Manchester City win at Anfield on a Super Sunday that got silly

0:22Hello and welcome back to the study podcast. I'm Mr. I'm Mr. I'm Mr. I'm Mr. I'm Mr. I'm Mr. I'm Mr. I'm Mr. I'm Mr. very well indeed actually the reason I'm so happy is because this weekend it's over at a friend's place and their nephew and their friends the seven year old like seven year old birthday party put on like they did like a feature film they shot like an eight minute they shot an eight minute film on their phone with like using I know exactly using like I know it's blowing my mind using like sort of doll's house and like dolls and like cut scenes oh wow it was incredible like they would do actual proper like professional cuts they did the whole thing and they must in the whole thing we were all like downstairs adults and i getting our drink on the camera says this okay everyone watch everyone watch you know you watch this everyone watch dude this was like scorsese do you know it was amazing the final thing was they did an end credit scene they were like so and so played by so and so and they had like the doll and the person next to them whoa the production value was like we were looking at each other we were looking at each other in shock going this is like i was like you have to save this this is like time capsule stuff that's wild dude it was like professional i was like this is like it was like eight minutes i was like eight minutes 17 it started i was like you know because you look at the sort of screen time the thing flew past and it was compelling and it was like it was one of their birthdays they kept going oh it's my birthday tomorrow and they kept riffing back to it's my birthday tomorrow and that became like the running gag wow dude it was like that's incredible mind blown I'm like is this the best film I've seen this year maybe maybe it's definitely best short it's definitely

2:06it's the best listen it was along with the last eight minutes of Liverpool City it's the best eight minutes of film I've seen put it this way if you look if you look at the if you factor in the age experience of filmmaking and like actual I mean that that's it it's right up there man it's a banger so yeah that was my weekend how's yours yeah all right thanks man watching a lot of football yeah some great stuff some great action yeah yeah it was good man we did the stadio social club discord hangout on saturday night as well which was great fun thanks to everyone lovely to see you there for that if you want to if you're if you're not a stadio social club member and you want to join and you can access all the podcasts ad free and in full plus access to the stadio social club discord which includes the Stadio Social Club hangouts, Discord hangouts you can sign up on patreon.com forward slash stadio while we're on the admin tickets for the South Bank Centre live show March the 1st with Nish Kumar, if you want to come along go and get your tickets, link is in the description Musa and I are going to be joined by Nish can't wait for this it's going to be after Arsenal's Premier League game against Chelsea so if you go into that or you're watching that, you should have plenty of time to get from the stadium or from wherever you're watching it.

3:20I think the doors are going to be about like 7.30ish and we'll probably start at 8 so it should be fine. Is there any other bits I'm adding in? I think that's it for now. Alright, well first of all before we get going I'm hoping we're staying safe and well wherever you are and some shows this week we're doing Thursday and then we're doing a mailbag on Friday. That's what we're doing. Sounds good. So if you want to send us your questions for the mailbag Hello at stadio.football. And that'll go up Friday.

3:53And I think that's all they have been. So today we are going to probably talk about Liverpool-Manchester City. Oh my God, yeah. We'll touch on some other stuff in the Premier League. We'll go to the Bundesliga for a bit. We're also going to talk a little bit about Adam Ola Lundqvist's transfer to Atleti because he's had two games now. He scored in his first. Could have scored in his second. had a goal disallowed and we'll wrap up a couple of other bits and that'll probably do us for today. But there is only one place to begin. I know. And it's unanimous. I know, I know, I know. Greuter foot four Magdeburg five.

4:29You got it. That's it, isn't it? That's it. Ha ha ha. I got it. I got it. No goals after the 47th minute of this game. Absolutely unreal. Eight first half goals. And do you want to know the wildest thing? The return fixture in Magdeburg was 5-4. In this fixture this season both games have been won by the away side 5-4. And it's 9-0. That's never happened before. That can never have happened before. If I ever saw a game of football where there was a collective half-time cigarette it's this one. A post first half cigarette. Before we get to the Premier League let's wrap up a couple of other things.

5:12It was a big weekend in the WSL in terms of a massive result for Arsenal ending Man City's winning streak with a 1-0 win at Emirates Stadium thanks to an Olivia Smith goal. That means that Manchester City's lead at the top is now cut to a mere eight points. They weren't just... I'll tell you what, Arsenal weren't just sitting back, were they? That's the thing about this. I'll tell you what actually, it's interesting about this game. I wonder what this does because Arsenal was showing some decent form towards the end of the Champions League like table, group stages. this sets them up quite nicely i think for the champions league late stages this is the kind of performance you're looking for when you're like are we like battle hardened because that's going to be a tough grind but i don't know this was the first time i thought that you could do something quite interesting this time around in the champions league because this was it's basically a champions league game you know city at that level uh but yeah and olivia smith olivia smith what a great addition she has been one for the big occasion man the Caldente-Smith combination speaking of Caldente though I thought she was a bit lucky there was an accidental challenge it didn't look like she was actually making a challenge but she brings down Lauren Hemp and Hemp's thrown a goal and I think I think it could have been it could have been bad I think it was just outside the box so I think it would have been a free kick oh was it just outside yeah Cardenzi probably should have gone yeah lucky to get away with that one for sure rode the luck a little bit but good value for the win I would say overall yeah definitely Manchester United second eight points behind Man City after their 2-0 win against Leicester away and Chelsea got back to win in ways a 2-0 win over Spurs to keep them third currently Arsenal have a game in hand on that top three and they are on 29 points let's go to Liga because we have the big one this week PSG against Marseille and it was over fairly quickly Usman Dembele that second goal PSG 5 Marseille 0 by the way for those who missed it Usman Dembele is putting on like a personal goal this season competition someone said it's like it's almost like he's putting the game back on notice you know like it's weird right because he's not scored a huge amount of goals this season I think that was his was it 7th or 8th league goal now I think he's got 8 goals in the league but um No one does a hot streak like that guy.

7:40The thing about Ousmane Dembele is he scores goals that almost no one else can. For those who haven't seen the second goal, check it out. The way he cuts in off the flank, completely two-footed. This is the problem. You have no idea which way he's going to go because it's not just that he'll go to his left or right. It's what he does afterwards. The way he cuts is so unpredictable. And then the finish is laughable. like the angle most players try to go across the keeper there most players don't go high having coming off that speed like the man is flying and also there's a strange way that he runs not strange as in like it's not a judgment it's like a unique thing he looks like he's floating it's the strangest running like he looks genuinely like his feet are like an inch off the ground each time he's got the ball it's an absolute nightmare to mark unguardable as they say in basketball unguardable he's scored seven league goals this season him and Bradley Barkler are level on goals scored in the league.

8:36Kravitz Scalio got a banger. And also like PSG. Oh my God, the Kravitz Scalio was sick. It was ridiculous. And also, Desiree Dwey, 100th league appearance already. A hundred. And I didn't, also I must say as well, like his pass that sets up the open, well that kind of opens up the game for the opener. I didn't know he could pass that well from deep. I knew he had like the scoring bag and the kind of, I knew he had the scoring bag and I knew he had the dribbling chops but the passing was something else and then you've got Maio Lu playing as an eight he's like super young I mean like what that I know PSG have all the resources I know it but I'm just saying as an individual as a young player that can basically play Maio Lu can play as a winger or can play like in those tucked in eight positions and now you're thinking could Dwe do that as well I mean probably it's just unbelievable quick shout for Leon who went third thanks for a 1-0 win over Nont Endrick with a red He's living it all.

9:35He's living his truth. He's experiencing everything in Liga. I love that. Very quickly before we go on to the Premier League. Venezia beat in Froznone in Serie B. That was a big win for them because Froznone were second in Serie B. So it was a top of the table clash away in Froznone. Venezia winning 2-1. Coming back to win. Is that eight straight now? Is it eight straight? They've won every game, including the one we were at, yeah. Absolutely. that is they're putting everyone on notice now and they've opened up a three point gap at the top now because Monza won to go second but yeah Frozanone now dropped to third and while we're in Italy Serie A quickly yes I know we're doing a bit of a round up at top but we were going to do this all good Scott Metominay scored an unbelievable goal against Genoa Hoyland with a brace a 95th penalty which was oh boys let's say generous I'm happy for the old boys look everyone's all smiles now isn't it now United are doing well again yeah it's fine to be happy for the exes no United won the Super Bowl I heard they did congrats they performed at half time yeah great win for Napoli they needed that but Inter at the top just look 5-0 over Sassuolo and I've said this before but that hiccup that Milan had a couple of weeks ago it really hit them Luis Enrique's goal for Inter by the way was absolutely incredible if you haven't seen it go and watch it Luis Enrique's I think it was was it the 5th I think it was the 5th he scored against last Friday yeah yeah absolutely incredible alright we'll do a little bit more of a round up of some other stuff later but we have to go to the Premier League yes Liverpool won Manchester City 2 at Anfield on Sunday in quite possibly one of the silliest games I've seen for a while.

11:36It's so funny, this game, because absolutely ridiculous. I mean, the most ridiculous end It was quite silly, I thought. It was silly because it started with such seriousness and ended in slapstick. So City starting this game, there was this incredible stat that got posted. I think it was at 22 minutes, 20 minutes in, City completed 30, 31 passes in the final third. And Liverpool completed one. and if Estat ever matched the eye test it was that like City just camping out and I mentioned this before but like Pep's use of O 'Reilly like as a left back as a DM as an eight as a kind of like inside left I mean it's just that guy is an incredible piece for Pep and really now we're seeing I think the evolution of that midfield what it can be Semenya as well a guy that Pep just trusts to carry the ball to pass from deep.

12:31And City in that first 20 minutes, I knew it was Liverpool's design. I know that was the plan, the kind of containment early on. We've heard so much about City's intense pressing. And if you just weather the storm, you'll get a chance. It felt like Liverpool were waiting it out. But I don't think they were ready for City's counterpunch, actually. I think City had a second wind that Liverpool didn't think they had. And I think that's what it did for them in the end. But that was my kind of like overall take on it. How did you find it? Man City had 10 shots in the first half. City were clearly the better side and they had a couple of chances where it felt like Liverpool were really on the ropes.

13:07But it didn't feel like... It felt quite vintage City. It felt like grinding. It felt like this thing of... They weren't being cut open time and again. It was more like this relentlessness. The ball just kept circulating. City just kept getting quite decent looks. But not... Nothing wide open. And I think, you know, this is something we'll come back to as a theme. Liverpool's failure to assert control. Like Liverpool, I think it's quite telling. They looked best when the game was kind of open. Right, when it was end-to-end, when City had a really good attack. I think you saw like after 55 minutes, City have a really good attack and they break with Alisson hitting it long.

13:47And then, so when the game was like at either end, Liverpool looked happy. But when it was like Liverpool having to kind of initiate from the kind of, you know from halfway upwards they they're not they're not that good in that space and that affects there's a knock-on effect i think to the defense it puts strikers under pressure isolates them and i think city just managed the game at crucial points just better overall um i think you know rodry's had some criticism in recent weeks i thought he looked a lot lot stronger i thought this was closer to the rodry we're familiar with but you see why again we've mentioned Zubimendi before as an important player but you can see why Liverpool have been looking for a guy like that for a while actually because it's the ability to play two ways they're very good at containment Liverpool I think but when you're trying to be more expansive and release people and I think you know Florian Witts I thought did some spectacular things and I just wonder if he had a player like you know we talked about Wharton Elliot Anders and the other players or Zubimendi a player like that to kind of combine with in a deeper area I think it elevates what Liverpool are trying to do or no already doing to be fair but yeah sitting in the early stages I mean just to shout out some particular players that were really doing it Mark Gay has looked like he's been there for three years already he was brilliant Erling Haaland I thought was really good leading the line and Bernardo Silva was just Bernardo Silva though he loves playing against Liverpool like I think he's one of the I think it's so funny because if I think of the close Liverpool I know it was actually at Anfield Pep's not had the best time but whenever That was his first win apart from the COVID season.

15:21Bernardo Silva always brings it against Liverpool. Like he seems to elevate yet again. He was brilliant again the other day. It was the first time that Manchester City have done the double over Liverpool since... When was it? This is wild. First time since 1936-37 that Manchester City have achieved a lead double over Liverpool. That's a ridiculous stat. Do you know what's wild about that? It was a big deal that win. It was a really big deal. Considering everything, considering Arsenal going or extending their lead the day before Villa dropping points and that being a game where you're kind of like I mean you know City going to drop points and with United gaining ground as well yep you know are you saying it's a four way title race listen or just three Villa don't count but United do even though they're further behind listen there's a non-zero chance we're in the league now I'm being silly but did you feel I've got to be honest with you when Liverpool went 1-0 up I'm not going to lie I thought it was I thought it might have been done at 1-0 because it felt like at the point the point the goal came with 15 minutes to go the point the goal came you know when you look at the game going actually like both teams have absorbed a fair amount of shock it feels like whoever scores at this point is going to win it and it wasn't just the goal it was a demoralizing goal absolutely unbelievable free kick it was demoralized like Soboslai for the second time this year scoring against like a key title challenger and just ripping it like you know with that free kick the free kick against arsenal i mean that's still my marginal favorite because i think it was i think this one was better i think donnarumma in the form that he's in and i think him showing later like that he was in good nick like he's also works the ball a bit more on this free kick the reason i'm slightly more critical of this free kick is because not tommy's life's fault the wall isn't great i think that's the one thing i would say the wall isn't great i loved the the arsehole free kick and maybe I shouldn't pick a special one it's just that to do it twice and for Donnarumma to know that what was coming and still be unable to stop it it's a bit like Declan Rice's second isn't it against Real Madrid when you watch football with people that don't watch football at all and you're explaining to them like look this goal here and I said that guy in goal is probably the best in the world in that kind of situation like the moment in terms of shot stopping and they were like looking at it my friends were like going oh and they didn't he didn't have a chance.

17:45He didn't even, the guy didn't move. It's like when you're watching a superhero movie and the superhero that you think is, is like the one just comes across a new villain that just, Oh my God, it's like Hulk fighting Thanos. And you're just like, Oh no. Okay. We're in like, Hulk fighting Thanos. Yeah. He's usually, he's like, yeah, he's usually pretty good at stuff. He's just got destroyed. I mean, mind blowing, um, free kick. And it felt like this was, going to be the victory that Liverpool needed at this point in the in this season I thought we saw some really I mentioned Vietz before I thought it was some great stuff from him some of the combination play from him and Eketike Eketike as well leading the line I mean really should have scored on about the hour mark the one when that Salah puts him in and that header wide and this is not to knock Eketike I just felt like with everything else he'd done I felt like that that was nil nil I felt like that was a crucial moment to have scored that then because I think at that point Liverpool were really in the ascendancy but Liverpool didn't manage the game with 15 minutes they've struggled to manage games this season haven't they really they have they have and this is maybe a bit hackneyed and I don't want to keep like laboring a point but they really did not assert themselves and City to their credit the patience of the build-up they kept playing their football they didn't just keep lumping it long they actually like kind of construct chances and the goal they actually constructed in the end the Haaland assist for um for Bernardo Silva who obviously was great the whole time.

19:11Great finish. And at that point, when they get that goal back, I'm like, ah, actually, yeah, I think this is happening. The weird thing about the decisive penalty, I was like, that's an immediate penalty, but for some reason, there was like a long deliberation over it. I'm not quite sure. I thought it was like a clear penalty. The foul on Nunes, yeah. That's just a weird thing for Alisson to do, I think. Because Nunes isn't getting there. Right. He's got nowhere to really go. he's not got the ball under control the ball is bouncing and you know even if you do that thing where I think because he's he's not giving himself the opportunity to like pull out of it you know you see keepers sometimes like go into sliding and then pull their hands away and the opposition player or the attacker might try and like buy the foul but because they've pulled their arms away there's nothing for them to clip basically and so quite often than not you see players go down when they're expecting contact and they don't get the penalty because the keepers pulled away from it.

20:08But Alisson just gave himself no option to do that. It was such a weird thing to do. I mean, I think it's a penalty. It's a foul. You know what it is? I think Alisson committed himself. I think it was adrenaline. Because I just think, and this is not a knock on him, the mood shift after the Bernardo Silva equaliser, it was so deflating. And I think it made people so much on edge because Liverpool played some great stuff from that second half and it must be almost the case of like how are we like how are we struggling how are we like how is it won all it was almost like psychologically they couldn't believe the game's narrative felt like it was going towards a Liverpool win and I think that equaliser just it was the quality of the goal the timing of it it just knocked it out of them because like Liverpool you know Man City's record in comebacks is really bad at the moment this is just something Is that the first two goals they've scored in the second half of the league this year?

21:05I don't know but it's like a really bad record i think it was almost going in the second half of the league this is the danger with like not only like sort of stats as they are but the sort of narrative there was almost no it felt like lipple had no kind of emotional answer to that equalizer actually um and even the penalty was funny because allison does a lot of moving on the line but when he takes it it's a great penalty he might not have saved it anyway but he weights himself really badly like he's moving around on the line so much that when Haaland hits it like his weight I think his right foot is just slightly like not set and then like bang that's it it's done and at that point at 2-1 you're like yeah this is this felt done and then of course we get to the incredible close this is hilarious so of course Alisson's like way up for those haven't seen the game Alisson's way up trying to get like a goal he went up for the corner right and then stayed up um city break Bernardo Silva plays Bernardo Silva yet again plays it through Cherki gets the ball about like 40 yards from goal and it's just rolling into an empty net and kind of scuffs it a bit it's not the cleanest strike ever and then you have like Elling Haaland and Sobberslite in a foot race which like poor Sobberslite is never going to win but equips himself not badly Pauls Haaland manages to hold him back a little and then Haaland like basically like yanks Sobberslite's side and the ball trickles into the net before Haaland can tap it in 3-1 game over ball gets pulled back whole thing play gets stopped so oh my god goal gets disallowed so it's like it's a red city get a direct free kick which comes to nothing this is so stupid i let the goal be like no one literally i don't i don't get it i don't i mean i've got i've got i've got a conspiracy theory about this i think a call came from on high and they're like we We cannot have this being the global product.

23:02Do you know what they were afraid of? They were afraid that this goal would win the Puskas. They were afraid this goal would get put into public vote. Oh, this was 100 % down for... Do you know the biggest crime, that this doesn't count as a goal, right? Because it was nailed on for Cacto or Desiaris. That's what I mean. And I think this is my conspiracy theory. The call came from Anhai. I think maybe Infantino got involved and was like, we cannot, this cannot be the case of our game. Guys, we cannot have a Premier League goal on that German shit goal of the year thing. at the end of like we can't go we can't this is where the commentator apologises just I mean it's one of my favourite goals goals of the year it's not a goal no question doesn't count it can't be one of your favourite goals of the year it's not a goal you talk about spiritually on the side that goal spiritually that is a goal spiritually that is absolutely a goal they should just play that entire bit on loop with the kind of best league in the world just Benny Hill music Benny Hill music no they should they should play they should go all in and be fully serious they should play the Premier League anthem which is like and just have it on loop it's like the greatest league in the world do you know how much these players cost can you can you has a player ever been has a player ever been on a bigger journey than Samos like went on in the last 20 minutes of that game I was going to say in the last 15 yards if you'd said to him like when he scored scored that free kick what's that thing they used to say like in the old days all glory is fleeting all glory is fleeting like what's that meme i've won but at what cost yeah scores this incredible free kick and it's like you're literally top of the world right and also like look in the grand scheme it's understandable why he made that challenge and all the rest of it like it you get it then he also played banana silver on side for the equalizer and i'm always i'm always hesitant to criticize people for stuff like that especially when they're not actually full-time right backs he was also pretty much Liverpool's best player on the day and look at it more charitably I mean probably what is he going to be their player of the season probably he's probably their like third choice right back and the work he's putting in well second you know the job he's done there has been outstanding I actually felt gutted for him when that happened when Bernardo Silva scored because I thought you don't want anyone to get caught out but like him of all people and he's filled in really well all year he's been a great player for them and small margins.

25:27There's a lot of talk. It was funny. It was a... The talk about City winning is like, you know, it's like there was a lot of talk. Oh, this is more than three points. But I was like, well... No. Is it because what Arsenal proved with their comeback, the last two games they've played since the United defeat and how impressive they've been. They've done a really good job at just resetting and being like, yeah, okay, it was a bad loss. and I think there is a danger with overly emotional victories or defeats the dating narrative City I think were to their credit extremely self-aware basically going look if we'd lost this one the title would have been hard work not because the gap was impossible to make back but with Arsenal in this kind of mood, this kind of form we'll get to Kai Havertz in a moment with him in that kind of form, he's looking terrifying I think City understanding that a nine point margin is yeah I think the at the end of the day though it's in the gap's the same as it was before the weekend and I think a lot of the a lot of the aftermath was very much like we've got to hype the title race guys look anytime City play Liverpool it's a good matchup yeah you don't need any more narrative than that you don't there's always like standout players there's always like people doing like impressive things there's a back heel that Florian Vitz pulled off in the first half that was out of this world to start a counter so lots of little sort of cameos there some of the passing from deep was outstanding on that game and i would say this like making such emotional hard work of victories it can be grueling and it's funny because it's something which arsenal have done traditionally more than the city and i thought arsenal against sunderland i thought was such an impressive result you know arsenal obviously got a point off them before we move on to that though but i don't really get the emotional thing i've seen a few people talk about it with City already and I'm like man like when you're 1-0 down and you think and 15 minutes to go and you think the title is gone and you come back and you win spiritually 3-1 but literally 2-1 like that's big in a place that you have only ever won once under your current manager and that was when their fans were there and it's the first time you've done the league double over this side since like we said in nearly 90 years it's going to be emotional late wins and important wins are going to be emotional especially you saw what it meant for players as well yeah yeah yeah it's huge I'm kind of cool with that I would find it weirder if they weren't emotional about a win like that for Man City no no no and not every game is going to take that like for example you know City need to start making lighter work of some games for sure because otherwise then it will start becoming exhausting I mean who knows but if they put together a very routine calm win over Fulham in midweek before Arsenal go to Brentford then that puts pressure on Arsenal and who knows that might be like an emotional emotional to be clear those to be clear those are the games those are the games which actually really matters I don't think these these are what they are right like I mean the Wolves game Wolves just weren't at it and Wolves I mean they're defending recently deteriorated I think motivation can be it must be quite difficult to draw motivation at Wolves now it's not a knock it's just it's noticeable like some of the concessions against Chelsea were really quite startling and this game you know obviously like City-Liverpool it is what it is but I just you saw the end of the game and what this victory meant.

28:51I think this was more like proving to themselves that they could do it. I think there's maybe a couple of players in that City squad who obviously it's their first time. I say that then again. I say that but Semenyo and Gehi look like they've been there for years. It is a younger, is it quite a young team for Pep though, isn't it? Yeah, the young ones they're not bothered. This is the thing. It's all kind of upside down because the players that should be affected by this stuff, it kind of reminds me a bit of like like Argentina, the World Cup, you know, Qatar 22, where there's a bunch of young players who hadn't tasted that level of pressure before.

29:26And they were like, yeah, fine, this is cool. People like O 'Reilly have done so well, and Semenyo and Gaye too, obviously I've mentioned them. And Kusunov too. Kusunov had to go off, got a bit of a knock, but he's been brilliant. After a difficult start at City, a player that I love watching and I think got unfairly maligned for a while, but has just been one of their standout performers. so yeah they just they look they're looking increasingly comfortable but Arsenal we'll get to them Arsenal Sunderland Arsenal 3 Sunderland 0 Well before we do that can I just shout out Palace because I think this was in an absolute like going really going through it and it was the first win in 13 against in all comps away against Brighton in the derby in quotation marks but yeah Ismail Assar with a with the winner for palace uh after the hour mark and just a really really good result for palace we'll probably we had a couple of questions about uh hurtzler and maybe we'll save him for the for the mailbag but that result took palace above brighton which i think was a quite quite symbolic yeah very much so yeah i just want to shout out palace especially because we did that episode with dot brown on that went up on friday if you haven't listened to it go and listen to it on patreon patreon.com forward slash stadio but it was just great that we didn't curse palace no I suppose I suppose like winless in 12 it's hard to it's hard for the our curses are not actually our curses aren't so bad recently catfish of the year stadio curse yeah there it is alright but let's let's let's talk about Arsenal yeah sorry I'm going to say I could keep jumping Arsenal let's talk Arsenal let's talk Arsenal Arsenal 3 Sunday 0 I was just really impressed by this a team that had taken a point or a couple of points off Arsenal at at home came to Emirates and the way that Arsenal broke them down I want to just highlight Kai Havertz I know that Supermendie scored the opener and he's been great since that defeat and to be honest actually he was he was great for most of the defeat against the United I think he just had a little bit of a slip but he's bang and form at the moment but Kai Havertz again like a minimalist almost no I think fewer than 10 passes completed for the second straight like Premier League game and just brilliant defensively.

31:40Doing all the work high up as this pressing 10 and then also getting an assist for Jokeres who got couple and just the whole thing looking complete. Really, really impressed by the game management here from from Arsenal against tough opposition. I mean, 3-0 margin. I mean, that's serious stuff, man. It was going to be such a gritty game though because Sunderland very physical difficult side to play against. They've not been on the best run recently compared to that early season form but still yeah I mean Sunderland had their moments like they had one or two pretty good opportunities but it felt like Arsenal were always just waiting for the moment you know there was one moment where William Saliba got booked and then a couple of times he got ran at and I was a bit like or when Califuri gave the ball away in the middle played a ball into the middle of midfield and Sunderland broke but apart from that what you're seeing is now I don't think it's any coincidence that Jokeres' form or goal scoring form has increased since the returns of Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz because the onus doesn't have to fall on him he can come into like Arteta made a point of saying look you're going to come into the game and you're going to be important and I think it's perfect this kind of game state and like much like the one we talked about when they went to San Siro bringing Jokeres on for certain as a closer I think in games is a really really good thing for him against especially against Premier League defences which I think are on the whole much tougher than Portuguese defences especially further down the league but yeah all in all just amazing just you know two good goals for him and it's what is it five in I think it's six in his last eight now and five in his last six he's feeling himself now the celebrations are more confident yeah yeah he's actually doing it whereas before he was kind of like it was a bit sheepish when he was getting handed penalties or it was a tap-in that bundled over the line he was a bit like doing the Bain thing but just you know what I don't know Bain being like oopsie you know but Zubamendi's goal can we talk about Zubamendi's goal because like we mentioned the Zobber's light having to work it you look at the slow-mo of what Zubamendi does for that goal it's it's actually amazing like you really really it's like a really deliberate like chop down cut keeping it low moving it around off the post it was such a clever finish I thought very Tony Kroos very Tony Kroos I really like the fact he did the he did the Marino celebration which was very cute is Marino out for the season now?

34:16it's looking highly unlikely that he will return yeah so that's no World Cup either so initially it said that he might be back in April and I think if he is then he needs to rest up for the World Cup man they really need him not he's like an important piece for Spain he's a really important piece for them on FOTMob it says expected return late May dude take your time anything else from that game you want to shout out um no that's that's about it really Villa dropped points on Saturday against Bournemouth the stats in this game were wild 20 shots 2.06 xg 9 shots on target 3 big chances for Bournemouth 3 big chances missed um 53 % possession to Villa's .44 xg on 7 shots 4 on target 1 big chance they were at it and yeah the Evan Ilsen header for example could have done better with that went through I mean I'm not trying to knock him too much I think it was an instinctive response after the ball came back to him Bournemouth would have been good value for a win if they'd taken it here and looking like the team that they've been for the last couple of years this is much more like it Villa stumbling but look a point at Bournemouth is not to be sniffed at yeah but it's a good was the Kamara injury.

35:37That was so important for that midfield. It's a killer. I agree. All right. Do you want to talk about your beloved Manchester United who won the Super Bowl and the Phoenix Open in the same weekend? Listen, the main new door, the Cobby door, Cobby main new in this game was spectacular. This is the biggest thing from the Amarim. It's wild. Spurs going down to 10 players Romero with a foul he's been saying a lot on the pitch he's been saying a lot off the field and he's saying a lot on it at the moment He's letting his tackling do the talking Got the red for a foul got the red for a foul on Casemiro Casemiro thankfully okay Nasty tackle that Yeah and thereafter Spurs sitting deep as you'd expect but the patience with which they open them up Mainu completed 94 % of his passes and he wasn't just playing it safe.

36:39Like he was absolutely brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. And I was really, really worried about Kobe Mainu. I was like, this guy might miss the, he might miss the plane to the world cup and he can't afford to miss a big tournament, especially with that finals. He had, you know, the euros, he looked really at home on the biggest stage against a very, very good Spain team to do what he did in that final against that midfield. You're going to, So then to be told he had no real place in this squad, and to the point where I was like, honestly, I wanted him to move away. Not because I don't love watching him in the United shirt, because I was like, I want this guy to get the development.

37:14I didn't want another kind of, I mean, you can list any number of young players who've gone to United and just been swallowed up by that threshing machine. But this is my, you're right to say it, this is the most damning indictment of Ruben Amirim's tenure. Yep, I think so. Not finding a place for Kobi Meynou. And even the profile of player they're looking at in the midfield role, where it was almost like Amirim was looking for bustle and chaos and intense physicality, even though actually Meynou can do quite a lot of that stuff. I remember us having a conversation about Amirim, saying it was good to see Manchester United thinking about more of a long-term kind of joined up vision of what the club wanted to be and if he felt like the future of the club or the future of how he wanted to play was 3-4-3 or whatever 3-3-5-2 however you want to do that fine but you have to get the team into a position to be able to play that way and there were so many comparisons between Amorim you know sticking with Amorim and Arsenal sticking with Arteta for example.

38:23Arteta wasn't playing the way that he ended up wanting he wanted Arsenal to play he was playing the way that like he needed to at the time because of the makeup of the squad and if you look at how I think there's a couple of things with Manchester United that I think the sense of freedom that has come in for the players and the removal of just that I mean it's the biggest contrast to me I think is the it's just the discussion around Manchester United. It was like relentless and laboured and heavy and just it was non-stop. And I think just the removal of Amirim it could have been anyone really who went in there and it would have felt lighter.

39:12And that's not to dismiss anything that Carrick's done I think because Fletcher had a couple of games in there and it didn't feel that way. But it was an interim thing. or a very very temporary thing I think what Carrick's done is just look at how that squad is way more suited to playing how they're playing now just in terms of like we might not be able to do all of this stuff that Amorim wanted them to do necessarily but this is what they can do and it just looks freer more energetic and I think that a lot of those players you can tell that a lot of those players have been having instruction that they weren't necessarily bought in on you know it's so interesting to say this because this okay look this is the element of coaching that is key you look at what Arteta did with and I mentioned Maitland-Niles because an essential part of this journey Arteta looked around the dressing room looked at the squad and thought okay what can each of these players do what are they calm doing how good are they technically are they best on the counter whatever he realized very early actually we have to play on the counter we don't have the players right now to control games at the highest level and that's fine and you build and you adjust formations on that basis and it's old school coaching in terms of I will design a formation that suits the players and that is like coaching 101 Chabbi Alonso I think did it you know was not allowed to do more of it at Madrid I still think that's like a really good coaching job that we didn't get to see the end of.

40:43Luis Enrique did it incredibly well at Barca in 2015 you saw him doing it now at PSG just looking at the players and going what does the actual what best brings out these characteristics and this sounds obvious but watching Meynou against Spurs playing those triangles finding the pockets Kunja and now you've got Kunja and Seshko kind of playing this kind of like opener closer role which is working really well I think for both of them at this point I think Seshko will go on and become I think the primary nine but he's being eased into it in a way that and Kunio's versatile enough to play in different areas but just watching like you're right players play with freedom and it's not again I've said this people don't believe when I say this actually it's just about identity at this point getting back to yourselves again the one thing that can the one question Karras got to answer and this is a question that he cannot answer this season because of the nature of the season and United being knocked out by the tournaments is the rotation question right because that is a big big thing can a coach manage a squad really well.

41:45You look at Pep, what separates Pep, I think, from so many others is not just that he has this incredible squad, he does, right? But a lot of coaches with the squad that Pep has got would not be so smart in shuffling the pack. If you look at like the seasons when like I'm Eric Laporte was there, I think he was one of the players that would start the most games and he would maybe only start like, he would start less than 30 games sometimes and everyone else would be like in and around the mid-20s. And of course, Kyle Walker, the kind of absolutely evergreen. but for the most part Pep is so good at shuffling the pack and that's the question I think that remains in relation to Carrick but put it this way that's an incredible thing to say about someone that's been in the job for a couple of weeks that that is the only question now you're looking at because United are not the best team don't get me wrong but they're a good team What they're making people feel is what a lot of Manchester United fans have been missing for a while and now I think a lot of Manchester United fans know that there's going to have this doesn't mean that they're kind of they're not back but they're back for now and all they need to do is like if Manchester United qualify for the Champions League this season it's amazing from character because they just need to be in the Champions League they need to and that opens up signings I mean God bless Brian Mbumo because that guy one of our best signings in years he's just come into the club and has been completely fearless from day one and if we get back to the Champions League this year or next, he will be a crucial factor in that.

43:11And there's an amazing thing when you watch him celebrate with Bruno Financi, right? You're like, this is a kindred spirit. You see him looking around and it's like, that is the kind of player that elevates us. You can see it's like, finally, I'm not saying other players at United have not helped Bruno Financi, but I'm saying in terms of the consistency of not just the technical ability, but that guy gets it. You know, that guy actually understands and I can, you know, there's this thing that Messi always said, I'm not comparing them, but I'm going to say comparing more like the kind of um the conversation messi said that in the big games he always wanted ines to close to him and i think bruno and brian and boomer have the same thing where it's like you are i can trust you absolutely that amazing goal like recently was in the derby when bruno breaks and he just knows they can trust like brian and boomer he's like if i'm running a counter you're the guy i hand off to so yeah just i'm just really really happy from the perspective of we feel like we have our identity again.

44:09And whatever happens now, whatever. But like, when I talked before about it will take 18 months for us to get back to where we should be, this is what I was talking about. This is what I meant by. And we're a few months ahead of schedule. So, you know, it's all good. Anyway, enough about United. It's not about me. Another big win for West Ham. 2-0 away at Burnley. Yes. Means they're charged to safety. Still on. Huge win. Huge win. huge win for Leeds enormous over Nottingham Forest massive win on Friday night Leeds absolutely showing out a great victory there and look we've said this before but I think their league position slightly slightly belies the quality of some of the performances they've put in this year and look six points above the drop zone now and they're good value for it hey look another manager who realised it wasn't working and changed it absolutely Absolutely.

45:03On that as well, talking of managers who are in the mix, Eddie Howe at Newcastle. I mean, let's give Brentford the credit first because they won 3-2 away and just they hung tough. Utara, another star coming off the Brentford. the Brentford ranks just he was brilliant at St James' Park to go to that ground and shower like that Brentford coming back from behind to win in such impressive style hanging in there against Newcastle and coming through but anyhow I think the question's going to be only intensifying after this one Yeah it's funny because early on in the day you would have thought do you know what if Thomas Frank if Spurs don't win against Newcastle in midweek that could be it for Thomas Frank and now it's like if Eddie Howe if Newcastle get cooked although there's there's some stuff come out being like no we're not going to fire Eddie Howe and stuff the vote of confidence which is always a bit like I mean they have had a horrible run of games so the last five what they've lost to Villa drawn with PSG lost to Liverpool lost to City and then lost to Brentford at home tough run but like yeah that's a horrible run of games yeah but you can't really I can see there's I mean also Brentford are no clowns but I think losing at home to Brentford not ideal but that is a horrible run of games yeah and also just prior to that obviously like you know City the first leg of the Carabao Cup too so you can see why they would lose to Brentford after demoralising run of results like that I think sacking how or talking about it even is a bit knee jerk in the context of those performances it's just it's more like I think they have to have a proper look at the end of the season though they have to talk about recruitment as well because that midfield is being found out just a little bit too much it's built for one type of game it's not built for match control there's just a bit too much blood and thunder there at the moment and there's not enough tempo switch and we've talked a lot about the additions they need to make but I think that's a key part of it Chelsea beating Wolves 3-1 Cole Palmer made history he's the first Premier League player to score three first half hat-tricks against Everton, against Brighton last season and then against Wolves this season.

47:27The two penalties that he got, I mean, brilliantly converted, but goodness me, the defending for those two. Yeah, the second one was wild. It was just like, I'm just going to shove Jaapetro. Absolutely wild. Like just out of depth defending. Great finish for the third. The third was lovely. the great cutback yeah really nice finish and he came out afterwards and he was like look I'm I'm not at full fitness because there's a lot of criticism and he's like yeah like I'm just not there yet so he's good for him to be coming into form even though he's still like trying to get back to you know get his rips back but yeah and a quick shout for Everton wrapping up a late win over Fulham great win yeah coming from a goal down and that is the Premier League speaking of hat tricks let's go to the Bundesliga, where there was technically a hat-trick, but not a German hat-trick.

48:19It was a dry pack, not a hat-trick. Luis Diaz for Bayern. Some great finishes in this one, yeah. Yeah, Bayern beat Hoffenheim 5-1 at home. And it looked way more interesting than they thought it was going to be, I think. Well, because Hoffenheim had been a bit of a run, right? Ended this game third, and Kramerich with a great record. The only thing I got right about this game was that Kramerich would score because he has a great record against big teams. well great record in general but he really turns it on against the big clubs they get back to 1-0 but it's the goal before the thrashing because Harry Kane was having none of it he actually looks quicker do you remember that thing a couple of years ago about like Harry Kane losing pace and like on the counter he's looking quite quite speedy and I think there's a great incentive having such great forwards ahead of you but yeah like Luis Diaz Michael Elisa and Harry Kane just more like Harry Kane am I right?

49:11Harry Kane haha I think this was really their, like, Bayern's agenda to be like, no, this title race is a catfish. Yeah, because Dortmund had beaten Wolfsburg the day before. The talk was beginning, wasn't it? Dortmund accidentally stumbling into this, like, title race because Bayern lost at home to Augsburg and then drew away to Heijsvall. And then all of a sudden, Dortmund were like, shit, we're three points behind. And actually, weird enough, they could have fancied themselves with Hoffenheim surging as they were, but Bayern having none of it. Well, also because Bayern have to go to Dortmund in a few weeks, a couple of weeks.

49:47Right, right. And that was all set up for one of those, oh my God, Dortmund are three points behind if they win. Yeah. They go level on points. And then, you know, I don't know, like Harry Kane scores eight or something. You know, just a real buzz kill of a classiker. But yeah, curious penalty. Was it the penalty decision? I think the first one was fine. I think the red card was harsh. it didn't ruin the game because Hoffenheim got back into it thanks to Manuel Noé just being bored for a bit but then it definitely affected the rest of the game because well I mean look at this look Bayern 27 shots Bayern they're way way way more solid than than last year like they give you looks they give you the looks they want to like the thing about this this particular game I think with their sort of style playing quite open it's like we always have more there's always more where this came from and i just think the thing they've done so well what company's done is just just liberating that front line to create we still got musiala to come back as the like the regular 10 can i be starting right now for now but when it's elisa diaz and um and musiala behind kane it's going to be lights out and i think leonard carl also showing why he's a deputy at the moment do you see that oh incredible leonard carl did a bit of showboating for those who missed it and um did a few what they used to call it they used to go lollipops lollipop in the ball just goes out of play pras is just stood there looking at him and kind of just gives him a sarcastic thumbs up the ball just goes out of play and it was a bit like I was watching this again there was someone in the background there's like the three people like the kind of emergency attendants or whatever like sort of the ambulance crew and the woman in the middle is absolutely she's howling she can see but the thing about this is this is exactly what Cristiano Ronaldo used to do Cristiano Ronaldo in the early months at Manchester United that first season in particular would do stuff like this all the time.

52:02We'd just throw out a ton of step-overs and like just, and it was, it was funny. I think the kids call it cringe. It was super cringe. But that's part of it. But that's part of it. That's why you, and of course what's going to happen is he will lock in and then all of a sudden that stuff's just all going to go right and then it'll be terrifying. I mean, it's already pretty scary. Big kind of like, you know, who has fields to learn and younger energy. Yeah, exactly.

52:28Right, elsewhere in the Bundesliga, before we move on, St. Pauli beating Stuttgart 2-1 at home and a massive win for St. Pauli. Yes. Gorgeous opener for them as well. Great goal. Roseliakas, yep, yep. And because Bremen lost to Freiburg 1-0, it means that, and also Wolfsburg losing to Dortmund, St. Pauli are two points from safety at the moment. Also, Mainz continue to impress under Urs Fischer. that is three wins in a row four of the last five in the league they beat Augsburg 2-0 Haasvall beat Heidenheim who are bottom sorry Haasvall beat Heidenheim who are bottom and Heidenheim look like they're going down unfortunately let's quickly shout out La Liga wins for Barca and for Real Madrid although Real Madrid made heavy going of it against Valencia they did nice to see Brahm Diaz get an assist for Kylian Mbappe really nice to see that the late clincher a couple of lovely goals for Barca as well another one from Dominion Ma with a straight banger oh my god and Mark Bernal deflected finish but the little like kind of cut inside yeah Mark Bernal look that had a terrible injury last year to put him out but he's back looking fit he's 18 still and so like yeah I mean that guy the talent coming through at Barcelona is something else, right?

53:57And they just lost, obviously, Fernandes to PSG, which they gutted about, 17-year-old. But Mark Bernal may be... It's a big shout, considering Yamal's there. In terms of the centre-mid, the fact that they've got him and Pedri and Gavi and Casado as well in the same generation, it's incredible who they have coming through. And there couldn't be a better person to coach them right now than Hansi Flick. I just think he's got the absolute perfect touch with those young players what he's doing with those is incredible like I mentioned Luminium-Arles goal an absolute scorcher he is locked in this year now he had obviously a difficult early start but the way that Barcelona are moving Still missing Ruffini, Pedri, Gavi and Andreas Christensen Wild, wild Atleti though lost 1-0 at home to Betis although Adam Olufman had the ball in the back of the net but was given offside, was a marginal offside and they also had an equaliser later in the game which went down as an own goal but then was given offside for Antoine Griezmann being marginally offside it was probably fair, I didn't see one with the Lions but the replay, although the system referee is actually covering the ball on the replay that it looked like it was shown and also, weird in Spain, the referee got sent to the monitor to see if he felt like Griezmann was interfering with play on the cross that was crossed in for him that he missed and the defender headed in.

55:31It was a weird moment. But anyway, we want us just to quickly shout out Adam Ola Lutman who made his move to Atleti. It feels like such a signing that just fits so well. I think he definitely needed a change of scenery it looked like he was going to leave last season when him and Gasp fell out for a bit it felt like Atalanta and I think it just felt like the right time for him to move and Atleti is I think a really good move for him I was worried he wouldn't get his big move actually yeah he scored on his debut but I feel like at this stage of his career he's 28 years old I'm really glad he didn't make a Premier League move as well I'm glad that he got to to make a move to a club like Atleti, playing in La Liga, living in Madrid, regular Champions League football.

56:26I mean, he was getting that with Atalanta anyway, but it felt like... I didn't feel like he was going to move anywhere else in Italy. So it's just a signing that completely fits and I'm really happy for him. I hope it's a success there. It feels like the kind of footballing structure that he would work well in as well. Almost as if he can play as that second striker where he can drift out wide. Atleti have options around him that they can bring in. You know, Griezmann's not starting a lot this season. Yeah, I just think it's... I don't know. It's an incredible signing. It's not one that's going to work.

56:58There's so many things about this. The first thing I have to say, though, is how he looks in the shirt. And it's just... Very good. This is the test. Suits him. But in the shirt, he's like, my God, yeah. I love it. And the performance he put in against Real Betis in the first game they played the Copa del Rey, he was lights out. Spectacular. It wasn't just the goal, it was like the link-up play the movement um the aggression is so atleti like someone that just gets the shirt and so fitting that he's coming in and out for griezmann because the energy is similar like the one thing i said about the move to atleti is i just hope he gets enough of the ball right like i hope he gets enough possession keep putting that guy in and he will provide like he'll make his own shots that's a great thing about him as a as a footballer He's so creative.

57:45And we saw him in AFCON, actually. Funnily enough, Nigeria's AFCON run is quite a good primer for what he's going to face at Leti, where you've got defences coming up against you because you're a bit of a powerhouse, and you've got to break them down and be quite wily. There's a lot of physicality. So actually, like the AFCON tournament, he's kind of like brought that energy, and he was brilliant there, of course, straight into this team. I said before, I was worried he wouldn't get his big move because Gasparin did that thing where he fell out with him. and the kind of conversations around those can those can affect your market value they can really affect your market value he only got three goals in like 19 or 20 last year 1920 games last year and i felt like the big names that were stiffing around him were kind of gone and i worried we're going to be in a kind of like awesome and type situation where you miss your window for your last big move but he's ended up at um atleti and the thing about the skill set that he brings alongside Alvarez.

58:39That is a horrible front too, to have to navigate. To deal with Alvarez and Lukman, we're dealing with speed, technique, both can play wide, both can play central, they can be conventional lines or wingers. That is a horrible 90 minutes to have us up against that. And once they click, once they, not click, they've already clicked, but once they get more games together, I'm just a bit gutted, it'll be really exciting, I'm just a bit gutted they're so far back in the league actually. because I would have loved to see Adam Ola-Lukman at the start of the season in this Atleti team. I think they'd be a hell of a lot closer if he'd started there.

59:15But, you know, we move, we move. And it's going to be fun to watch them in the Champions League as well. Atleti entering dark horse territory with that addition. I don't see it. There's something about, well, why not? It's Atleti. No, I don't see it. I'll never sell my Atleti stocks. I'm never selling out my stocks. but beyond that just really really happy for him like you say it's just a great move we were talking to Stephen Cameron about this polar bear about fit and this is one of those signings that just just works all ends up man really happy for him just a quick shout before we go another win for Pellegrino Matarazzo Real Sociedad 3-1 over Elche on the weekend and the form that they've been under since he took over is really really good and just a managerial appointment that I very very very much like all the vitamins yeah yeah 3-1 over Elche and also just a shout for Athletic Club as well who won 4-2 yesterday over Levante Levante down to 10 after a quarter of an hour but still another much needed 3 points for Athletic Club I think that's going to do us for today we're going to be back Thursday and Friday so if you want to listen to those as well as this ad free and in full go to patreon.com forward slash stadio there's also another newsletter coming up so you get that if you're a paid Patreon member as well and yeah loads of other good stuff another shout out for Southbank Centre live show tickets with Nish Kumar link is in the description go and get them and also don't forget to check the Stadio Artrust playlist on Spotify and speaking of which we lost an absolute legend this weekend the great Ebo Taylor Ghanaian music legend passed away age 90 so we're going to play out on Ebo Taylor and Uhuru Yenzu a track called What Is Life anything you'd like to add Musa Okwanga?

1:01:18nothing further alright everyone much love we'll be back with you later in the week see you then

1:01:48You can take more than what you put into life You can get more than what you put into life You can't get more if you do right They say it's war, some say it's wrong What do we say? We just don't care War or peace was this life They say it's war, some say it's wrong