Gab & Juls Show: Will Arbeloa last the season as Real Madrid manager?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I'm Gab, he's Jules. Blue Skies over West London. Obviously, you know we're going to be talking Champions League. Yes. It's the end of the group stage. I want to say we saw, I think, the most dramatic ending, not in the history of the Champions League, because some of us remember Munich and whatnot, but certainly in the end of the group stage. I don't think there's any comparison. And I have to say, Jules, I called it. Did you? Both in our chats for our Champions League talking points, both on the FC show on Tuesday night, I said, watch this game. The ingredients are there. New coach, Real Madrid, Mourinho, Black Magic Mourinho. They need all these things to go their way, admittedly. But they weren't all like... They were kind of likely things or not impossible things.
And... All right, just describe what you saw at the end.
What happened in the Champions League match between Benfica and Real Madrid?
It's just, I mean, for a long time, it looks like Benfica and Jose Mourinho thought that winning 3-2 was enough to qualify them, not knowing that they needed one more goal because their goal difference was similar to Marseille, was just above them in the table. But Marseille had scored more goals. So when they realized that they needed more goals, I mean, there was a bit more urgency. There's a moment where through being in goal, There's a cross from, I think, Vini was, and took the ball on his chest, down, went on the floor with the ball in his arms, like to waste time, basically. And you see Ricosta and I think Juno Gomes in the stands coming like, what are you doing? Attack now, we need more and more goals.
Clearly the message didn't filter all the way back to the large Ukrainian goalkeeper.
When Mourinho realized that, he put Otamendi up front to play as a nine. He could not do any more substitution. And then this final free kick. That was never a free kick because it's not far from Bellingham. And then great delivery and great header. Remember when Ivan Providel scored for Lazio? Yes. Which was dramatic, but only in, obviously, a group stage. Not in this scenario, really. But for him to win, he never scored a goal in his life.
And the amazing thing is he took that. It wasn't just like a leg where it bounces off his head. It was a center forward. Victor Diacharis would be proud. I mean, it's incredible. And we have to say, you know, Mourinho in the past, people said, oh, look, he got lucky, blah, blah, blah. And we can say he got lucky with that free kick. And he got lucky. You are a little lucky when a goalkeeper scores a 95th minute. But you can also point to other incidents. The Otamendi penalty was a bit fugazi, but they released... It was certainly the Pristiani one, which I thought... And Courtois had to make some incredible saves.
How did Real Madrid's new coach impact the team's performance?
This was fully deserved on a football level, which then leads me to ask questions again. I'm not picking on you, Double A. But what is up with Real Madrid? Two defeats in four since he took over. Clearly, just Xabi Alonso wasn't the only problem at this team. And it felt like in this game, we haven't mentioned your boy Killian yet. He scored two goals. It seems to me you have an outstanding goalkeeper and you have an outstanding center forward. And in between, you have, I don't want to say every player's not working out. But do you have a lot of chaos in the middle?
Yeah, it's exactly that. I think you summed it really well, Gabi. I never really understood what they were trying to do in this game against a team that hadn't been playing well. This was probably Benfica's best performance in, you know, one of the best performances since Mourinho took over in September. Because they haven't been that good, really. OK, I guess Juventus last week, they were OK.
What led to Benfica's dramatic qualification in the Champions League?
But it's... You know, this is not a team that you think, OK, it's going to be very hard to beat them.
Let's remind people, they lost their first four games in the group stage. Comprehensively as well. Yeah, and comprehensively. Then they won two, then they lost to Juventus last week. And that's like you said, that's when we thought, this is it.
Yeah, yeah, completely. And for Real Madrid not to offer much, really, apart from the two Killian goal, the header and, you know, very good finish on the second one.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:05–1:03
2
What happened in the Champions League match between Benfica and Real Madrid?
1:03–2:46
3
How did Real Madrid's new coach impact the team's performance?
2:46–3:41
4
What led to Benfica's dramatic qualification in the Champions League?
3:41–10:09
5
Why is Mourinho's management style significant in this context?
10:09–10:19
6
What challenges is Real Madrid facing under Arbeloa's management?
10:19–10:59
7
How did Jamal Musiala perform after his injury comeback?
10:59–51:21
Speakers
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