Sid Lowe

They might go and win the Champions League now.

They won three Champions Leagues in a row with Zidane in a period in which lots of people said, there isn't a structure, there isn't a model, there's just lots of really great players.

And then you've got Carlo Ancelotti and people said, well, where's the, you know, what's Carlo Ancelotti's footballing philosophy?

What's his identity?

Well, his identity is, I've got lots of good players, let's help them play.

Robbo, what do you make of all of that?

Yeah, and everyone in Spain is asking the same question.

Villarreal are quite literally, or at least joint, the worst team in the Champions League.

And yet here they are in Spain, the only team close to Madrid and Barcelona.

They've had a fantastic first half of the season, the best in their history.

They've got a game in hand, so they will have the opportunity to close that gap even further.

They've been beaten four times all season, and those four are Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico, and then against Betis two weeks ago away.

Now, those are all games you can lose.

And the weird thing is, from my point of view, as an analysis of Villarreal in La Liga, I think they have the strongest squad outside the top three.

I think they have the best starting XI outside the top three.

And I think they have a very good manager.

And I think, actually, if you look at their results, they have won the games they should win.

And they've not won the games that maybe you would say, well, yeah, maybe they shouldn't win those.

Madrid, Barca, Atletico, Betis away.

And then you go to the Champions League and think, that's not what's happened in the Champions League.