Shock Defeat For Real Madrid Hands Top Spot To Barcelona

9:01Alan Shearer:Well, there's an easy permutation if they don't lose, they're through. Isn't that it?

9:05Micah Richards:Yeah, but it's about what day they'll be playing and whether they're home or away. But basically, they're going to have Sporting Club or Manchester City next if they not Benfica.

9:13Alan Shearer:That's right. It reminds me actually of, sorry to bore you with something before you were born, Alex, that Bobby Robson was quite famous for his very, very, very long team meetings. And he'd go on a bit and we'd had a bad start to the World Cup in 86. We'd lost to Portugal and then drew against Morocco and we had to beat Poland. And then the pre-match talk with all the players, we're sitting down and we're thinking, here he goes. And he started and he just basically went, lads, you know you can do this. I know you can do this. You're a better side than them. You're better than you've shown so far.

9:50Alan Shearer:I've got every confidence in you. I could go on for hours about all the possible permutations for us, whether we go through to the next round or not, but I don't need to because you've got this. And it was like a goosebumps moment. And we all stood up. We're just about to go out. And he went, but, and he had this flip chart. He turned it over and he said, if anyone wants to talk about the permutations, these are them and spend 35 minutes going through them.

10:17Micah Richards:That's so funny. Love that.

10:19Alan Shearer:Classic Bobby. That's so good.

10:21Micah Richards:and you went through?

10:22Alan Shearer:We did. Scored a hat-trick, Alex. Did you? That was supposed to be your next question. And that was a follow-up. Did you score? Sorry, sorry. Did you score? Yeah, come on. You're a journalist. You're a reporter.

10:32Micah Richards:Was it a perfect hat-trick?

10:34Alan Shearer:No, I didn't get a header in that one. No. All right foot, I think. Was it? Actually, the third one might have been there. I can't even remember.

10:43Gary Lineker:Does Harry remember? You looked to Harry like... It was three right foot.

10:47Alan Shearer:Three right foot. Was it one from Hodge? I know what the goals are. The chest and... No, I'm off the corner.

10:52Gary Lineker:That was my right foot.

10:53Alan Shearer:Yeah, it was. Was it?

10:54Gary Lineker:Actually, it was the corner was from the left, so I feel like it was that way. I feel like. Maybe it was. No, two rights and another. I can't remember, maybe.

11:00Micah Richards:I'll watch it. I'll watch it back after this podcast.

11:02Alan Shearer:Oh, dear. It says something when you can't even remember the bloody World Cup goals. Bleak. Bleak times, Gary. Yeah, indeed.

11:08Gary Lineker:Three tappings.

11:10Micah Richards:What did you say? Tappings? Tappings.

11:12Gary Lineker:Well, obviously.

11:13Micah Richards:No. All right, anyway. Back to Barcelona. They'd had a hard few days because obviously they lost in the Copa del Rey, didn't they 4-0

11:20Alan Shearer:they're not out of that yet though we must remind people that that's a two-legged affair but it's

11:26Micah Richards:a lot of work to be done

11:28Alan Shearer:a lot of work to be done on that one don't I say

11:30Micah Richards:and then they lost the Monday night football didn't they at Girona so they actually really needed this win

11:37Alan Shearer:oh this was hugely important and it would have lifted them seeing Madrid lose before they actually went out on the field of play so they knew that they were back on top otherwise they'd have gone into that game wouldn't they what five points behind Cancelo

11:52Gary Lineker:Slide for Eric Garcia Mark Bernal The teenager has two and three And lowly Levante Have been opened up Inside five minutes

12:04Micah Richards:I liked what Hansi Flick said About Laminia Mal as well Because Laminia Mal was clearly annoyed That he was taken off And he said What was his reaction? Was he angry? It's normal For me the most important thing Is that we won he said I liked seeing his attitude you know you guys make a big deal out of everything Lamine does

12:25Alan Shearer:that is true if he's upset

12:26Micah Richards:and he just goes if he's upset because he was substituted that's human I agree with that but I think sometimes it's not a great look when one of your teammates is coming on and you know you're visibly just pissed off rather than

12:42Alan Shearer:I agree with you on what Hansi Flick said I suspect he might say something slightly different behind closed doors. I think he's absolutely right not to put him away publicly. And I think he makes a very, very valid point that anything, you know, Luminium Alders will be exaggerated one way or the other. And I suppose it's a similar thing to Vinicius Junior as well. Anything, you know, if they complain about something, it seems to be a massive issue. And he's a very young boy. He's learning his trade, but I think Kanzi Flick's handled him very wisely and very well. And he'll learn from a bit of petulance, but it's never fun being substituted.

13:27Micah Richards:Yeah, and he was probably just annoyed he didn't score as well, right?

13:30Alan Shearer:Well, he also, they've got a lot of big football coming up. They've got a second leg coming up against Atletico. They've got a league title to fight. They've got Champions League. They'll be back in this round because they automatically qualified. So he's probably just protecting him a little bit. He's had this little groin issue. I think it's a groin issue over the last couple of months. It's just common sense. And I think just sometimes when you're a player and you're on the pitch and you see your number go up, it's like, no, I don't want to go off, which is actually quite a good thing. You know, you see players that actually sometimes want to get off.

14:07Micah Richards:Yeah, no, I agree with you. I agree with you. Brilliant goal. Firmin Lopez scored. Golaso. Golaso. That was the third goal. yeah in the 82nd minute and then shout out to Matty Ryan by the way who used to play that double save he was so good oh wow so good wasn't it he played at Brighton do you remember yeah the Aussie keeper yeah so yeah I thought that was a spectacular double save wasn't it

14:31Alan Shearer:yeah I mean the first save was brilliant from Rafinha but the second close range block half was from Lopez was absolutely incredible I mean it's the speed that he got his hand up I mean I would imagine there he's just trying to make himself big as an element of fortune. But having said that, that's as good a double save as you'll see.

14:52Micah Richards:Brilliant. I remember him playing at Brighton. He actually went to Arsenal as well. He went to Arsenal after, on loan, after he was at Brighton. And now, yeah.

15:01Alan Shearer:As a backup keeper.

15:02Micah Richards:Yes, yes. Yeah.

15:04Alan Shearer:Tell you what, Alex, we'll take a break there because there's other things to discuss on our return. This episode is brought to you by Whoop. If football teaches you anything, It's that careers are shaped between matches by how you recover and sleep and how you manage the days in between games week after week.

15:24Gary Lineker:It's not about doing more. It's about getting it right. So you're ready to go again tomorrow on and off the pitch.

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15:50Alan Shearer:Whoop gives you personalized insights to help build routines that last so you get into a better rhythm across the week without second guessing yourself. If you want to better understand how you can feel and live at your best for years to come, I'm definitely up for that. Head to join.whoop.com slash Trif and get started with Whoop today. You can even sign up for a free 30-day trial so you can try Whoop risk-free and start your year with momentum. Welcome back to The Rest is Football La Liga with Alex Algea and me, Gary Lineker. A good win for Atletico. You could describe them as somewhat inconsistent at present.

16:32Micah Richards:It must be tricky being an Atletico Madrid fan. Pray for Eric right now. Whole rollercoaster of emotions, isn't it? One minute you're up, one minute you're down.

16:41Alan Shearer:I want to ask one thing about him. He told us earlier in this season that Saul lost this huge, this giant we've got up front and he can't head the ball. I've seen him score some bloody brilliant headers since he said that. Maybe it spurred him on to better things. Eric's criticism. him.

16:57Micah Richards:Yeah, he definitely was listening to the pod, wasn't he? He's thinking, I can't have this. I can't have this. It was a Norway Christmas tree comment that I think finished him off. So Eric said, yeah, good four to win at home to Espanyol. Atletico is scoring and conceding more goals this season. Midweek three-all draw in Bruges, prime example. Important three points. Oblak didn't make a save, yet Espanyol still scored twice and hit the bar. Lukman chips in with another goal. We'll obviously speak about him in a moment. Again, he says, Solov keeps proving me wrong, Long may it continue.

17:27Alan Shearer:There you go.

17:28Micah Richards:And then biggest game of the season on Tuesday coming up in the Champions League tonight.

17:33Alan Shearer:Yeah, because in that first leg against Bruges, it was a topsy-turvy, pretty much a game that sums up their season in many ways, wasn't it? Encapsulated into 90 minutes. You know, they go two up, then they're 3-2 down, and then it's 3-3. This is the antithesis of his kind of football, really, isn't it?

17:50Micah Richards:Yeah, yeah. And they conceded first in this game. What did Simone say? we started off losing but didn't unsettle the team. He talks about their attitude and I think they do have character, this Atletico Madrid team. It just feels like they find themselves losing but they find a way to get themselves back in the game.

18:07Alan Shearer:Simeone's teams have always had a... Strong character. A strong character, strong personality. I always think teams are a reflection of their coach's personality in many ways and that's certainly the case with him. However, from being like a bit of a Scrooge, 1-0, 0-0, 1-0 kind of manager this season especially of late it's like big high scoring games

18:29Micah Richards:yeah and what a signing Adam Olufman has been

18:33Alan Shearer:so far yeah he's done really well diving headers yeah yeah

18:37Micah Richards:unbelievable his first La Liga goal against Espanyol but he's scored three in the cups already so yeah brilliant signing brilliant signing for Atletico

18:45Alan Shearer:Espanyol have gone off the ball haven't they they were going really well I think that's about six games now they've gone without a win

18:51Micah Richards:yeah not good they've had a terrible start to the year Espanyol really really poor run but massive win for Atletico Madrid back in the top four but certainly not in the title race

19:02Alan Shearer:no they're definitely not in the title race almost a 10 point gap now I think I think we can say safely that not for the first time in the history of La Liga it's a two horse race

19:11Micah Richards:and just one other goal I wanted to mention Simeone's son Giuliano Simeone's goal I think that was the pick of the goals in that game good work from Alex Baina and yeah

19:21Alan Shearer:does Simeone get excited when his son scores more so than I mean to be honest it's hard for him to get more excited because he does celebrate when they get a goal but I just I just wonder well there's a little not nepotism because it's I mean he's justified his position and that's the great thing about football you don't get nepotism particularly because everyone knows who's the best player in teams and stuff like that you can't you can't hide it like you might be able to do in other professions like like this one for example eh Harry?

19:56Micah Richards:No, Harry plays a key role. What would we do without Harry, eh?

20:00Alan Shearer:I don't know, he much certainly does, to be honest, but I wish for that.

20:04Micah Richards:Exactly, we'd be lost without Harry. No, I think, I'm sure deep down he feels, yeah.

20:11Alan Shearer:Can't be easy on both sides because one, with all your teammates in the dressing room, can we talk normally? because all teams will slag the managers off at some time for whatever the training session is or something like that. So can he be one of the lads? Can he say this fucking coach drives me mad? Well, difficult.

20:34Micah Richards:Or if someone's speaking about his dad.

20:36Alan Shearer:Or listening to that.

20:37Micah Richards:Yeah, he's like, I'm telling my dad on you.

20:39Alan Shearer:Yeah, it can't be that easy. And likewise for Diego Simeone, when he picks him, does he think, you know, the other players probably think I'm being over favourable to him? I would imagine actually it works the other way. Yeah. I mean, he's not the only one, Simeone. Van Persie's lad plays for him, doesn't he? At Feyenoord as well. And I think when you listen to Van Persie talking, he kind of talks differently about his son, but not more favourably. But there are ways of getting it over that, no, it's actually probably harder for them to break in because the manager will fear people thinking he's been overly favourable to their son.

21:18Alan Shearer:etc. So it can't be easy but it must give you great joy when it goes well as it's done for both of them. I saw Van Persie's lad scored a couple of really good goals and Simeone has played really well for them.

21:33Micah Richards:Yeah. And I don't think any player probably dares to save things behind Diego Simeone's back anyway even if his son wasn't in the dressing room. Believe you me

21:41Alan Shearer:they will. Believe you me. When you've been left out. No, honestly.

21:47Micah Richards:I'd be terrified Terrifies of a cholo.

21:51Alan Shearer:Yeah, he's a scary character.

21:53Micah Richards:When I interviewed him earlier this season and I did one of my translation things, I normally say to the player or manager, please, like, short answers just so I can remember. I was going to ask you that, actually.

22:03Alan Shearer:Do you tell them to do short answers?

22:04Micah Richards:I just say, like, let's keep it, like, snappy. Just, you know, then I'll remember what you're saying and I'll ask you another one. We'll just keep it like a conversation because it works best that way. And then Simeone walks in, they'd just been thrashed by Arsenal. And I was thinking, I can't tell him to keep his answers short. Keep it brief, would you, Diego? I thought that wouldn't go down well. So I didn't say that to him. And his answers were very long. So I did my best to remember what he said to me that day, but it wasn't easy.

22:31Alan Shearer:I've done a few. When I did the golf, funnily enough, because I do the greenside interview. And there's a couple of, well, there's some, Angel Cabrera was one who won the Masters, of course. But this was during the British Open. and he'd finished a round and I was on the back of the green and started to interview me and he went, you know, Spanish, please, Spanish, please. I went, oh, okay, okay. And I mean, I'm fine with asking the questions and listening and understanding, but then to do what you do and you do it to your credit in like a multitude of languages, I could do it in Spanish. And he started rambling on a bit and I'm thinking, how am I going to remember everything he said?

23:17Alan Shearer:and here you go and then and then you've got to think about your next question at the end of that in which language do you I mean it is tricky and you do it brilliantly Alex

23:25Micah Richards:it's one of those things I think the more you do it the more yeah the easier it becomes

23:29Alan Shearer:yeah but doing it different how many languages would you be comfortable in doing that style of interviewing

23:35Micah Richards:um I've done it in four Spanish and Portuguese Spanish Portuguese and I've done it in Italian and French oh well

23:42Alan Shearer:play I'll tell you what Can you do the roundup in four different languages, please? Imagine.

23:48Micah Richards:Okay, well, let's have a roundup of the other results. Villarreal remain in third after defeating Valencia in the Valencian derby at La Ceramica. Largi's back.

23:58Alan Shearer:Largi's back. Good old Largi.

24:01Micah Richards:Largi Ramazani had opened the scoring for the away side, but goals from Santi Comissania and Papagui ensured that the Yellow Samarines dave three points ahead of Atletico Madrid in the La Liga table. Celta Vigo moved into the top six after a late victory over Mallorca at Palahidos. Fresh off his heroics in the Europa League, Iago Aspas was the difference maker as he opened the scoring from the penalty spot on 85 minutes before sealing the win in stoppage time. Just three points separated Getafe and Sevilla coming into the game. Getafe captain Dacano Mangini was shown a straight red card after 26 minutes rapel on Gabriel Suazo.

24:39Micah Richards:Sevilla struggled to make the extra man count until the 65th minute when Gibraltar scored for the second match in a row. Real Betis were forced to settle for a point at La Cartuja after an impressive away performance from Raya Baicano. Cedric Bacambu opened the scoring on 16 minutes, but Issy Palazón's equaliser later in the first half means that Los Verde Blancos have dropped off in the race for the top four. Bottom of the table, Oviedo pulled off a remarkable comeback against Real Sociedad. They were 2-0 up within two minutes of the second half through a Federico Vinyas double. Real Sociedad fought back through Ori Stein, Oskarsson and Duje Celeta-Cha.

25:18Micah Richards:Deep into injury time, Santi Cazorla set up Eric Bailly, who slotted home a dramatic equaliser. Gorka Goruzeta was the hero at San Mames, scoring a late penalty to secure the win for Athletic Club against Elche. He opened the scoring in the 64th minute. Andre Silva levelled from the spot just four minutes later. and just as it looked like Elche would hold on for a point, a foul in the box in the 89th minute gave Guruzeta the chance to step up and seal the win. Alaves and Girona played out a thrilling 2-all draw at Mendes-Rosa. Lucas Boye opened the scoring in the fifth minute but Vladislav Vanat leveled for Girona just before half-time.

25:57Micah Richards:Viktor Sigankov's goal looked to have won it for the visitors only for Boye to power home a header in the 89th minute to rescue a point for Alaves and complete his brace.

26:08Alan Shearer:Well done. I mean, there's some tongue-twisting names in there, some absolute beauties.

26:13Micah Richards:That took a while, didn't it?

26:15Alan Shearer:I got through it. Name of the week, I'm going for, there's a couple, Gabriel Swazzo, or Swazzo. I mean, he's got a bit of Swaz about that. Yeah, I like that. That's a great name. That's a good surname, isn't it? And Jibril Sow, which, you know, he reaps what he sows, that boy. What a player.

26:36Micah Richards:Gabriel Suasso is Chilean

26:39Alan Shearer:Chilean so it's Suasso yeah

26:41Micah Richards:Suasso and I liked Vladislav Vanna as well yeah

26:46Alan Shearer:yeah you like saying it there's not a lot of V's in there V's okay Alex let's call it a day there and good luck tonight enjoy the game enjoy the atmosphere it's always good at St. James's Park yes it should be a bit like a party atmosphere yeah

27:04Micah Richards:Yeah, we'll go to Shearer's Bar after the game.

27:07Alan Shearer:Imagine if it's 3-0 to Carabaug at halftime though.

27:10Micah Richards:Yeah, yeah. And also, I'm really looking forward to hearing Alan on CoCom's tonight because I've actually never heard him commentating a Newcastle game. So I'm going to be interested to see how it goes for him. You know, what he's like with his emotions and everything.

27:26Alan Shearer:I'll tell you one thing, he'll be biased. Without a doubt. That's so funny.

27:33Micah Richards:Without a doubt.

27:33Alan Shearer:I think there'll be so many complaints from the Carabag fans tomorrow.

27:39Micah Richards:It's not a fan, is it?

27:41Alan Shearer:Yeah. Okay, Alex. Thank you very much. Goodbye from me.

27:44Micah Richards:Goodbye from me.