Is this the start of a new look Premier League?

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0:58Musa Okwonga: Hello and welcome back to the Stadio Podcast. I'm Musa Kwonga. I'm Ryan Hun. Ryan, how are you doing? I'm doing all right. Thanks, Musa. How are you? I have had better weeks. No, nothing serious. I'm just, you know, croaking along towards the end of the summer. He's talking about Manchester United already. He's Manchester United croaking along already. Am I right? Am I right? Am I right? You're not wrong. You're not wrong. Sorry. Just trying to keep the vibes high. It's all right. It's all right. it's just one game it is it is just one game actually it is but you're doing alright you're doing alright I'm doing fine I'm doing fine I'm fine I'm fine better than I back four I'll tell you that much anyway well we hope everyone else is staying safe and well wherever you are and the Premier League is go so welcome if you are a new listener or someone who hasn't listened for for the summer and you're back for the Premier League season, welcome.

1:57If you're new to the show, we also have a Patreon that you can get every single show ad-free in full, including more shows, bonus episodes, and access to the Stadio Social Club Discord if you want to join the Stadio Social Club membership tier. You can go to patreon.com forward slash stadio if you want to sign up and get every single episode of Stadio ad-free and in full. Annual memberships get 15 % off. today we are going to talk about the premier league's return we are and how eye-catching it was actually yes yes and uh whether whether this is just first game back because we have talked in previous episode well we talked about it last week actually about how whether it's going to be difficult to predict because of varying fitness levels etc but there's a bigger thing going on this weekend so uh i reckon we will focus on that today and then at the end of the show what we're going going to do is just shout out some other stuff some other results that we want to shout out at the end but uh so yeah so i reckon we'll get into it let's do it quick question when was the last time a display ad changed your mind now think about the last time a friend told you about something they loved different feeling right that's how podcast advertising works a host who's built real trust with their audience talks about your brand in their own words in their own voice It doesn't interrupt the experience.

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3:43But there is only one place to begin. Musa Gwanga. Before we go there. Oh no. There is only one place to be in.

3:53Musa Okwonga: What happened in the Twitter Bundesliga?

3:58Keita has a guess.

4:02Musa Okwonga: Ooh. The poor cow. No, we're going to shout out friend of the show, Jackson Irvine, who got his first assist for new club. No way. Cherezo Osaka on Saturday in their 1-0 win over Shimizu S-Pulse. a lovely through ball instant hero left foot what a great start I think that's Jackson's first assist for his new club and yeah two wins out of three for them so far in the J League wonderful also shout out to the J League because very extensive highlights on their international YouTube page like 10 minute 12 minute respect a league that does a really good package a highlights package and they also this isn't an ad by the way but they they also show quite a lot of live games It's just free on their YouTube.

4:50Musa Okwonga: Oh, okay. Oh, fantastic. There you go. If you want to keep up to date with Jackson Irvine, see what he's doing at his new club. There you go. But no, we are going to the Premier League. So what was your main takeaway from the weekend in terms of vibe, Moussa? It is that if you don't turn up ready, you can get got. If you don't turn up ready, you can get got. And pretty much everyone got that work this weekend. And I think what to me was so encouraging after a whole season where set pieces dominated the discourse, that is not going to be the case this year. I just don't think it's going to be the case because the lid is off this league.

5:32Musa Okwonga: We said this maybe before that the teams at the top define what happens lower down, right? And because Arsenal only really look like from week one, the team that has got control, right? That has the ability to... No, no, no, no, no. It's early. I know, I know, I know. Let me land. Let me land. Land quick. I'm landing quick. This passage has got an emergency. Do you know I say this because do you know how we talk so much about how Leeds, Liverpool, the 4-3, was such an important result in the context of the season because it set the tone, right? We've had multiple Liverpool leads in week one. Multiple.

6:10Musa Okwonga: And what that really does, it gives the encouragement to teams to just go out of the teams. The number of goals where possession was, is it even gaking? It was hijacking. The number of possessions that got hijacked in the final third, right? Like throughout different games, the number of goals, the turnover. Teams are so good at turnover now, right? Because not everyone can be a set piece specialist. Not everyone can keep a game off the boil. So it's almost like, okay, we have to be disruptive as possible. and what I love to see what was very encouraging teams were encouragingly disrespectful especially even teams I mean throw in like let's say Newcastle as a reference Newcastle lost a lot of players and they came out with a young midfield and they absolutely tore at Liverpool so yeah my overall theme is that come out unprepared and you'll get it got and I think that could be a theme for this season well that's an interesting point because because watching the games this weekend, my main, I say, observation or just thought was just like how fit everyone looks.

7:18Like in terms of the athleticism of Premier League teams, and I know we've been talking about the physicality of Premier League teams for a while now, but it was actually just when you see it again for the first time in a while in its entirety over the course of a weekend, I was just like, whoa, everyone is so athletic. and I think it's interesting that probably the team who we can talk about Brighton Villa in a little bit because Brighton and Hove Albion by the way are top of the Premier League. They were flying. But that's a Villa side who, well that's just not under construction very much under construction.

7:57There's a lot of noise going on around obviously the Oli Watkins a mission from the squad and his Kinnfield a striker Yeah, and his desire to go to the Saudi Pro League. Yeah, yeah. But I thought it was Brentford Spurs was the key one for me because De Zerbe made a point afterwards of talking about naming individual players who weren't there fitness-wise, but who started the game or played in the game. And I found that really interesting because with some teams, for example, like Brentford, who already look, I mean, they look like they improved on last season so far. Oh my God, thank God. One game, it's a very small sample size, I know.

8:36So everything, just to clarify for anyone who might disagree with certain bigger picture stuff here, this is all based on one game. Very small sample size. We know how much can change. I was watching the Brentford Spurs game and thinking, and to my point, Spurs got away with it. It could have been more. Yes, yes. Brentford had a penalty off the post. They probably could have had another. And Spurs did look way off it. Admittedly, with a number of these new additions to come back into the squad, and the squad needs to get up to fitness.

9:07Musa Okwonga: But even with fitness, can I be honest as well? I don't want to sort of call players out, but there were a couple of players that got their pocket picked. Well, I'm like, that's not just fitness. That is not being ready for what Brentford unleashed in game one. There was also, I think, I mean, there's an element. I think Deserby is a little bit self-dealing there because I don't think he prepped his team for what was coming. They were caught in possession in certain areas where they shouldn't have been caught. And I think that's also on him. I think it's just like, look, There was some of this, you know what, teams were getting punished, teams were getting punished for playing out from the back.

9:40Musa Okwonga: Really getting punished. Really punished by Brighton. Villa got punished by Brighton, happened to Spurs as well. So there's a real thing about possession being contested in key areas. It's very exciting to see. But Brentford, just spectacular. And I mentioned, obviously, Sangare there as a signing they were all very excited about. And you see why he was absolutely instrumental. But it was like a complete demolition, right? It was, it was. 3.9 I know that there's let's do the non-penalty XG the non-penalty XG it was 3.09 to 0.57 do you remember how non-penalty XG fell off a cliff last year by like 25 % or whatever it was fell off a cliff well at a certain point a certain point OpenPlay XG yeah OpenPlay XG like fell off a cliff at a certain point I wonder if we're going to see well it's week one I know but it was encouraging to see so much happening in OpenPlay wasn't it?

10:34Yeah I mean I was just going to follow up on that because I think a lot of that was a cumulative from Brentford but that shows the level of kind of dominance they had so they had 26 shots 8 on target 39 touches in the opposition box compared to Spurs' 17 Goodness Spurs had 9 total shots 4 on target They had more of the ball Spurs but they just felt that Brentford had the quality position Because Brentford were well Brentford were 2-0 up just after half an hour 3-0 up just after the break and it was just They were combined so well they were combining really well but i think it's similar with with with brighton as well right for example brighton didn't have a while yeah go on go on no you go for it

11:14Musa Okwonga: brighton interesting this game right it wasn't like it was a brighton onslaught the brighton possession didn't feel like an onslaught so i mean didn't it didn't feel when i was watching it didn't feel relentless the first the first sight sort of half hour they had a lot of the ball Brighton but it was almost like we're going to hurt you when we want to like they weren't just pouring forward in the way I felt they weren't pouring forward they were working it around and they were like okay they found a pressure point and they looked at it from deep and they were like bang they were on them like the second half was even more ramped up weirdly because they didn't score they just had all the ball they looked brilliant Brighton they looked absolutely brilliant like every single weakness that Villa had it felt like Brighton just researched it it felt like they'd watched like 10 hours of like villa game film even though this villa team was quite makeshift and they just punished them in key areas they were just so so effective rutter there was one bit when rutter like comes back it's at 2-0 up and he tracks back and makes a challenge in the right back area and then like the comment at the german comms was like this guy celebrated like it was 3-0 like that's the level he had them absolutely hoetzler just had them absolutely like the pressing was demonic throughout um and villagers couldn't get a look they couldn't get a look in and so bryden had this mix of like high possession but also like patience it was just i thought was spectacular and again like villa will rightly say look we lost and i think i was mentioned in the chat they lost three champions level league champions league level starters this summer and they haven't yet incorporated the um integrated the replacements into the lineup.

12:51Musa Okwonga: That's all true. But this Brighton performance was so good that I still think they beat a strong Villa, like the way they've started this season. And they lost Danny Welbeck, Brighton. You know? But maybe this is something we're going to see this year where, and this is maybe a bit of a hot take, but I noticed, well, along with, I noticed, like it was a big revelation. Barcelona started without a striker. They started Rafinha up front. Right? And they looked spectacular. And the idea that you need a nine to prosper. No, you just need a really, really smart set of forwards and midfielders that can combine.

13:26I mean, Hinshelwood, for example, if you've got someone that can move into space like Hinshelwood, you don't need a conventional nine.

13:32Musa Okwonga: You just need people that can press across the front line, good midfield, and then do the work. I mean, I think especially with the way that the Premier League shifted, how good defences are and how good defensive organisation or defensive systems are in the Premier League. I think that's the thing that's probably a level above a lot of other leagues in Europe at the moment, which is why I think we had points last season. It was just like meatball central. But yeah, I agree with that. I think you have to find ways of quickly capitalising on destabilised defences, right? And actually it was a point I felt with the Havertz goal on Friday for Arsenal against Coventry.

14:17That felt like a move to me that takes a few more passes and a few seconds longer last season. And I think that was the most, out of that game in general, that was the thing to me that caught my eye the most was Solis wins the ball back. It goes to Calafuri. Calafuri just passed into Havertz. The defence is destabilised. Havertz one-touch finish. like first time finish that to me felt like last season maybe Arsenal go back and recirculate possession there or recycle possession there sorry and I think that that's going to be a lot of you know it's like fast break maybe the Premier League is going into the era of the fast break like we've had we've had like counter attacking has been prevalent in the Premier League for a long time but I wonder if you know it's like high turnovers and quick

15:02Musa Okwonga: this is something else because they hunted that goal it's interesting you mentioned that second goal because they hunt him in packs. One of them shakes the tree, the other one makes the pass. And then you look at the other, I mean, the mirror image of the, is it Brighton's opening goal against Villa? Yeah. When he just gets isolated and just closed down and bang, it's like almost. Yeah. Is that the Paltor is pass across, right? Yeah, the Paltor is pass across. This isn't new. It's just, it's just almost, it's where the pressure points are, right? Like, you know how we look at certain clubs being ahead of the curve.

15:36Musa Okwonga: And a lot of people scoffed when Anthony Gordon went to Barcelona. They were like, oh, don't get it, don't get it. And now... He was very, very good against Alcay. The man played for 25 minutes and got two assists. And the combination with his teammates is incredible. Beautiful moment where he lays across a Fermin Lopez, one of my favourite players, who turns to him immediately after he squares it and was just like, you're the guy. Like, that's the future. Teams hunting in packs, pressing high up. And the Gordon signing looks very quickly like a signing of the future. As in, a lot of people scoffed at it.

16:09Musa Okwonga: And it's very easy to say that now, because now he's looking great. But when that signing was made, it was mocked. But this is the model. And to your point again, just back to Arsenal very quickly, Solis looks absolutely... I mean, he's played these two games now and again, small sample size, two games since the season started, obviously pre-season too, and looks the absolute business. yeah I don't want to dwell too long on our server because I'm sure there'll be many you know at the end of the day it's Coventry at home and Coventry's I mean Coventry's first Premier League game in 25 years which you know it's really good to see them back great kit by the way can I just say actually on Coventry a quick shout out if you get a chance to check out a video by I think Adam Cleary the Independent about Coventry's tactics which I found absolutely amazing just about how they set up and it's brilliant analysis very quickly on Coventry for those checking out this year he said like all what Adam Cleary he said all the stats are mid.

17:06Musa Okwonga: Coventry are not actually that good at anything if you look at the stats, but it's because they're kind of good at a bit of everything. So their ability to shapeshift, I think, is a key element. And maybe actually that's something that we'll see more generally in the Premier League, teams that can shapeshift, teams that aren't just the low block team or the counter team or the whatever, because the ability to be flexible, I think, in such a chaotic league this year is going to be absolutely essential flexibility is a really interesting point right because when you were mentioning Barcelona there and you were talking about you know hunting impacts high up the pitch high turnovers blah blah blah I think it's over the last couple of years you've seen more teams in the Premier League specifically and brave teams who maybe don't have the resource the resources of Premier League teams around Europe who have kind have done that.

17:54One of the things that quite often happens around Europe is one year there will be a team who scout really well, massively overperform and create kind of lightning in a bottle for want of a less cliche term and they will play really aggressively, really front-footedly. To be honest, I think some of those Rai Vaicano teams have done that in the past or you could say Neumann again last season. Yes. great example of that where I mean I think that was a stylistic thing as well where just it was so kind of like whoa you know it was almost like Herbie Hancock getting a synthesizer I was going to say it was a bit like

18:38Musa Okwonga: Beatles Beatles revolver Beatles taking drugs only because I listened to that is it tomorrow never knows but the Beatles I listened to that on your recommendation actually I was listening to it extensively a couple of days ago and I absolutely see what you mean oh what tomorrow never knows yeah that song that song in particular on that record but also just more generally the end of that yeah it was like oh it was almost like Tomorrow Never Knows Why the Beatles I think was like the first time Marvel put a post credits thing in there oh my god do you know what I mean where you're like oh okay I don't know what's coming next but whatever's coming next is going to be it's not going to be like the love it and it wasn't but hey anyway plenty of time to talk about Beatles stuff over the next year I imagine based on the memes that are going around at the moment but um What was I talking about?

19:24I've forgotten that.

19:24Musa Okwonga: But in terms of teams coming along, every now and again, a team comes along and just breaks. Yeah. So my point is, is that, you know, we've been used to historically Premier League teams who come up maybe want to keep it tight and keep it safe and defended low blocks and maybe count, like catch teams on the counter and nick a set piece, et cetera. But if you're looking at the resources that have been flooded into the Premier League, especially over the last decade or so, and we talked about this at length last season, so I don't want to labour the point too much. But, But I find it quite interesting what the quote-unquote less fancy teams look like, whether their identities are super random or whether there's a player profile similarity or a stylistic similarity.

20:09And I wonder if that, you know, you're now building on a couple of cycles of investment and transfer business from, to use, you know, the thing that you talk about the most, like the Premier League middle class, where you're starting to potentially see, like there are stylistic elements of, like in the Brighton game or the Bremford game, that you would only see the big teams.

20:40maybe a decade and a half ago.

20:42Musa Okwonga: Yes, yes, yes. You know, yes, the Gagan pressing. Teams who may finish 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th playing in a way that you may have only seen like top four teams play a year ago. Yeah, totally, totally. A year ago? Sorry, a decade ago. I think that's a mix of a lot of things. It's the coaching influence. It's a lot of number crunching. It's a lot of emulation and success. And also it's just the astonishing depth of the division, right? the depth of that division is ridiculous you look at Brighton now right Vuscovic coming in from highest foul and looked brilliant I know again coming in from Spurs via highest foul Spurs via highest foul but looking brilliant and then you've got Ayari as well in midfield who did some pretty exciting things during the World Cup like the floor is so so high the technical level now especially like in the hands of like someone like Hutzler like an innovative coach it allows a coach with a bit of confidence in themselves.

21:40Musa Okwonga: Kind of like, I mean, Hürzler's kind of, he feels a bit like Tuchel at Mainz or something where you're like, you're not expected to come above a certain amount in the table or not, not quite Klopp at Mainz but Tuchel at Mainz where, you know, similarly quite prickly. You're not expected to finish that much higher in the table than where you're going but your floor, the floor's quite high and big teams are afraid of playing you. Right? Like this kind of, the fitness is one of the things you mentioned the fitness fitness is I think a key way in which teams with fewer resources go actually we can hurt bigger teams because they're going to have more crowded schedules than we are we catch them on a bad night we catch them three days after Champions League fixture we could probably turn them over you know what I mean so definitely number one is fitness that closes the gap number two is tactics third of all I mean technique and the technique of these teams now I mean the quality of the centre-back centre-backs, a Premier League centre, I don't want to be disrespectful to future generations, so I won't be, but it's almost like the things that the average Premier League centre-back can do now, passing, dribbling and defending, because there's a lot of criticism of Premier League defending, actually a lot of these people are being asked to cover much more space than their predecessors.

22:57Musa Okwonga: And the attackers are also more dynamic and unpredictable. I mean, if you look at, again, Barcelona, who are kind of like the market leader in attacking movement, the type of positions those Barcelona forwards were taking up against Elche who are a very good side right a very good team Elche bless them who've been playing football the last you know couple of seasons really coming out and playing they got punished and if there's one thing if there's one setback that's going to happen as a result of this opening season open day of the season is that teams might look at let's say what happened to Leeds against Arsenal last year and what happened to Coventry this year and frankly what happened to Villa and go actually maybe we tighten it up.

23:36Musa Okwonga: That's the one thing that you could say that might happen in terms of teams are really going for it this year and if we open it up we're going to get absolutely hammered. That's interesting yeah because I feel like there's maybe some teams or some of the approaches has been if you look at the two teams who really got cooked this weekend in terms of like shock results it was Spurs and Villa right? Yeah. And those are two of the least stable teams currently based on fitness availability and potential internal chemistry just chemistry Spurs have got more people coming in by the looks of it it's going to be Savino and Bamouche but that brings a different level of pressure with Spurs because you know you've already got you know you don't want to you don't want to come out of the first weekend of the season with a meme and you have that fan holding the arms like hold his arms out kind of being like what the hell the problem is because Spurs have had such a like wildly extravagant window De Zerbe's not going to get a huge amount of time to get that clicking you know patience will wear very very thin very quickly so he's got to be careful really and I think this is the thing with weekends like this where yeah it's the first game of the season and you're not going to draw conclusions for the whole season in terms of specific where clubs will finish sure whether clubs will be good or bad or not.

25:04But there was just a vibe this weekend which felt very much like every point is so crucial now. It's like, do you know what, the Premier League has essentially turned into when, was it Le Boo Boo's when they dropped and people were queuing around the block for them? Is that what it was? Do you know what I mean? It's basically like the Premier League points are like surprise drops now where you do not know how valuable this is going to be or the value, the value of this may be almost like spiritually threefold in six months time so we have to capitalize on this right now because if you're three games into the season and you're struggling to get out of speed and you're already six to nine points off where you want to be that's actually really difficult to make up on the season it really is

25:56Musa Okwonga: I have a thought about this this is something to throw out there this is a hot take on that point about points being dropped I may all be wrong, but I wonder if City missed the trick by selling both Savino and Mahmoud this year. I just wonder because this could be a firepower league. This could be a league where actually the weight of goals, a circulation of attackers, a good stable of attackers is a thing. And I just wonder if that, like having talented game breakers who can beat players off the dribble, Mahmoud and Savino can both do that. I think those are great gets for Spurs actually if they bed in properly I think it's a great move for them I just wonder if they've shifted a couple of very good attackers at a time when the league is trending in a different direction I wonder but you know who knows Let's segue on to City because how do you feel like they looked because we've already got Mark Gay in midfield Yeah you know what's interesting about that He was actually alright He was great you know what it is great going forward we know how well he moves forward and he passed really well The only thing I think you could tell that he's learning the job because there's a few times where he's in spaces where he wasn't, he was parallel to people that had possession and there was a man between him and the passer.

27:09Musa Okwonga: And this is when he realized just how good Rodri is because Rodri is so good at finding the diagonals in space and just jogging spaces. So once Gaye, I think works out, he's done plenty of the ball, but I think there's another like, I mean, he had like 70 passes, whatever, but there's like another 15 passes that I think that Rodri gets because Rodri is just standing in a better diagonal and a better angle that was it but in terms of like what he did going forward i thought was very very good actually um uh and i think unfortunately i think for bournemouth they were a little bit too obliging i'm not saying they should have won this game but they probably should have escaped with a point from this um they were good though they were good they were this is the this is the frustration for encouraged by it yeah i was how many people they got out as well i was encouraged by it i just think that once you're at a place where you're a goal up could have had a second.

27:58Musa Okwonga: I mean, you know, it was a half chance. But once you're a goal up, you're in a position to get a second. I think at that point, you're like, you know what, we'd be disappointed with less than a point from this. But yeah, a good start. And actually, and Rosa looks the part. And to his credit, to their credit, they've kind of picked up in terms of style where they left off last year. It's quite funny that Bournemouth go back to back though with City, isn't it? It's quite funny that actually... They go to Toto. Yeah, yeah. they do they just have that like ability to really they're a funny side Bournemouth right because they feel like they're gonna be fun this year they always feel like a difficult place to go and they always feel like a team you don't really want to play even if even if like what and then and then for example you might look at the table one year and they're like 13th you're like well why does everyone why is that a nervous fixture and it's because when they when they ramp it up they can really really ramp it up interesting I think slash alarming at the ease of the Tavernier goal.

28:58Yeah.

28:58Musa Okwonga: I will say this, the speed that City got turned around in midfield was just alarming. But it was like we were saying before, right? That kind of like, that speed of like, almost like fast break, not necessarily counterattacking, but fast break points. That feels like... I don't want to be too critical. I thought Gay did a lot of very good things, but I think Gay and Anderson... Both very good players as a combination. I'm not totally convinced by it. But then again, it was also strange like having, I thought Nick O 'Reilly as a 10 was strange. I know that he plays there or has played there, you know, for a large part of his career.

29:37Musa Okwonga: I'm not saying, I'm not disputing that. I'm just not sure that that is his best position in this City team. I think actually as a DM, he's better. Or, you know, as a left wing, I know that people have Gradio there and Kusunov has done so well in recent months that I can see why he's a standard centre-back. But I just don't believe for a second that this is the... I don't believe for a second that this is the starting 11 halfway through the season. I don't think it is. I don't think it should be. I think that Cherky looked really, really good when he came on. And I could imagine him as a 10, actually.

30:11Musa Okwonga: The way that he combines with Haaland. And we talked a lot about these quick turnovers. There was a time when Foden and Haaland had that best relationship. But Cherky releases Haaland at light speed and that's going to be valuable this year. it's going to be valuable so yeah I think lots of tactical changes to come for City looks like they just picked up Buadi yes because a lot let's not ask too much of him I mean he's 18 so I'm a bit concerned about some of the conversation about oh how he's just going to slot in for Rodri like you know come on like even Rodri wasn't Rodri for the first couple of years so let's you know call those Jets I hope Anderson's okay because he got a bit of a knock but City what can we say got away with this one good win for them I think they did a bit yeah they did they did didn't they they did but we said last week after the Community Shield that Maresca has to be careful because that losing any momentum is yeah is going to feel three times more dramatic than it probably is in reality and so I think this was just a good one just to be like alright got away with that one I think so yeah no harm done let's keep working etc etc shall we shout out the newly promoted teams because we talked about Coventry and I think that you know tough ass for them on Friday night against Arsenal Arsenal were very very good as we mentioned I don't think I don't think commentary were particularly bad they had a chance at the end as well and they had another chance where they could have scored one or definitely won they weren't bad Arsenal just flew out the tracks Arsenal just looked very good they've looked weirdly kind of for a side that's had so many people go very very deep into the World Cup they look really fresh yeah Hull beating Manchester United Ipswich beating Sunderland Ipswich yeah Hull were good a couple of set pieces Hull you know trying to keep the set piece Premier League tradition alive although they will say in fairness to Hull as well they did quite a bit from open play too they threatened twice before the set piece goal from open play and also McBurney just hunting United's midfield obviously they got the memo about Andre Santos and his ability to play through lines and Tielemans but this is the thing United they really have picked their poison and you can see why they bought Carlos Beléber because those two players Thielman and Santos pass through the lines really well but they don't dribble through the lines particularly well so then what that means is you have to hunt them from deep and that's exactly what Hull did and having a ball carrier like a Kobe Mayan who's someone that can actually like go through gaps that's a player to send running at them and I wonder if we get more of that I wonder if we get more of the kind of Moussa Dembele centre mid picking up possession and just give and go with offloads.

32:50Musa Okwonga: Like I can imagine a situation where you have, let's say, you know, when Busquets does the offload to Messi for his goal, gets Madrid, where you have like a midfielder basically holding it up, a player arriving at speed and then just running at the centre-backs like with good, you know, with good slight of foot. I think that's going to be a future because that's the only thing I could see actually breaking whole down. A player prepared to run at the centre-backs and, you know, Rashford didn't get the tactical shout to do it. And Hull, they managed United so, so well. They were excellent. Yeah, they did.

33:25They looked very solid. Yeah, yeah. And for Ripswich, last minute winner against Sunderland. What a great opening game that was for them.

33:36Musa Okwonga: They looked good as well, actually. You know, I love that for them because Sunderland like really went at them. Sunderland tried to put them in the weight room. Brobby in particular. Yeah, yeah. Again, outstanding up front. so Sunderland really like came out of the traps and this wasn't like a kind of this wasn't a case of opening day victory where your opponents turn up and aren't up for it like Sunderland gave them the full the full flavour and they withstood it it's a really encouraging not just the result in terms of the points but also the manner of victory great goal as well to win it Shout out for the free kick though from Mangulo absolute banger The sound of that was amazing the bar hitting the turf and then bouncing back up again is and that was his first gift as well yeah yeah another interesting thing about the weekend only one draw we're recording this ahead of Chelsea was it Fulham Chelsea or Chelsea Fulham one draw Fulham Chelsea tonight so maybe that'll end in a draw who knows but I felt one draw on the weekend is interesting it is because it's indicative of teams like going for it it's indicative of like teams wanting to be decisive I love that actually when's the last time we had I'm sure the stats people will know this but when's the last time we just had one draw in the opening?

34:50I don't know but it just felt like it was just to see so many teams be so definitive you know I think it was six clean sheets of the out of the eight fixtures as well

35:02Musa Okwonga: Something felt quite pointed about this weekend you know sometimes weekends have a feel have a theme to them yeah we talked about Newcastle Liverpool just want to shout out quickly because it was a great Kevin Keegan the Kevin Keegan derby that was so good and it was a really good game as well I think for that can I say actually like how iconic you're a legend at two clubs you're a legend at Liverpool I think he's a legend at a few to be honest yeah yeah I think he's a legend at City for the managerial point of view Southampton as well for when he went there let's be honest Hamburg Herzl let's be honest yeah bangers everywhere there was a late late penalty here for Sobber Sly I thought it was soft but a pen Exactly.

35:45Musa Okwonga: Isak wanted no parts of it, which was actually quite smart, I think. Oh, yeah. He did not have a good game. He did not have a good game. I thought, funnily enough, the booing was actually quite, it sounds strange to say it because it was throughout, but in the context of the, I think the Keegan tribute made the booing more pantomime villain than nasty. Does that make sense? It didn't feel like, it didn't have the nastiness that I think it would have had if it had not been the Keegan tribute, because I think that somehow softened the mood and the energy and the vibe. I thought Newcastle in midfield were superb.

36:21Musa Okwonga: The new guy from Ajax is Stur. Oh, Sean Stoyer. What a player. Absolutely superb. Ilanga didn't get any goals in the league last year for Newcastle, which is wild. Yeah, considering how good he was in this game. Such a strange wrinkle. So strange, so strange. That is strange. Yeah, yeah. But he was superb. Wisser was great. There's something about this. I think, do you know how Wisser had a lot of pressure last year? Like, as the nine. Yeah, did he come in injured as well? I think it's also, I think being the nine for Newcastle too. But playing in this withdrawn role where you're a creator, he absolutely thrived.

36:57Musa Okwonga: He looked fantastic. Osula looked really good too. Totally had to go off with the injury. I was really, really impressed by Newcastle and that's very heartening for them considering, you know, all their departures. I mean, they probably had the worst departures of any Premier League team just given how important those players were to them. Yeah, I'd say probably them and Villa. Yeah, them and Villa. It's pretty much neck and neck. And obviously with the Isak loss too. I, look, it's only the first game of the season. I just hope he gets his rhythm back. And it'll take a while with the injuries and everything else in the last 12 months.

37:32Musa Okwonga: But it's going to be a few months before he gets up to it. I will say the concerning thing for Liverpool and again, very early days that attack is going to need some work for the chemistry I think the thing about the Liverpool that I was thinking watching this game was if they a couple of injuries and I they look very thin I could see it being very very wobbly you know and they look very very thin like they don't look like they again it's only the first game but they don't look like a team that's going to make easy work and also going to St James' Park in the first game of the season is like no one wants that no they don't they don't I mean at the same time this should have been 3-1 Newcastle should have put this out of sight yeah yes yes but I do think that Liverpool I think Liverpool did more than enough to actually win the game as well I don't think the Liverpool performance was bad I think Liverpool were actually really good and I think a draw was pretty fair.

38:44Musa Okwonga: I don't think they weren't bad and also they got opened up with a slightly concerning regularity quite early days. I think there's something else about Newcastle about Liverpool which is that there's a disjointed nature to the wide areas actually whether they come in field quite a lot it's not their shot shy it's just I'm not seeing the attacking combinations that make a team truly elite just yet again look early days for Iola and he's a fantastic coach it's just I mean you look at the way they got turned over for the first goal right like they're making a good attack and then bang they're like absolutely wiped out lots to think about for them lots to ponder but again it's a good point St.

39:33Musa Okwonga: James's Park and a point at St. James' Park has been a good result for the last, what, 50 years? It's never not a good result. It's never not a good result. Yeah, yeah. Oh no, we got a point in Newcastle. No one's ever said that's a bad result. No one's ever said that. Good time to get out of the way actually as well. Oh, yeah, because they did this early on last season. Remember, it was the Rio Ingramoa late goal as well. Just need to get that fixture out of the way, especially with the EZAC stuff that's laced it as well. You just... No, totally. I think games like that early on in the season if you can get them out the way and not lose the game it's just yeah because you don't want to like for example as an Arsenal fan I've been conditioned over the last few years to look through the fixture list of when the City away game the Man City away game is so I'm like if it's in the last month of the season there are fixtures like that Newcastle is another one where you just you would like to get that out of the way early in the season away but yeah man a couple of other Premier League shouts before we move on from the Premier League Everton with a good win over Palace 2-0 yes you know what it's just quite nice to see the Prime Minister of the UK being at another football ground

40:48the Prime Minister of the UK watching football matches is your problem now Toffees but Andy Burnham looked very happy indeed as he should with that win great win and do you know who else looked really happy Daniel Farker with a clean sheet and a great free kick from Anton Stack to give his Leeds United a 1-0 win at Forrest in the first game of the season which is a great great start for Leeds yeah with a way at Forrest gotta love that so there you go Premier League is go Brighton and Hove Albion are currently top of the Premier League followed by Arsenal followed by Brentford followed by Everton followed by Hull City followed by Ipswich Town that's your top six some people are saying stop the count

41:35Musa Okwonga: stop the count there is so obviously a£100 million transfer in Hinchelwood's future isn't there there is though isn't there I think he's going to Man City I don't know but I just think it's just going to happen isn't it stop it leave him alone no but credit to Brighton you know what is just like starting like that obviously lost Van Hecker and obviously mentioned Werbeck over the summer so to come out like that is such a lovely start for them but yeah it's a Premier League all go and I'm hyped for it. I'm really hyped for it. Here's a tip for you. There's a podcast out there with fans waiting to be your next customer.

42:11Musa Okwonga: They tune in every week. They trust the host. And that host wants to talk about brands like yours in their own words to their audience. The problem is you just haven't been introduced yet. We're Acast, where that introduction happens. As the world's largest podcast marketplace, We let you browse shows, see who's listening, and book host-read sponsorships or run your own ads all from one platform. Transparent pricing, real-time data, complete control. Start advertising on podcasts by visiting acast.com slash advertise.

42:48Do you know what else we're hyped about? The return of the Bundesliga next week. We got a bit of a glimpse into it this weekend because it was the Franz Beckenbauer Super Cup on the weekend. Borussia Dortmund against FC Bayern at the Westfalen Stadion. And do you know what? It was a good game. It was a good game.

43:07Musa Okwonga: It was a good game. Not the most surprising. Great outcome. Great goal for Brown to open it. And Elisa scoring what proved to be the decisive strike. Bayern ran out 2-1 winners. Michael Elisa with a real point to prove, I think. Yeah. I mean, like the promo, just, he said this thing last year and my godson sent me this thing about, oh yeah, like they asked Michael Elisa what he wanted and he said, Laminia Miles PR. Whoa. And I thought it was a joke. Whoa.

43:44Musa Okwonga: And, um. Wow. You know, a player that like feels maybe sometimes underappreciated. I definitely got his props during the World Cup. And I think now, combined with his work for Bayern as well, he is lucky as a global superstar at this point. And even his goal, I mean, like just the aura, actually. Aura is a, you know, it's a off to his word and it's lazy to compare him to Iron Robin, but I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it because I think that he is the same level of game breaker. He can play as a 10, he can play as a wide forward he can play as a winger and has just has all the minerals and it's going to be so important this year particularly with Jamal Musiala still struggling with injury neurological discomfort so yeah very fitting that Michael Alisa was the star player for Bayern and yeah going to be an interesting season it's hard to look past them for the league isn't it realistically that's a hot take yes yes you know with the hot takes actually should we just jump across very quickly to the Liga before you do can I just shout Nathaniel Brown in the 10 yes is this is this what we're doing now we're just putting left backs at number 10 is that actually the real theme of the season company defenders union I mean Calafuri is basically a 10 it's going to be extremely interesting to see like how he's being used Calafiore this year yeah yeah like overloading attacks yeah no no but I'm loving this I'm loving these overloads that we're getting of defenders like really popping high up obviously you know Gay in an advanced position and that just speaks again to the technical level of these players now and what they're expected to do what they're capable of doing so yeah just quickly though on a shout for Dortmund because they've had quite a fun transfer window and I think that coming back into the game their second half performance was actually really quite good and Fabio Silva getting a goal back which set up a real blockbuster finish and we've got a Rami Benzabine red card as well just to top it all off so we've got the kind of full Dortmund Bayern showdown the only thing we didn't get was a Harry Kane hat trick you know but Bundesliga is back next week and we are very hyped about that Dortmund host has foul in the opening game of the season for them Bayern get the season up and running with a game at home against Stuttgart on Friday night I mean Schalke are back as well which is very very fun probably the game of the weekend though got Union hosting Eintracht on Saturday afternoon which I think is going to be a big one and also Leverkusen go to Elversburg who have just come up so that's going to be fun so yeah the Bundesliga is back next week and we are very hyped about that indeed.

46:45Musa Okwonga: I do remember the Union Eintracht game last season and I'm not going to name and shame but a couple of you Eintracht boys, you got there very, very early. You're drinking very early on match day. I was catching the train back that morning. There was a bunch of them that got on at Wolfsburg and they were absolutely, yeah. They were going at it. But yeah, you wanted to go to La Liga so let's shout out La Liga. Jose's returned. Yes. What did we think about this? a reminder by the way if you are if you are a Patreon member you know this already but if you're not we're going to be talking about the Guardiola and Mourinho documentaries on Thursday's episode so if you want to listen to those and you haven't signed up go to patreon.com forward to study I hope they're doing a behind the scenes one this year because my gut feeling is it ain't going to be chill Not one bit I think look Jude Bellingham it's not a hot take it's going to end up with more than the nine goals he scored last season playing as Mourinho's 10 looked excellent again got through a wild amount of work as he always does his defensive stats are always just as impressive as his attacking stats so he's brilliant Mbappe getting the work done up front he was impressive but Espy seen the headlines signed from Levante 21 year old striker and look they got rid of Gonzalo Garcia and they don't have they lost Rossello a couple of years ago but this guy could be a similar poacher for them that they're really going to need.

48:14Musa Okwonga: And I think you're going to get a few victories like this for Madrid this season where the play isn't necessarily the most cohesive, coherent, the attacking, but they grind it out. But then again, look, it's a win at Espanyol and that's never an easy thing to come by, particularly the first game. I actually, when I saw this fixture, to be honest, and I think you felt the same, we thought it could be quite a tough proposition for Real. It was. It was a good victory for them. yeah it was tough for him as well they didn't have it all their own way no I think Espanyol felt like they were pretty good value for the 1-1 I thought so yeah I mean they love Ardegula don't they Chabbi Alonso and Mourinho they really love Ardegula it's just quite yeah I mean I'm intrigued just to see what happens with who gets the nod when the season settles down a little bit because remember So, Mastantuono was starting a lot last season early on.

49:12Musa Okwonga: He was, but Dumfries, he was asked to do things that, I think Dumfries there, if you saw how high up he was pushing, he allows Goulet to basically be a centre. Yeah, it's just another more central. An inside right, yeah, yeah. And I'm intrigued to see what happens centre midfield-wise against teams that are going to really push Real Madrid. Yeah, yeah. Because I'm not entirely sure that Bernardo Silva and Valverde is the I think Vavardy likes to jump out a bit too much I think he's too dynamic to be contained by a double pivot Yeah I'm not sure that's going to work all the time I don't think a double pivot will keep I don't think he's happy in a double pivot I think he'll jump out Yeah they need I think they need someone just in the base who's just I mean they basically tried to buy they tried to buy City's midfield didn't they?

50:01Yeah I think they need another unless they're going to just play Kamavinga or Jumeni But neither of those players are metronomic but they can be I think Kamavinga is more Kamavinga could be more of a he's out of practice he is he's good he's good I don't think Mourinho if we know one thing from Mourinho he's not really kind of like hey let's try this new thing for you young player who he's missed

50:25Musa Okwonga: two years of development as a midfielder as a centre mid that's my one concern anything else from this game you wanted to talk about or do you want to no no nothing else I just wanted to quickly jump across I know I mentioned Barcelona Elche or Elgin nils Barcelona 5. Oh my goodness. They're really good, man. That is a... They brought on Pedri at half-time. Gavi with an injury, going off with an injury. That's not good. That's the only sort of blemish on this, which is quite a big one still. But Marc Bernal starting in midfield and just Barcelona.

51:00Musa Okwonga: They, they... That attack when it's flying, I mean, the way they open teams up and now because they have so many options, Luminium Isle can afford to have a fairly quiet night and they're still devastating it's they're going to put in a lot of thrilling performances this season that's for sure I agree did you see Atleti Villarreal I did not catch this game no no late equaliser for Atleti and also an incredible Robin Lenormand red card Villarreal were actually quite good they They had two penalties. The second penalty was for an actual push as someone was taking a shot. A proper shove, which sometimes they don't get given.

51:47And I think it was the correct decision toward the penalty. And also it was the correct decision to send him off really because he didn't make a genuine attempt on the ball. He just shoved the guy over. It was amazing. He kind of lost his mind. And we didn't even get one full game into the season before we saw Diego Simeone doing the kind of arm waving. No, no, it's a disgrace sign. It's just, no, no, no way. No, no, it's a disgrace. So we got that.

52:18Musa Okwonga: In better news, in better news for Diego Simeone, Sid Lowe pointed out a slight costume change. All black suit, but the trousers are slightly more flared for Diego Simeone. Flared? Yeah, he noted that the trousers, there's a bit more of a flare to the trousers. Early signs are that Simeone is branching out. Sartori he's chilling out a bit what can we infer from that a couple of other shouts before we go do you want to shout out Milan oh yes good win for them over Torino Rabiot scoring for his third straight game against Torino it's so funny how like some teams just have like boogie men yeah yeah good start for them and Inter they looked really impressive in their first game against Monza 4-1 they were just flying Chalanoly with a banger to open it up they pick up Curtis Jones too I really like Curtis Jones that's a great signing weren't we talking for absolutely ages about how that midfield three with Mkhitaryan aging out they need another player in there in that rotation who could just come in and set the tone and like I think he's perfect for it he can play anywhere in those three positions and there's a lot of talk about Jones they were saying a lot of Liverpool fans he doesn't move the ball on quickly enough I just I'm really sad that a young Curtis Jones didn't get to work with Iriola actually I think that the criticisms of his game I think Arna Schlott Schlott liked a slow build up I think in a team where he'd be expected to do more of a kind of Alex Scott role I think he could do it I just don't think he got the chance and I think he'll be really really good at Inter So yeah, they're going to be really strong again this year in Europe, I think.

54:04Musa Okwonga: Not the hottest take. And also, look out for Esposito because he was... He was monstrous. It doesn't take much to look out for him because he's absolutely huge. He's absolutely huge. Venezia lost their opening game back in Serie A. They lost 2-0 to Lecce. Shouts to Kevin De Bruyne who opened the scoring late for Napoli in their 2-0 win. I've got to say, on Kevin De Bruyne, I didn't you know seeing just how heartbroken he was to leave City and how much he wanted the renewal God that's like yeah yeah right Liga quickly yes got points for PSG in the opening game of the season Ferran getting the love Ferran Torres getting the love Ferran Torres coming off the bench and scoring a brace yeah after they after Rengar tunnel up Simansky with a banger to open things up that I really my thoughts on Ferran Torres are well known I think he's a phenomenal player and yeah, I mean, you know, the World Cup winner and coming in with a bang.

55:03Do you want to know what the four PSG substitutions were before Boraldo came on for Fertinho? Oof, no I don't.

55:11Musa Okwonga: I don't. On comes, so off goes Usman Dembele, Krija Krooroskelia, João Neves, or João Neves, and Warren Saier Emery. And they bring on Ferran Torres, Mika Godz, the new signing Fabian Ruiz and Magnus Acrios Ridiculous Ridiculous Ridiculous That's wild Yeah the guy the guy from Ajax has gone there hasn't he obviously Yeah Mika Godz Godz gift Godz gift This is a frightening attack They've got every good wide forward in Europe Again look it's only the first game but Rennes a lot was expected in this year Gave a great account themselves. Obviously, PSG's depth is infinite, so you still expect them to win this title.

56:00Musa Okwonga: But whoever's up against them, very best of luck. But Wren showing how it's done. They look sluggish as well, to be honest. This is also the other thing they said. David Gardner Did they see this last year? David Gardner I'm sure they did this last year. And they lost in the trophy. Paul Jay It's because they have the confidence they can just rotate like ridiculous amounts. They also have this other interesting wrinkle. PSG had six players capped in their team last year. Which I think also speaks to just how much they rotate. But Marseille top after their 4-0 win over Strasbourg. Liga is back.

56:32Is there anything else you want to shout out this week?

56:34Musa Okwonga: Any other shout outs? No, that's it for now actually. That's it. I'm good for now. We are now fully back. So we are back to the regular scheduled programming for Stadio every Monday. You'll hear an episode. if you listen to us on the free feed you get this every monday obviously if you're a patreon member you know the drill two episodes a week minimum ad free in full um but yeah man any other anything that stood out this weekend for you that made you reconsider anything that you went into the season thinking no to be honest really yeah no really not really not like i know i was talking a lot last year about how I really felt this set piece era was temporary and we would see a surge of really exciting attacking football because people would just come in so determined to find ways to break teams down and find ways to hunt down defences playing out.

57:35Musa Okwonga: Again, just really impressed by the football teams played when they came up and if the team struggle that came up it's really not going to be due to quality it'll just be a lack of squad depth and the ability to rotate in a league that is so intense and so physical. I think if anything, pleasantly surprised by how quickly the quality has been apparent. I would say that, you know, like when the world cup started off and like all the goal scorers were scoring. Yeah. I feel, I feel, I feel like I wonder if we get, I wonder if we get like a bit, a big, a big goal scorer this year, like golden boot wise.

58:10Musa Okwonga: I don't know, but I'm interested to see how it plays out. Yeah. I mean, premier league wise, I didn't watch every game in full. obviously this weekend but didn't feel like it felt like it felt like it kind of like exploded into life a bit it did didn't it yeah yeah the flow of games I caught the back to back I caught the City Bournemouth and then the Newcastle Liverpool just to get a sense of the flow of how things were and it felt like they were kind of the pattern I mean City Bournemouth is always quite entertaining don't get me wrong and you know you can argue Newcastle Liverpool too but in terms of just how these games flowed and Brighton as well like between them all it felt like there was a common theme it felt like teams were just it felt like you know like year you know like year two of the Champions League group stages when everyone was like you have to get off to a good start otherwise you'll get swamped like you have to stack points early yeah I think I think that's that's what's going on there you know stack early in the season because when the fatigue kicks in you want to have a lead you want to be safe by you want to be safe by like March by the end of March yeah I think teams are looking at the back of the World Cup as well.

59:18I think this is going on all around Europe looking on the back of the World Cup and being like there are points to be had here that we might not get later on in the season. That's a great point actually. That's a great point. And so if you can do it just like foot to the floor kind of vibes until everyone settles down because it's going to be harder. It's so much harder.

59:38Musa Okwonga: Hey while the sun shines. We're so back Chelsea Fulham happening tonight. I'm actually really excited about this game. Fulham Chelsea, sorry. Craven College. But yes, very excited. A little derby to start. Love it. All right, shall we roll? Let's do it. All right, everyone. We hope you're all staying safe and well wherever you are. And yeah, don't forget another shout out if you want to sign up for the Stadio Patreon, patreon.com forward slash stadio. Come and join us for the season if you haven't already. Every podcast ad-free info and bonus episodes, etc, etc. Or you can join the Stadio Social Club membership tier as well and you get access to the Stadio Social Club Discord, which includes live hangouts, which we had one on Saturday, which was really fun.

1:00:20First one of the season. Yeah, it was lovely. We're going to be back on Patreon on Thursday with that episode about the Mourinho and Guardiola documentaries. Until then, don't forget to check the Stadio Archers place on Spotify. And speaking of which, we're playing out on. Love Apple, what will tomorrow bring? Ethan, you would like to add Musa Gwonga? Nothing further. How does it feel to get the first proper one back in the books?

1:00:41Musa Okwonga: It feels really, really good, actually. Does it? Being back in the flow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There was a moment yesterday when I was watching a few games and it's like when your ears pop on the plane and I'm like, okay, I'm back in the rhythm now. I'm seeing things. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good feeling. Nice. I'm very much on a managing my minutes. Load management. But anyway. All right, everyone. Much love. Have a great week. We'll be back with you on Thursday. See you then.

1:01:15What will tomorrow bring

1:01:23Will it bring me A little bit of gladness Or will it bring me Another night of sadness Oh, will it bring me the joy that I once knew Oh, will I be alone, alone without you What will tomorrow bring? What will tomorrow bring?

1:02:07Tomorrow is a new day With a new sun and a new sky So why do I have to be lonely? Please, please, please, please tell me why What will tomorrow bring? What will tomorrow bring? You seem to think that I'm satisfied Not really caring What I feel inside Your neglect, boy It's so plain to see Just look at what you're doing What you're doing to me What will tomorrow bring? I wanna know, I got to know What will tomorrow bring?

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