Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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All the news at $29.99 per month after free trial unless canceled. Blackouts and other terms apply. Hello and welcome into the latest edition of ESPN FC. Kay Murray, Craig Burley and Shaka Hislop here in the studio. Shaka ready to rank some goalkeeping howlers this week. It's not been a good week for the old goalkeepers' union, has it? Get ready, get ready.
Goalkeepers' union will have a keen eye on what Shaka's got to say today. We're looking back on what happened between Real Madrid and Man City, both papers going with memorable and it absolutely was. They rose to the occasion against Man City and it had many questioning where this version of Real Madrid have been all season. That question was also put to Tibor Courtois.
I think in the Champions League, there are many more teams that play an open game, where we excel because we find more space, we play better. It's up to us to say, well, we have to do the same in La Liga as we did today. And then it's also true that in La Liga, teams defend a bit deeper against us, and that's where we struggle.
Trent Alexander-Arnold also said the team seemed to get more motivated for the Champions League. He said, I think the size of the game, I don't want to say that the other games are less important, but when there's so many eyes on the game and so much hype, you need to perform as a player. We're going to welcome in Alex Kirkland, Jan Agafjartov's here with us as well.
That wasn't the headline in the Manchester Evening News, was it? Memorable. It was definitely not. Well, memorable in a different way, we could say, because that was the case. I was listening to a little bit of Gareth Bale on a podcast, driving to work back and forward the last couple of days.
although we kind of know this, he was talking to some ex-players and he did say, and one of the things he said was, look, he said, it just, things change when the Champions League comes along at Real Madrid, whether that's right or wrong. And he said it's just, it elevates, it elevates the crowd, it elevates the players. And I thought that was some of the things he said was quite intriguing.
He'd actually make a decent pun to actually, I think. But even that, even that elevation we always talk about with the Real Madrid, we've seen them enough this season And last season to say, no, it can't. It can't just be the Champions League to motivate you because they've been so bad in some games. But as I said in yesterday's show, yes, they were motivated. Yes, they were elevated.
Yes, they played a lot better. A hell of a lot better. But it... It takes two to tango. And that elevation was somewhat, if not more than somewhat, helped by a shambolic City performance, particularly at the back and in the middle of the park. I think that's the thing for me.
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Chapter 2: What were the main takeaways from Real Madrid's victory over Manchester City?
And to the point that there was no killing Mbappe made it all the more ridiculous. Because it was just so easy for Real Madrid. And the first goal kind of summed it up. One long ball over the top of O'Reilly. There is absolutely no cover. Acres of space for Valverde to run into. And that was how the entire game played out.
At no point did Manchester City try to drop a little deeper, try to have some numbers to provide some kind of protection. It was just as a setup, as a tactic goes, I thought Pep Guardiola got this all wrong and played right into Real Madrid's strengths. And as a result, you do that, you allow Real Madrid to play to their strengths, that's what you're going to get every single time.
Yeah, well, obviously, we'll start with the Real Madrid side. That's the city side of things. As for Real Madrid, though, it feels like the Champions League beast has awoken here. Once again, we're seeing them in this competition that so often they come alive in. Alex, and perhaps a plan today, where's this Real Madrid side been all season?
Yeah, and I love that quote from Trent that you read earlier, Kay, because he says, yes, I don't want to say the other games aren't as important, but, and the implication is the other games aren't as important. The atmosphere, the change in the atmosphere yesterday, sort of pre-match and then post-match at the Bernabeu was remarkable.
Before the game, it really felt quite flat, I thought, for a Champions League night. It wasn't a sellout at the Bernabeu. There were some empty seats. There was no big Tifo before the game. It didn't quite have the feeling of one of these Champions League nights at the Bernabeu, reflecting on the lack of confidence in the team. But afterwards, what a turnaround.
It was elation and a lot of the fans, they felt like, okay, are we back? Is this the way forward? I agree. I'm not sure how many lessons Madrid can take from this game and apply to the rest of the season. I think a lot of it was quite specific based on the circumstances, the opposition, the way City played and what Madrid were able to do.
But it's definitely the biggest result, the biggest performance of the brief Arbeloa era so far. So it's just a couple of months. It hasn't been that long. But without doubt, it's the biggest night of his tenure so far on the biggest stage and the one that matters most to the club and the fans. It is, but I mean, just before we go to Jan, quickly, just briefly, it is, but you said
quoting you saying, what was it you said? The beast awakens. The beast has awoken. I wouldn't agree with that, really. You don't think so? No. I mean, no. Because that's how bad... Look at the first goal. The first goal told you everything you need to know. There was a left-back who wasn't a left-back, and the centre-half next to him was in midfield.
There must have been 60 yards between two defenders. So, listen, I'm not taking anything away from Madrid. Before any Real Madrid said, oh, they're Madrid haters. No, no, no, no, no. In isolation, it was a great result. In isolation. But... I'm sorry, but if that was Bayern Munich... how they're playing one or two other teams. They don't get that. They don't get it.
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Chapter 3: How did Thibaut Courtois perform against Manchester City?
Unless they play City every week. which they're not going to do. So they've got a second leg to get over in Manchester and it ain't finished because City cannot be as bad, both defensively and going forward. So there's a lot of work still to be done. That penalty could be huge, the penalty miss. So I think it's a bit early on this, you know, Real Madrid, Champions League, you know, sort of thing.
Yeah, they got up for the game, but my God, I know we'll get to City, but they played such a huge part in it. Let's get to City now. Before we do hear from Jan Nietzsche, let's hear from Pep Guardiola himself on what happened to his side against Real Madrid. My feeling about how we played is that we haven't been that bad. But this decision with a 3-0 defeat doesn't carry much weight.
Obviously there's been a lot of talk about the line-up that was before the game and even more so during it. Are you willing to give an explanation to the amount of changes and what you hoped for the game tonight compared to what happened? No, not much changes. More changes was in Newcastle. So the last games, most of the players played.
I want to be aggressive from outside, the one against one, especially when Jeremy was outstanding. In the right, we struggled a little bit more. Make a movement in behind. We do it with Antoine, with Nikos. We arrive many times in that to have the sense that we can score a goal. The target is wingers to try to drop them, people in the middle in the pockets to arrive close to the box.
control to the structure, the second structure with experienced players, fast players behind, that was the idea. Okay, Jan Agafy Ossoff, what do you think of how Pep Guardiola had to explain it there? Well, he tries to do his best. He said the same thing many times this season. I mean, we can talk about, is it a surprise that Real Madrid suddenly looks like a contender in the Champions League?
We can discuss that, but it's not a surprise that Manchester City let chances come. I mean, they always feel all season. I mean, we've had games they've won, they've had some good games in there, but there's always a chance that they can get a goal in there. And we talked about it a bit. You've got a left-back that is not an educated left-back.
You've got a right-back who's not an educated right-back. And all year, we've seen the same thing. I mean, they've had some games when Silva has been very good, coming from his right side, coming inside and carry that central part of the team. But that's a moment, and that's why I don't think they can catch Arsenal. Because if you take it one-to-one, I mean, Arsenal will never lose...
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Chapter 4: What were the implications of Antonín Kinsky's early substitution?
They will never let the opposition have so many chances against.
Chapter 5: Why did Igor Tudor decide to substitute Kinsky after 17 minutes?
And if you see them even at home, there are games that will be 2-0 up. You know, well, they can get a goal soon and they can get another one. And when Manchester City were at its best, that never happened because they had... First of all, better defenders, I think. Forget Kyle Walker playing on the right side, whoever played on the left side.
But also central on the park, you can always keep the ball, they can control the game. They don't control games as they used to do, and they always seem to be capable of... But as for your question to Pep, I think that Pep will think that the first 20 minutes, yes, the performance over 90 minutes were not that good.
But in the first 20 minutes, they created a chance that Joku and Trent Alexander-Arnold wouldn't have made any interviews after the game if those 20 minutes was going. Because Joku had him in his pocket. But over 90 minutes, that was a very bad situation. Bad results, of course, with City, but it's not surprisingly that they get a game like this.
Because when you play, players like, suddenly, Valverde get a hat-trick. I mean, you know there are top players all over the park at Real Madrid, and they won't get punished in the Premier League as they were now in the Champions League. I mean... I think the arrogance of the manager is sort of oozing out even more than it has been in his tenure at Manchester City.
You cannot ask him a question about his line-up as one of the journalists dead and his eyes are bulging. You're asking me? Which I think is a rightful question to ask. He left Rodri, who is not... He's not as sharp as he was because of this long, almost a year out. He left him exposed with Bernardo Silva next to him, who's running about all over the place, as he does, at...
And you've got four, right, let's put it in a nutshell. You've got a very weak back line. That's your nemesis. It's your Achilles heel is your back line. And the arrogance of Man City, even though Real Madrid have been struggling, to go to the Bernabeu and play four up front and not expect to be exposed on a counter or from long balls is madness.
Doku, Haaland, who hardly got any service, and that was a talking point yesterday. I'm sure Jan's got some thoughts on that. Semenyo, who played almost alongside him, and Savinho, who did okay at Newcastle, but he's pretty lightweight. When Semenyo's been playing well in the wider positions, and did that in the second half, that's a front four, with Bernardo Silva supporting.
So you're now leaving one player behind, who isn't as fit and sharp as he was 18 months ago for reasons that are not really his fault, he's exposed, the back line's exposed and it's all over the place, and he's bulging his eyes at a journalist asking him the question. Now, he may turn this around. They might have a blistering night at the Etihad and win. They might win 4 or 5. I don't know.
I don't know if that will happen or not. I think it's unlikely. I think it's unlikely Real Madrid, when City are pushing forward, will not do the same again. Because City haven't learned their lesson. If you think about the game earlier in the season at the Bernabeu when City won 2-1, it was the same thing.
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Chapter 6: Who should Chelsea start in goal moving forward?
He twisted his ankle. He's been out for a while. He's always had a period in the season where he's not been that fit or sharp as we usually see him. I mean, in terms of his touches, I think that is... quite old news because Erling Haaland never has too many touches. There was one game he had 40 and it was breaking news all over the world and he worked very, very hard for the team.
But I think that the problem with Erling Haaland is also a consequence of things not working at Manchester City because they They don't make him look good either. Let's put it this way. They don't make each other look well. I see a lot of individual players doing things. I see wingers taking too many touches, not only based on last night's, We see a team where they're not secure in midfield.
They can't control the games as we were talking about. And you're conceding goals for fun. They have to hunt results again. That is not 100% game for Erling Haaland as well. I think, Dan, and I'll follow Craig on that.
I think that game and those players that Manchester City have got, I mean, that was made for a game, come there to make sure that they don't concede easy goals and just play on the strength they have going forward. I mean, they got some fantastic counterplayers there and they wasn't taken advantage of at all. But Erling Haaland not in his best form.
When I put my Norwegian glasses on, I won't be the last time this show. I think he will relax and rest until the World Cup. Alex? Yeah, look, Haaland's record against Madrid isn't good, is it? It hasn't been for a few years now. It feels like quite often it's Antonio Rudiger who's sort of tasked with dealing with Haaland and he quite enjoys that.
He enjoys the physical battle, he gets close to him. And there were some really eye-catching images from the game yesterday in which it appeared to be Arda Gula who was picking up Erling Haaland from set pieces. And this had people scratching their heads, but the feeling from the Madrid side, I think, is that from set pieces, corners and free kicks, Haaland isn't necessarily the
the biggest threat in that City team. So that was the explanation for that. But yeah, for such a big-name player and a top player, it's been a few years now. And of course, these teams are met year after year after year every time in the knockout stage where Haaland hasn't really been able to deliver against Madrid. And it is quite notable. OK, let's get to the goalkeeper side of things here.
I want to ask you about Thibaut Courtois' save on Nico O'Reilly and how good it was in the second half of this game. Listen, Thibaut Courtois for me is the best goalkeeper in the game right now and this is part of the reason why. This pass out isn't a great one, but the thing about Courtois, especially for a man of his size, is his reactions, how quick they are, how exact they are.
Oftentimes somebody that size might want to throw a right arm at it, he goes with his leg, makes an incredible save. Just his reactions, whether it's with his feet, whether it's diving with his hands, whatever it is, is almost second to none.
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Chapter 7: How did the panel react to goalkeeping errors in the Champions League?
And we've seen it not just with Peter, he's probably the biggest one, but there have been a few now where he didn't have to pick these young players and he's picking them ahead of more senior alternatives. And so far, at least, I think it's paying off for Abela. Yeah, absolutely. Well, there's a lot more talk about this game on the latest Gab and Jules podcast that dropped today.
So you can check that out wherever you get your podcasts. 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.
Chapter 8: What happened in the Europa and Conference League matches this week?
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On the subject of goalkeepers though, we did see a number of goalkeeper errors in the Champions League this week, so Xhaka is the one for our rankings, and we've asked you to give us a little 5-1 on these errors. Yeah, so as errors go, This I have at number five from Daniel Black. It's his mistake, there's no arguing that.
Why I have it as fifth is because in the greater context of the game, it didn't really make that much of a difference, I know. Because it's Tottenham. It didn't make that big a difference in what could be the inevitable outcome. What's he doing here, Shaq? Come on. This one, I just think Donnarumma, one, just kind of doesn't understand O'Reilly. I don't know why O'Reilly does as he is.
Donnarumma quite clearly underestimates Valverde's pace. No, but why is he dragging his arm away? He's inside the box, you can see that. And that's the thing, because you go down to that side, if you keep your arm outstretched, you make the save. I don't know if he thought he was going to be outside of the box, but he's slower than he actually thought. Jorgensen. Yep.
And why I have this one, well, this, the game changed on this moment. Chelsea come back from behind twice at 2-2. These aren't the moments to be taking chances. You're away in the first league of a Champions League game. Do not take that kind of a chance. Even if the manager tells you, I want you passing the ball out the back every single time. Who's the top two? I wonder.
You've got to know the moment. I wonder. Oh, this is a surprise. Nastasja Kinski. Yeah, this was a tough watch. This was a tough watch, I think, for every single goalkeeper. Young goalkeeper, getting a chance, throwing it at the deep end, quite literally, and really struggled. So who's number one? It's a twofer here. It's, yeah. Listen, my heart breaks for the young man. I don't know.
I really don't know how you bounce back from this. I'll be all right. I really don't. I will say, and while there's no question there's a goalkeeping errors of both, coaching staff, I don't think helped him. So here's some of the reaction in the English papers afterwards to Anthony Kinski's performance and the display. He was obviously subbed off after 17 minutes. That's been heavily criticised.
It's opened some debate as well. But here is Igor Tudor speaking about his decision after the game. Can you explain what happened with the two goalkeepers? The first decision to drop Vicario and then the second one to drop Kinski. No, it happened very rare. I've been coaching for 15 years, I never do this thing. It was necessary to preserve the guy, preserve the team.
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