The Role of Substitutes in Modern Football

7:20 to 10:40

Exploration of the concept of substitutes and their impact on match outcomes.

“Yeah, Usain Bolt still has a chance despite his first time being like a trampoline.”

Madweke's Impact on Arsenal's Right Flank

10:40 to 14:00

Discussion on Noni Madweke's performance and importance to the team.

“Actually, I did want to ask about Medweke, Philippe.”

Contrast Between Player Performances

14:00 to 17:40

Analyzing player performances, especially focusing on new signings and their impact on the teams.

“and I think the contrast between the two makes it even more impressive or impresses us even more when we think about the performance of the former Chelsea player, who's honestly been absolutely superb.”

Tottenham's Performance Against Villarreal

17:40 to 22:40

Dissecting Tottenham's workmanlike victory over Villarreal in their Champions League opener.

“I do think that it's certainly true that, cliche that I feel like you hear all the way up from youth football coaching to the top level is scoring a goal is the hard thing to do, right?”

Philosophical Take on Team Dynamics

22:40 to 23:11

Exploring the complexities of transitioning teams between attacking and defensive styles.

“Part two, we'll begin with Juve 4, Dortmund 4.”

Philosophical Take on Team Dynamics

23:13 to 23:39

Exploring the complexities of transitioning teams between attacking and defensive styles.

“Summer is here, which means the group chats are already spiraling with festival and summer plans.”

Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund: A Dramatic Encounter

23:55 to 28:00

Recapping the exciting and unpredictable 4-4 draw between Juventus and Dortmund.

“welcome to part two of the guardian football weekly uh so in turin astonishing game between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund.”
Show all 18 chapters

Game Analysis: Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund

28:00 to 36:19

A detailed analysis of the match between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund, highlighting key players and moments.

“PSG lost three of their first five games, drew another, and they still won the tournament.”

Carabao's Remarkable Comeback Against Benfica

36:20 to 39:04

Discussion on Carabao's impressive victory over Benfica after coming from behind.

“Benfica, blistering and brutal and belligerent.”

Union Saint-Gilloise: A Model Club

39:05 to 42:01

Exploration of Union Saint-Gilloise's success in Belgian football and their effective management.

“can certainly go past defenders and can certainly shoot.”

Shifting Dynamics in European Football

42:02 to 42:40

Discussion about the evolving political and social landscape affecting football in Europe.

“You're wondering if there is some kind of shift, and I mean within football at European level.”

Football's Role in Humanitarian Issues

43:11 to 44:11

Discussion on the intersection of football and humanitarian issues, including Norway's ticket sales for a charity.

“Chasing deadlines, writing status reports, updating stakeholders.”

Carabao Cup Updates

44:30 to 45:29

Analysis and commentary on recent Carabao Cup matches, including notable performances.

“Brentford got past Aston Villa on penalties.”

Rangers' Unique Team Bonding

45:30 to 47:04

Discussion on Russell Martin's unconventional approach to team bonding with Rangers players.

“Well, I think even their first string side is kind of second string, so this is probably a third string side with a load of teenagers playing, and they lost 1-0.”

Listener Feedback and Discussions

47:05 to 49:34

Engaging with listener comments on various topics, including throw-ins and personal anecdotes.

“So I went to the pool and slammed 1500 meters.”
Hear the part that matters, and keep it.Open this episode in VO. Double tap your headphones to save a moment as you listen.
Get VO free

Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00Philippe Auclair:This is The Guardian.

0:30Nicky Bandini:Washington Wise.

0:50Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly.

0:55Nicky Bandini:The Champions League returns. A great night for Gabriel Martinelli as Arsenal win in Bilbao. He and fellow not-really-forgotten man Leandro Trossard come off the bench to win it for the Gunners. Thomas Frank gets his first win in his first Champions League game. Spurs 1, Villarreal 0. Not a classic. If you want one of those, perhaps pick Turin. Juve Dortmund 0-0 at half-time, 4-2 to Dortmund after 90 minutes and 4-0 at full-time. Dani Carvajal sees red. Can you believe it? But Real Madrid get a silly handball penalty to beat Marseille. And there are great away wins for Carabaug and Union Saint-Gilois.

1:24Nicky Bandini:In the Carabao, Grimsby win again, this time at Troubled Sheffield Wednesday. Also today, we'll do some Serie A. Russell Martin's bonding swim in Loch Lomond, just as the weather turns. Your questions, and that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.

1:39Nicky Bandini:On the panel today, Barry Glendennig, welcome. Hi Max. Hey Niki Bandini. Morning. And bonjour, ça va, Philippe Auclair. Bonjour, ça va, Max. Good morning. Yes, good morning. Let's go to Bilbao, Athletic Club 0, Arsenal 2. A tough game for Arsenal against one of the better pot four teams. Only two English sides had ever won in Bilbao. Manchester United somehow last year in the semi-final first leg. Liverpool in 1983-84. And Philippe, like a really big night for Trossard, and especially Martinelli, I think.

2:09Philippe Auclair:Is Mikel Arteta a genius or the jammiest of matches? Because it's quite rare. You know, very often you'd have scores with his first touch, you know, and coming on the pitch. but assists with his first touch, scores with his first touch, then reversed the roles to make it 2-0. I don't think there have been too many examples of that. And it was a very big night for them. It perhaps was a game that felt a little bit tenser than it ought to have because of the atmosphere in the ground, which was absolutely magnificent throughout. And the fact that Arsenal actually found it quite unpleasant, I have to say, to play against a team that is so physical, so direct, and not as bereft technically as some people had said.

2:58Philippe Auclair:And it's not all just rough and tumble. And they did struggle a little bit until, well, the huge advantage that they've got, even having five players out because of injury, is to be able to change the game by a couple of substitutions. It really worked in more ways than one. It's not just about the personnel, but it's also the fact that we were not, I don't think we were expecting Troisard perhaps to come up as a kind of false nine or actually a real nine, but maybe perhaps on the left wing and seeing Eze in a more advanced position as a number 10. That's not what happened. And the fact that the two of them combined so well for the two goals is, yeah, I mean, it's a major fillip for both players and for Mikel Arteta as well.

3:40Philippe Auclair:And you look at it now, Max, and you see the games that they have lined up. I mean there's a couple of more difficult ones but you think yeah that was probably the toughest assignment they had in this group phase was to get a result of a good result like this in San Mames and they did and in the end with a bit to spare there were a few situations where it was a little bit tense let's put it that way where Athletic threatened to threaten but in the end David Raya at a much quieter game perhaps than you would have expected.

4:18Nicky Bandini:I mean, for Martinelli, Nicky, it's like sort of the perfect moment to get a chance that plays totally into your strengths, i.e. being really fast. A strength that perhaps the guy who's taken your shirt as he doesn't have. And also like there was one brilliant touch in that move. But just because the chances of that actually happening are quite slim. Arsenal hadn't really got through like that until that moment. Yeah, just to quickly pick up on what Philippe said. I mean, Arsenal do have to go away to Inter who were finalists last season before the end of the group written off again written off written off again uh they haven't started great so maybe maybe felipe's right i just thought just thought i'd mention it um but the uh the most thing is really interesting to me i i think um there was some phrasing that artetti used in his post game interviews where he talked about finishes and and what came into my head was not finishes in the sticking the ball in the back of the net sense because i think that's not what he meant i think what he was talking about was kind of this idea.

5:12And I should say before I introduce this concept to the conversation, I really know nothing about baseball, but I understand that there is this concept of a closing pitcher. I'm familiar with this idea that you have certain pitchers that come in in the late innings who are a fresh arm and who have that, I guess, bring that extra zip when you've got your starting pitcher, the guy who's pitching the ballgame is a bit more tired. And I do think this is a concept that's been kicked around, obviously, forever in some form, football or certainly for as long as we've had substitutes which is forever as far as our generation is concerned the idea of a super sub is not new but I do think when you look at the squad that Arsenal are building when you look at the amount of depth that was added this summer it shouldn't be outrageous to look at a player's qualities and say look well certain people bring some qualities certain people bring other qualities but actually as basic as it sounds having someone who's electrically quick at the end of a pitch come on at the end of a game come on is an incredible tool to have off the bench and it shouldn't be even though of course as a footballer footballers always want to play all the time it shouldn't be a slight on a player to say actually sometimes you're most effective when you are playing those last 20 minutes of game when you are playing that that role of being the closer as it were and I think that um very clearly in this game, which as Philippe has already talked about, where Athletic started with such tempo and such intensity.

6:36And you saw, I thought, the different strengths of Arsenal in that period, because even though Athletic had the better of the play early on, Arsenal really didn't give up a lot in terms of real chances. And I thought Mascara was really good, by the way, one of the understated signings less talked about so far this season. But then if you can do all that and you can have maybe not the flashiest game from Jokaric, I know everyone's going to look at it and go, he didn't score or whatever. But I actually thought he did some pretty decent work holding the ball up and being that target man for a long time.

7:05You have those tools to weather an early storm. And then you have a different tool that you can bring in late in the game, which is someone who is going to point straight out those tired defenders and make them feel even more tired, which I think is a strength that Martian Lee has.

7:20Nicky Bandini:Yeah, Usain Bolt still has a chance despite his first time being like a trampoline. Barry actually Nicky mentioned Mosquera and I thought he just looked so ready to be in one of the best defences in world football I guess

7:33Max Rushden:yeah he was really good against Nottingham Forest he didn't put a foot wrong here the only thing I'd say is he didn't have to do a huge amount but maybe that's because he was there I don't know and such a reassuring presence alongside Gabriel I think Saliba was fit last night but obviously Arsenal have City coming up at the weekend And that's a much more important game for them because this one opening match of the league phase doesn't really matter whether you win or not. In terms of Arteta's finishers, I think he specifically referenced Rugby Union as where he'd come up with this great idea of using substitutes.

8:14Max Rushden:and while it would be easy to mock him because listening to him talk about this innovative wheeze of taking off tired players and bringing on players who aren't tired I think he was more using it to make the subs he did bring on feel better about the fact that they weren't picked in the first place because he did go on this soliloquy of how it hurts him to have to leave players out and he looked into Martinelli's eyes and he knew he was ready. Interestingly, I was doing a minute-by-minute report of this game and a reader emailed in and said, the goal sums up all the frustrations Arsenal fans have about Martinelli insofar as, right, we know he's incredibly quick, but his first touch was poor, his second touch was great, and it was one of those chances where he didn't have to lift his head and make a decision about what to do.

9:11Max Rushden:and his shot was actually not great. The keeper should have kept it out. I'm not having a goal. It was a good goal, but I wouldn't read too much into this performance beyond the fact that Arsenal went to a hostile environment and won without playing particularly well. I think it's not like a new thing to read into it. It's in some sense a very obvious thing to say, But I do think we can read into it that very specifically last season, a weakness of this team that came to bear late in the season was a lack of options up front when a little bit of fitness worry came in. And what has been abundantly clear in this game and in the early part of the season is this is no longer the era in which you might have to say, oh, we're going to start away from home in Europe with Mikel and Marino up front.

10:02And that's not a knock on Reno, who, of course, I think earned a lot of goodwill and unfortunately becomes this figure is just symbolic of something, which is the lack of options that Arsenal had in the late part of last season. But it matters, right? And that is the thing. It is a difficult balancing act for the manager, keeping everyone happy. But if you want to be a successful team in multiple competitions now in 2025, you do have to have really top quality players who aren't starting games. you have to have that and I think that clearly it's not a new point to make but still the fact that you're seeing it in a game like this I think is still relevant I guess

10:41Nicky Bandini:Yeah Arteta said it means that Martinelli and Trossard are connected and they feel that they're really really important we've discussed that a lot we're going to need that Piero Hincapi comes in and plays five minutes so does Christian Norgard and it's the best five minutes of their lives and it is a good result but as producer Joel points out he comes out with some awful shite doesn't he Tristan Norgard has got three children, and yet this is the best five minutes of Tristan Norgard's life. Actually, I did want to ask about Medweke, Philippe. You know, at the moment, you think, they've got the two best attacking right-sided attackers in English football, or English right-sided attackers, I should say, in Saka and Medweke.

11:19Nicky Bandini:He's played brilliantly since he's got there.

11:21Philippe Auclair:I mean, I was going to say, yes, we have to talk about, you know, we have to talk about Nonny. It sounds like the title of something, doesn't it? And he was, again, absolutely superb. I find it quite difficult to remember for the Arsenal, an attacking player who's slotted in as quickly as well as Noni Madweke has from the beginning, especially when he came to the club. I don't think that most people would have expected the kind of thing.

11:54Nicky Bandini:5 ,000 people signed a petition. I don't know what, to get it overturned by the government.

11:59Max Rushden:I think they were internet crazies. Right. I'm going to go out of my way this season to distinguish between Arsenal's internet crazy fans and their actual fans. Fair, fair, fair. And I think I'm going to guess it was the internet crazy.

12:15Nicky Bandini:If you're not an internet crazy, you're not signing that petition. You're just going to have, you're going to go and have lunch. Anyway, Philippe.

12:22Philippe Auclair:No, no. And one of the things as well, when you see how well he's doing, it's highlighting what is perhaps one of the few problems that Arteta has to address, which is the unbalance between the flanks. At the moment, it's going really, really well on the right because Jorion Timber is absolutely rocking at the moment as well and has found, obviously, understanding, natural understanding with Ani Madweke, who is very direct, feels totally confident. When Martin Udayard as well comes back, who tends to be right-handed, right-sided, sorry, you're going to have a very, very strong right side. And the left side is not quite working the same way.

13:02Philippe Auclair:But you would probably say that Eze, potentially speaking, is probably a better player than the Nibadweke. Perhaps more versatile, more multidimensional, but you also have the feeling that it's not quite happening with Calafiori. There were a couple of examples of passes going astray that Calafiori was expecting. Is he doing a particular run on the left-hand side, which he didn't. He went inside instead, which is a natural position, basically. So there has to be now a rebalancing of the sides. And on the left-hand side, it hasn't happened yet. And is it going to be with Calafiore? Is it going to be with Louis Skelly, who everybody was raving about a few months ago and who now seems to be back in the pecking order?

13:46Philippe Auclair:And you've got Hincapier coming, who also plays on the left, can play central defence, but also plays on the left. and Eze is not completely yet at ease in this position. And when you compare with Noni Madweke, who's arrived, and I think the contrast between the two makes it even more impressive or impresses us even more when we think about the performance of the former Chelsea player, who's honestly been absolutely superb. And I think as well, I mean, it's just he looks so at ease in himself and he looks like a player.

14:19Nicky Bandini:He's smiling, he's happy. He's smiling, he's happy, he's producing the goods.

14:24Philippe Auclair:He's obviously a proper team player who does a lot of work defensively as well. He's extremely generous, but he's also bloody good when he has the ball in his feet. Not just quick, but also bloody good as is shown with England as well. I have to say the signings have been, you were talking about Muscara, but I wanted to add my voice to that because I just love central defenders who you don't see. and I don't see him when he's on the pitch. It's like nothing happens on his side. He was nutmeg once in that game, but other than that, it's very, very impressive.

15:01Max Rushden:I was going to raise the subject of Maduweke before you brought it up, Max, and I'm slightly surprised by Philippe's eulogy there. He shows plenty of winning. They get him the ball out of the touchline regularly. He's good at beating a man. He's quick. I think his crossing is poor and he does that really infuriating thing you see from wingers sometimes that where he just shoots for the sake of shooting, even though there's no, it's going to be blocked or it's going to be a weak shot from a narrow angle. So would you be prepared to concede that there's a lot of room for improvement?

15:41Philippe Auclair:Yeah.

15:42Max Rushden:I mean, he's no assists yet, no goals. I think he's either played three or four full matches and made a substitute appearance.

15:49Nicky Bandini:Poor Nonny. There we are, thinking he's brilliant. Actually, Barry has uncovered the truth. But no, I do take your point. But I think he is very exciting, very direct. I think he's been really good for England as well, which probably is. And I don't know if he has goals and assists for England yet this season.

16:06Philippe Auclair:And what a goal it was. That was the goal against Serbia. Yes, a brilliant goal.

16:12Nicky Bandini:Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're absolutely right. So that has sort of coloured my picture of how well he's started this season. Anyway, we'll move on from Nonny Medweke to Spurs, who beat Villarreal 1-0. Got a very lucky early goal. That was kind of the game. Like a win and three points in their opening Champions League game. Thomas Frank's first ever Champions League game. I guess you go, this is good, Barry. I would say it was similar to the Arsenal result.

16:34Max Rushden:They didn't play as well as Arsenal did, but it was workmanlike. They got a bit lucky with the goal, obviously, with the Villarreal keeper more or less pushing a low cross into his own net. I thought Lucas Bergvaule and Papasar played very well. I thought my pal, Zavi Siemens, was very lucky not to get sent off for two buckle of fences. He got away with the second one. Mickey van der Ven was very good. He could have possibly got a red as well or maybe even conceded a penalty. I don't think it was a penalty. I think it was outside the box. But for Thomas Frank to win his first Champions League game in charge at home, that is undeniably good.

17:17Max Rushden:But it was not a good game.

17:20Nicky Bandini:And I think Spurs were a little bit lucky. I guess the interesting thing, Nicky, is that we have observed already is the difference between Andrew's Spurs and Frank's Spurs. And I wonder, is it easier to make an attacking team a bit more solid than it is to make a more solid team a bit more attacking? That's a good question. Maybe relevant to another team we'll talk about later as well. I'm not sure it's as simple as that. I do think that it's certainly true that, cliche that I feel like you hear all the way up from youth football coaching to the top level is scoring a goal is the hard thing to do, right?

17:54That's one of the hardest bits to do in football is actually get the ball in the net. So if you can do that, then building from that platform is perhaps perceived to be a little bit easier. But I also think that you can lean on other cliches and talk about the fact that actually across Europe's top leagues, very often haven't got a statistical meta-analysis to point to, but very often your league winners are teams that concede the fewest goals at the end of the season. That comes out a lot when you do look at that sort of data. we can't watch 90 minutes of every game on a Champions League night and my attention was on a different one

18:26Nicky Bandini:and you're lucky it was from what I saw of this it didn't seem like there was no chances given up at all in this game it certainly looked like Nicolas Pepe had some opportunities in the game and perhaps Buchanan as well on the two wings look I think again we've talked with Arsenal about the more difficult games in the group and Villarreal on paper certainly looked like one of the tougher games in Tottenham's schedule So if you get that free goal given to you, it was a gimme the goal. There's not a lot of credit that you look at that and think it's less their work than it is the mistake by Junior.

Read the full transcript

18:59But in the end, once you've got it so early in the game as well, you have to judge the rest of the game based on that goal. Tottenham didn't need to score another goal, so it wasn't their responsibility to go out and chase one.

19:09Philippe Auclair:Your question is actually, it's really profound. Thank you so much. Aren't they all? Aren't they all, Philippe? Well, this one is, it's like a saga of sea. it's like the mariner trench it's actually holy moly yes is it more difficult to make a taking team defensive or defensive team attacking because and in fact there's no answer to it it's it's i think it's um it's just as easy to do one or the other it's not as easy to make it work is the way i would put it yeah yeah is that for example if you see what um if you want to make a more attacking team, more defensive, it's a question, okay, you're going to decide, I'm going to use a tactical system, which is going to be like, I'm going to use, I'm going to take a leaf out of Tony Pulis' book, and I'm going to play a 6-4-0.

20:02Philippe Auclair:That would be more defensive. Doesn't mean it's going to work, Max. But if you see, for example, what Ruben Amorim is doing, say, with Manchester United, he wants to make the team more attacking, which they are. I was amazed to see that. Look Looked at the stats, expected goals, chances, touches in the position box. Manchester United are in the top three in all. But he's done that, but it doesn't work. So the most difficult thing is the transition, I suppose, if that's a way out of this conundrum. No, thank you for thinking about my, as usual, very profound question.

20:40Max Rushden:On another night, Villarreal could have had a penalty and Nicola Pepe could have scored three goals. Well, maybe not Nicola Pepe. He might have scored one or two. I'm not interested in this profound stuff, Barry.

20:54Nicky Bandini:I don't want to burst the balloon of your profundity. No, that's all right. It's just a tiny balloon anyway. I think part of the story here, though, as well, is just from Tottenham's point of view, getting the ball rolling of being back in the Champions League, having what by all accounts was a fantastic atmosphere in the stadium and delivering on getting the three points. There's so much in football that does come down to detail and tactics and specifics and the transitions, as Philippe has just mentioned, which is such a big part of the modern game, particularly where formations are no longer these rigid things that we're used to talking about from the past.

21:32But I do think there's also still something to be said for mood and for momentum. And I think that getting the positive start in the end. And in one of the trickier games on Tottenham's schedule, it sets them up very, very well for this group stage.

21:45Nicky Bandini:Very quickly, Philippe, can I ask you for a 20-second view of Kolo Mouane and how good or not a signing that is for Tottenham?

21:53Philippe Auclair:I think it's potentially a very, very good signing in terms of... I don't think he's been in the environment yet where he can actually show everything he can do. he's very willing very courageous very generous player who is also a very decent finisher but again I think what's been lacking for him so far is the environment which is something I would say about so many players who've spent some very important years of their development at Paris Saint-Germain it seems to be like a recurrent theme you look at them and you think oh are they that good I say, yeah, he's that good. So you should be excited.

22:38Okay.

22:39Nicky Bandini:Thank you so much. And that'll do for part one. Part two, we'll begin with Juve 4, Dortmund 4.

23:04Nicky Bandini:at schwapp.com slash Washington Wise.

23:07Max Rushden:Hi, this is Becca Moore for the Girls Podcast. All right, a quick shout out to our presenting sponsor, Apple Cash. Summer is here, which means the group chats are already spiraling with festival and summer plans. And we all know the worst part of being the one who fronts the money for the passes or housing. That's why this year we're only using Apple Cash. It's a super easy way to settle up because you can do it right in messages. Just tap the plus sign to get started. And the best part is you can spend the money you get right away anywhere Apple Pay is accepted. Every payment is secure and protected by Face ID, touch id or passcode and your transactions are never shared on a public feed set up your apple cash today in the wallet app apple cash services are provided by green.bank member fdic terms apply

23:55Nicky Bandini:welcome to part two of the guardian football weekly uh so in turin astonishing game between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund. 0-0 at half-time. It seemed obvious to me, Nicky, that this game would end with Lloyd Kelly scoring a diving header to salvage a point for Juve in a 4-0 draw. I mean, why not, Max? He did score the opening goal of Derby d 'Italia at the weekend as well, which, by the way, was a really good finish in that game against Inter, which was completely eclipsed by the fact that the rest of that game was utterly bonkers. And for me, having obviously watched that at the weekend, I almost feel like I've just been in this four-day-long delirium of Juventus playing some of the most unexpected, unpredictable, ridiculous football that I've watched in a while.

24:43I mean, they've scored eight goals in four days. They've conceded seven goals in four games. They had a two-goal comeback against Inter with the winning goal coming in injury time. They were nil-nil at halftime of this game and then wound up 4-4, having been down 4-2 at the start of injury time. everything that is happening on the pitch with this club at the moment just feels like some sort of um completely out of body experience um and lloyd kelly uh who really last season was a bit of a scapegoat it felt like at juventus for things that that weren't his fault for the fact that the club went out and spent over 100 million in the transfer market and uh and and bought a bunch of players who didn't pan out that great so far i mean coop miners still hasn't lived up to the player he was at atlanta douglas louise obviously wasn't a hit after coming from aston villa um and to fund all that sold dean heysen who's been brilliant since leaving eventus then they have to go out and get lloyd kelly last season it was a bit like why are we signing this guy who's not dean heysen and we're spending actually a tiny bit more to get him and we've done all this that we can have all these players who aren't even that good there was a real sense of frustration around it and now yes he's been in the heart of the madness these last these last few days and I mean I don't know what to tell you it's I had a moment of premature thinking this last season on Thiago Motta and and was proven wrong so I don't want to jump the gun but I do worry that Juventus are in danger of becoming an incredibly entertaining team to watch short of a sudden.

26:19Nicky Bandini:And like the goals, Barry, in this game. It was like, what was that game? Was it Belgium-USSR or USSR-Denmark in Mexico 86 where every goal is like a ping from 30 yards? Like they just got, I don't know if they got better and better, but they were all good.

26:32Max Rushden:Yeah, most of them were. Felix and Chas, I think, for put Dortmund 2-1 up was my favourite. Lovely strike from outside the box. That sort of curled outside the upright and then back in. The first one for Dortmund, Adiemi again outside the box, pulls a low shot into the very bottom corner. Vlachovic, he got two, didn't he? Yeah. One running onto a nice weighted ball, again finishes into the far corner. And his second one was a stab home from the edge of the six-yard box from another lovely cross. and Lloyd Kelly's I'm going to say diving header is slightly generous header then fall he was falling like a tree but he did well to steer the ball inside the upright another man could easily have put it wide

27:28Nicky Bandini:he did more than who's called that home goal for Leeds Goodmanson he did more than Goodmanson

27:37Max Rushden:loads of good goals bonkers game. They'll both, I suppose, be happy with a point. Juventus will be happier because they were two down after 90 minutes.

27:47Nicky Bandini:Yeah, I don't think Dawn will be that happy given what happened. Yildiz's goal as well. The thing is, it doesn't matter, Max. No, but nothing matters really. I don't want to get too profound. I've already got profound once, but nothing really matters.

27:59Max Rushden:PSG last season. PSG lost three of their first five games, drew another, and they still won the tournament. So you're looking at this and you're going, oh, brilliant game, 4-4, but it doesn't matter. It's interesting that, and I think I largely agree with Baz, but it is worth saying that Juventus' next two games are away to Villarreal and away to Real Madrid. So there is a chance they could be looking at this and thinking, we really need to get those three points at home if they've got one point after those three. Although, as you say, Baz, they could probably lose both those games and still get through because of the format.

28:33It sounded like Max was trying to say the word yield is in there as well because I thought his goal hasn't been mentioned yet, which was also an absolute.

28:40Max Rushden:Yeah, that was actually probably the best of them. It was brilliant. And I think that Yildiz is on the verge of one of those seasons. I think he's been brilliant every game so far. And I think he's obviously just turned 20 years old. He's very much the guy who this team is being built around. I think that I won't be surprised if we're talking about him as one of the absolute breakout stars of this season by the end of the campaign. And doing it in Europe, obviously, is the bit which is going to get noticed. internationally. But yeah, he's really good. I think he's going to be special. Vlahovic, who hasn't always lived up to the hype around him and certainly not the transfer fee that he got when he joined from Fiorentina, which I think was about 70 million euros.

29:23I thought this was a brilliant showing for him off the bench. And I think that not just the two goals, but he also set up Lloyd Kelly's goal. And actually, when he scored the third goal, they're still losing at this point. You could see on the camera, he turns around and he's giving it, like jabbing his finger at one of the defenders and giving him the, you're talking too much chat. And given that was three minutes into injury time and they were still losing to turn around two minutes later and actually set up the equaliser as well. I mean, he certainly delivered on whatever it was that wound him up.

29:52But yeah, this was a crazy game of football. Also worth saying in this game, I think Juventus extremely unlucky, Lloyd Kelly, in fact, extremely unlucky not to get a penalty in the first half when there was a handball by the defender. And I think it was Anton who was challenging in Frederick Warner. And then I thought pretty unlucky to give away a penalty, which was the last goal for Dortmund, because it was one of those hand balls where Kelly's falling on the floor. There's not a lot that he can do because he's just trying to keep himself from hurting himself as his face hits the floor.

30:19Philippe Auclair:Just one thing, Max, because we've barely talked about Borussia Dortmund. It's understandable because of the way that the game went. But you have to say, Borussia Dortmund did a fantastic job at losing from a completely wrong position. Which is also on brand, right? That's also on brand for them. They just couldn't believe it. They couldn't believe they were in this position and they totally lost everything. They didn't know what to do.

30:44Nicky Bandini:The third goal is like someone can just lump that up the line. I don't know what they're doing. It's total insanity. Anyway, to the Bernabeu, Real 2, Marseille 1, handball penalty that Real Madrid won with. I don't know. I mean, I say it's ruining football. I mean, I'm still watching it and enjoying it. So I don't know if it's ruining it, but I just find that decision, just the sort of, it feels like the desperation to give that decision. You know, Real were down to 10 men. Anyway, Philippe, you watched it. Take it away.

31:15Philippe Auclair:Yeah, I watched it. And I have to say, I was entertained. It was a hell of a game. One of the most open games I've seen in a long time. I think in some ways it was more open than Juve, Borussia Dortmund, because it was over the 90 minutes. It was crazy from the start. Absolutely crazy. I don't know if those managers are trying to make their teams more defensive, but it didn't look like it. Apparently, though, that's why Javier Alonso is trying to instill a bit of discipline, but whatever. But if you want to go to the penalties, I mean, I am actually still seething about that. I do have, it must be said, a soft spot for a big Marseille, like many French people do.

31:56Philippe Auclair:and I hate piling on referees but I will

32:00Nicky Bandini:well I don't think it's the refereeing it's just the whole lore

32:03Philippe Auclair:oh my goodness come on I mean there is an obvious handball Eden Militao puts his elbow out stops a shot by Condogbia I believe bang in the box whoever was the director of the broadcast gives one quick replay and then forgets about it we never hear about it anymore It's not mentioned in commentary. It was a penalty. Okay. And then we see that. You know, what can Medina do? I mean, he's falling. What is he supposed to do?

32:35Nicky Bandini:And he's made a good challenge as well. He's made a good challenge.

32:38Philippe Auclair:It's insane. And you think, okay, if it... I mean, we always go back to that. Either you've got to rule, if it touches the arm, the hand, it's handball, it's a penalty. And in every single circumstance. And you can sort of accept that even if it's ludicrous. but in this case you had a clear example of the same offense if that is an offense being unpunished in one way and punished in the other changing completely um the nature of the game and also the way we're talking about the game like it was crazy that again the commentator was eulogizing talking about kilian bapé didn't have a good game all of the time he scored two pens well great completely caught in that narrative of Real Madrid you know that's real there's the Bernabeu blah blah blah Kylian Mbappe blah blah blah the fact is Marseille should have won and that's what is is going to infuriate them and that the best sequences of play were by Marseille but they were unable to capitalize on that and something happened as well in this game which was Carvajal sending off which was pretty obvious you know if you headbutt somebody you're going to be sent off.

33:50Nicky Bandini:Probably not lasting damage, I would say, with that headbutt.

33:52Philippe Auclair:Yeah, no lasting damage. But Carvajal off, yeah, so they are. But Xabi Alonso knew how to react to that by going three at the back and basically playing a kind of 3-3-3, which meant that they still had got some attacking potential, but they were tighter. And Marseille did what happens so often to teams that play 11 v 10. Instead of keeping the same energy, instead of going at Real Madrid as they had done previously, they suddenly calmed down thinking, holy shit, we're in a position where we can get a really good result at Real Madrid and they're down to 10. What should we do? Which is the moment when Real Madrid got back into the game.

34:31Philippe Auclair:But, you know, unfortunately, the talk about the refereeing is going to dominate and certainly dominate in France. Everybody's talking about it. And in fact, it's dominating the way I'm talking about that game, which in other ways was also absolutely, I mean, was a cracker. It was a cracker. It was so open. And I have to say, you know, it was also, I think if I were a proper OM supporter, it's not that my heart would be in my mouth all the time. I would have chewed it 10 times over when you see the way that De Zerbi asks his players to take the ball out of their half of the pitch against a team which, under De Zerbi Alonso, is now starting to press much more than he did in the past.

35:14Philippe Auclair:with even Kylian Mbappe doing a bit of pressing, which is something that Didier Deschamps will have noticed and which is apparently one of the reasons why Vinicius Junior, the guy who should have been Banondor instead of Rodri, or so we're told, was on the bench.

35:29Nicky Bandini:Interesting.

35:29Philippe Auclair:Interesting times.

35:31Nicky Bandini:Probably good that Real Madrid got some decisions because obviously so many go against them, as we all know. Performance of the night is Karabag, Barry.

35:40Max Rushden:Yes, the horsemen from Azerbaijan. This is their second crack at Champions League. Their manager, Gerben Gurbanov, has been in charge for 17 years. Yeah. And they get through three qualifying rounds to get into this league phase. They beat Shelburne from Ireland, Skendidja, and Ferencvaros to qualify for the Champions League proper. Went 2-0 down. Peter Drury was commentating on this game for TNT Sports. Of course, Benfica's second goal was greeted with textbook drury. And I have to say, I love it. I'm a big fan. It's not for everyone. Benfica, blistering and brutal and belligerent. But their belligerence was quickly knocked out of them as Carabao came from 2-0 down to beat them 3-2.

36:33Max Rushden:courtesy of goals from Leandro Andrade, Camilo Duran and a fella called Kaschuk who scored a nice goal on the turn but brilliant result for Carabag because every result counts for teams like that who aren't more or less assured of

36:54Nicky Bandini:a top 8

36:55Max Rushden:24 position

36:58Nicky Bandini:So I think you needed 11 points to sneak into the playoffs last time and so getting three is is good because it gets you nearer 11 than not doesn't it sorry to be sorry to be profound again philippe tell us about union salju loire yeah the the great story

37:16Philippe Auclair:continues uh best run club in in belgian football one of the best run clubs in in all of europe actually um champions for the first time since the uh you know 1920s i think uh last year it must be said that PSV had a few chances. The scoreline makes it look like they had a very easy time. They didn't. PSV just had some chances. They didn't capitalize on that. And then afterwards, everything went the Belgian's way. But they were, again, very impressive. They're an example, basically, to the rest of clubs in Belgium, which is a basket case where everybody seems to be Sheffield Wednesday, basically.

37:57Philippe Auclair:And they're the exception. And obviously, you know, they're part of the Brighton and Holt Albion, Tony Bloom Galaxy. And even though they have got a lot of autonomy in the way that they run things, which they do, and I'm not entirely surprised to see them doing so well. They're a growing force. They have exactly the same system as Brighton. Every year they will lose a couple of players whom you think are absolutely indispensable players. Every time they replace them and they find somebody who is just as good, if not better. So it's not a surprising result, but it's actually quite a heartening one to see a club that is doing properly.

38:39Philippe Auclair:The business is also doing properly on the pitch. One thing as well I should mention, because I hadn't even noticed, which is really silly of me, the best player for PSV Eindhoven was Ruben van Bommel. And I thought, oh, oh yes, that's the son of Mark van Bommel. Of course, silly me.

38:57Nicky Bandini:Doesn't play like Mark van Bommel, does he?

38:59Philippe Auclair:No, he doesn't play like Barnabas Pomo, but I like him very much. I mean, really incisive winger, good technique, can certainly go past defenders and can certainly shoot. And it was one of the bright lines for PSV. Other than that, didn't take their chances against a team that is very good at taking theirs.

39:21Nicky Bandini:Yeah, and actually they had some real chances that they didn't take, Saibari especially, didn't they? Anyway, tonight Chelsea go to Bayern, Liverpool play Atleti, PSG, Atalanta, Inter go to Ajax. So we'll round up those on tomorrow's pod. Elsewhere, you pointed this out in the WhatsApp group. Ticket sales from Norway's 2026 World Cup qualifier against Israel will go to Medecins en Frontier, Doctors Without Borders, to help it alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza, Norway's Football Association have said on Monday. Game on October 11th will be played against the backdrop of grave humanitarian suffering.

39:53Nicky Bandini:And we are not and cannot remain indifferent to this, the head of the Norwegian Football Association, Lisa Clavines told reporters at a press conference. And she is one of the shining lights in world football, Philippe, isn't she?

40:05Philippe Auclair:On the international front, certainly, she's been questioned at home because of what happened around the VAR debate, where she was felt to have muscled her way through a decision favourable to keeping VAR. But when it comes to international politics, she's pretty much done exactly what people were hoping she would do when she was elected. It's interesting, by the way, that the NFF, the Norwegian FA, is still taking these kind of positions when Lisa Clavinus actually joined the executive committee of UEFA. And many people thought, oh, she's now part of the, she's at the top table. She's going to be all chummy with Alexander Scheffer and the Norwegians are going to tone down a little bit their rebelliousness.

40:54Philippe Auclair:And that doesn't seem to be the case, which is a good thing. While we're talking about this, Max, maybe it's worth mentioning, I know going back a little bit, that there were banners as well, pro-Palestinian banners in San Mames in Bilbao. And also that Real Madrid confiscated banners and Palestinian flags at the entrance, which had been taken on mostly by Marseille supporters, but also some Real Madrid supporters. and that's Spain and the reason I mentioned that is because on one hand you've got the NFF saying okay the proceeds will go to Médecins Sans Frontières, so humanitarian cause I think nobody will have anything to say about that but Spain is moving actually to a far more decisive position when you see what happened in the Vuelta in cycling when you see what happens with the supporters and what you You see what the Prime Minister Sanchez said about as well, when he said basically Israel should be taken out of international competitions.

42:01Philippe Auclair:And they're also moved to take them out of Eurovision as well. You're wondering if there is some kind of shift, and I mean within football at European level. Whatever you think, you know, it's not a question of opinion here. It's a question of looking at what is happening within European football, where this is basically such a divisive issue. and you're wondering if the shift is not happening now and more in which Israel is going to basically pay the price for what it is doing in Gaza and the West Bank.

42:33Nicky Bandini:Yeah, I think you're right. And we talked about it last week and it's something that we'll talk about again, of course. All right, that'll do for part two. Part three, we'll begin with the Carabao Cup.

42:47Nicky Bandini:decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day but what policy changes should investors be watching Washington Wise is an original podcast from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington right now and how they may affect your finances and portfolio listen at schwab.com slash Washington Wise Monday AI agents took over And I absolutely love it. Chasing deadlines, writing status reports, updating stakeholders. Agents handle the daily grind now. They live inside Monday.com, so they see the full picture. My work, my team, the whole company. And I don't have to worry about the data.

43:26Nicky Bandini:It's safe, which means I'm free to focus on the big stuff, knowing everything runs smoothly in the background. It's completely shifted the way we work. Create your own AI agent in minutes on Monday.com. As a small business owner, you're the CEO, the marketing team, and the customer service rep all at once. I was recently talking to a shop owner who told me their worst nightmare isn't a slow day, it's the vanishing act. It's that moment you're inches away from a deadline and the Wi-Fi just disappears. We've all felt that pit in our stomach when the connection flares up right when it matters most.

44:00Your business is only as strong as your connection. AT &T Business is the reliable provider built for that exact brand of hustle, so you can stay focused on the work that builds your legacy. Powered by AT &T Business. Built to work. Get AT &T Business at business.att.com.

44:28Nicky Bandini:Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly, our So in the Carabao. Get your Caramel box out, Barry. And how many cobwebs are in that box? Probably weren't even open for cobwebs. Brentford got past Aston Villa on penalties. Aston Villa did score their first goal of the season. Harvey Elliott got that. Crystal Palace considered a last-minute equaliser against Millwall, but they did beat them on penalties. Presumably now Palace have knocked Millwall out of a cup. They will fill out all the forms so they can qualify for the right European competition, as they didn't do last year. And Grimsby won at Hillsborough, Barry.

44:59Nicky Bandini:I mean, they beat Man United. then they were off the back of getting a very lucky last minute equaliser against Cambridge at the weekend Grimsby but a good win for them but a slightly odd Hillsborough yeah so Grimsby go

45:10Max Rushden:through to the last 16 for the first time in I think nearly 25 years and they took 6 ,000 fans to Hillsborough for this game where there was only 3 ,000 Sheffield Wednesday fans because there was another boycott. Wednesday started more or less a second string side. Well, I think even their first string side is kind of second string, so this is probably a third string side with a load of teenagers playing, and they lost 1-0. The mess is ongoing at Wednesday, but congratulations to Grimsby, and I don't really know what the current state of play is at Wednesday. I do believe that Texler chap is kind of semi-interested in buying the club, but I guess it's not always.

46:05Philippe Auclair:Barry is interested in having people thinking that he's interested in the club.

46:10Max Rushden:Okay, right. But I can't see anyone buying it as long as Chancery holds out for a, quite frankly, ridiculous amount of money. Because, I have said it before, I really do think Sheffield Wednesday would be a great club for someone to buy, but not if you're being completely ripped off.

46:29Nicky Bandini:From the Daily Record, under fire Russell Martin has taken his Ibrox squad wild swimming as he bids to keep his own head above water in his fight to keep the Rangers' job. He took his players for a swim in Loch Lomond and then a hike up Conic Hill as part of a day of different activities. Martin has turned to the great outdoors in a bid to try and turn his side sport tunes around. The review of this that I like the best was, I think Jamie O 'Hara on Sky Sports News, he went this isn't bonding this is a pain i mean it sounds really unpleasant and if you're taking

47:03Max Rushden:a group of of men who probably already don't think much of you and don't have much respect for you open water swimming in a scottish lake in september i can't see how it's going to endear

47:19Nicky Bandini:them to you in any way it's the thing is like nikki talked about the vibes right if the vibes are good you know the vibes are good on the pod and we take the whole panel you know wild to rutland water you know in december people are like okay this is fun but if we're on the floor you know i just can't see barney being like i'm up for this i mean i don't think i'd be up for open while swimming no matter

47:46Max Rushden:how good the vibes were

47:48Nicky Bandini:I once did my friends did the London Triathlon the relay right and so one does the swim one does the run and one does the cycle and it was like the full triathlon and then the swimmer dropped out a week before and they said Max can you swim 1500 meters is that so mate was that the that's a wuss triathlon okay okay it was a wuss triathlon that was the one I was doing and like, could you swim 1500 meters? So I went to the pool and slammed 1500 meters. I went, yes, I can. I'll do it for you. Fine. So I got to Docklands or whatever and they handed me a wetsuit. I was like, why are you giving me one of those?

48:22Nicky Bandini:I just presumed it would be in a swimming pool, right? So then I put this wetsuit on. I jumped. I had a wetsuit on. I presume the Rangers players did. I jumped into the London Docklands and for about 10 seconds, I just thought I was going to die of sheer cold. And then I was the only one doing breaststroke. The buzzer went. you got kicked by a million people it's a thoroughly unpleasant experience so yeah i mean i when you revert to this i think maybe this i mean i don't know it'd be fascinating to see how they get on on the weekend this and a hike i'd better have a can you imagine the miserable packed lunch just the idea of the rangers team all sitting there with you know a mr juicy and

48:59Max Rushden:you know but yeah and it's probably vegan because russell martin's famously vegan isn't he i mean Just take them to the pub for a day on the piss.

49:12Nicky Bandini:I don't know. I don't know. Ian says, good to see West Ham giving their youth a chance. Yeah, the under-21s won 5-1 at Milton Keynes Dons. Who was in goal, Barry? I've got to guess, Areola. Lukas Fabianski. Hey! Simon says, hi, guys. Long time listening, a big fan. I listened to you when cycling to and from work. I listened to the pod on Monday, the 15th of September. that you were discussing long throw-ins and how on earth they could be replicated in training. There was even talk of building a throw-in machine like a bowling machine. I'm no tactical genius or even a qualified football coach even on Championship Manager but to replicate a looping throw-in to the box could you not just take a normal throw-in but stand closer?

49:51Nicky Bandini:I'm pretty sure you're allowed to enter beyond the line during training. Thank you Simon. You make a good point. Or else build

50:04Max Rushden:a very elaborate trebuchet.

50:06Nicky Bandini:Yeah, yeah. No, it's slightly different, isn't it? Because the time, you've got to judge the time is, I take your point, but it's slightly different. Gino says, Hi, Max and the team. Thank you for your informative and jolly podcast. Thoroughly enjoyable. A little more Spanish and Italian content would be great. I'm a South African of Italian descent with English children and living in Spain. Don't ask. Years ago, I had a vasectomy as many of your listeners have done. However, after three tests, the sperm count was still reasonable. Turns out that my body considered i should keep reproducing so the piping reconnected itself the odds of this happening are about one in 500 quite rare um most people are apprehensive before the first vasectomy but once you know what's going to happen i can tell you the apprehension is huge for the second one uh always good that time uh thank you gino keep up the fantastic work best regards uh thank you gino thank you everyone thanks everyone for coming to the live show i know i said that the other day so i don't need to thank you all again you've uh you've done your job we've done ours and it doesn't really matter anyway as we established earlier in this podcast so that'll do for today thanks everybody, thank you Nicky thanks Max thanks Philippe thanks Barry

51:09Max Rushden:Max I don't know if any Liverpool fans were tuning in to the US Senate yesterday but Kash Patel the director of the FBI who's this Trump supporting Nick Spittel and widely perceived to be a moron who has been hugely promoted above his station. He had to answer hard questions about the manner in which he handled the hunt for the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk. But he sat in front of him, getting grilled by all these senators, and he was wearing a Liverpool Football Club tie, which seemed to have got people going, whoa, what's going on here? So I expect... Liverpool fans will not be massively impressed to see that this Trump fan is one of them.

52:05Max Rushden:But he is a conspiracy theorist, so it kind of adds up.

52:09Nicky Bandini:Surely he had an Arsenal tie on then. No, no, we're not talking about the internet crazies this year. We've established that. Anyway, yeah, that'll do for today. We'll be back tomorrow. Football Weekly is produced by Joel Grove. Our executive producer is Danielle Steven.

52:30Philippe Auclair:This is The Guardian.

From the publisher
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini and Philippe Auclair as Arsenal win in Bilbao and Spurs host Villarreal to start this season’s Champions League. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/footballweeklypod. Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast

More from Football Weekly

All 212 episodes
Arsenal and Spurs kick off Champions League campaigns with wins – Football WeeklyFootball Weekly · 49 min
Listen in VO