Real Madrid pull clear, Højlund in form and Bayern unbeaten – Football Weekly

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0:30There's also La Liga and Serie A games overseas to discuss. In Italy, Napoli and Roma lead the way. Another for Rasmus Hojland. In 2023 pod agenda news, Christian Pulisic balloons a penalty as Milan and Juve draw 0-0. In Germany, some more Harry Kane is good as Bayern win the title. Four points clear of the only other unbeaten side in the division, Borussia Dortmund. There's an incoming Nordic minute. A panelist's son spotted somewhere unexpected. Your questions as always. And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.

0:59on the panel today nicky bandini hello morning hello lars hivinson hello max and welcome sid low hello just for part one of course unless you want to stay good morning max i i was gonna say i didn't you know you've now just assumed that it's always part one no one even asked me if i can stay till part two well you would like me to i would very in fact i was saying before we came on air how much i'm across what's happening in world football at the moment i absolutely didn't say to nikki and lars that i have no idea what's happening in any other country other than spain so i'm very valuable to you yeah and you're here to learn as well let's start with you just in case you do bugger off in 20 minutes um so la liga looks like this real madrid 21 points from eight games uh barcelona 19 villarreal 16 bett is 15 atleti severe and elche have 13 um real madrid they beat Villarreal 3-1 at the weekend, two for Vinicius Junior and Bappé with another.

1:53Not totally convincing, I guess, but how is Javi Alonso settling in, would you say? Well, I'm going to point out how little I know by saying that before the Atletico Madrid game last week, I was watching Real Madrid and I was kind of thinking there's a structure forming. They know what they're doing. There's an idea. There's clarity. They're well organised. And I decided that Real Madrid were probably going to become boringly good. and then they went and got battered 5-2 by Atletico. I thought, hmm, boringly good. I mean, it's excitingly bad, which is much more fun. This weekend was kind of back a little bit to the boringly good, but I think there was a bit more creativity than there had been in previous games.

2:31It was the best performance from Vinicius. There's been a huge debate around Vinicius, whose numbers have actually been reasonably good, but whose performance level wasn't anything like it was. In fact, actually, in a way, his decline kind of starts with that Ballon d 'Or that he didn't win and that since then his record's been nowhere near as good. But they played pretty well at the weekend. Again, not brilliant, but I do feel like there is a structure being built. And I think you're starting to see Xavi Alonso's hand. But what we're, I suppose, the question mark we've all got is what happens in terms of the management of the players as people and the egos and the fitting together of the pieces.

3:03And the player, funnily enough, at the midst of that kind of debate has been Fede Valverde, who said he didn't want to play at right back, wasn't born to be a right back. And at the weekend, Xavi Alonso puts him on at right back. Right. And did he object or did he just get on it? It was his best game of the season by miles. And this is the, I mean, one of the weird things about Fede Valverde is he actually, he's possibly a victim of this new structure because he's a player who loves to be able to maraud all over the pitch, have the space to run into. And what Xavier Alonso has done is create something a bit tighter, a bit more structured and with less room for him to do that.

3:35And from the centre midfield, which I genuinely don't think is his best position. It's not really happened. Now, he's only filling in at right back, because Trent's out and because Danny Carvalho's out. but it was very interesting that he went so public in saying that he didn't want to play there he was then left out of the Champions League game and then when he was put back in he was put back in at right back. Jude Bellingham is what's what's happening with Jude Bellingham in sort of obvious English biased questions? Yeah well I mean actually it's a question that people in Spain are asking as well so don't feel bad about it being the obvious English question because he came back from from that shoulder operation and went straight into the team for the Madrid derby against Atletico.

4:12And it's not all about Jude Bellingham. They didn't play badly because Jude Bellingham played, but he didn't have a good derby. There was a very clear sense of almost everyone saying, this is too soon. He wasn't ready. He wasn't right. And actually, Xabi Alonso was asked a question after the game of the weekend, where he came on as a sub. And there's a sense now that they're going to use this international break that he's not part of the England squad to kind of... I don't want to use that cliché term, but I can't think of a better one. So apologies to use kind of a mini pre-season, to get him fully ready for it.

4:43And Xavi Alonso was asked the weekend, knowing what you know now, and given the condition he's in and so on, would you have played him last week? And Xavi Alonso said yes without saying yes. He says, well, that's really a question where the answer isn't of any value. So yes, I think he had decided that maybe he'd been a bit premature. For what it's worth, I think Bellingham's shoulder operation was kind of overdue and he had to do it, but they were trying to wait for a time to do it. So, of course, they waited until after the Club World Cup and he's really keen, obviously, to get back. And this was always going to be a slight risk for him.

5:17If Real Madrid got that structure right in his absence, you then have to find a place for him. Now, he's such a good player that you feel like they will find a place for him. But the derby was exactly that question was asked, was, hang on, was there too much urgency to find him a place in a team that was actually functioning? And they left out Mastantuana, who'd been playing really well. My question, the interesting thing about Real Madrid, or the i mean there are lots of interesting things about real madrid but last year we were sort of saying actually it's tony crowes is the guy that you can't replace and they haven't you know by the way they still have and so my question was like what are they doing there to be honest with you i feel like the answer is probably nothing um which is it which is a terrible answer they haven't signed anyone for that position and you know where every everybody was looking at phil be mendy thinking well there's there's the man there's the obvious answer to this question Alonso's structure has been to have Chomeni and Valverde in the middle, neither of whom are someone who will dictate a game, but both of whom will kind of underpin a midfield and allow others to play.

6:13So Chomeni from a more static position, Valverde from perhaps pushing the press on the other team, not allowing them out and having some of the energy. But as I say, I personally think this tighter structure means that his energy kind of doesn't get seen because he hasn't got the space to be running around in. They've been trying to develop Arda Goula as a slightly deeper midfielder. who kind of runs the game a little bit. And that's been, I would say, maybe a qualified success. It's not entirely right, and it's certainly not quite that Tony Cruz-style player. And I think there's a belief that Bellingham's not quite that player either.

6:47He does some of those things, but he's not a guy that kind of runs the tempo of a game and the speed of the game. And so they kind of don't really have it, but they've overcome that a little bit by being a little bit more compact and having the line of three in front, with Mastantano's playing well, Vinicius hasn't been playing brilliantly yet, but is Vinicius and at some point will. And so they've kind of looked for an alternative because there actually isn't someone to play that role. Worth saying in that game, Villarreal had a man sent off. Very surprised C-Rail Madrid benefit from a decision given the conspiracy against them.

7:22But yeah, it's Vinicius' massive dive pretending to get hit in the face. And it's a second yellow, so I guess VAR can't intervene. but that's provoked part of the debate um which is about you know the the way that the var rules are set up you you only intervene if it's direct red and of course the question being asked now and actually it was being asked a little bit anyway but being up but you know it's really focused people's minds the fact that it happened at the bernabelle is should they are also step in for yellow cards that that mean a red even if they in themselves a yellow because it was an absurd decision really said i am curious i i really really hope you have better things to do with your time than watch like real madrid tv all the time but i it always fascinates me when clubs are trying to sort of spin this conspiracy yarn and they get a very obvious mistake in their favor like how that is processed and how you kind of like you just pretend it didn't happen do you just kind of go like what you know what this this is one of the things that always that always strikes me about real madrid tv because obviously you can create a video and you can create a video and provide the analysis or the the images to support your thesis and that's not that difficult but as you say when it comes in a game and it happens well what happens is that that's what little i watch of real Madrid tv and i should point out that i basically don't watch any but what's what what Real Madrid tv have these unwitting or maybe not quite so unwitting allies in the mainstream media who pick up the Real Madrid tv videos and tell everyone what they're saying for all those people which is basically all of the people who aren't watching it and what they do is just ignore it or just say yeah that's a red card and carry on yeah i mean that sort of works in the world at the moment.

8:54As I was saying that, I was thinking, this sounds kind of familiar right now. Let's talk about Barcelona. Second after a surprise defeat to Sevilla, or at least it was a surprise to me, three of Sevilla's goals were, you know, Barca's high line somewhere in the opposition half. But like it was, you know, Lewandowski missed a penalty at 2-1, penalty given away by Adnan Janazai. Yes, me neither. But was that a surprise result? Yes, I mean, of course it was a surprise. although I mean it depends which way you want the analysis and and I've I've just been uh responding to people below the line on on my piece about Sevilla which is that you know I sometimes think well why does the analysis have to be about about Barcelona all the time you know how about here's a really good team who managed Barcelona perfectly but let's let's do the the Barcelona analysis which I think is really interesting when Barcelona got a draw at Ray Vallecano they got totally overrun and Joan Garcia the goalkeeper made four or five really good saves and after the game missy palathon who's um raiva icon is number 10 said that inigo martine if the coach had told us about the flick line and i just love the fact that it was called the flick line this is the meno sounds like something from alo alo alone exactly yeah this this is this is the plan to get through the front line and and and essentially what severe did was apply something similar people running from a little bit deeper going into the gap behind the fullbacks there's a lovely bit of footage um the players come off for the drinks break 30 minutes 33 minutes at the weekend and Mateo Salmeyda gets the players together Sevilla at this point are winning 1-0 and could already be 4-0 up and he says to them do not let them think and he says and he has got a yellow card and he's talking about the left back for for Barcelona and he says it's touch return go touch return go touch return go and then he says and I love this and not least because it sounds kind of sort of almost Dr.

10:45Evil, he says, liquidate this. Ah, good. You know, don't sit back. You've just got to keep on going at this lot. Now, they scored three minutes later, so I suppose that part of the plan was good. You're right, though, that the second half, Barcelona were better. Marcus Raskol scores a really lovely volley just before half-time. They get a penalty, which they miss, and they had chances, particularly Runei Bajli, who had a couple of good chances. But then Sevilla catch them twice at the end. But all of the goals are through that line. I'm going to defend Flick quite a bit here because all of last season it felt like we were obsessed by this high line and at the end of it you go well actually you know what they were brilliant and they did this high line brilliantly and so there's a bit of me that thinks yes we know there's a risk in the high line and I'm sure Flick knows it as well and we know that comes with uh as an environment in which occasionally when they get caught they'll get caught badly but when they get it right it's it's fantastically useful for them at the Bernabeu last in the first classico they They caught Madrid offside 12 times.

11:38Mbappe, eight times. And this is working perfectly. So I think part of what's happening now is it's not working as well. It's not just that they do, the fact of doing the high line, it's doing the high line really, really badly. I think the absence of Inigo Martinez, who was the one that led the line last year in the timing, is really important. He's gone to Saudi Arabia. I think they're not putting pressure on the passes the way that they did before. And yeah, the weekend, it looked absolutely awful. Sure. And I guess idiots like me can spot this as opposed to teams conceding other goals that's just slightly different or slightly more complicated.

12:11This is the other part of it. So the other part of it, there's been a lot of discussion about how well opponents have worked this out. Now, obviously, as you say, and I'm not pointing you now, Max, but any idiot can see it because it's such an obvious and identifiable characteristic of the way they play. But of course, there's a difference between seeing it and being able to play against it and working it out because, as I say, last year, loads of off-sides, their timing was brilliant I think what's happening is other teams are working out ways of getting the timing right at exactly the point at which Barcelona are getting the timing wrong I was just wondering Sid because it's it's like one of those weird things where you can easily think especially in the season read too much and just a few little numbers like this but when I was having a glance at the table this morning I did think to myself there's not a single team in Spain in the league anyway and that has conceded fewer goals than played games is that just the moment the league is having a little bit, but there's not really anyone who's defending that well or even trying to play in a more cautious way.

13:07Do you know what? That's not something I'd noticed. It feels like Real Madrid are maybe a little bit, not cautious, but organised and they're structured better. Villarreal are a team that I think are well structured and play largely on the break. I must admit, I hadn't realised they'd conceded that many. I think it probably is about the way teams are approaching it. Elche, I always feel like a very well structured and well organised and don't conceive many. But yeah, it probably is something about them not defending that brilliantly. Cavalier League. Stephen says, Dear Max and Barry, who isn't here.

13:40Can you please get Dr. Lowe on to talk about La Liga staging matches abroad? Does the good doctor think this is a turning point in football or simply a gimmick? Also, is this Barca pulling another lever out of thin air? You know, this goes for you as well, Nicky, isn't it? Because so Villarreal-Barcelona will be played in Miami, which will be Barca's home game. And then Milan have been permitted to play Como in Perth, in Australia. It'll be Barcelona's away game, but it will feel like a game, which is actually obviously part of the debate about this, whether this adulterates the competition, whether it depurifies it.

14:12Is that a real word? Depurifies? Anyway, whatever the word is. It is now. It is now, yeah. Did you see the UEFA ruling on this yesterday? Yeah, when I said it reiterated its clear opposition to domestic league matches being played outside their home country. However, given that the relevant FIFA regulatory framework currently under review is not clear and detailed enough, the UEFA Executive Committee has reluctantly taken the decision to approve on an exceptional basis the two requests referred to it. And I think UEFA's fear, reading the Cambridge piece, is that if they tried to, if they'd said no and there'd been a legal debate, it could have like opened the floodgates and this is UEFA's way of saying yes, but no, but yes.

14:47But I mean, I thought it was very, very striking the way it was expressed and you've just read it there, that idea of yes, but no. Well, first of all, if you're really opposed to it, you can say no, but as you you're absolutely right i was talking about talking to someone about this yesterday it's about the fear that actually they're not in on very good legal um they haven't got good legal support to be able to say no because then they'll find a legal challenge so they would rather effectively be working behind the scenes to get some of those legal what would you call it legal that legal framework in place and maybe even have a challenge on the law and allow this to happen and be ready to stop it next time but there was the other part of their their statement which said this doesn't set a precedent i thought well by definition it does surely the statement made me think that Shefferen either doesn't have children or is not heavily involved with raising them because it is this sort of thing of like yeah but just this once I'm completely against this but I will permit it now it's like no that does not work this is not you when you've opened the door to that you're done the one time I let the dog sleep on the bed and then that never stopped again after that yeah it's done yeah what's the reaction so so in Italy it's because the winter olympics is happening at the san siro is that right that's the the reasoning they're using I I mean, that's a good excuse, isn't it?

15:56Yeah. Yeah. I think it's reminding me a bit of the discussions around when the Super League talk was happening because I had a lot of British-based editors and producers at that time asking, oh, you know, the Italian fans as angry as English ones. Of course, we saw the Super League, there was a big response in England in terms of fan protest. And I do think there's a slightly different air about the way Italy responds to these things where it's not positive in lots of cases, but it's almost like this, air resignation about this sort of stuff happening. And I think it was voiced actually even by Max Allegri, who's the Milan manager, where he said, essentially, they tell us we have to go to Perth, we'll go to Perth.

16:37And he specifically used the word, unfortunately, this is the way that football is moving. So he's not saying, he's not being a good company guy and saying, I'm so happy to go to Perth and do this. He's going, yeah, it's a bit shit, but that's just how things are. And I think that's a very Italian view on this stuff. I did think it was interesting, Carolina Moraccia, who's a former player for the Italy women's team and who is now, I think, a member of European Parliament. I saw she was saying a point that hadn't been discussed so much, which was, she said, I think some of the people who are making this decision have never been to Perth in February because people like these players are going to be going from a Milanese winter, which is pretty cold, to nearly 40 degrees to play a football match.

17:25And people haven't thought that through. So I think there's going to be some stuff that continues to go with that. I think, of course, there's likely to be at least something from the ultras, but I expect it'll probably come more in the form of grumbling banners than the sort of hugely angry protest that we got with England in the Super League. And the reaction in Spain is, apart from the sort of fair, it'll be a Barca home game because unsurprisingly there are more Barca fans in Miami than Villarreal fans. But aside from that, is this a kind of panic here? This has been coming for such a long time that there's an inevitability about it as well.

18:02Exactly the kind of scenario that Nicky's explaining in Italy happened in Spain. In the Super League, no one really... There was a little bit of complaints about it, but it would never have been stopped by Spanish fans the way it was by English. Partly, of course, because the nature of Spanish football is different and the polarisation of it and the fact that it's dominated by Madrid and Barcelona who are the two partners in that Super League project. In fact there's been suggestions this week that Madrid might be about to about to be on their own in that but Barcelona are starting to to seek a bit of reconciliation with UEFA which I think is always what Barcelona wanted that the Super League would to use Laporta's favourite word be a lever which would gain them a little bit more traction with with UEFA and a bit more power there.

18:40There was something the other a week or so ago which really really struck me on there and this and the ceo of via real i can't remember i apologize this i can't remember the context of the question but his response was to say that it was about the the federation of supporters clubs had said something about it and he basically said well that lot you know generate 22 million a year or something everything in the old sorry 22 is it 22 000 220 000 anyway he gave some figure he said this lot generate this much a year and whereas going to the us is worth this much and our schools in the us and our academies in the us and all this stuff generates this much and he was essentially saying you can sod off you're irrelevant compared to us going to the to the us and the thing that was so striking wasn't so much the content of what he said because you know in a way we were all confronted with a reality which is an uncomfortable one which is where the money is generated is where the money is generated it was the it was the totally dismissive tone of his fans yeah you know and and those fans then became quite docile and backed down and said oh yeah all right then which i was really struck by um and it was as i say for me it was the tone of it then there's a whole debate here we could be here all day and i sort of don't want to be which is that i don't know about i'd like someone to explain to me in very simple terms because i'm quite a simple man with colors drawings if they possibly could maybe a pie chart and stuff how much difference this actually makes taking one game to the u.s in terms of the development of football in spain you know so for example you get the the ceo of via real saying look at what we generate with our soccer schools in the u.s and our academies and so on okay but you've already got those you going to the u.s for a home game against barcelona in which the stadium will be full of barcelona fans what's the tangible impact of this now i'm perfectly prepared for someone to be able to demonstrate to me what it really means but there's a bit of me that thinks in the grand scheme of things how much difference is this actually going to make and if that's the case then how many games have to go to make it worth it you know exactly and and i don't know what the answer is and i'd love to know for example the nfl figures how much difference it makes bringing games to europe you know what the actual tangible impact of that is and it might be huge but it's a bit of me that thinks is it really because the people who go are already supporting you yeah so yes you get that game but you get a one day of massive ticket sales but it's one does that actually make a difference i think just to jump in on that like because i used to cover the nfl um much more and like from the nfl's perspective it's it's specifically like they really feel like they're pretty close to tapping out as much as they can make for american fans right that's i mean obviously like there's always like new technology which might give you something else but they've got as many fans in america as they can get so if you want like like everything in uh in capitalism and you have to keep growing.

21:28Everything has to be bigger every year. And if you physically can't do that in the audience you've got anymore, it's the only other place to look. And I think there's some replication of that. Obviously, it's a bit different with European football because there's not just one country you're targeting to begin with. There's MLS. There's the A-League, right? And I don't know how the London Monarchs are doing, but really, you know, it's slightly different, even though if I was a, you know, the Cleveland Browns are playing the Vikings at Tottenham Stadium or Wembley, I forget which. You know, you don't get that many home games in American football.

21:55I'd be furious if I had a season ticket and one of them went away. But it is slightly different because there isn't like a competing sport on the ground that someone goes, well, I'll go and watch Barca Villarreal and I won't go and watch Inter Miami, perhaps a bad example of it. Or, you know, Perth Glory because I'll go to this game instead. And so that doesn't feel sort of, it doesn't, it certainly feels completely wrong to me. But maybe, you know, younger listeners. I mean, there are those kind of moral questions and what it feels like and whether it feels right. And to me, it doesn't. But as I say, in a way, I'm more kind of interested in sort of challenging the assumptions that this is even a good thing in terms of the business model, that this necessarily makes a really big difference.

22:36because ultimately what drives La Liga, for example, and the Premier League and everywhere else is the TV rights. So the fact that you take a game and play it in Miami, one, a season, does that actually impact upon that fundamental basic economic model? And as I say, I'm perfectly prepared for cleverer people, and there are a lot of them out there, to say to me, this is why, and this shows it, and this proves it, and this has an impact. The other thing that should be noted, I think, here, given the starting point of this, we were talking about the Super League and how England was different and so on.

23:06one of the things in this and what nicky was saying about italy you've sort of got to try something is that there is a conceptual belief which they don't want to admit which is the fear that the premier league just runs away with everything and the premier league becomes a de facto super league and so you've got to do something to try and counteract that um sid said he didn't want to be here all day but does he want to be here for the next half hour find out in just a second

23:37welcome to part two of the guardian football weekly hey sid hello uh let's do seriat um napoli top of seriat roma level on points with them everyone's played six uh milan two points behind on 13 then inter and juve fourth and fifth i suppose juve milan seemed like the biggest game of the weekend here nikki kristen pudicis ballooning a penalty over the bar lovely ball by Luka Modric in the build-up to that and Lloyd Kelly bringing down his man. How's Luka Modric doing? Because it was just nice to see him there setting up Liao for a lovely chance. You know, that cliche that the pace of the game will suit him.

24:12How's he getting on? He's doing really good. I mean, it's so fun to watch him, Max. And Sid knows this because he's been covering him for how many years. But getting to call it work when you're watching him play football is one of those things where you're like, oh, this is just great. I'm really enjoying this. He was absolutely magnificent. in the game against Napoli. A week ago, my sense of time is all wonky at the moment. I don't know which way I'm facing, but yeah, the last round, he absolutely outshone Kevin De Bruyne and I suppose that head-to-head between the two big, slightly older, or a lot older in Modric's case, the stars who arrived in Italy this summer.

24:48Yeah, I think the thing with Modric that shines out, obviously all the stuff about what he is as a technical player, the things he can do on the ball, that's um a joy to watch it's not new I think what stood out for me um in this first part of the season is how absolutely evidently he is not done competing I think you see in the way that he puts himself about the pitch you see in the way that he celebrates you see in the way that he like genuinely like is reacting to results as if they mean everything to him and and that's the thing which you just don't know with someone when they're at that point of their career is this just going to be a little farewell tour coming to Milan and getting to live in the city and have that experience.

25:30It very clearly isn't that at all for him. It very clearly is he's here to try to win something. And honestly, this Milan team might just, Max Allegri has come back with a fresh version of the old theme of Allegri ball. I mean, it's be tight at the back and trust your very good players to be very good going forwards. But when one of those players is Luka Modric, it really helps. I think he's moved to put Christian Pulisic closer to goal in that central role, is paying dividends right now. I know he missed that penalty, but he's a great start to the season. He looks really sharp there at the moment.

26:06And this team was getting results at the start of the season, even without Rafael Leal, who was injured. So when you put all that together, remember they're not in Europe, which of course, again, is maybe a good thing for Modric playing a little bit less even though I'm certain he wants to be back in the Champions League um it feels like a good recipe there at the moment and yeah Modric is Modric is brilliant and I actually think watching him right now you think yourself he's definitely going to be there next season playing in the Champions League again isn't he's going to be there so good I'm just on Max Allegri and and uh and this is self-indulgent and them going to Perth which I should have done in part one but I left my airpods in a plane Qantas plane in Perth and I can see them on find my you know on my app but you have to go and get them in person and they're at Terminal 4 in Perth.

26:51So just in case Max Allegri listens to this, when you do get there, could you go and pick them up and send them to me? Napoli are... Max, why do you think it's Max Allegri that has to pick them up and not Luka or Rafa Liao? Well, that's good, mate. Maybe I'll take any of them. Any of them. I mean, I don't mind which one. Yeah, if Liao wants to pick them up, totally fine. Given, you know, Christian Pulisic, maybe he does. Maybe that could be the rapprochement between the pod and Christian Pulisic. Napoli a top Rasmus Hojland getting another winner Lars I'll bring you in as a Nordic man it's so great to see him you know it was another proper sort of centre forwards goal that he scored yeah I mean I think I said it on the last part I was on I just think the key to health and life and happiness is to leave Man United to the point where I think it's worth trying to go to Man United so that you can leave it and get the post Man United bounce it's like a therapy isn't it yeah it's like a like a detoxification clinic you go there you do really horrible cold turkey yeah but you come out of it cleaner so i have a friend who went to this sort of detoxifying like fasting thing in thailand where you just don't eat anything for a very long time and you have constant like uh colonic irrigations and they try to get all the stuff out of your body and he was completely shocked by all the crap very literally that came out of him and he decided to never eat certain for that i think that's like what man united could become maybe this is what they could market themselves as like just come in and then when you leave you'll be very happy again uh no i think and also just like i'm being super flippant but i also think on a human level it's nice to see these guys having this much fun it's tremendous to see mctominay become like an actual superstar in one of the coolest like football cities around it's tremendous to see rasmus highland smiling again you know it's bringing joy to the world nikki it's a little bit tough with mctominay at the moment i mean first of just on your United point, like even just seeing him at the presentations in pre-season, like obviously he did win the Serie A MVP award last season, which is going to give you a bit more like confidence, a bit more swagger, isn't it?

28:54But honestly, like I'm looking at him in pictures, I'm looking at him on video and I'm thinking, is that even the same person? Like he suddenly looks like he's, he's had like a physical glow up. He looks like he looks different. Like it has changed him living there. It's really like striking. I think if you look at the, just as simple as looking at pictures of him when he arrives from United and what he looks like now. Maybe that's just the years or whatever else, but he looks like he's a whole different person. Having said that, McTominay hasn't had as great a start to the season. He hasn't been bad, but there is this now slightly weird dynamic in the structure of that team because you have got De Bruyne there and they kind of do their best work in the same space.

29:36And Conte has tried to accommodate that by shifting to this sort of 4-1-4-1 where you've got that, I guess, line of players just behind Hoyland who've all got licensed to get forward and get back. But because you've got De Bruyne and Anguissa as the two central pieces in that puzzle, McTominay's pushed out to the left, whereas before he was coming through the middle and attacking in the central space a lot more. and it has pushed him wider. It has changed the way he interacts with the team and he has been less impactful and it's very early this season so it's also really easy to overstate that and to read too much into it.

30:17So I think it's avoid doing that but I do think it's an interesting dynamic to watch and see how that continues to play out. Came from behind to win this game. Genoa's goal was set up brilliantly by an Englishman called Brooke Norton Cuffey who may be familiar to Lincoln, Rotherham, Coventry and Millwall fans. And so it's quite interesting when you see English players. I mean, I don't know how many there are. And, you know, lots more Scottish players going to Serie A. Yeah, the Scottish thing, I think, is at least a little bit of the thing that happens all the time in football, which is copycat stuff.

30:48One club sees another club, do something successfully, and thinks, oh, have we been missing that? But it was definitely a moment that came a bit out of COVID and lockdowns. And I think scouting, moving a bit more to by mandatarily moving to different methods and people relying on tape and video. And for whatever reasons, these things just led to different avenues being looked at. And there was this kind of collective realisation that Scotland was, had become a place where you could get players who weren't necessarily valued expensively as ones from just south of the border, perhaps, but who still might have had those experiences of playing some European football at young ages for clubs in Scotland.