Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Lots coming up on tonight's show but we'll be kicking things off in La Liga where Real Madrid were looking to stop the rot after two back-to-back defeats in La Liga. They came up against Celta Vigo and managed to beat them at the death. Too many struck first for Real Madrid, however Borja Iglesias would level things out before the half was through.
But in the final minutes of the game, Fede Valverde had a shot that was deflected in and Real Madrid took all three points away from this clash. This is how things are looking in the table as it stands right now. Real Madrid have moved to within a point of Barcelona, however Barcelona are yet to play Athletic Club this weekend. Mario Suarez was watching this game for us. They did it, Mario.
They did it at the death and got those three points. Yes, it's amazing because of the individual talent. I think this is the worst Real Madrid, I don't know, in 15, 20 years, and they are fighting for the title. This talks about from the level of La Liga right now. It's amazing. Today, Real Madrid shots just three times on target.
They scored two goals because two of the best players this season, the most regular ones, Valverde and Chameney, are scoring. Vinicius...
Well, he has the first target on the first half, but we didn't see anything else from Benítez, from Brahim, Gonzalo came from the bench, they finished with three players coming from the academy, so it's a lot of noise around Real Madrid, but they won today, that's the reality, and they are still fighting for La Liga. There'll be a little less noise now after getting this win, won't there, Ale?
Tiny little. Less noise as it pertains to Real Madrid and the continued pressure on this group. I hate to tell you that I told you so, but I told you so. This is how this team was going to win this game today. It was never going to be pretty. It was never going to be dominant. It was never going to be something that you felt like, look at Real Madrid, they're back.
You just said that they put things right. They put things right-ish. Right-ish. Look, had Real Madrid lost today, it would not have been a surprise. Iago Aspas is inches away from that ball bouncing off the post and in, instead it bounces off the post and out. And then Real Madrid depends on a deflection for them to win the game.
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Chapter 2: How did Real Madrid secure their win against Celta Vigo?
A Barcelona team that has their own issues and their own concerns. But if you want to look indeed at Real Madrid and the performance itself, this was no better than whatever they did against Osasuna. It was not better than whatever they did against Getafe. This was not an improvement. There are still lingering questions about this group, how they go about creating opportunities.
Why do they get so disconnected in the midfield? Why can they not control the possession of the ball and the pace of the game as much as they should? Trent Alexander-Arnold, well, it's not a secret he can't defend. Breaking news, he still can't defend. And so the concerns remain for Real Madrid. Now, the thing that makes it better today is the fact that they won the game.
And that perhaps allows the team to take a breath and to enjoy the lack of noise up until they play Champions League against Manchester City. So I suppose the build-up to the game against Manchester City is going to be with a whole lot more of a positive vibe, if you will. But still, let's not get crazy. This team still has a lot of issues.
Let's continue that talk on Trent Alexander-Arnold because we talked about seeing the best and the worst of the player in this game. Hold your breath, he can't defend. I think he was in Liverpool from a kid, 12 years maybe, something like that. And not one day of those 12 years has he been able to defend. And so Real Madrid knew exactly what they were buying.
Because you have to think they scouted him in Liverpool's first team and he couldn't defend for them either. Now that ball you see him putting through for Vinny is what Trent Alexander is all about on one half of the field. But unfortunately, this is the Trent Alexander... on the other half of the field as a player who doesn't know how to defend. There's no grey area.
He doesn't understand the art of defending. But because of what he gives you going forward, then you somewhat will allow the mistakes. Unfortunately for Real Madrid, they find themselves in a position where they can't afford anybody making mistakes defensively because they're not scoring enough goals going forward and defensively. They're not tight.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is a guy who, on two halves of the field, is completely the opposite. He's brilliant on one Let's say not very good. That's the kindest thing I can say about the other half. What would bother me, though, Stevie? Well, I can accept that a player doesn't have defensive instincts, even though he's playing right back, but okay.
Let's accept that he doesn't have those defensive instincts. Give me the effort, at least. He gets beaten in behind by Viljo Svedberg, and there's not a point in that sprint in which he's actually going full speed. And so that's effort. That's not so much I don't know how to defend. It's... He's just not willing to run.
And that, I mean, as a player, as a former player, and if I were his teammate, I'm like, look, I can take the fact that you maybe don't know how to defend, but give me a full sprint and get yourself in a position where you can get in between the ball and the goal. And he never does that. Ali, I've had a lot of years to try and figure this out. Okay. And I think I've figured it out.
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Chapter 3: Can Real Madrid compete for the La Liga title this season?
And when he tries to think about it, he can't come up with an answer because he doesn't know what to do. Do you have the answer, Mario? Is it hard to watch with the defensive eye when we see this side of Trent Alexander-Arnold's game? To be honest, I know all the quality that has with the ball, but in defending, it's hard to see this.
It's not only about Trent, but when we are talking about Trent and you have Dani Carvajal on the bench, that is the captain, he's a legend in Spain. You think that he must be not really fit to not be playing right now because Trenarex Arnold, even though he's a good player, he's not performing in the right way to be a starter in Real Madrid.
And most of the problems that he's having is in the defensive. And he's not having the right... center back to be able to help him when he's not in the right position, you know? So I think Trent needs to adapt to Real Madrid. But when we talk about a team and the team is not performing well, every player is performing poorly. worse than when he normally is, you know?
So, Trent Anderson is struggling here in Madrid and he will need to improve to continue next season here, for sure. I think Mario's spot on, you know, because Canatti... was the reason why Alexander-Arnold was successful at Liverpool. Canatti covered for him. Every time he went forward and got caught out, Canatti came across and covered him. So I'm 100% with Mario.
He needs a centre-back who's going to do his job as well as his own. Absolutely. OK, Ali, let's talk about the penalty review in the second half and what you made of this one and whether they got the right decision. Well, I think they did, and the first question we have to ask ourselves, is it a handball? Well, yes it is from Ferran Julgla, and you sort of wonder, what in the world are you doing?
But the other thing that you have to ask when you watch the video, is there a push of Cesar Palacios on Elijah Moriba, right in front of Ferran Julgla? And it is a two-handed push, and so that's a foul. And Cesar Palacios becomes active in the play because he's actually challenging for the initial header. So I have no problem with how the referee went about this and how VAR went about this.
Hey, we saw a handball. Was there a handball? Yes. But let's see the full picture of the play. And is there a push ahead of the handball? I think there is. And so once you go take a look at it and evaluate all the aspects of the play, they came to the correct decision. This is VAR working at a high level. There, I said it. Mario, do you agree with Ale? Say nothing different from Ale.
Totally agree with him. No notes. No notes from Mario. Stevie, come on, can we give him a full sweep? Ali Moreno, correct. 100%! Yep, okay. So that's how things are standing for Real Madrid right now. However, next up for them is Manchester City.
And that's going to be interesting as well to see how things go because that's who we know they've played early for because they've got this game coming up in the last 16. Mario, how do you see them up against this City side? It's not like City are setting the world alight this season either, but Real Madrid have definitely got their problems. Yes, of course.
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Chapter 4: What challenges does Trent Alexander-Arnold face defensively?
How much belief Liverpool can win this competition this season?
Yeah look obviously we're going to be one of eight in it now and you know we have to believe this you know our fans demand that we believe our club demand that we believe and you know fortunately some of us have won it before and we know how good the days are out in Wembley and we want to get there again now we're one game away from Wembley and you know anything can happen but again we need to find that consistency if we perform like today then you know I believe we can but you know we need to we need to show that we can do that
A massive game on Tuesday in the Champions League. A rare weekend off, but then we go to Tuesday, so we look forward to that one. Brilliant, thank you so much. Well done tonight, congratulations. Thank you, see you later.
We'll be getting more word from the guys in just a moment, but first we want to get the reaction from Stevie Nicol as to what Andy Robertson had to say and also the fact that Liverpool got this win. I thought it was great. It was very sensible, very straight to the point. He won't try to kid anybody. He wasn't throwing out the lines of, oh, you know, we're doing this and that.
He said exactly how it is. They need to be more consistent if they want to win any of the trophies they're in now. So, no, I thought... I mean, he couldn't have been more honest and straightforward and correct. Oh, OK. Stevie, comfortable, would we say, tonight? Yes. Makes a change. We don't get to say that too much. Alex and Nadim are with us now. Yeah, we don't get to say too much comfortable.
At least Stevie doesn't when he's watching Liverpool recently. But today, Alex, they got the job done. Yeah, they certainly did. And Andy Robertson always speaks so well, doesn't he? And I'm sure he'd like to be playing more, but he didn't say that. And he stepped up tonight when it mattered. Yeah, absolutely.
I think he's somebody who understands that the opportunities that he has now aren't going to be the same as, say, they were one, two, three years ago when he was an integral part of this Liverpool side. But he has to be prepared. He has to be ready. And you can see how much it means to him as well. I think the way that he spoke was very, very honest, as Stevie said.
But in a way which wasn't really disparaging to say some of the negatives that they have had, I think he's acknowledged them and understands that if they want to be successful, they have to find a way to get through those. And that's as far as it comes. You can't really argue with that. And I just like the fact that he's the one who scored that first goal.
He got the assist for the second goal, and that's the thing that put the game to bed. And yes, maybe he has his fingerprints on that goal that Wolves scored with some of the decision-making. We didn't mention that, did we? We didn't mention that to him. No, no, we left that one alone. But the fact is they're in the hat for the next round. That's the significance of it.
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Chapter 5: How do Real Madrid's recent performances affect their upcoming Champions League match?
But lately, I have to change my mind because of the bad result that... Aston Villa went through. So, can I go with Vence and company? I mean, I like the way that he thinks the football, the way that he makes his team play. Yes, it may be easy for Bayern Munich, but I have to say that the way that he does it, it's only for the Premier League or not? No, it's a slight caveat.
It's managers who've taken over mid-season. Mid-season, Frank. Mid-season. Okay. Well, but, yeah, but, Michael, I'm sorry. I'm absolutely wrong in all the answers, so I'm sorry. Okay, Carrick is a little bit too early. It's like Liam Rossignol. Can I go with Sir Alex Ferguson? Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. No, I'm with Ali. I'm going to go with Materazzo. Materazzo, Reno.
All right, Stevie, are you going to say it? What? Are you going to give Carrick any props? Well, I actually was, but I think Frank might have... Just a little line there changed my mind. Because Matarazzo... Matarazzo, no question, has got to the final, major final, that's big time.
And I was actually thinking the answer was Carrick, because, you know, carrying Manchester United as opposed to Real Sociedad is two different things. I mean, pressure-wise, the whole thing. And the fact that there's absolutely zero noise now around Old Trafford. Every person, every pundit, every supporter thinks Man United are comfortably going to be the top four, probably the top three.
But, Frank said it... It hasn't, the season hasn't finished yet. He just gave you a way out of saying Carrick at Manchester United. So the fact that Matarazzo's got them to a final, it has to be Matarazzo. It sounds like Carrick at Manchester United to me. Don't blame, blame Frank.
It's like everything you said in the middle there about Carrick at Manchester United, it sounds like that's who you should go for. Well that's, That was what I was thinking until Frank said. Not what Ali said. That was Ali. Why are we deflecting? Stevie, don't deflect. Just go ahead. Take care of it. It's all right. Michael Carrick.
The thing, if I may, the thing is about what Stevie was just alluding. The impact that Carrick made in such a short time to Manchester United where it was almost... one of the worst time of history of Manchester United that been erased in four, five games, six games, maybe from the way that Carrick was able to change his team.
And that's amazing because it's kind of a miracle that we'd have just seen. And it's because of him.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of the Champions League Round of 16 ties?
So we could have said Carrick as well because we don't, judge Manchester United anymore like we used to do before he arrived. Okay. Sounds like two for Carrick there. It really does, doesn't it? Two for Carrick. Reluctantly. Luis Diaz, best signing of the window for any club, Ale? Yes. Or as my German friends would say, Ja! Yes. Um...
he talked about changing a team and this is a team that was already made and built for success and yet his unpredictability and how he plays his position makes this team have more variety in the attack and so we know Harry Kane and we know Michael Olise and then Jamal Musiala is coming back from injury and he's playing well again and so then it's like Well, what can Luis Diaz give this group?
He's given them assists, he's given them goals, he's given them energy, movement, variety. He has been everything that Bayern Munich would have wanted and more. He's been excellent. You can't say Erling Haaland, Frank. I have a question, though. I have a question. No, no, no, of course not. But I have a question for Stevie. Is there a right reason for Liverpool to get rid of Gias?
They said something? And why not a journalist is asking, why did you get rid of Luiz Gias? Why did he leave? Well, I think you're spending the money on Isak, you're spending the money on Wurz, you have Gakpo, and you're getting offered, what, nearly £70 million? £75 million. £75 million for a guy who's 29 years old. I mean, hindsight's dead easy, isn't it?
I mean, I'm thinking now, if only my idea is doing what he's doing, not just for Liverpool last year, but what he's doing for Bayern, but... At the time, it seemed like a very sensible and great business deal to get 75 mil for a 29-year-old when you already have Gakpo and then you're bringing in Wurz and Isak. There weren't too many people complaining, let me put it that way.
All the so-called experts, nobody said, Liverpool are crazy, Liverpool are mad, why are they doing this? Nobody said that, so... So there, Frank. So that's my answer, Frankie boy. Yeah. You're an expert in my mind, Stevie. That's fair. You're not a so-called expert. You're an expert. Stevie. Sorry, that's very fair. But it's not the question, what are you getting rid of, Luis Diaz?
It's after six months, why did you get rid of Diaz? That's more a question nowadays, you know. But I understand what was your answer, and you're absolutely right. That was a great business. Yeah.
Well, it's numbers as well, because you've given Salah a contract, you bring in Izak, you bring in Invert, so you've been offered £70 million for a guy who you don't want to lose, but it doesn't make any sense. A, does he play? B, we'll take the £70 million. Stevie, after today's game, is there a case to drop Gakpo and play N'Gomoa alongside Eketike and Salah?
I would have done it before today's game. I would have played Ekotiki through the middle and I would have played Ingemo on the left-hand side and Gakpo would have sat. That's what I would have done. Ale, who's better at defending, Trent or Cancelo? Wow. That's the rock there and this is the hard place. Wow. Can he be who's the worst? Wow. It's quite easy this one, isn't it?
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