Benfica Keeper Brilliance
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome into the latest edition of ESPN FC. I'm Dan Thomas, joined by Ali Moreno, Craig Burley and Stevie Nicholl. What a final round of matches we saw in the Champions League today. Of course, sides vying for a place in the top eight, including Real Madrid. However, they would fail to do that. Benfica, who looked like they were completely out of the competition, would win by four goals to two. It would be Trubin. their goalkeeper who came up the last minute and scored the header that would give Benfica a better goal difference than Marseille. Jose Mourinho's side then, through to the next round. Real Madrid through as well, but not in the top eight. As we welcome in Frank Leper, Jurgen Klinsmann will be keeping an eye on some of the big games.
Vali, you were watching this match in particular. Did Benfica deserve it? What's going on with Real Madrid? What drama? There's so much to talk about.
Well, let's start with the goalkeeper. Yeah. Because I think that's the story.
What dramatic victory did Benfica achieve over Real Madrid?
They need a goal. Who do you count on? Is it Pablidis? No. Yeah. Xhaka's at home going, yeah. Where is Xhaka? And of course, it had to be the case that right before the free kick is taken, they pan to Jose Mourinho, who is seen telling the goalkeeper, you, forward.
What role did the Benfica goalkeeper play in their victory?
You, go into the box. And of course, any manager at that time would have done exactly the same thing. But it has to be Mourinho that then gets the shot on him. He tells the goalkeeper to go there. Real Madrid playing two men down. They swing the ball in. And of course, it had to be the goalkeeper who gets the sort of header that he did. And that in itself is a story. That by itself is a story. But a big part of the story is Real Madrid, in which you're thinking this team has turned the corner. They haven't. And over the weekend, what we were talking about is, can they sustain what they showed against Monaco? Can they sustain what they showed against Villarreal? And the truth of the matter is that today, when they were pushed, when the game got stretched, they didn't have a reset position.
They didn't have any structure. They didn't have any organization. They were exposed time and time again in transition. And Benfica deservedly so win the game and deservedly so get into the playoffs.
You take a look at the starting 11, Arbeloa put out. Craig, he's taking this seriously. They wanted a top eight spot. And yet again, his big names don't turn up when they have to.
and it's going to be an interesting second half of the season.
Why was Real Madrid's performance considered poor in this match?
There's a title race back on in Spain because of the way they've started. But the problems that were there for Xabi Alonso are just not going to go away overnight. Heavier reliant on Kylian Mbappe, a lack of discipline from other players. You've got Asensio, you know, chucking himself to ground, making silly and rash decisions, getting sent off. Rodrigo following him for descent. All these things were sort of brewing up under Xabi Alonso and were issues that he wasn't able to solve, certainly not in the eyes of Florentino Perez. And now Arbeloa, who... Partly is well thought of, but at the end of the day, he's going to have the same issues. And when you think about the team Real Madrid put out, and when you think about where Benfica are, and the whole lexicon of European football at the moment, they're not a strong side.
And they're probably, regardless of who they get, Real Madrid or Inter, they're probably going to go out over two legs. So when you look at the opposition, even though it was away from home, not a great night for Real Madrid or Arbelor. And that's the extra games for them that they really didn't want, particularly with the injuries that they've had this season.
But Jürgen, from a Benfica point of view, this is why we love football, isn't it? This sort of drama, this last minute, and it's the goalkeeper as well. That's why we enjoy this sport so much.
Yeah, and that's where you see that it's all down to mental moments. It's the psychology of the game. And to beat Real Madrid in such a big, big, big game in the way they did, I mean, you can only give them huge compliments.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:04–0:57
2
What dramatic victory did Benfica achieve over Real Madrid?
0:57–1:16
3
What role did the Benfica goalkeeper play in their victory?
1:16–2:17
4
Why was Real Madrid's performance considered poor in this match?
2:17–48:39
5
How did Antonio Conte's Napoli fare in the Champions League?
48:39–48:48
6
What are the implications of Napoli's elimination for their season?
48:48–1:03:34
Speakers
6 identifiedMore from ESPN FC
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