Chapter 1: 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.
Chapter 2: 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.
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Chapter 3: 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.
Chapter 4: 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. There was not much else from Vini, from Bellingham, from the team that Arbeloa picked up. They got two players sent off in added time for stupid reasons. Asensio and Rodrigo, the worst probably for dissent.
It's just unbelievable the situation that the club is right now.
Yeah, Asensio, it was a tackle by the touchline, completely unnecessary. Rodrigo, dissent. And, you know, these things... they're going to be suspended now. Which doesn't help. Which maybe in Asensio's case, it's an even bigger loss than Rodrigo's because they have more alternatives.
Mbappé calling after the game with really strong words in the mix zone saying this is a disgrace. This is not acceptable. We can't behave like this. You cannot not play again. It's not the first time, he says, which I think was pointing out at Arbeloa too. The way I read it was a bit of a dig at the coach.
All right, Jules, let's go back to the moment. the goal I think you described it very well but let's just remind people who Trubin is because you know there was a moment this is a guy who made his debut in the Champions League I think it was 19 years old I think it was for Shakhtar Donetsk against Real Madrid if I'm not mistaken it was a 3-2 it was a big upset Shakhtar beating Real Madrid
And he was amazing. And he was amazing. He looked amazing. A lot of people said, oh, the next big thing in goalkeeping. We have this occasionally, right? Guys come in, make their debut. And look, he's playing for Benfica. He's playing for a small club. But he's had his ups and downs.
He maybe didn't immediately become, you know, he certainly hasn't become the next Courtois, as some people were suggesting. There was a moment at Benfica, too, where he lost his starting spot to Vlaco Dimos, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, yeah.
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Chapter 5: Why is Mourinho's management style significant in this context?
Um, I was struck when we were talking about this off-air how unprepared Real Madrid were for that moment. And I realized it's unusual for you to only have nine men.
Chapter 6: What challenges is Real Madrid facing under Arbeloa's management?
There's a guy, I don't know if it's Carreras or whoever it is, who goes and makes a one-man wall. Bro, what are you doing? You're completely useless there. And that means that Real Madrid have seven players in the box.
at that stage Benfica have 10 because Owens is the only one taking the free kick there's no defender this is the last kick of the game so they're all in the box there's a plus 3 advantage
And the ball comes in, and while we celebrate Trubin's header, as you pointed out, Otamendi is completely unmarked next to him. If Trubin doesn't score, Otamendi scores.
Yeah, probably, yeah. How does that happen? And you know the worst about that?
Chapter 7: How did Jamal Musiala perform after his injury comeback?
For me, it's pure, simple understanding of the game. If you careerized yourself, you should know by yourself, at this level, that this is not where you should be. Go and run to the... to the box to help defending and marking because you being the one-man wall is completely pointless. Where the free kick is, how far it is, there's no need for you to be there.
Secondly, you're on the side of the benches.
We should point out, players sometimes stand there because you think they're going to play it short or there's going to be a scheme. But they're obviously not going to do that in the ninth minute of injury time.
But you know what I think? I think it's a habit. You always have the habit and you usually are told...
if the free kick is your side and you're the left back or the left winger you just go and do the wall this is your job before all the managers on the wall have if we have set pieces this is what we do this is who takes it and who goes where and defensively this is who does what and who does and I think this is for me
He goes there by pure habit of, OK, yeah, I know this is what I'm being told to do, so I stand here. Not realising that he's not needed there, but in the box. But worse, maybe, is Arbeloa's bench is right there. This free kick is taken on the side of the bench, hence the crazy celebration because the Benfica bench is right there. So is Arbeloa.
And Arbeloa, or an assistant, whoever, even a junior coach, should see this and say, hang on a minute, what is he doing there? Go into the box and help and block people and pull shots and anything to avoid a goal.
And you could say the same thing, I think, of the Real Madrid players on the bench.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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