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Chapter 1: Who is Lamine Yamal and why is he in the spotlight?
From 30 for 30 podcasts.
Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman from Miami, gunned down.
The key to this case, it's Brian. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody. This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction. Being placed under arrest. We had a killer most us murder at the U listen now.
Hello welcome into the latest edition of espnfck Murray Craig Burley who's back from vacation here in the studio.
Have I got a tan?
Looking fresh.
Have I got a tan?
Yep, got a little bit of a desperate tan there. Looks happy, ready, just in time for the Champions League to come back.
Why lie?
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Chapter 2: How is Barcelona performing ahead of their UCL matchup?
Sam Ames, it's going to be difficult, and here's the difference.
Although they haven't had a great season, Athletic Club, it's still a hostile atmosphere. And the goal was... It helped with the defender slipping a little bit, but still... You know, he basically put it in the stanchion between the uprights. It was unstoppable. I have to say, those numbers are incredible.
We put on the graphic, as Alex said, he's going to have his best ever goal-scoring season by far. His assists are getting up there. I have to say, I was a little worried when this lad turned 18 because of all the... You know, because there's a lot... I know the culture's different in Spain, but...
When you turn 18 and you're a superstar and you're able to go to places you weren't legally allowed to go to before, and there are so many bright lights, there are so many people hovering around you, you've had so many headlines, you're talked about as a potential Ballon d'Or winner, as he was, Dembele pipped him, but he was in that discussion, he's won the Liga, he's won the European Championship, there are so many pitfalls
for teenagers. And I was slightly concerned about the lifestyle side of it. And I don't know, maybe he is having a little bit more enjoyment. I don't know. But it's certainly not affecting what he does on the field. And a young player can come off the rails really quickly. And I'm so glad to see at this moment in time that he still seems to be
not carrying on as he was, but actually getting better because we've all seen it. We've all seen players, youngsters who make the headlines, who all of a sudden are on this pedestal. You turn 18, 19, 20 and all the attractions become more attractive and it really can have a detrimental effect on how you perform.
At the moment, and I stress at the moment, Barcelona seem to be managing this young man really, really well and they're reaping the rewards for that on the field.
Yeah, absolutely. As Craig mentioned there, Alex, it's something to discuss when it comes to La Minimal, because he's won all of the domestic trophies already with Barcelona. He's won the European Championship with Spain.
You have to wonder, if Spain were to go on and win the World Cup this summer, and he played a key part in that, what we're talking about in terms of level and legacy that this player's leaving, he'd only be 19 and he would have achieved all of that.
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Chapter 3: What challenges is Real Madrid facing this season?
And that goes back to a little bit of Frank's point. I feel bad almost saying this. We're talking about can you keep it going? That's like looking ahead and getting ahead of yourself. But if you want to compare and contrast with these two players who were the best in this generation by some stretch,
then you're looking at having to repeat the kind of season he's having this season and these kind of numbers going forward for another 10 years. Because you can't lie. You know, the facts are there. The stats are there. These guys were, you know, both Ronaldo and Messi doing it different ways were incredible.
If you look at the numbers of both those players and you think, right, you could maybe do that for a year or two. But you can't keep doing that. And they did. They did one guy for one club, another guy for various clubs. And I think that's going to be the big question for Luminia Mal, and he is only 18, is that when he's 25, are we still talking about him in that same light?
Now, that is, as I said, that's getting ahead of yourself. But if we are going to look at him in this light and say, well, he's as good as Messi and Ronaldo, or he's going to be as good as Mbappe, and all that sort of stuff, certainly the first two, you know, let's revisit this in a few years' time and just see if he can keep this...
trajectory going on an upward spiral, or whether there is going to be a tail off. And listen, if there is a tail off, that's OK. Because what these two that I talked about, what they did was way above and beyond what anybody else was even capable of doing. So it's terrific to watch. He's an amazing talent. But he is a young guy.
And I keep saying that there's a lot of pitfalls for youngsters out there. And will he still be doing it in a few years' time? I don't see why not, but we just don't have the answer to that.
Yep, hopefully we'll be here in a few years' time to continue talking about him.
Maybe somebody else will be talking about him.
He's definitely not short of confidence, but the same cannot be said for one of his teammates right now, Ferran Torres, who seems to be going through something of a crisis of confidence right now. We know this because Hansi Flick has said he doesn't have any confidence right now, but we are working on it. It's important that you try everything.
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Chapter 4: What are the predictions for Real Madrid vs Manchester City?
Certainly, do Barca have to look at buying a new number nine next summer? And for Spain, you know, what other options are there in terms of that debate? that centre-forward position. So, like I say, it feels like it almost silenced that debate with the way that he was playing earlier in the season. And everyone thought, OK, this is... This can be the guy for Barca.
Maybe not long-term, but certainly right now. And it feels like with this run of form, like I say, that debate has opened up again. And as well with the national team, it's not like... There aren't a host of centre-forward options. You'd say, OK, that's the guy instead.
You know, Morata, who was the captain, of course, when they won the Euros, has drifted out of the picture with his form in Italy. And like I say, there's not another obvious centre-forward candidate for Spain right now, so it probably is him.
But certainly Luis de la Fuente will be hoping that he gets back to the kind of form he was in earlier in the season, as he gets towards the end of the season going into the World Cup.
But, you know, again, I'll go back to any sport. You can't feel sorry for yourself. You know, he's been through these periods before when he was at Man City trying to make it in England. It didn't happen. He came back to Barcelona. It wasn't happening for him.
And then, as Alex said, he did such a good job for Hansi Flick coming off the bench and playing in games that Lewandowski was rested or injured that he became the attacking number nine. And these numbers are actually pretty good. But you're defined as a player by how you cope with these bad times because you're not really defined as a player by, you know,
just scoring every game and winning every game, because that's not going to happen. So those peaks and troughs are how you're defined. And unfortunately, it affects certain players more than others. You know, somebody's having a couple of bad games, they go home and they shrug it off. Other players, they go home and they can't get it out of their head, because everyone is different.
Everybody deals with it differently. The pressure... But you are defined by that because you either come back and you resurrect it or you sink. Because that's the kind of level we're at. You know, Hansi Flick hasn't got time for another five or six games with no assists and no goals. As much as he wants to put the arm around them, he needs them to perform.
And so, again, you're judged and defined by the fact that you can pick yourself up off the floor from a bad time and go back out there and pick your season up. There is a World Cup, as we've talked about. There is a Champions League. There is a League of Title. There's a lot to play for. And Barcelona need a Ferran Torres that was doing what he was doing in the first half of the season.
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Chapter 5: Can Arsenal achieve a quadruple this season?
Got better players in the middle of the park. Guimaraes has been out. They haven't had that Guimaraes, Tenali, Joe Linton midfield for quite some time now, and that's affected them. And quite simply, it comes down to, Kay, that Barcelona have better players, and it's not exactly a Newcastle side that are in a title race with Arsenal.
It's one that have huffed and puffed, and you just don't know what you're going to get from them. So I don't see Hansi Flick's side being, even though they lost at Chelsea 3-0, that was a disaster, I don't see them losing to Newcastle over 180 minutes, I don't.
Obviously Craig's brought up Chelsea there, Alex has been that game against Atleti in the Copa del Rey which finished 4-0, Bernabeu back in October, Sevilla there was a big loss by their standards and back in October also and then you take it back to September 18th against Newcastle in the Champions League already.
So this is being brought up, their troubles on their travels when it comes to big games isn't it?
Yeah, that's true for sure. You know, Barca haven't been unbeatable this season. They have slipped up in some high-profile games, but I think overall, you look at them now, they're in a position where Lamine, as we've seen, is right on form. Pedri is back in the team. Pedri provided the assist for Lamine at the weekend. You've got Rafinha in there.
Yes, there are defensive issues, but all rounds, I think Barca are in pretty good shape and have been. And I agree with apologies to Dan. I'd be extremely skeptical about, about Barca, about Newcastle's chances of knocking out Barca over two days. Cause yes, they're not perfect.
Yes, they've got their weaknesses, but you still look at this team with the players I've mentioned, Lameen and Petri and Rafinha. I think they, I think they are overwhelming favorites to go through for me. Don't apologize to him.
Yeah, what does Dan know anyway, Frank? Well, you know what he does? He throws out this little curveball now and again. He says, I really think Newcastle, I think they could go through. And then when they don't, he goes, I was only just, you know... I think he might have already taken it back yesterday. I was tongue-in-cheek, and then if they do go through, he'll go, you guys know nothing.
Yeah, Frank, don't let him do what you do and remind us all if this prediction does come right now, because he took it back yesterday. He can't do that, right? Did he?
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of Arsenal's recent performances?
The question for Alba Loa is, could he pick Pitarch for a game like this? You know, it's one thing coming in and doing well in the league against quality teams, you know, like Celta Vigo. It's another thing. Throwing them in from the start against Manchester City, that's why I've left Thiago on the bench and I've gone for Camavinga.
But I wouldn't be stunned, given what we've seen from Thiago Pichard, given how much everybody rates him, if it was the other way around. The other doubt for me, the big one would be at left-back. I had put Carreras in there. He's not totally fit. We saw Ferlamendi start on Friday against Celta and play for 90 minutes, which, given his injury record, is a near miracle.
Mendy has tended to be reliable in these big games against teams like City. The question is, can he start again and play anything close to 90 minutes for the second game in five days? I'd say probably not. So I think Madrid will be hoping that Carreras gets back at left-back.
How good does that team even look without Kylian Mbappe in it to you?
Average. Well, it looks OK. Some of the players look OK. But then it plays decidedly average. It has played very averagely, sometimes worse than that. The odd occasion has been good, the very odd occasion. But I looked at City against Newcastle yesterday, then I looked at their bench. And it was strong. I looked at the options. You know, Marmoush played and scored.
One of his goals was just brilliant. They had pace. They had Semenyo. Cherki came on. Foden came on. Diaz was on the bench. I mean, as Alex said, he could be a little worried for Real Madrid. This is quite a simple game for me in a sense that City are a better side. There's no doubt about that. They have more options. They have Guardiola can tinker more. He's got more game changers.
And they're playing better. If City don't implode defensively, and we have seen that on the odd occasion, if they don't play this hear him, scare him, leaving themselves open type of game to coffin the ball up and then get encountered, if they're clever and defensively they get it right... I think they're going to batter Real Madrid.
Now, I might be wrong, and people will come out and say, you said they're going to bat. But... I just see this City side outplaying this Real Madrid side. This Real Madrid side have been pedestrian, and that's maybe nice, pedestrian all year. Maybe we get one of these one-off games where they turn up like they did at Athletic Club and play really, really well. But those have been one-offs.
And Athletic Club have had a struggle, and particularly at that time, were struggling in La Liga. So I think it's a difficult sell at the moment, not impossible.
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Chapter 7: How does the crew analyze the Champions League matchups?
And it's even poorer without someone like MbappƩ in the team who's been sort of getting them out of trouble so often this season with his goals.
Do you think... I was going to ask you, Alex. I think we talked about this, that Xabi Alonso was probably quite happy to be out of that scenario. I wonder where Arba Loa sits with all this at the moment. Yeah, they technically could still win the Champions League and technically still win La Liga, but I wonder how this is affecting him.
And then the other question I have, because you're closer to it than me, even though we watch them every week or most weeks, Apart from one or two players being happier, is there any difference whatsoever in the way this team have played since the change of stewardship at the top? I can't put my finger on it.
Not really. I think that Arbeloa has sort of accepted that there are things that you can't change about this team and these players. He's gone a bit back to basics, a bit more towards the sort of the model we saw from Carlo Ancelotti. But not really.
I mean, Arbeloa really has been focused, I think, more on the stuff like getting the players back on boards, keeping them happy, getting Vinicius Junior delivering. That stuff, rather than anything kind of tactical or systemic. In terms of where it leaves Arbeloa, look, I think
that he could be one of these we've seen it before from someone like Santi Solari when he was in charge of Real Madrid where he gets this job loses it I think he stays at the club I think he goes back to being behind the scenes at the club or whether it's in the maybe not it's difficult to go back to being the reserve team coach when you've been the first team coach but I think he stays a part of of the furniture at Real Madrid unless he gets maybe a really attractive job offer somewhere else so I think everyone knows that he was promoted
ahead of time he was always a candidate to take over but it wasn't supposed to happen this soon because of course alonso was supposed to be a be a success these these problems are not of our below is making we can't blame him for these problems these problems were existed before they existed before shabby alonso came in as well but i think it's also fair to say that while he's managed to sort out some things and notably someone like vinicius jr who is performing when he wasn't before
But this task, I think, is bigger than Arboloa and he hasn't been able to get the team sorted because I think that was never really going to be a realistic option at this stage of the season.
So lots of questions over Real Madrid right now, Frank. However, Craig was positive there on Manchester City. How do you see Manchester City faring in the Champions League this season?
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Chapter 8: What are the final thoughts on the current state of European football?
And the last time I was asked about this when I was on, Kay, I was not feeling optimistic at all. But that was before the North London derby. And then Arsenal went and beat Spurs comfortably. I'm feeling better. I'm starting to believe again. Look, I... I don't know about other fans. I can't speak for other fans.
For me, what I really want above anything else this season is I want to win the Premier League. I need Arsenal to win the Premier League. It's been so long. I feel like it's become such a burden for this team not doing it the last couple of seasons. I want the Premier League. Anything else at all, any other trophy, would be a really wonderful... Bonus, a lovely plus.
Believe me, I know we've never won the Champions League. That would be truly special. But for me, it's all about the Premier League. That's where all of my worry and concern has been. And anything else will just be the icing on the cake for me.
There's a real weirdness about Arsenal at the moment. I know I was aware last week there was a lot of talk. I don't really want to go over it again. But since when have Arsenal had to be the bastion of how you win a Premier League or how you play? They haven't won it for 22 years. If they cough this Premier League up, they'll get called the biggest bottle jobs in recent history.
And yet we have some of our pundits and we have other people and a host of people online, a host that are trying to talk about this beautiful game and how Arsenal are wasting time. Like a lot of clubs, time wasting is not a new thing. Scoring from set pieces is not a new thing. Blocking people at corners is not a new thing. Other teams just need to do it better.
And if you're going to win a league and you haven't won it for 22 years, and I was in that situation at Celtic. The Celtic hadn't won a league for nine years. And the year we won it, do you think it was pretty every game? No, damn well it wasn't. Because a lot of games were to go and scratch a result. And it was horrible. And there were some great games along the way.
And that's what Arsenal are doing. And can they play good football? Yeah, and I've seen it. And can they grind it out? Yeah. Can they waste a bit of time? Yeah. But I can't get my head around how it's up to them to play a certain way so as the others can have a better chance.
I just didn't get this whole Arsenal talk last week because, yeah, I get frustrated sometimes watching them talking about set pieces and all this and their tether bobbing about in the technical area. Yeah, but you know what? After last week, I'm swinging back towards our tether.
Because when I saw Fabian Herzler, who's a bit of a windbag, let's be honest about it, and I think a lot of other managers know that, and he hasn't really done anything in the league, and Brighton are in the bottom half, and by the way, they had two shots and goal in the last half an hour in the game.
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