Trent Benched But Makes Decisive Impact In Madrid Derby

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1:00Every soda's got something to say Cola's brag Probiotics give TED Talks Then there's Mr. Pibb No pitch, no promises Just bold cherry bringing the flavour Bold kick of cherry Hey yo Mr. Pibb Maybe there's an argument that he plays better when Kylian Mbappe isn't on the pitch It's Vinicius Junior He is having a huge say On Derby Day For me, you're just decreasing his chances slightly If he doesn't take him to the World Cup He's a game changer You know, if you've 1-0 down and you've got that ammunition, why wouldn't you use that asset? Trent definitely coming on with a point to prove, assisting Vinicius Junior for that goal for 3-2.

1:46Hello and welcome to the Rest is Football La Liga episode with Alex Alge and me, Gary Lenica. Before we talk about the football, where are you this time, Alex? I'm in Los Angeles right now. Oh, lovely. which is sunshine very sunny very warm been sunbathing you've interrupted my pool session for this podcast but that's all good that's all good Ted Lasso's actually up there you know is it really yeah well not Ted Lasso Jason C. Dickis is up there a long way from Richmond but he's enjoying the sunshine too I've been watching the Real Madrid game which is very exciting we'll speak about it later on so you're there presumably for Fox because you're going to work for them as well as us hopefully in the World Cup yes as well as the rest football on Netflix I'll be working for Fox as well.

2:31What is it a press day there or you've gone all that way it's a long way to go. Yeah it's a long way it's a long way uh it's a seminar so meetings and headshots. Are you going to elongate the trip a little bit to get the best out of it? Yeah I'm staying uh on the beach after I'm going to a hotel in Santa Monica for a few days and then I'm stopping in New York on the way home as well so uh yeah I'll be away for the whole international break which is going to be great what about you you've been in Newcastle you are in Newcastle I'm still in Newcastle we're recording this on Sunday night in fact there's just a few minutes to go in the Real Madrid game so by the time we perhaps talk about Barcelona and stuff we'll know the result so yeah I'm in Newcastle came up had a kind of long weekend with a mate JD and went to a couple of brilliant restaurants I would highly recommend where did you go?

3:22went to the Black Swan That was near York though That was on the way up Tasting menu Absolutely stunning food And a similar sort of vibe actually at Pine Which is about 20-25 minutes outside of Newcastle Which was also absolutely fabulous Both restaurants have got Michelin star And then watched the Time Weirder derby Which was, well, the classic game of two halves really I actually watched the whole match as well Because I was up with jet lag So I was up at 5am watching that I met someone that's quite friendly with you, the CEO's future wife, the Newcastle CEO's future wife, called Chelsea, which is...

3:59Yes, I know, I know. Very apt for you, being a bit of a Chelsea fan. I got the WhatsApp, you'll never guess who I'm next to. All good, all good. Glad you enjoyed it. Really did. We should probably talk a little bit about football. Barcelona, it was not a classic, was it, by any stretch of the imagination? and were very, very, I think, thankful to their goalkeeper, Garcia. But they got the win and it was Ronald Araujo.

4:28Cancelo's kick and Araujo's header. It wasn't like one of the classic Barcelona goals we've seen this season. No, and that was the one change he made from the Champions League game midweek, that 7-2 win against Newcastle. Sorry, Alan. It's been a tough week for Alan, hasn't it? I'm sure that's been discussed on the other pod. We won't go at him again. So Ronald Arrajo in for Eric Garcia right back was the one change. I'm actually surprised that Hansi Flick didn't make more changes. I know they want to win the league title, but they've got a deep squad and he probably could have afforded to make a few more changes because I think in the second half they looked really, really tired.

5:05And unsurprisingly, they've had a lot of games. They've played a lot of games and then more to come with Atletico Madrid at the weekend. So, yeah, it did surprise me that he only made one change. and yeah, Rayo had a great chance in the first minute. Carlos Martin probably should have beaten Joan Garcia from close range, but Joan Garcia has been brilliant. It was an injury concern heading into this match after coming off against Newcastle, went down early on, but he played on and he could make his Spain debut in the upcoming internationals as well and probably deserves to, yeah. Yeah, I think also that Rayo had the better of the game and they did really well And there was one breakaway in particular in the second half where there was four of them going through and you thought to yourself, well, three of them are offside.

5:49But the one who actually ended up with the ball wasn't offside and he really should have done a lot better with that opportunity. But, you know, for Barca, it's a win. It's a win. You know, they weren't anything like the best. Rafinha missed a couple of really good chances as well. So, yeah, not at their best, but you can't be great every week. No, no, you cannot. And they were obviously brilliant. They just blew Newcastle away, didn't they, midweek? But Rio definitely had the better of the chances in this game. A narrow win, massive three points for Barcelona. Our mate Fruity George, by the way, came close.

6:22Came really close in the 89th minute. Fruity George. Jorge de Frutos in the 89th minute. It's such a good night. Yep, yep, denied by another Joan Garcia save. But still a massive win. They'll take it, won't they? They just needed the three points. Oh, yeah, yeah. One nil, take it, move on. Seven points clear. How many people are they getting into the camp now at the moment? Do you know? Because I look at it and there's a couple of patches near the bottom and then obviously they've not done the top tier at all yet. So it's nothing like that it will be. And it does sound a little bit vacuous in terms of the atmosphere there.

6:56And I know from my own personal experience, you don't really get much away support. It's practically zero. It's changed a little bit. You do get a few now. You never got any when I play. And also it's the crowd there. They're all socios. They're all members. They're all part of the club. And it's, let's say it's not particularly totally working class. It's quite, you know, quite posh. It's a Spanish form of posh. Pijo. Pijo is the word. Pijo. Pijo. Yeah. So when you play there, it's not like the crowd get you going, which happens mostly. And it's very different if you play in Real Madrid. That's totally different.

7:34but generally you need to get the crowd going rather than the crowd get you going um so they they really need you and it just sounds a little bit kind of quiet at the moment i think it's 56 ,000 capacity at the moment which is about half almost of what it will be because it'll be something like 105 ,000 it will be by the time it's um complete so that'll be a huge difference isn't it huge difference. It does make such a difference. But it is that, you know, I'd still watch games now and I'd say until they start going really well, it's not like, say, when I was in the Newcastle at St. James' Park, where the crowd get the players going.

8:14Yeah. We should talk a little bit about Champions League. It was a great week for La Liga against the Premier League, three for three. Yeah. You know, Atletico got through, Real Madrid saw off Manchester City and Barcelona obviously with that final half against Newcastle when they scored five goals. So it's been a good week for La Liga. Yeah, it definitely has because I was at that first leg, Newcastle, Barcelona. And to be fair to Newcastle, they did play really, really well in that game. And it was gutting that final, the penalty in the last moment. It really was. But then you can't say that Barcelona didn't deserve to go through.

8:54But City, I feel like they could have put up a better fight against Real Madrid watching the first half of it I know we'll talk about it in a moment but the first half of this Madrid derby I was thinking City would be 2-3 up by now so it's a totally different competition and Real Madrid get up for the Champions League don't mate but it's not a fair reflection of the levels of the Premier League and La Liga is all I'm going to say Well I mean I still think though that you know the strongest two leagues comfortably in the world because you say in Europe it's all the best players obviously playing in Europe.

9:26So it's always a stern challenge and I'm sure there'll be more before the end of the season, but it's Atletico Real Madrid now. Looking ahead, you've got, you know, all Spanish or some would say Spain and Catalonia clash between Atletico and Barcelona. And so that'll be interesting. So you're guaranteed a Spanish side in the semi-final. And of course, they met twice in the Copa del Rey when Atletico beat them 4-3 on aggregate. So can Luchula do the same again? Can he get past? I'm not so sure in the Champions League. And I'll tell you something strange that Eric said to me today. It didn't really matter if they lost the Madrid derby because it would mean the title race was, well, on, right?

10:15As opposed to off. And so Hansi Flick needs to play his full strength team whereas how Atletico won it and then La Liga's over, he could have just rested his players and gone full strength. Well, let's take a little break there, Alex. And by the time we come back, the Real Madrid game will be finished and we can talk about that. This episode is brought to you by Whoop. In the modern game, of course, there are a lot more games and that feeling of being slightly off by Monday. And that's how it shows up. Not as an injury, it's just fatigue creeping in. Off the pitch, everyday life stacks up too.

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12:25Well, now we know the game is finished and Real Madrid have won, hung on to a 3-2 lead, despite being down to 10 men with Fede Valverde sending off. So it's been one hell of a game. Partidazo. Partidazo. At the Bernabeu. Very difficult game in Atletico Madrid. started really well. Well, both teams had a couple of good chances early on in the game, but it was Adamola Lutman who opened the scoring for Atletico Madrid. Gary, Simeone, Adamola Lutman. He's been a good signing, hasn't he? Brilliant signing. He looks like he's played in the Atletico Madrid team for a while, obviously arrived in January.

13:06But yeah, looks to be a superb signing. And then Vinny Jr. got Real Madrid back in the game, scoring another penalty. Scored a penalty at the Etihad, the game I was working at earlier this week. But yeah, I interviewed him actually after that game. How is he British? What's he like? Yeah, I actually, I don't think I've interviewed him before. I was at the club when he arrived as a young kid. I know he's still young, but he was really young when he arrived from Brazil. To be honest, I thought he spoke really well. and he seems really happy under Alvaro Arbeloa. 10 goals now in 16 games since Arbeloa took over.

13:44So he's definitely, yeah, he's doing well. It's a big contrast to his performances in the previous incumbent. Yeah, and maybe there's an argument that he plays better when Kylian Mbappe isn't on the pitch. Obviously he would have taken the penalty had Kylian Mbappe been on the pitch. So there is that. But he's certainly stepped up. He missed the penalty, didn't he in the first leg of that tie in the Champions League but yeah he looks to be full of confidence and yeah it was a great penalty and then Fede Valverde has been on fire hasn't he absolutely on fire recently for that hat-trick in the Champions League against City and he scored again another great goal a real leader out there on the pitch as well so that was 2-1.

14:27And then, of course, Molina, who whacked one in with immense power last week, scored another absolute golazo. Rocket! Unbelievable. Here comes for Molina! That is a blockbuster! It's funny how that happens. You don't score for a while, then you score two absolute screamers in two weeks. So that was two all. And then Vinny got them back in front with Trent coming on and actually assisting Vinicius Junior for that goal for 3-2. Trent definitely coming on with a point to prove it's been reported that he was late for training, which meant he did not start. Do we know if that's accurate or not? I think enough sources are saying it's true.

15:18I'm sure. Credible sources. Yeah, credible sources. But Alba Rabler will come out and speak after the game about it, I'm sure. but obviously did the right thing if he was late for training it's not acceptable and he needed to drop him and it's important but that's the way to answer it come on and make the assist that wins you the game yeah and it's not been an easy week for him obviously being left out of that huge England squad it's baffling to me to be honest that he's not in that squad for me you're just decreasing his chances slightly if he doesn't take him to the World Cup because you know you can be a critical of Trent's defender and you don't have to start him at all but even if you have You know, if you've 15, 20 minutes to go in a quarterfinal or that's 16 or a second final.

15:59And you're 1-0 down and you've got that ammunition to come on. You know, one of the best passes of the ball in world football and definitely probably the best crosser of the ball in world football. Then why wouldn't you use that asset? Now, we don't know what's possibly going on, what he's like when he's been with the squad, whether they don't get on, whether it's a personal thing. whether Tuchel's not having him at all, but it's his prerogative, obviously. It's his team. He picks it. But, you know, I just think, oh, really? But then if Trent, you know, he comes on, makes an assist, plays brilliant to the end of the season, they win the Champions League.

16:39You never know. Force his way in. I wouldn't give up if I were in. But it's crazy that you're even saying Trent Alexander-Arnold has to force his way into an England squad. Into a 35-man squad, by the way. I know, I know. That's an even bigger blow, isn't it? It would be for him. It must hurt a little bit. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. But hopefully he can just hold his head up high, play well from now until the end of the season, as you say, maybe get a Champions League medal around his neck and say, look, you know, I deserve to be there here in the States. And actually it's, you know, quite possible they could win La Liga as well because with this result, I Liga.

17:14I Liga, I Liga. This was crucial, wasn't it? And it could have gone either way this game. No Thibaut Courtois in goal for Real Madrid either, but I thought that Andre Lunin had a superb game. Is he going to be out for long, Courtois? Because he obviously got injured against Manchester City, came off in that game. Yeah, I don't think it's serious. I think it's just a few weeks. What a great goalkeeper. Yeah, superb goalkeeper. So first La Liga Derby win for Real Madrid since 2022. Massive three points. Four years. Who would have thought? What's happened at Bilbao? They're making a change there.

17:53They've not had a great season. I think it's safe to say. Yeah, no, they haven't had a great season at all. And yeah, some big news this week in that Ernesto Valverde has announced he's stepping down at the end of the season. He said, it was simply an announcement of something I had been considering for some time. It's not a recent decision, not even from a few months ago. It comes from quite some time ago. And it's Andoni Irola who's considered one of the favourites to take over with his contract. expiring at Bournemouth. The Bournemouth's manager, of course. Yeah, he's done a superb job, hasn't he, on the south coast.

18:27He's obviously from the Basque region as well, isn't he? Yeah, spent 12 years at Athletic Club as a player, but he's obviously distancing himself from the rumours because I'm sure he just wants to get this season done at Bournemouth. But yeah, Athletic, ninth in the table after beating Real Betis on Sunday, but it's been a pretty disappointing season. and I still have your Amaric Laporte shirt by the way on the subject of Athletic Club my mum almost threw it out the other day she was helping me sort out my flat and she was like what was this in here I'll put it down down the rubber street anyway it's been saved we've got that for you okay Alex do you want to round things up for us and including a quite remarkable comeback in there isn't it okay so here are the rest of the results from over the weekend in La Liga Villarreal were quick out of the blocks on Friday Three goals in the first 23 minutes gave them a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad.

19:24Sevilla find themselves just three points above the relegation zone after a damaging 2-0 defeat at home to Valencia. First half goals from Hugo Duro and Laji Ramazani gave Los Che the win. El Che bagged a huge three points in their quest to avoid the drop, beating fellow strugglers Mallorca 2-1 to climb out of the bottom three and leapfrog their opponents in the process. Another big win down at the foot of the table with 19th place Levante beating bottom club Real Oviedo 4-2. And in yet another massive result in the relegation battle, Alaves staged a miraculous comeback against Celta Vigo. Celta were 3-0 up on 37 minutes, but a goal from Tony Martinez on the stroke of halftime gave Alaves a lifeline.

20:08and in the second half, goals from Angel Perez, Abdi Rabak and another from Martinez made it 4-3 and a vital three points for Alaves. Two goals in first half stoppage time from Domingos Duarte and Mauro Arambari were enough to give Getafe a 2-1 win at Espanyol. And finally, a late ante Budimir winner gave Osasuna the three points at home to Girona. Very well done. Can you believe that Hugo D 'Oro and Lagi Ramazani got into the game? In the same game. Absolutely fantastic. In the same game. I love that. Well, enjoy the rest of your time in Los Angeles in the sunshine. I'm very envious. Thank you so much.

20:50Thanks, Alex. That's it for this episode of the rest of the football league. Goodbye from me. Goodbye from me.