Is Mbappé Confident or Arrogant? Barcelona’s Perfect Start & Kane’s Ballon d’Or Bid

22:20I think Mbappe must win one at some point in his career. Yeah. I don't know, who do you think will win? I think Harry Kane might.

22:27Julien Laurens:Yeah, I think he's the most open one we've had in recent years, maybe in history, really, to be fair. I think he would be very tight. I think there are some players like the PSG boys, for example, who might be victim a bit of the spreading of the votes because would you vote for Graz Kelly or for Dembele or for Fabian Riz and those kind of guys. I think there's a bit of that for Harry too with Michael Olisse who had another incredible year and maybe a bit of that but I think it'd be tight I think you're absolutely right in terms of the PR machine that some of those clubs Real Madrid are the master of it obviously and make sure that everywhere there's a discussion about Mbappe and clearly what PSG are not doing or Bayern Munich to some extent too is not pushing one of their players forward because Real Madrid are clearly pushing Kylian forward more than Vini more than Bellingham more than I don't know anybody else it's clearly Mbappe and I think they really want him to win that.

23:20Julien Laurens:And the PR machine from Madrid is usually very, very strong in that matter. He don't say. Yeah. So I think he'd be tight. I think for me, I would love Graz Kelly to win it, Gary, simply because he was wonderful, especially in the Champions League. I know he didn't go to the World Cup, but for a Georgian winger to win the battle, I think he'd be very special and he'd be unique in a way. And he's such a special player too. And that's why you go to watch football matches for players like, like him, but Kane and Mbappé have been so prolific in terms of goal scoring everywhere and the impact they had on their team on that level that I think I wouldn't be surprised if he was, you know, one of them too.

24:00Julien Laurens:And I think, I mean, Yamal has a great case. I think Rafinha has a good case too. Like we mentioned, Rodri, there's a few others as well. But yeah, I think Mbappé and Kane probably the front runners. Yeah, I think so. How is he at Real Madrid at the moment? There's always rumours. You can never, it's hard to know. I mean, you're obviously a journalist and you kind of try and pick out what is actually true, what is not true. You know, is he happy in Madrid? Is he happy with Mourinho? Does he get on with Vinicius Junior or does he not get on with Vinicius Junior? That's the more, the biggest question.

24:37Julien Laurens:He's happy. I know everybody has probably seen but he's also found a Spanish girlfriend now so as much as doing the front page of all the gossip magazines and you know what it is you've lived in Spain you know that culture really well I think that's that's also a part of his happiness and he's happy and Mourinho said to him on day one that the team would be built around him I think Jude is another big part of this team and the relationship between Mbappe and Jude certainly is the the key here I think for Mourinho in this team, as well as the balance of the team. And Vinny seems the one that is a little bit behind right now.

25:14Julien Laurens:In terms of statistics, Vinny has only scored one goal when Kylian has six already in the league, Jude has three in the league. And that Bellingham and Mbappe kind of partnership, link up, it looks really, really strong so far for Mourinho this season. It's a Mourinho team. Anything has happened. The why is new, Gary, is that they're conceding goals and chances. We saw that in the Champions against Inter. We've seen that in the league. It's only one clean sheet in five games, but they're scoring, but they're right up there. It's four wins. They lost to Betis in a game that they should have won.

25:45Julien Laurens:They had plenty of chances and Troy Parra, the Irish international, scored at the end after coming off the bench. So that's a bit of a bump in the road from Mourinho so far. But for the rest, he's been pretty positive since he's coming over and came back. Yeah. Okay. Let's take a break there, Julian. And when we come back, I'll talk about Barcelona and one or two of the other leagues as well.

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27:45Welcome back to The Rest is Football, a special international edition with Julien Laurent. Julien, we talked about Real Madrid before the break. Let's have a word on Barcelona. I think they've had a breathtaking start to the season. They've made one or two additions to their squad, most notably, of course, Rodri. I think they're going to take some beating this season. I don't know what you think.

28:07Julien Laurens:No, I agree. I mean, five wins in five in La Liga, pretty perfect. Okay, and it's against Levante and Valencia. El Chirai and Valicano. So the big game, I guess, was the one away at Athletic Club de Bilbao, which they won 2-0. But in the other games, they scored 4-5. And also in the Champions League against Feyenoord. That front three of Gordon, Rafinha now has the number nine, who replaced Lewandowski and Lamine, obviously, on the right-hand side. It could be Adeyemi on the left as well for Gordon. But Astrid's been incredible. And you've got Fermin Lopez behind. who plays ahead of Dani Olmo, for example.

28:40Julien Laurens:And that just, the way they attack is breathtaking. Their verticality, the pace, the rhythm, the intensity is just, they've been unstoppable so far. And there will be teams that are better defensively and stronger defensively than the ones we mentioned that they faced already, where they would have left space and they would have to find another way of winning. But so far, it's been remarkable, really. It's their joy to watch because of the way they attack. And yeah, in terms of balance, there'll probably be questions asked later in the season, especially in the Champions League when they get to the later stages or in the games against Atletico or Real Madrid in the league, for example.

29:16Julien Laurens:But for what they've showed so far, there have been such a force going forward that I don't know who will be able to stop them. And Lamin Ubal, he's another one that thinks he should win the Ballon d 'Or. He's come out like Mbappe, he's had a similar sort of statement. So that PR machine, they're trying to work it for him. I think the fact that probably in the World Cup, because he was coming back from injury, I mean, they won the World Cup and he was still really good. I don't think he quite reached the absolute heights that we know Lamin-Yumal can reach. But yeah, it's that balance. It's that little kind of line between whether it's arrogance or confidence.

29:54But the greats have to have that, don't they?

29:56Julien Laurens:Yeah, absolutely. And what's interesting, I think this season so far, certainly in those five league games, is that he scored six goals and there's no assist yet. And yet in past season, he was the creator. He was the provider a lot. Remember those crosses from the outside of his left foot, for example, that were incredible and those kinds of things. And yet it seems that maybe this season is focused a little bit more on the finishing, more than creative. Creative, he still is, of course, and he's still an incredible dribbler. But Firmino has done a lot of that. You've got Pedri, who's been in great form alongside Rodri in that midfield.

30:28Julien Laurens:you've got whoever is on that left-hand side who's created a lot and Gordon has four assists, for example, so far. He's been more creative in a way and more on that level than Lamine has. So it'll be interesting to see if Lamine keeps going into the scoring route more than probably the providing route. But I just love him. I think I don't mind the swag. I don't mind the low shorts. I don't mind the dribbling. I don't mind that kind of super confidence slash arrogance that he has. I think he's great for the game he's great for Barcelona and and for Spain as well and they won it without him at the World Cup being at his best so imagine what they could have done or what they will be able to do in the Euros coming up for example in two years time if he's at his best again I noticed I thought it was quite amusing actually with Rodri got caught out and he said against Valencia when he I mean he was on the bench wasn't he he was chatting and going oh these are so weak so weak he had to come out to apologize.

31:28You got, you now see why they cover their mouths all the time. Exactly. You would never talk like that ever again on that bench. I used to think, I've thought for years, why does everybody put their hands over their mouth

31:38Julien Laurens:all the time? And you know how they are in Spain, right? They don't miss a bit, do they? Everything is so scrutinized and as soon as we saw Kubasi and Rodri talking on the bench, they said, oh, I wonder what they've been saying. Here you go, a couple of lip readers later and I think it was Karina Say or Chiringuito or one of those shows and not in a toxic, negative way to create more controversy. It was just, it's interesting. This is what he said. And to be fair, Valencia are not good. They have one point, they're bottom of the table. They're going through a huge crisis with their owner. But he was just being honest to Kubarsi.

32:14Julien Laurens:Oh, my God, that's not good. But I think next time he will cover his mouth if he talks like that about opponents. Do you think there's a sense? Because obviously, I think the one thing the Premier League does probably have over the other league is the strength in depth of the league that you never you're never going to get a walk in the park are you so I think Rodri's probably gone there and thought it's a bit easy isn't it yeah and don't forget he left quite a while ago you know it's not like if if this La Liga version he knew it because he was there a couple of years ago for example he left quite a while ago he's had many many years at City in the Premier League with that intensity that kind of level every weekend home or away it doesn't matter so much and then he arrives and I've been watching him he literally plays like in his armchair in his sofa every game is kind of easy for him and in a super dominant team so I get that they will be tougher games like we said earlier but it's great and I think to a certain extent I wonder Gary if Anthony Gordon felt a little bit like that not that it's easy for him to play in this team because you know I don't know how it is for an Englishman to go to Barcelona and to play in La Liga but I'm sure that he's found the level of La Liga certainly lower than the intensity that it's had in the Premier League with Newcastle.

33:25It's difficult because the best teams, obviously, in La Liga are really good. And you look at the success that the Spanish league, La Liga, has had in European football over the last two decades. And it's astonishing. It's way ahead of the Premier League. So in the sense that, you know, those giants, but Barcelona and obviously Real Madrid in particular, but you can add Atletico in there. And also the most extraordinary story, I think, over a century in football is Bilbao. Yeah. You know, they're only allowed their own players for the Basque region. I mean, it's a phenomenal success story and they've never been relegated.

34:04Yeah. I mean, there is strength and depth in Spanish football. It used to irritate me a little bit when I actually played there that people said, oh, it's just Barcelona and Real Madrid. Yeah. It's not quite that. But, yeah, I think it's probably top heavy, more top heavy perhaps than other. Yeah, top seven, top eight, yeah. Kibarsi, I just want a word on him because he's a player that I've watched since, I was going to say since he was young, he's still a child. And he's won a World Cup. He was obviously the young player of the tournament. I mean, he's such a talent. I think he suffered a little bit probably last season at Barcelona in terms of, you know, the high line and occasionally crazy high line in games against the top teams and not knowing quite when to drop.

34:50But, I mean, he was absolutely imperious at the World Cup.

34:54Julien Laurens:Yeah, wonderful talent, there's no doubt. I think he would have learned a lot from last season in that kind of experience of the high defensive line and when you are literally on the halfway line and there's all that space behind you, but there's not enough pressure on who is ever on the ball from the opposition team in midfield and then that ball can go over you. But he would have learned a lot. I think I expect a Koubasi at another level again this season. I think this Barcelona team, certainly in terms of their intensity, is even more there than last season. I looked at some of the sprints that...

35:28Julien Laurens:Rafinha is 24 sprints per game. Gordon is 21 sprints per game. This is unrivaled. No other team has those kind of players. That's why they signed Anthony Gordon. Exactly. Because he fits. It's what hands he flicked once. Yeah, so true. And when they put you under so much pressure because they press you and hassle you all the time, it's very difficult to play against. So I expect them to be even better defensively because of last season, how much they learned from that and Koubasi being the key of that. But his quality on the ball is what sets him apart as well of other defenders, not just of his age, but even to like the world's best, like a Saliba, like a Pamecano, like, I don't know, Gehi, if you want, all those kinds of bastoni.

36:08Julien Laurens:He's just that quality of passing, short range, long range is incredible. I mean, you see lots of superstars come through, but they're nearly always in forward positions. Central defenders tend to come along a little bit later because there's a little bit more, I think, you have to think about the game a little bit more at the back, whereas it's just pure and natural when you're going forward. But to have that kind of tactical brain and the acumen at his age is very unusual for a central defender, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, really impressive. And again, I think maybe La Masia just teaches you so differently at the Barcelona Academy that your football IQ is already so developed at a young age, even with the youth team, that when you step up into the first team and make your debut, but like we said, he's been a bit rocky at times.

36:57Julien Laurens:He's made mistakes. He got bad passes or lost the ball in a way or was hung on the ball so much and somebody nicked the ball off him and one score. So those mistakes have happened, of course, and they probably will happen again because he's still only 18 or 19, but he's there and he's there for another 15 years easily. And I think that's quite scary to think that already everything that he's won at that age being a crucial part of all those teams, there's so much more to come from him. At the other end of the pitch, it's quite interesting to see what he's doing up front. He's played Rafinha a lot as a nine because obviously Lewandowski is now gone.

37:33And, you know, he's shown that he can play on the right, He can play on the left, he can play on the middle and he's banging the goals in. As you said, they've not played the stronger teams in the Spanish league yet, but that in itself is an interesting shift. Yeah, so impressive.

37:46Julien Laurens:And I think we've seen it last season a little bit when Lewandowski was injured, that he would step in into that number nine position. And basically he's got all that energy of a winger, especially on the left wing and all that intensity of being used to making those runs all the time, even if the ball doesn't get to you. and then he's got the intelligence to understand how to play as a nine or as a false nine even because he drops quite a lot. He touches the ball a lot but then still makes those vertical runs so well. There was another one at the weekend where he got the ball in front of the defender and then the goal he scored against Feyenoord where he sat down those two defenders.

38:25Julien Laurens:Under the run as well, they slid all the way to France from the company all the way to France. It was incredible. It was a beautiful sight that was. I mean, the two of them both went, they're like, woo! Wow, and they just could not stop even. And then he just got in so calmly. It's wonderful. And he's at that age now at 30 where this is the peak of your career as a forward. I remember Arsene Wenger always saying, forwards between 28 and 33, this is it. This is the time. And we are very much right now in the peak years of Rafinha, whether it's wide or centrally. And again, he's so fit. He's so strong.

39:03Julien Laurens:He's so quick. And now he's got that composure to finish those chances as a number nine. It's super impressive. I mean, I don't know how many goals he would score. He's already on six in the league in five games. He's got two more in the Champions League. I don't know if he will reach 30, 40, more even, but it's really impressive. Before we move on to, we'll go Germany next, but the Alvarez situation is actually playing, which is something. He's not been stood down or anything, But that was kind of an unusual, awkward situation. Yeah, really awkward in the sense that we know about player power.

39:39Julien Laurens:We've seen how much bigger it's got in the last few years. When you want to transfer, it was, I guess, different in your time. But when you want to transfer now and you send a letter saying that you want to leave, you delete all your photos from social media. This is a thing as well now. You show how much you want. You don't want to be there anymore. You know, that kind of stuff. Yeah, you stop kissing the badge. Yeah, yeah, all of that. And you know what? I like the fact that Atletico stood firm in a way. It was like, no, we can't sell you to a direct competitor in the league like Barcelona. This is not acceptable for us.

40:14Julien Laurens:You can go to Arsenal. You can go to another club abroad. But if it's Barca that you want and only Barca, sorry, this is not possible. Especially because they don't want to pay the 150 million that we want as well. You know, they were stuck at 100 million euros. And they stood firm. And I like that. They need him. He needs to play. He can't stay without playing until January now. So it'd be interesting to see what happens now. They won without him at the weekend. He was not pretty. They won 3-0, but the goals came late from some of the serves that Simone made. So he's not perfect yet. He's not back at his best, as impactful as he was for the team before.

40:50Julien Laurens:But they would need to find a solution to get him happy again and play happy and for him to be good for the team and to help the team winning. Are we going to see a new challenger? Well, it's not a new challenger. They've challenged before in previous seasons. Russia and Dortmund have had a bit of a go in the transfer market because normally, obviously, the only big spenders in Germany are Bayern Munich. It's usually stealing the players off those that are challenged the most closely. So, interesting shift there. But Bayern, with the talent they've got, will still take a hell of a lot of beating.

41:24Julien Laurens:Yeah, they would. But we saw in the Super Cup that they played at the end of August. Bayern 1-2, 1 against Dortmund. really good first half. And then Dortmund were really strong in the second half. And to be fair, probably should have scored a second one to at least take the game to extra time. So right now Dortmund are three and three. They're the only team with Freiburg. Bayern dropped two points against Schalke, one of the new promoted sides, coming back up to the Bundesliga, which is great for German football to have Schalke back in the top flight, obviously, after a few years in the second division.

41:55Julien Laurens:And that Nil-Nil draw, I think Bayern can play it again, 99 times and they would win it three in it every time but in that case they drop points so it'd be interesting to see and I think the Dortmund the Bayern Dortmund first their classica is at the end of October so we've got a bit of time still not but but Niko Kovac with new signings although the two big ones were the two Greek boys that they signed part of this new Greek generations of really talented players like we see with Tolisa Arsenal Konstantelias and Karetsas who both got injured I mean Konstantelias is out for the for the whole season with an ACL which is such a shame yeah like really really such a shame Karl Starr I think will come back but Ethan Nguanieri stepped up and I think did well in the Champions League against Villarreal in their 3-2 win played well against Paderborn again at the weekend in their 3-0 win a really really interesting player and move for Nguanieri I think at his age with Kovac but he's looking good for Dortmund I have to say Gary I think it's good for Nguanieri as well to get that experience of playing in a country like Germany really good football I mean Dortmund as well has produced so many talented players.

42:59And obviously one or two English ones have been there over the years. Bayern Munich, I think probably their main target will be Champions League. I mean, you almost take for granted now that I think there's only, what was it, Leverkusen in the last 13, 14 years that won the title aside from them. So I think for them, the Holy Grail will be the Champions League, won't it? And they've got the talent to certainly be one of the favourites compete.

43:27Julien Laurens:Yeah, I agree with you. And Kompany has said it already that, you know, he would rotate more in the league now to make sure that his team is ready for the latest stages in the Champions League, you know, come March, April, May, quarterfinals, semifinals, final, because I think last season against PSG, remember that incredible first leg at the Paris-Denis in their semifinal, that 5-4, one of the games of the Champions League history, of European Cup history, if you want. Incredible, wasn't it? Yeah, breathtaking, the football, the attacking side of the movement, the talent, the technical ability, just everything.

44:00Do you know what I like about that as well? Is that Vincent Kompany was, you know, kind of an old school central defender in many ways, but his football is not that, which was great. I mean, I love Luis Enrique anyway. I mean, his football is special, but that was, I think that was... He was special. You could put that up there as one of the games of Champions League history, one of the best games I've ever seen, I think.

44:23Julien Laurens:Yeah, he would be in all of our top five or top three for sure. But then in the second leg, I think they lacked maybe a bit of freshness. They lacked a bit of legs. PSG were playing a different game, obviously, and waiting more for them. Yeah. Just closing all those spaces and everything. And I think Kompany looked at that and said, yeah, we were not fresh enough. Probably lacked a bit of energy and that fitness. So I expect them to be a bit different in the league. It should still be enough, you're right, to win it. In the end, they only signed two players, but two great additions in Brown, the left back from Frankfurt, who has been playing as a 10 in Moustiala's absence and did really well.

44:56Julien Laurens:And then Ismail Saibari, the Moroccan international number one, who can come off the bench and play with Harry up front as a front two, or Harry drops a little bit deeper as a 10 and Saibari is your nine. He can play wide and already he looked like he's been at the club for a while. The impact that he's had on the team, including the assist on the winning goal at the weekend against Helvesberg, one of the promoted side in Germany one of the surprises packages so far there's six in the table and they were 1-1 with Bayern going into the last quarter of the last 15 minutes of the game so Harry scored the winner and Bayern deserved to win too to be fair but Saibari had a great impact so I expect Bayern to win the Bundesliga and to be fair I think they are a strong favourite as well with the PSGs and Barca and Arsenal for the Champions League too yeah got to be what's happened to Italian football I mean when I played obviously And after I played, that was the place to go.

45:53Could you have gone there, by the way? Could you have played there? Did you have opportunity? I was very, very close to go. My second season at Barcelona, Terry Venables lost his job. And halfway through the season, Luis Aragonese came in, who latterly won, obviously, the Euros with Spain as the coach. And I loved him. But Inter Milan got in touch. Inter and they they were at that stage where they were about to be very powerful and I met Trapatoni I think it was in Frankfurt we met and he gave me he gave me a team shirt and he gave me some badges so I Inter badges and all this and he said we really want to make this happen but in the end Barcelona wouldn't sell me at that point so what they did they'd already got obviously they got Matthias and Bremer they had a German and then instead of me they went and got Klinsmann and they won they won everything almost and it was like a little bit because obviously by that stage of barcelona it wasn't going quite so well although i had a decent season that year but yeah then i thought i was going to go after barcelona i thought i was going to go to fiorentina oh wow and that looked like happening but then they sold baggio and i thought yes look sure that's the place to go um so there were one or two times i got quite close but it never happened but but that was the place to play apart from Barcelona and Real Madrid, it was obviously the two Melans.

47:17That was Juve. That was the big league. But it's far from being the big league now, isn't it?

47:23Julien Laurens:What's happened? It's really interesting, I think, Harry, because remember not that long ago, they had three clubs in the three European Cup finals too. And okay, they didn't win any of the three. But 2023, they had one in each, you know, Inter and I think Roma and Fiorentina were the three that were in those finals. So not all bad. and maybe in cup competitions because they still have really good tacticians on their benches and really good coaches. But the level of the league has dropped massively. You can see it with the fact that Italy have not qualified for three straight World Cups. Absolutely.

47:55Julien Laurens:I think there's a problem through academies and we talked about French academies and producing players. You know, Como, a great story and we talk about them and Cesc and what an amazing job he's doing there and what a great coach he's going to be for sure. But they've got no Italian players in the starting line-up in the Champions League game. You know, we record this on Monday. Tonight, Inter Milan are playing against Udinese. Inter will have two Italian players out of 11 starters. Udinese will have none. And again, Sassuolo had... And we can look at Juventus had only Vicario against Sassuolo.

48:24Julien Laurens:It's the only Italian player they had in the starting 11. That's their goalkeeper. The rest are non-Italians. There's a lack of talent coming through from younger players for sure. I think Italian clubs still would rather spend two or three million euros on a player from somewhere in the lower leagues or, you know, from their own league that is not Italian, then investing money in the academy to produce those Italian players coming through. So you end up with Bastogne and Barella. OK, great. Di Marco, great for Inter. And I say you look at Milan under Amorim, there's no Italians there either, you know, apart from one or two, maybe.

49:01Julien Laurens:And that's a big problem for the national team. and Mancini was in France. He was in Paris to watch Paris FC at the weekend because he had two Italian internationals there playing for Paris FC. It's crazy. And that's the biggest problem for me, really. It has to be that. What a job Cesc Fabregas has done at Kogo. It's a great story. I think he's probably destined for a big club at some point, don't you? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, they were into Milan when they appointed Chivu after Inzaghi left. They wanted him, but it was difficult for him because you also own shares in Como as a club. So you can't own shares in one area club and manage another one, obviously.

49:42Julien Laurens:That's a massive conflict of interest. It's an issue that everybody would understand. But eight years ago, Como were in the fourth division. They were then close to bankruptcy. They were bought by this very rich family from Indonesia who have a lot of money and they've invested a lot and spending a lot on the transfer market and good for them. But Sesk took them up from the second division. plays a very different brand of football to anything we see in Italy in terms of intensity, the pressing, the counter-pressing. They're the only team really with Roma and Gasperini in Italy who have that kind of football of high intensity, high press, high defensive line.

50:16Julien Laurens:The others are still very much more of a slower tempo, if you want, bar maybe Inter too. So that's it. That's why they're so different. They finished fourth last season. They smashed Leipzig in their first game of the Champions League last week in their first ever. Really impressive start. Really impressive. And they've got Nico Paz, who is a star in the making at 22. Assandiyah, Baturina. All those really creative players that Cesc brought over. And not just collectively, Gary De Strong, but he's improving all those players individually, which I think, again, is a proof of a great manager in the making.

50:49I've got one question for you before we finish. You've been very generous with your time, Julian. Thank you very much.

50:55Julien Laurens:Thank you for having me. Who wins the Champions League? You know what? You know, obviously, my love for you. You're going to go your heart and your head. Heart and your head says PSG. Heart says PSG as you know but I think three in a row is almost impossible. I think his mission is impossible and the fact that only obviously Real and Cristiano and Zidane have done in before since the 70s and those great Bayern and Ajax teams of that era I think shows you how difficult it is. Two in a row is already so difficult. Three it would be incredible. The three pick would be really, really wonderful. And we take this team from what it is one of the greatest teams in European football history to teams for eternity, really.

51:39Julien Laurens:So let's see if Luis Enrique can do another one of those incredible campaigns. But I would go for some... The head says, obviously, something different. I think Arsenal can wrap up the title in the Premier League quite early on this season. And if that's the case... Yeah, if that's the case, then I think there will be a force in the Champions League and I think they can go and win it. I would love a team like Barcelona with all that attacking flair that we mentioned earlier and for Lamine and Nancy Flick to go and win it playing that brand of football of super attacking and winning a final 4-3 and a semi-final 7-6 on aggregate and the quarterfinal is the same I think Bayern and company and Kane what an incredible season it would be for Kane to win the Champions League at that age towards the end of his career to finally get his hands on that trophy but I would go for Arsenal I think Arsenal will have everything to what about you?

52:30Julien Laurens:Heads and hearts. I think my head and my heart are pretty in the same place, I think, with Barcelona. I think I like the way they play. That high energy, that high pressure, it can be dangerous the way they play, but the talent they've got, and now they've got that calmness of Rodri. If he stays fit this season, obviously he's had his fitness problems the last couple of years. If he does stay fit, then I think they'll go all the way. I'm a bit like you, Pierce, Jim, a bit biased, but my head says that as well. If he does stay fit, I think he'll do it. I mean, they're on a roll as well. Julian, thank you so much.

53:10Fascinating as always. Thank you so much. Anytime. That's it for this episode of The Rest is Football. Goodbye from me.

53:30this good. Sweetgreen's fall harvest menu is back with seasonal favorites dressed to impress and made to be devoured. Warm roasted sweet potatoes, crisp apples, maple glazed Brussels, and crave worthy flavors in the autumn harvest bowl, maple glazed salmon plate, and roasted bacon Brussels side. The season's most desirable menu has returned to Sweetgreen featuring fall's best dressed. Make your move. Order on the Sweetgreen app. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. No two football players are exactly alike, and the same is true off the field. That's why State Farm gets to know you, so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget.

54:12Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Labor Day savings are happening now at the Home Depot with select appliances starting at$399. Plus, save up to an extra$1 ,000 and get free delivery on appliance purchases of$998 or more. Get a Whirlpool laundry tower featuring industry-first UV clean technology designed to reduce bacteria in the wash without fading fabrics. Plus, with great prices at The Home Depot, you can save on select appliances designed to make laundry day easier. Shop Labor Day savings at The Home Depot today. Offer valid August 27th through September 16th. USNAC store online for details.