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Champions League Round Up: PSG overcome Liverpool & Madrid black magic in the derby
11 Plays2 months ago
- CL Update: PSG - Liverpool; Real - Atletico
- CL QF Predictions
- Games Of The Week: Liverpool vs. Newcastle, Arsenal vs. Chelsea
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Podcasting Passion
00:00:11
Chino Onwuka
Hello and welcome to another episode of the love the game. It's your boy Chino. Glad to be here again with y'all. And as usual, I'm here with my brothers and Micah say what's up to the peeps.
00:00:23
Emeka
Hey, we missed y'all, man Let's go. Let's get another episode. Episode, i think, 18 now. You know, we trying.
00:00:29
Chino Onwuka
Episode 18, episode 18. Yes, we do apologize for the little breaking episodes as, uh, I'm sure we can surmise this is this is this is not our day job. So that that's kept kept us busy and kept us from meeting, but we are glad to be back with us. Yo, Chukwu, how are you? was good.
00:00:52
Chuku
What's up fam? Glad to be back. as yeah As you alluded earlier, this is definitely not our day job, but we're doing stuff, something that we love, and you know it's just good to be back with the boys for another episode. Hopefully we keep this running, trying to be more consistent, especially as we head into you know the summer period.
Champions League and NFL Free Agency Discussion
00:01:10
Chuku
And yeah, we're here to give the people what they want, so I'm hoping for another banging episode, and I'm excited to get into the flow of things with you guys.
00:01:20
Chino Onwuka
yes indeed yes indeed right let's get right to it so we're going to try and focus on on two two topics today first obviously the the round of round of 16 uh rounds of the champions league and Maybe Europa League even want to get into that. And of course, you know, it's it's a big period in the calendar for the NFL.
00:01:43
Chino Onwuka
Free agency just occurred. So we're going to talk about that as well, as well as, as usual, focus on the games of the week.
Madrid Derby Analysis
00:01:51
Chino Onwuka
So Champions League round of 16, you know, we had some some nice matchups, you know, the big ones people are focused on.
00:02:01
Chino Onwuka
The Madrid Derby, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid. and then PSG Liverpool and some some other interesting ties. So I guess we should probably start with the Madrid Derby.
00:02:16
Chino Onwuka
Real Madrid Atletico went down to penalties. I'm sure everyone knows the score by now. Let's get into it. And just to discuss our thoughts on the game, the narratives around it, you know,
00:02:30
Chino Onwuka
what it means for the rest of Champions League. You know, obviously we'll start with our our resident Majersta on the Pochuku. What were your thoughts on the tie?
00:02:42
Chuku
Man, kudos to Atletico Madrid. You know, they have been a thorn in, you know, anyone anyone's watching, even just the regular season, like they have really been an issue, a big problem for Madrid, Real Madrid this year. And, you know, they set up how we all expected, you know, with a heavy low block.
00:03:04
Chuku
But to their credit, you know, when you when you have special players in your team, like Julian Alvarez, who I think we're seeing this year truly, I mean, definitely thought, know, prior to entering the season, I had...
00:03:20
Chuku
expectations of him, especially, you know, the fact that, you know, he left the situation with Man City, he came, know, left, you know, something I was very familiar with. You know, I thought he would be at Man City for a long period of time, so it was a shocker when he left, you know, this past and summer to go to Atletico Madrid, but you can see why he, you know,
00:03:40
Chuku
wanted to to make that move because this boy is, you know, obviously you can see he's a clear starter at Letico. And, you know, there's a reason why he has been like one of the top players in La Liga. He's established himself as one of the focal points on the team. I mean, look at this goal he scored in the first leg.
00:04:00
Chuku
Absolutely ridiculous, world-class, like, you know, Yeah, you know, Atletico Madrid, they came, they did what they needed to do. It's very unfortunate that, you know, I say all that and the way they lost was, you know, something that, you know, i don't think we see too often, you know, a penalty in the shootout where, you know, gets called off because of the whole double touching of the the ball to both feet of the player. But, you know, I'll give it to Atletico, man. If they had gone through...
00:04:31
Chuku
It would have been a well-deserved for them because they set up perfectly. They were able to stifle, for the most part, you know the attacking opposition of Mbappe, Vini, and you know Rodrigo.
00:04:44
Chuku
I mean, obviously, you can only stop them for so much. They still end up getting their goals, would
Atletico's Performance and Real Madrid's Resilience
00:04:51
Chuku
say. but Yeah, I mean, it was a hard-fought victory, you know you know, sometimes always by the small margins, you know, that certain teams can make it through. And, you know, this time around, it was as simple as the ball hitting a player's foot twice in a penalty shootout. So is is that, know, Madrid black magic, you know, and I'm sure, you know,
00:05:15
Chuku
any Real Madrid fan would be just happy to have made it through. But it was a definitely an exciting, like exciting football all to watch as much as, you know, let's go set up for that, you know, that, you know, what would we call it again, you know, what is set up back defensively, very strong defensively, low block.
00:05:35
Chuku
They still showed, you know, they have attacking, attack, you attacking players on their team that can, Herchi on the other end. And yeah, I think it made for a good watch. You know, I just think it was it made for interesting tie.
00:05:48
Chuku
I guess i' I'm curious to hear what you guys thought of the, of the matchup.
00:05:52
Emeka
It was, a man, I feel, i really, truly, truly feel for Atletico Madrid fans, especially dealing with Real Madrid in the Champions League. It just seems like their lot in life is to is to lose in increasingly more heartbreaking ways against their neighbors. Like, you know, we all know the Ramos goals in the Champions League final but in the past.
00:06:14
Emeka
Ronaldo hitting hat-tricks on them. And then now, like you said, losing because... of a double touch like oh my i know the rules are the rules i'm never one to be like well what about this no rules are the rules i get it but it just doesn't seem right to lose because of that like also props alvarez making the penalty while slipping like that's impressive but oh man i feel i truly felt for them you know i hate to be negative sometimes but something i did notice that's interesting is
00:06:45
Emeka
Last year, I was driving the Vinny for Ballon d'Or bus. Like Vinny looked, and especially Champions League knockout rounds, Vinny looked unplayable. Vinny's looking. He's not looking. i don't know. it's the Mbappe thing there, but he's not looking like he used to. His powers aren't or there. this is He's Mr. Champions League. like This is when he shines.
00:07:03
Emeka
And the guy had a penalty. I'm surprised he even took it over Mbappe, but they gave it to him. Skycapped him, that stuff. And then got pulled in extra time. like I was... No problem to Carlo for making that big call. like I was shocked he got pulled, but he truly deserved it. don't know you have seen the clip. There's one clip of he tries dribble somebody. He loses the ball.
00:07:21
Emeka
He stays down. Extra time, my man Jude Belling and tracking back makes a tackle and just starts screaming at him. Like, even other people on the team are getting after him a little bit. Like, I love Vinny.
00:07:33
Emeka
Love Vinny. I hope next round. I was about to say hope next round. I hope, you know, for him, he he balls out. But wants to take a break next round, I wouldn't be mad. But it's just interesting to see, like, damn. But, you know, what a what a time, man. Madrid, what can't you say about Madrid Black Magic at this point? Like, it's just, no matter what happens, to beat Madrid, honestly, you have to just smack them like 3-0.
00:07:54
Emeka
Like, Dow Man City did them in a trouble year. If there's a close game, they're going to win. It's just how it goes. You have to just build them off the park.
00:08:02
Emeka
What thinking, Juno?
00:08:04
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, it is like, so coming to the, top you know, Real Madrid at Atletico, it's one of those things where Atletico, you know, when it comes to a team that's ready to to battle it out against the the array of stars and talent that Real Madrid has, Atletico is just that one team that no matter what no matter what this the the the status is, theyll
PSG vs Liverpool Breakdown
00:08:34
Chino Onwuka
you know that they're a team that will give it all they've got and make things difficult. And that's, no matter what people say about Simeon, like he's been doing this consistently for, what, 10, 15 years? So, you know, coming to this tie, I knew that Real Madrid were in hot form, but I thought it would be tricky for them.
00:08:54
Chino Onwuka
And so, you know, the tie played out exactly like that, you know, a, a a narrow, close first leg. And then, you know, in this game as well, you know, Chukwu talked about how, you know, Atletico played and how effective they are. And what did I say to you, Emeka? I'm like, yeah, all this is set up for Real Madrid to win somehow in the most heartbreaking fashion because that is the legacy in the Champions League of
00:09:27
Chino Onwuka
Real Madrid versus Atletico Madrid. We were wondering how the black magic would take place. And hey, of course, we saw something new we've never seen before where they had to use... Where Where they had to use, apparently, they had to use the semi-automated VR technology to determine that the ball moved.
00:09:46
Chino Onwuka
That's how minuscule it was. And like you said, Emek, I just think that's super harsh. Like, at the very least, we take the penalty. But to just cancel the penalty, and for I know we didn't mention, for those who don't know, Real Madrid won it in a penalty shootout.
00:10:04
Chino Onwuka
And the, you know, Joan Alvarez's penalty was called off after he scored due to a double touch. And so I just thought that was just so harsh.
00:10:16
Chino Onwuka
Maybe Real Madrid would have won anyway. Not maybe, they probably would have won anyway somehow. But it just seems like in the Champions League, not only do you have to battle against Mbappe, Vinicius, Rodrigo, Bellingham, Valverde, Ancelotti, you also now have to battle against Black Magic. so you know That's the thing. Real Madrid have that pedigree. they They find a way to win, and and they did so again. and so I'm sure we'll talk about it later, maybe in this episode or next, but that's why, to me, they're they're the favorites. Because even if they don't do it through the beauty of their stars, some way, somehow, they still do it. you know In regards to your your conversation about Vinicius, yeah, that's the thing with Vinicius is he's always been you know a
00:11:05
Chino Onwuka
a spiky player and you know when he's playing well i think it's easier to ignore his antics you know because you can see sometimes I can understand where the antics are coming from he has suffered a lot of of racism and abuse and you know unlike others he will give it back But you know when he's not producing, when he's in bad form, then you know all those antics that he's doing you know looks really, really bad. So you know that's that's that's one thing we've seen in this generation is Vinicius is one of the best players in the world. But I think we've become so used to sort of the consistent greatness of Messi or Ronaldo that you know sometimes, you know,
00:11:57
Chino Onwuka
I would say we're too early to crown some of these guys. There's a reason we we we lift them up. But, you know, now we're just seeing, you know, what's normal for just – super talented footballers where sometimes they, they suffer a dip in form, you know, you know, he thrived in a certain setup last year. And now, you know, Mbappe's come in and sometimes you might see ebbs and flows while they're still trying to work together. But, but yeah.
00:12:23
Chino Onwuka
So like you said, considering what the the next leg of the tie is, you know, he can keep struggling if he likes, because, uh, you know, spoiler alert, it's Real Madrid Arsenal in the next round.
00:12:35
Emeka
Amen.
00:12:37
Chino Onwuka
And yeah, it's not looking good for Arsenal in in my opinion. So, like yeah.
00:12:44
Emeka
but Before we move on, though, you touched on something that was a really good point.
00:12:45
Chino Onwuka
Thank you.
00:12:48
Emeka
you know I think you're right about we've come off, what, 15 plus years of two aliens, of Messi and Ronaldo, and just, we expect, we expect star players, especially star forwards, if you don't score or assist, like, you're just garbage. We expect you to have big moments in big games.
00:13:06
Emeka
I think it's just, it's weird because of all the players, besides those two, I truly think, in Champions League at least, I felt that way about Vinny. Like, there were times when it felt to me like it was inevitable.
00:13:19
Emeka
Like, we have everyone says Madrid Black Magic. We joke about it, but the Black Magic is that they have great players. And number one on the great players list was Vinny. I've seen Vinny turn ties on his head against, like, Man City, against Liverpool.
00:13:30
Emeka
Especially against Liverpool. Just toasting, man. So, I guess it's just why it's like, it just a goes to your point about how good Messi or Ronaldo were. Even a guy where look at, I hold in that kind of high regard.
00:13:42
Emeka
he's He's human. Even he has off days. Like, it's just how how it goes and how special those guys were.
00:13:46
Chino Onwuka
but Here's the thing. and To that point, all it takes is for one game or one round for that narrative to change.
00:13:54
Emeka
Hey, no lies there.
00:13:55
Chino Onwuka
it's only it's only It's only the round of 16. I think there was one year they won the league where I think Vinny was struggling. but it was the quarterfinals, semis, and finals that he balled. And that's all people remember.
00:14:07
Chino Onwuka
right Or not all people remember, but that's what stands out.
00:14:07
Emeka
True?
00:14:09
Chino Onwuka
So there's still five games.
00:14:10
Emeka
Yeah, he's a big game player.
00:14:12
Chino Onwuka
I think a lot of people are expecting Romero to play five more games in the Champions League, and all it takes is couple of big games within those five games, and that's that's what people remember. Because I remember, especially, I would say mostly in the latter stages of his career, you know, Cristiano would not have the most outstanding of games, but...
00:14:32
Chino Onwuka
would get a penalty here, you know a tap in to make it 4-1 after maybe Gareth Bale is the one who sort of carried them to the point.
00:14:43
Emeka
I know exactly what game we're talking to about.
00:14:46
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, and and that's what people remember.
00:14:50
Emeka
He made sure by taking his shirt off of the documentary. Don't worry. I remember that game.
00:14:53
Chino Onwuka
Yeah. Okay. All right. Anything else to say about you know nor the Madrid Derby?
00:15:00
Chino Onwuka
If not, what to me was the most exciting tie, you know, of, of the round and proved to be in two super exciting games with high level quality flair drive pizzazz was PSG versus Liverpool.
00:15:19
Chino Onwuka
You know, it was, you know, it's a really interesting, you know, contrast, you know, PSG, you know, earlier in the season were struggling. barely qualified into the playoff rounds of the Champions League in this new format while Liverpool cruised the to the first place. And, you know, if you'd asked people a couple of weeks ago this time, people would have said, you know, easy Liverpool win with the way they were playing in Champions League and the Premier League. But, you know, I would say across the two legs, PSG was definitely the better side. The fact that
00:15:59
Chino Onwuka
you know, it went to penalties as well with PSG coming out on top for the one is, you know, people will see maybe in future years, we'll see that and think it was close, but PSG should have smashed Liverpool in the first leg. Liverpool escape with a smashing grab somehow not being down for, and then scoring a goal late away. And then a PSG coming into Anfield scoring a goal and taking into penalties. So,
00:16:28
Chino Onwuka
You know, and and one thing I want to say, it's really interesting, and that's what i I really like about the jeopardy in this Champions League format is that Liverpool cruised to first, PSG struggled, but in the last game, Liverpool sort of took their foot off the gas and lost to PSV, which is what led to them having to play PSG in this round and Arsenal getting to play PSV. So that was a really interesting note. But Emeka, I'll start with you as to you know what you but your thoughts were on on the the games.
00:17:07
Emeka
Oh, man. you ti of ease
00:17:09
Emeka
Yeah, like, a game tie, man. Like, oh, my goodness. what is What a banger of two matches, from first leg. I don't know how PSG didn't smack them up, but you what I mean? You said, like, I feel it was a dominant PSG win. I think it was an feel. Like, I think the XG was 5-1 PSG over both legs. Like, PSG were deserved winners.
00:17:30
Emeka
And this new format, like you said, it just goes to show... Liverpool finished first Barcelona for the second luck of the draw Liverpool gets PSG Barcelona gets Benfica it's just how it goes and in this thing it's why I love the Champions League you never know him you never know the jeopardy uh In the group chat, we've said it all the time, but I'm going to say it again because he deserves his flowers.
00:17:50
Emeka
Ousmane Dembele. Who would have ever thought... I'd say Ousmane Dembele and clinical in the same sentence. Like, who would have ever thought that of all things? Ousmane Dembele, I think, is now 21 goals in his last 18 games.
00:18:05
Emeka
He had 21 goals his entire stint at Barcelona. Like, this is a level of finishing. Yeah, you can say French league all you want. This man, if it was in Serie B, I don't think he'd have scored 21 goals four years ago.
00:18:17
Emeka
The growth he's taken, stepping out of the shadows of Mbappe and Messi and Neymar, it's unbelievable. I know my brother's going to mention him, but I'm going to <unk> donnna harper's viziia I still don't know how Arsenal loves talk about market opportunities.
00:18:34
Emeka
And yet this man was on the market, and I didn't hear nothing about it. You tell me his wages all you want. We can afford it. Shout out PSG for jumping on this.
00:18:43
Chino Onwuka
Here's what I'll say about, sorry, Mike, it's got you about KK. Apparently, it's not just his wages. His agent fees were unreal.
00:18:55
Chino Onwuka
And I think i've based on what I'm hearing for his agent fees, with with the PSL rules now, it's because that's that's what they can do, right?
00:18:55
Emeka
We can afford it.
00:19:07
Chino Onwuka
Even if they're buying a lot of young players and giving them You know, nice, nice wages, you know, boosted wages. You know, when you're a state-backed clubs, those are some of the things you can do, you know, outside the lines legally that other teams just can't compete with.
00:19:26
Emeka
Whatever it be, as it may, like we can afford it. But that's beside the point. The point is Cavadona is a baller. My goodness. PSG just have ballers. Young, hungry ballers. And big props to Luis Enrique.
00:19:43
Emeka
Always liked him as a manager. I've always felt like he got the short end of the straw after his post-Barcelona career. This guy is a great coach. He's a great coach. And...
00:19:54
Emeka
It's funny how football works. I don't want, I never want to besmirch my goat Messi or even a guy like Mbappe, but I truly think in the modern era, you can't have two passengers. It's just, it's just impossible nowadays. How tight everything, especially in big Champions League games, you just can't have two passengers.
00:20:12
Emeka
You need, you can maybe get away with one, even though nowadays it's even rare, but I, Max should get away with his one, but you need everyone to pitch in defensively, everyone to track back, everyone to put in a shift.
00:20:24
Emeka
And that's what PSG is showing me now. They're a dangerous team. Everyone buys in. It's just, you know, hey, look, state back club's fair because all these guys cost a lot of money. Even though I held them as young and all, but they all cost bags. But my goodness, Vitinha, what a baller.
00:20:40
Emeka
Like, they just have ballers through and through. And then big shout out to Donnarumma. Gets a lot of stick from fans, especially in Italy, but... My goodness.
00:20:51
Emeka
In penalty shootouts, I feel like he'd be the most terrifying keeper to face just because he's so huge. when you're When you're looking at him, it just puts you off. like You feel like you have to put it in the corners and you overthink it. and That's what happened, man. it's Poor Liverpool.
00:21:05
Emeka
Poor Darwin Nunez. Oh, man, I like the guy, but he's not he's he's probably looking at at flights out the country soon because they're going to turn on him pretty fast, Liverpool fans.
00:21:15
Emeka
And, you know, it's just a I was stunned watching it. I truly thought Liverpool, like you said, i was one of those fans who picked Liverpool and thought easy money. They're walking the Premier League. They're going to walk this.
00:21:26
Emeka
PSG really proved me wrong. They looked and fantastic, both legs, and deservedly went through.
00:21:34
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, Chico, before we pass into you, I just want to talk a little bit about this PSG team that I have really, you know, once Mbappe went there, you know, i have really followed them, you know, for a long time. And it's, this is something people have been calling for for a while. You know, we talked about Arsenal not after, after that being the market opportunity that sort of brought us to one of our best glory periods. Arsenal not, for some reason, not tapping into the French market,
00:22:03
Chino Onwuka
with all the talent that's coming out of there. There was worse a lot of criticism about PSG not tapping into the French market with all of these players in their backyard. But, you know, since Luis Enrique is coming, they've changed their strategy to focus on on youth, exciting players. And when you do that, you can now have players work for the team rather than it be be focused on just certain players. And so, like Emeka said, you have all these vibrant,
00:22:29
Chino Onwuka
young talent that are all working together, all working under the vision of Luis Enrique. And it's beautiful to watch. you know, you match all the players. Dembuz, my boy, you know, one of my favorite players of all time who's sort of been little bit up and down. But, you know, it's good to see him maybe potentially find his home and, you know, step up into that leadership position because I was always one that said that, yeah, like Mbappe was the next one, but I thought Ousmane Dembele was...
00:22:57
Chino Onwuka
just slightly below him in terms of talent so it's really good to see you know think he's matured you know i think there's been a lot of stories about you know sort of maybe so a little bit of the immaturity you know with a lot being thrust upon him so soon but i think maybe he's matured now they've got a plethora of talent on the attacking end with barcola you know now they have kk and another guy You know i know, I probably dropped him in group chat at 16 and people were like, who is this kid that Chinna was talking about it again? Desiree Dewey, however you want to pronounce him. He's someone that I had earmarked for a long time. Also came from, from REN as well, where they just seem to produce all these young ballers.
00:23:41
Chino Onwuka
And, you know, he was someone that they've just brought in, you know, you know, how many, how many teams can take a risk or I guess that's what you need to do in this period of, you know, almost 60 million for a teenager.
00:23:53
Chino Onwuka
They did it, and it's really showing out. And then in the midfield, Vitinha, who I think for a couple of seasons now has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the world.
Arsenal vs PSV and Transfer Market Insights
00:24:04
Chino Onwuka
Thabini Ruiz, who's been there for a while. And the guy I was banging on the on the table for for Arsenal all summer long. You guys probably got sick of me.
00:24:13
Chino Onwuka
Dral Neves, who's such a combination of of of technique and steel and and drive. you know That midfield is so good. that even Zaire Emery, who's their wonder kid, isn't even a starter anymore.
00:24:27
Chino Onwuka
have Muno Mendez at left back, again, a teenager they brought in for big money, locking down Mohamed Salah over two legs and 120 minutes in the second leg. You've got Hakimi on the right.
00:24:39
Chino Onwuka
You've still got Marquinhos, you know, holding things down at the back. William Paco, another nice signing. And then, of course, you know, Donnarumma on the back end. So, yeah, just a team that I love.
00:24:53
Chino Onwuka
you know it's it's you know It's easy to see how form can change and and things can progress. you know Earlier in the season, Liverpool weren't in good form. And they were team that, to be honest, Arsenal handled pretty easily when they met. and And I think it's a different PSG side now with confidence since they've moved Dembele into that false nine role. So yeah, just want to give them their plaudits. I think they were deserved winners. They're now probably seen as you know one of the big favorites for the Champions League and I just wanted to wax lyrical about PSG little bit.
00:25:25
Chino Onwuka
oh Liverpool, you know, I think to me this just sort of shows it's been a great, amazing season for Liverpool, but I think this shows an element of the way they've rolled.
00:25:38
Chino Onwuka
I won't say luck. I'll say good fortune throughout the season in that they've they they've played better than people expected in the place. Slott has gotten a lot out of the team.
00:25:50
Chino Onwuka
And yes, they have really good players, but it really shows how dependent they've been on the the brilliance of Mo Salah, especially in games of fine margins. And, you know, now you had a game where he was sort of held back. And, you know, normally in the Prem, you know, either he gets a penalty or he gets a goal out of nowhere.
00:26:08
Chino Onwuka
But, you know, this time I think PSG was just too much for them. You know, when Salah wasn't able to to be there, there was no one else who could respond. you know, you talked about...
00:26:20
Chino Onwuka
oh You talked about Nures, you know, Jota, you know, was was held down, Diaz. I think Garbo was injured, but but yeah, just without Salah being OP, you know, they made Liverpool look ordinary, honestly.
00:26:38
Chino Onwuka
And, you know, Alisson had to come up really big in the first leg, but it wasn't enough for them across the tie. Chukwu, your thoughts?
00:26:51
Chuku
Uh, yeah. For a game that... had the least amount of goals in in the and the combined legs. That PSG-Liverpool game was definitely one of the most entertaining games I've seen had watched you know over this last week or a weeks here.
00:27:12
Chuku
In the Champions League, you know as i think, I mean, add on to a couple of things you everyone's been saying here. PSG, personally, have been one of my favorite teams to watch all year.
00:27:24
Chuku
i mean, they're not showing it a lot in terms of in the Champions League. Obviously, their poor finish is what led them to play Liverpool in this leg. But, you know, when when you get to the knockout stage, it's not about, you know, where you finish in terms of table, right? You know, if you have the talent on any given day, that talent can help propel you through, you know?
00:27:48
Chuku
And PSG clearly was way more talented than where they finished in the Champions League table, in my opinion. And i mean, when you add, i mean, bro, really touched on this, but when you add Cravadonna to this team, bro,
00:28:05
Chuku
It's just not fair, man. it's It's just not fair because I look at this guy and, like, you see what he was doing in Napoli. And, like, it's kids you's one thing doing it for Napoli. Napoli, I mean, look, Napoli's not a small club, you know.
00:28:19
Chuku
But let's be honest, man. Like, who was really watching Napoli week in, week out in terms of like their overall club. I mean, you know, I guess I'm trying to say is PSG is just a bigger microscope in terms of how, you know, how big they are in in in the in the world in the game of football, right? They're the one team in France.
00:28:47
Chuku
In terms of, you know, Champions League, like they are definitely more, there are more eyes on them. you know, as basically, you know, having had Mbappe previously and wanting to see Mbappe win. And, you know, we all know about the Neymars and the Messi's and all this stuff.
00:29:04
Chuku
Piaget is just a more, you know, bigger stage, i would say, right, in terms of eyeballs watching. And to get to see Krava in this new environment, I knew the boy was good, but, like, wow. Wow.
00:29:19
Chuku
This guy is just, like, he truly might be one of the best. Like, I struggle. I mean, apart from obviously the obvious names of Vinny, you know, I kind of want to, don't want even call him Mbappe anymore because Mbappe pretty much at this point is converted to be playing mostly in the middle now.
00:29:35
Chuku
But you can name me, I'll be hard pressed for you to name me three left wingers in this league, in the world of football.
00:29:47
Chuku
better than Crava Dono right now. I really would, I'm very curious to to to hear if you do have three names better than Crava, but the boy is good.
00:29:57
Chuku
And you put that next to the improvements of Usman Dembele, And you still got the Barcola. You still got, you mentioned the kid. Is it Dewey?
00:30:08
Chuku
You know, I've not i' had a chance to really watch him thoroughly, but he's had a pretty entertaining, good season. You know, and I also saw him in the, I believe, it was it the Olympics? He was playing for the France team in the in the Olympics with Thierry Henry as the coach, I believe. is that correct?
00:30:23
Chuku
Correct me if I'm wrong, that you know. But it was the Olympics, right? That...
00:30:27
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, he was at the Olympics, yeah.
00:30:29
Chuku
It was in the team by where Thierry was coaching, right, that they won.
00:30:32
Chino Onwuka
Yes, yeah.
00:30:32
Chuku
I'm pretty sure, yeah.
00:30:32
Chino Onwuka
yeah
00:30:33
Chuku
No, so I've i've seen a little bit of that too.
00:30:34
Chino Onwuka
Well, they lost in the final. Yeah.
00:30:36
Chuku
Oh, second, a second. Yeah, gotcha. But they went far is what I'm trying to say.
00:30:39
Chino Onwuka
yeah
00:30:40
Chuku
So I watched bits of him there, you know. And to think this team still also had Koulou Moane. So, you know, i'm obviously had to let him go. And they still got that Ramos guy from Portugal.
00:30:51
Chuku
Like, what is this PSG? Like, sometimes when I look at this on certain teams,
00:30:55
Chino Onwuka
They still have, you know, mad old make I me make sure I say the Korean winger as well.
00:31:00
Chuku
like
00:31:03
Chuku
Oh, right. i don't yeah I know who you're talking about.
00:31:04
Chino Onwuka
next kind Yeah, I wanted to make sure didn't say the wrong Korean name and then, you know, so, yeah.
00:31:05
Chuku
Kang something. Yeah, I know exactly. Bro. Like,
00:31:12
Chuku
like how they got so much? It's just so... and And again, I hate just bring Because like you look at that and then you look at the situation in Arsenal and I'm just like, how the hell are we... like How does a club like PSG have so many of abundance of talent in the forward lines.
00:31:29
Chuku
And somehow, like, arsenal mr if you missed – if we miss three guys, we are are already in the in the middle of playing, like, you know, a kid and –
00:31:40
Chino Onwuka
it's it's I mean, I think it's easy to focus on what PSG has, but I mean, you look at Arsenal, we have like six left backs that can start, man.
00:31:51
Chino Onwuka
Come on.
00:31:53
Chuku
I hear that, bro.
00:31:54
Chino Onwuka
Does PSG have six left backs that can start a game?
00:31:55
Chuku
I hear that.
00:31:57
Chino Onwuka
No, we do.
00:31:58
Chuku
No, no, no. You're right. You're right. But you know what?
00:32:01
Chino Onwuka
And if it's not clear, I'm being very sarcastic.
00:32:04
Chuku
Of course, I know. I know.
00:32:05
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, yeah.
00:32:06
Chuku
It's very clear. But, I mean, it's just, I just look at that and, like, it just, it's painful seeing clubs like that with so much abundance and talent and then I come back to my club and I'm just thinking to myself, like, what why can't we Hopefully this changes.
00:32:23
Chuku
Obviously, we know we're gonna you should be talking about you know you know some point you know the new appointment of a prefer new director of football for Arsenal.
00:32:31
Chino Onwuka
yeah In my opinion, Chiku, here's the reason, right? We talked about it earlier.
00:32:35
Chuku
Oh, ahead.
00:32:36
Chino Onwuka
i think it's two things. One, PSG are a state-backed club in that you know we've talked about all the ones that have been successful. If they make a big signing on young talent and it doesn't work, it doesn't hurt them because they just send them on loan for six years and when their contract ends, it goes away and no one remembers it.
00:32:53
Chuku
Mm-hmm.
00:32:57
Chuku
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:32:58
Chino Onwuka
There have been lots of flops over the last... There been some good signings. Everyone spoke on the star signings, but there have been a lot of flops over the years. And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't hamstring them.
00:33:11
Chino Onwuka
Here we talk about you know Kai Havertz, who for $65 million, we can talk about what it is, but you can see how that decision... you know Thank God they've been able to repurpose him as an effective striker for the best, but we can't just keep making...
00:33:27
Chuku
Let me ask you a question. Yeah, let me ask you a question. When you say flop, right, like, can you, I'm just curious, the flops that you would mention for PSG, right, who would be the big, like, the big sign-in player that he signed in the forward department that you consider a flop?
00:33:31
Chino Onwuka
I
00:33:45
Chuku
I'm curious.
00:33:46
Chino Onwuka
i mean, he's playing well now, but I'll just give a very recent example. Kolo Mwani was a flop.
00:33:50
Chuku
Yeah.
00:33:52
Chino Onwuka
Do you know how much he cost?
00:33:54
Chuku
Fair. I mean, I see what you're saying.
00:33:56
Chino Onwuka
He cost, what, 19 million euros.
00:33:56
Chuku
mean,
00:33:59
Chino Onwuka
And he didn't he wasn't performing, which is why Dembele is playing false nine. And it is not even, no one even talks about it.
00:34:09
Chuku
I mean, fair, but let's see what you're saying.
00:34:10
Chino Onwuka
Yeah. Ugarte signed for big money. You know, Man United billed him out, but he was a flop.
00:34:16
Chuku
I'm talking about forward.
00:34:17
Emeka
Bro, do you have the guy on the bench right now?
00:34:17
Chuku
I'm talking about forward, forward, not forward. But but
00:34:19
Chino Onwuka
Yeah.
00:34:20
Emeka
Ramos, you guy cost like 60, 70 million.
00:34:23
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, 75 million euros.
00:34:24
Chuku
I would not call him a flop.
00:34:24
Chino Onwuka
seventy five million euro
00:34:27
Chuku
I would not call him a flop. He's had moments. He scored goals PSG.
00:34:31
Chino Onwuka
But he's on the bench. But he's on the bench, right?
00:34:34
Chuku
That's a choice. That's part part of the whole PSG.
00:34:37
Chino Onwuka
but So here's what I'm saying.
00:34:38
Chuku
Okay.
00:34:38
Chino Onwuka
Just to explain it, they signed Ramos first.
00:34:41
Chino Onwuka
He didn't work out. So they went and signed Mwani. He wasn't working out. but And then they just went and signed Dembele, and he's working out. And they can just keep doing that.
00:34:50
Chino Onwuka
A lot of clubs can't do that.
00:34:54
Chino Onwuka
And then as well, you can now... bring them along, especially if you're talking about young talent in the French league, especially when you're PSG, where it's a lot more forgiving than situation, you know, and I'm glad we're talking about this because this is when it something I wanted to talk about where look at, you know, we talk about Isaac and, okay, why didn't Arsenal take the risk?
00:34:54
Chuku
okay
00:35:05
Chuku
Mm.
00:35:15
Chino Onwuka
we You know, we've talked about, you know, the positive aspects of taking that risk, but look at Holland from Manchester United. They took that risk to on a promising teenager who hadn't scored a lot yet. And now you're seeing how much that is ham hamstringing the club where they have to sell your, your Garnachos and your mind was just to recover from that in this new financial ecosystem.
00:35:38
Chuku
Sure.
00:35:39
Chino Onwuka
If you're struggling, if you're a team on the come up, you know, you have to be able to, like I said, it's been good.
00:35:39
Chuku
oh
00:35:45
Chino Onwuka
We were able to find some functionality and effectiveness of harvest, but you can see how that, how, how much that has impacted. Manchester United, Anthony, they can't recover from that.
00:35:55
Chino Onwuka
Even Liverpool, thank God they still have Salah and VDV and Alisson and other salt players because Nunes was a flop and you can see how much that's impacting them as well.
00:36:07
Chino Onwuka
So I think sometimes we focus on you know when it works out, but there's a reason why you know for teams that don't have unlimited money, if it doesn't work,
00:36:08
Chuku
of
00:36:19
Chino Onwuka
And that's why sometimes they focus on what doesn't work, because if it doesn't work, then can really hurt you.
00:36:26
Chuku
That's a fair point, you know, and you know what? i hear it You know, I definitely understand. And this is why, but this is why it's important to take, mean, obviously in in in life, there's never a no sure thing.
00:36:38
Chuku
I'll preface my point by saying this, but I stand 10 toes on if you're going to take a gamble, knowing that you obviously if you're going to put money on a player, big-name player, you can't afford to miss if you're a club like Arsenal.
00:36:57
Chuku
i I get it 100%, okay? That's even more of a reason why i stand in saying, Prava was on the market. I do not care about this agent fees. I do not. The wages were, mean, they're high. don't give They're high.
00:37:14
Chuku
But we've given, we've shown, we've given, it was, it's like over 300k a week euros, 300k euros.
00:37:16
Chino Onwuka
what are what are What are his wages?
00:37:22
Chino Onwuka
Yeah. Yeah.
00:37:25
Chuku
But Havertz is literally on that as we speak.
00:37:29
Chino Onwuka
Yeah.
00:37:31
Chuku
Havertz, Havertz contract is comparable to what Crava is getting right now and in PSG.
00:37:38
Chino Onwuka
Mm-hmm.
00:37:39
Chuku
So what I'm saying, and and it's also at the same age, 24. My thing is with Crava, you know what he brings. This is a dude we have seen have 20 goals, 20 assists seasons in the Italian league.
00:37:55
Chuku
Like, Forget about even just, as like, you know, forget about just, you know, stats for a second, you know. The football world, you you have we have you have is something called an eye test.
00:38:08
Chuku
When you see this brother playing football, it's like you're watching a genius at work. He is that good.
00:38:19
Chuku
And I'm saying, like, I mean, like I said, in this world, there's no there's no nothing like sure bets. But God damn it, he, in my opinion, was one of the surest bets that I believe would have hit in any major club, at any big club, would be lucky to have him.
00:38:36
Chuku
And for the amount of sight,
00:38:36
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, honestly, I'm not wondering i'm not i'm not even gonna disagreeing with you guys. Like, yeah, that's the type of move Arsenal needs to be making. i think I think the thing, i i don't know, maybe it's just because of my background and what I do. I'm just trying to say i can see, i want us to do it. I think we should do more things like that. I can just see why we don't. There's a little bit of too much, what's the right word?
00:39:04
Chino Onwuka
Too much, know, am I going to help me out too too conservative sometimes?
00:39:12
Chuku
approach, right?
00:39:12
Chino Onwuka
and and that can And that can be annoying because, okay, you're too conservative, but then where you now go and spend your time is on the McKell Marinos of the world. And as much as I love Kai, on the Kai Havertz of the world, because, you know, we've seen v the accounts come out.
00:39:29
Chino Onwuka
Arsenal had no room to spend. I think once the financial calendar year rolls over, I think we do. And that's why they've been saving it. But based off of what the account showed, we had no money to spend. And I think sometimes people forget that. I think sometimes people forget that I think we borrowed a lot from the future to do a lot of the amount of spending we did in the past.
00:39:54
Chino Onwuka
and which worked really well for a lot of the transfer windows up until I would say the last two. I think people sort of don't put, you know, those pieces together, which is frustrating.
00:40:05
Chuku
I hear you.
00:40:07
Chino Onwuka
i um'm firsttra I'm just trying to explain.
00:40:07
Chuku
I hear
00:40:10
Chuku
No, I get it.
00:40:10
Chino Onwuka
Yeah.
00:40:10
Emeka
You know what's funny?
00:40:10
Chuku
And look, that's what we're here for. oh good. Yep, good, bro.
00:40:13
Emeka
it It's funny because you mentioned this. and then like I would think about this this week because he's been scoring goals. But I think, to your point, you know, Rice has been so good that everyone forgets he actually cost 100 million pounds.
00:40:27
Emeka
And also how absurd 100 million pounds is.
00:40:29
Chino Onwuka
Yeah. 105...
00:40:30
Emeka
And also the...
00:40:30
Chino Onwuka
hundred five
00:40:31
Emeka
And people forget the reason why the Rice signing took so long is because West Ham were fighting for like a payment structure where we pay everything fast, like four installments, I think, or something like that.
00:40:41
Emeka
So we're still paying for Rice. Again, no regrets. I love Rice. I love him on the team. But I'm a guilty of it too. Like, it really, this week when he was scoring goals, I remember thinking to myself like, yeah, this brother costs $105 million. Like, bro, that's money we spend on this guy. But he's so good, no one cares about it.
00:40:58
Emeka
So that goes to your point. Like, we're spending money. we all We all want to spend more money, but we have we have spent a lot of money, you know, under the Kroenke. That's why, like, much as I make jokes about the Kroenke's and, hey, everyone buy your Arsenal jerseys so we can fund people, like, going to give them credit, man. They opened the wallet a little bit. We spent some cash.
00:41:18
Emeka
We just spent it on guys like Kai Haver sometimes and Fabio Vieira and whatnot. But, hey, it worked out in the end.
00:41:23
Chuku
That's my problem.
00:41:24
Emeka
We smacked BSV 82 on aggregate. So, hey, the money is going to something, man. The money is going to something.
00:41:29
Chuku
yeah I hear you, but that's my problem there because we've spent money. But the truth is, the money that we have spent, if you're really, really deep in man, like,
00:41:44
Chuku
Yo, Grava Dona went for... you like I had to look it up for just to come... He went for $70 million. am i Am I seeing that correctly?
00:41:55
Chuku
Is that correct? but Is that something like $70 million?
00:41:57
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it turns out to equate some like 63 million pounds.
00:42:02
Chuku
Oh, my... Dude, that is the amount we spent on Calafiore and Mika Moreno, bro. If I'm not mistaken. Correct me if I'm wrong, you know. But I'm pretty certain of the combined amount we spent on, can you
00:42:15
Chino Onwuka
unfortunately we spent we spent Unfortunately, we spent more than that on the two of them.
PSG's Champions League Potential
00:42:19
Chuku
imagine?
00:42:19
Chuku
But can you just imagine? i look Anyways, look, it is what it is. I'm not going to harp on this point. But all I'm just trying to say is for us to take that next level, these are the kind of market opportunities we cannot be we cannot afford to be missing on. Because, boys,
00:42:37
Chuku
Krava would have changed. Again, it's not just about Arsenal, but any club. The fact that PSG managed to get this one through, kudos on them. You know, that's what makes them exciting to watch with the with the amount of talent they have on their squad.
00:42:50
Chuku
It's just unfortunate that, again, like I said, you know, our top team, you know, in in APL, well, in this case, referring to Arsenal, could not, you know, get that deal, get a deal like that over over the line.
00:43:04
Chuku
And, you know, now we're hearing this talks about trying to get, you know, interested in getting ISAC, but ISAC now is, you know, Newcastle here, and I'm hearing Newcastle is talking about $150 million, or we're not even having a conversation with you. And, you know, hear stuff like that, and then you see a team like PSG getting a crowd for less than £70 million. pounds It's just, it's crazy, you know?
00:43:30
Chuku
But, you know, either way, back back to the whole PSG Liverpool game, you know Like I said earlier, to start it off, for a game that finished 1-1, one of the most exciting games to watch.
00:43:42
Chuku
It was beautiful getting to see the PSG talent put in this play, put the Liverpool defense on the spliff. There should have been a lot more goals in this series, but you know we'll take the the two goals that we ended up seeing in both legs.
00:43:56
Chuku
And Dembele, what a season he's having. The guy is terrific. You know, as everyone's been saying, he's really, you know, found something this year. He's really turned it up. And, like, people forget, know, Dembele, I mean, I'm pretty sure Dembele is still relatively, you know, he's not that old, right?
00:44:15
Chuku
I might attribute that he's, what, 27th?
00:44:16
Chino Onwuka
I think he's 27 now. Yeah, Joe's turned 27.
00:44:18
Chuku
Yeah, 27. I mean, you know, this is a prime. This is prime years. So I'm glad that, you know, they can surround him with young talent in Barcola, who I don't think gets enough love. And obviously, Cravedona, who I'm just saying, like, I cannot speak enough of how highly I rate this guy.
00:44:37
Chuku
And, know, the fact that these boys are 24 and under next to Dembele at 27, like, they're going to be fun to watch for the next couple of seasons. And, you know, You know, PSG got something special, man. a Plus, that John Neves kid.
00:44:50
Chuku
My word, what a midfielder, man. I used to think, I mean, I i know I heard those talk about him in Befica, and, you know, I thought it would be one of those flops, you know, Like, personally, I thought he would be one of those flops. Like, he was a small kid that, you know, everyone's talking about. He's really going to amount to much in the you know in the bigger leagues. I mean, look, he's doing it in the French League.
00:45:11
Chuku
He's doing it in the Champions League. So, I got to believe so far things are looking good. It can only go upwards from here for the for the kid. And, yeah, no, PSG are definitely one of my, you know, again, favorite teams to watch.
00:45:25
Chuku
If Arsenal don't win, I really hope, in my opinion, if Arsenal or Madrid don't win, PSG is the next club, right up there, in terms of who i would like to see win the Champions League.
00:45:35
Chuku
So I'll be you know soundly silently rooting for them in case you know one of those other two teams I mentioned don't make it through to the finals or make it through to win.
00:45:47
Chuku
And, you know, yeah, PSG, can't say enough about them. Very fun team to watch. Liverpool, on the other hand, You know, what can you say, man? I mean, Salah. Salah, Salah.
00:46:01
Chuku
You know, I mean, I won't say he had a terrible game, but yeah was definitely not the Salah that we we, you know, have come accustomed to be seen tearing it up this year.
00:46:11
Chuku
i was This season, I should say. You know, very questionable performance in between the legs. You know, Darwin Nunes, you know, he showed up.
00:46:21
Chuku
initially in the first leg, played a big part in that, in their goal, you know, their smash and grab, I would call it, in the first leg, but, you know, for the most part, almost invisible in the second. Luis Diaz,
00:46:39
Chuku
you know, but I don't know, I didn't really notice him a lot, to be honest, I mean, maybe, I'm not sure if you guys felt the same way about it, but For the most part, felt like no Liverpool's offense was pretty much stifled for most of the the you know the series. They definitely you know didn't impress as much as I thought they would.
00:47:03
Chuku
you know This was definitely PSG dominant performance, in my opinion. And yeah, they they deserve to be knocked out. So, you know, I guess maybe maybe this is, I'll give them a chance to just focus solely on the league as well as focus on,
00:47:21
Chuku
their cup final they have against Newcastle, which is going to be this weekend, I believe, right? So it's going to be at least, you know, they can focus on that on that pretty much and handle that part. And, you know, it is what it is, you know.
00:47:36
Chuku
It's going to be interesting because with Divopo, it's going to be interesting this summer to see how their team, you know, shapes up, you know, because I still believe,
00:47:49
Chuku
at least one of the three between Trent, Salah, and Van Dijk has to go. Or, sorry, not has to go, but one of those three, for a sure, bare minimum, will be leaving. So it's going to be very interesting to see how the team adjusts with one of their big names, big star names leaving the club.
00:48:09
Chuku
But, yeah, I just think entering the game, it was just you're watching two teams in different trajectories, PSG on the way up, in my opinion, And Liverpool on the way.
00:48:21
Chuku
Again, I'm just saying, I mean, I'll look at it right now because obviously Liverpool, you know, about to be walking walking through to win the league. But I i still am of the opinion that Liverpool is on the trajectory downwards in terms of their current club.
00:48:37
Chuku
But we're going to see how they rebuilt because, like, this summer, is going to tell us a lot about this Liverpool team and and and what they end up doing. So very interesting to see. But it was just funny.
00:48:48
Chuku
Well, it was just interesting to see the different parallels between the two clubs. And, you know, PSG definitely, definitely one of my favorite teams to watch. So it's just interesting to see how how they continue to progress. And, yeah, it's going to be a very interesting couple of quarterfinals, you know.
00:49:10
Chuku
very, very interesting quarterfinals that we have in store.
00:49:14
Chino Onwuka
Okay, any other games in the round of 16 we want to talk about? I mean, you know, i think I might have touched on it, I guess, you know, as Arsenal fans.
00:49:25
Chino Onwuka
You know, the the big takeaway there is, you know, a a nine three aggregate win for Arsenal, which, you know, I don't know about you guys, but I was, I still expected us to win because it's Arsenal and PSV, but I didn't know how we would do it.
00:49:41
Chino Onwuka
you know, considering, again, the the shortage we have up front, and then, you know, the first leg happened, which was just crazy. And so that ended up being, you know, an easy tie for us. I think the thing maybe I'll say about that game is, you know, again, I think it's good for us to put into perspective sometimes, you know, with the Arsenal team when we do play well, because I think there are games we can win,
00:50:05
Chino Onwuka
But against, even if we win one game, play well, you know, happen against Leicester, happen when with the first game gets PSV, we will still see the impact of that shortage up front, you know, pretty consistently throughout the rest of the season where I think we just have to limp our way, like again, to top four.
00:50:25
Chino Onwuka
My goal coming in was even before the injuries was at least quarterfinals and definitely since the injuries quarterfinals. So, You know, yeah everyone's excited about the glamour tie with, you know, Real Madrid. I think it's going to be peak for us. You know, people talk about, oh, the last time, you know, we went, you know, to the Bernabeu with, you know, a makeshift defense.
00:50:52
Chino Onwuka
Okay, yeah, we had a makeshift defense, but we still had Thierry Henry up front, Cesc Fabregas in the midfield. So I think it's... it's We can't be comparing the same things until we have sort of a Thierry Henry type player up front, which we don't.
00:51:11
Chino Onwuka
But anyway, that that's all i have to say that. Anything else you guys want to mention before we move on to nfl free agency?
00:51:17
Emeka
Two things. One, we talk about Arsenal too much, but I have to just throw in this. Raheem Sterling had the best game of his Arsenal career, I think, and then decided to almost break someone's leg. Like, what a guy, man.
00:51:30
Emeka
I'm glad Bakayoko is not injured at all because I don't understand
00:51:33
Chuku
Don't kill me, bro.
00:51:35
Emeka
I don't understand what that tackle was.
00:51:36
Chuku
Yo.
00:51:37
Emeka
Like, oh nine three up
00:51:38
Chino Onwuka
I think he was upset. He didn't score. And here's the annoying thing for He's now suspended for the first play.
00:51:44
Emeka
Suspended. That's what I'm saying. Best game of his Arsenal career and he then he does that stupid stuff at the end.
00:51:46
Chino Onwuka
I'm not sure.
00:51:48
Emeka
like i It should have been a red card, honestly. it really should have been a red card. Like, it's an unnecessary tackle, but
00:51:53
Chino Onwuka
I can't believe got the ball. If he didn't get the ball somehow, it would have been.
00:51:56
Emeka
Yeah. Again, I'm happy Bakayoko is not injured because if you got injured down 9-3 to that tackle, hey, there'd be fights in the locker room. But real quick, though, if I had given all of us in the podcast, I said, you know, August, who is the best winger duo in world football?
00:52:15
Emeka
I wonder how many guesses we'd have until we get the right answer, which is Rafinha and Yamal. I love Rafinha. We've been linked to Arsenal for many guys. It was in Leeds. This brother is amazing.
00:52:29
Emeka
Truly amazing. and watching Watching Barça versus Benfica, just the level of balling those two wingers had. like Everyone knows the amount hype. Guy's a' not even 18 yet, and he has 29 goals and assists.
00:52:43
Emeka
Monster. But when I watch Barcelona, I'm always more impressed by Rafinha. He tracks back, presses, runs, and is clinical. Clinical finisher.
00:52:55
Emeka
Unbelievable. i just like I'll give him big props. I know everyone's happy bump him. Fairly so. He's getting on the Ballon d'Or shots. Deserves it. He looks fantastic. And Jamal, again, one more ask we said about Jamal.
00:53:07
Emeka
Barcelona, yeah Next round against, i think it was Dortmund. And it goes through, which I'm predicting. The semifinal where Barcelona versus Inter Milan. Blockbuster football. Obviously, getting ahead of myself. But my goodness. I i thoroughly enjoy watching this Barcelona team play football.
00:53:24
Emeka
And number one on that list is Rafinha. what What a guy.
00:53:27
Chuku
Well, you have Inter into going through? What the hell? Why did you think Inter going through? That's interesting to me.
00:53:31
Chino Onwuka
You know what, guys?
00:53:31
Chuku
But...
00:53:33
Chino Onwuka
Here's what we're going to do. I'm calling an audible, right? Just looking at the time. I think let's just continue with the Champions League talk. You know, we can maybe even go into our predictions for the next rounds. And let's table NFL free agency for for
Champions League Quarterfinals Predictions
00:53:46
Chino Onwuka
next week.
00:53:46
Chino Onwuka
Just looking at the time.
00:53:47
Emeka
Hey, fair.
00:53:48
Chino Onwuka
So, yeah.
00:53:48
Chuku
Sounds like a plan with me, but...
00:53:48
Emeka
And on that note, to answer my my brother's question, why I pick Inter over Bayern Munich, Inter Milan are too underrated.
00:53:49
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, let's keep going. So, yeah.
00:53:58
Emeka
Too underrated. Simeon Inzaghi is a top five manager in the world of football. I don't think people understand what I'm saying. He is with the budget Inter have. We joke about Arsenal being broke.
00:54:11
Emeka
Inter Milan are broke. Inter Milan fighting liquidation at the time with their owner. He has them walk in the league all the time. They're still first this year. Got them in Champions League final two years ago.
00:54:23
Emeka
They are going to give Bayern Munich a game. I truly believe so. And I'm definitely picking Inter over Bayern because I think Inter Milan, underrated.
00:54:29
Chuku
This is so funny. Go ahead, go ahead.
00:54:31
Chino Onwuka
i mean yeah tricker before you go And I agree with you.
00:54:34
Chuku
Yeah, go ahead.
00:54:34
Chino Onwuka
We talk about Atletico Madrid and the way they play. I think Inter Milan are like a better version of Atletico right now. And it's a really, if you look if you just look at player for player, it's nothing sexy apart from maybe Lataro Martinez.
00:54:51
Emeka
barella That's right.
00:54:52
Chino Onwuka
But I'm going to
00:54:53
Chuku
Marcus, come on. Marcus Turam is for pretty, I mean, he's pretty stylish.
00:54:57
Chino Onwuka
run it. Yeah, no, no, no. Mark Mourinho is in that system, but like, How much did they sign him for? They signed him for peanuts. Like, these are...
00:54:57
Emeka
Barella is the second name.
00:55:05
Chuku
It's peanuts, it's peanuts, it's peanuts, yeah.
00:55:07
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, so that's the thing. He... he he I don't know... as That's the thing with the Italian teams. is they They just take players, maybe players that, you know, you know their names, and they just mold them into such these effective teams that are just a pain to play against.
00:55:21
Chino Onwuka
So, you know, I see... I see... I'm with Emeka on this, because not even just Bayern. I think those are the type of teams... that will hurt your Bayerns and your Barcelonas the most because of the type of football they play, where if you can't get past them with your attack, then you are really, really, especially with how effective and solid they are, then you're really, really of vulnerable to them on the counter.
00:55:53
Chuku
Very interesting
00:55:54
Chino Onwuka
And it doesn't have to be sexy. They will just deploy a nasty deep block, frustrate you. And then, you know, I just look at, yeah, Bayern, but even maybe I'm jumping ahead.
00:56:05
Chino Onwuka
Barca, you have a physical beast like to run against them, that Barca defense. Yeah, problem. Yeah, lots of England, but problems.
00:56:17
Chuku
Very, very interesting text, boys. But I'm so sorry, may I just seen Biden Monique. manhandle the team of last year, last season, Brian Leverkusen. I mean, manhandled them in the back-to-back leg.
00:56:33
Chuku
Like, it wasn't even close.
00:56:37
Chuku
So, yeah, I mean, i understand y'all's takes on Inter Milan. And look, Inter Milan are not a team to be slept on for sure. but This underrated talk about Inter Milan, I should be saying the same about Bayern Munich this year because they entered this year in the with in a venng a vengeance, man. Like, the just seen them at Handel.
00:56:58
Chuku
Team of the Year, Bayern Leverkusen, you that everyone was rooting about the previous season in a back-to-back leg, like it was like they were nothing. Like, you know, it's not like Leverkusen is out here, you know, after one year, know, lost all their top players all of a sudden. No, those players are still there, you know.
00:57:17
Chuku
Wurtz, Frimpong, Bramaldo, all these players that people, you know, hyped Xhaka, all these people that were part of that, you know, Leverkusen team that went almost the whole season on beating, like, they're still there.
00:57:32
Chuku
And this, you know, Bayern Munich team handled them. You know, thoroughly. Like, it was a you know, it was a, yeah, let's just say it was a clean sweep.
00:57:43
Chuku
And, man, I'm seeing guys like, you know, Harry Kane on form. This year, Musiala destroying, you know, our Canadian born and bred, you know, doing his thing, like signing the new contract.
00:58:01
Chuku
Things must be settled for, you know, Davies. He's out here scoring goals. Like, I'm just saying... I think Bayern Munich is the more talented team, clearly on paper. And obviously the football is not one on paper, but with the way that they're playing, I would be shocked, in my opinion, if Inter Milan, you know, get out of the out of that matchup against Bayern. I just think...
00:58:26
Chuku
Bayern Munich right now are playing the better football. the They have the more attacking, the more, yeah, lethal attacking threats. There are no slouch on defense.
00:58:36
Chuku
And, i mean, obviously not the greatest, but, like, I think their firepower up front is going to be enough to carry them through.
00:58:48
Chuku
And they're just a more talented team. So, oh you know what?
00:58:54
Chino Onwuka
I honestly perfectly agree with you. Bayern have the more talented team. They have more attacking firepower. The thing is, they just haven't been consistent this season, both in the league and in the Champions League as well. So you just don't know...
00:59:13
Chino Onwuka
which Bayern you're going to face on the day. i mean, you talked about beating Leverkusen team, you know, a lot of the same faces, but they've not had the season this year that they did last year. They're not, theyre there they use all their magic last season. They're not winning or tying games in the 97th minute to keep them being run. That isn't happening.
00:59:33
Chino Onwuka
Teams are are better prepared for them. they're not catching teams off guard. And, you know, like not like again, Bayern easily handled Leverkusen, but like, you know, they got a red card in the first game, you know, words didn't play in the second game. So, but that's to believe the point. i think I agree with you. Bayern are the more talented team. They have the bigger names, better talent, but one, they've been inconsistent. And and that's what I've been saying about Inter Milan. It is not sexy at all.
01:00:01
Chino Onwuka
It is not glamorous. It is not pretty, but they just grind it out.
01:00:06
Chino Onwuka
there To me, they're they're but They're the Detroit Pistons of 2004. That's who they are.
01:00:06
Chuku
right, that's fair.
01:00:12
Chuku
That was a totally fair call-out. I mean, it's definitely make the is's definitely goingnna be a very, very interesting game to watch. But, yeah, I mean, we'll see. I guess we got to see how shakes up. But, like i said, if I put my money on the team out of those two,
01:00:30
Chuku
my money is definitely on the more talented squad and, uh, that will be Bayern Munich for sure. But, but not even, Ali brought that up because Ali was bringing them up because of, I guess, I guess, declaration that Inter Milan was going to be the one that was going to make it through in the next round.
01:00:49
Chuku
But hey, that's, I guess that's another, conversation for, you know, another time there.
01:00:53
Chino Onwuka
No, well let but let's have that conversation now.
01:00:53
Chuku
Okay.
01:00:55
Chino Onwuka
Let's let's do that segue. Let's all give one our next round predictions.
01:00:57
Chuku
Okay.
01:01:00
Chino Onwuka
Maybe we can do it.
01:01:00
Chuku
But before we do that, i really wanted to just talk about one particular team. There's one team I wanted to actually talk about.
01:01:05
Chino Onwuka
Okay.
01:01:06
Chuku
because i only brought Because I only brought up the Bimini talk. And we still can come back to that talk. Obviously, we only make our know predictions. But this was a team that, I mean, you know,
01:01:19
Chuku
yeah in in the group chat, I guess, for those who are obviously not privy to know that we have these of conversations you know outside of the pod, y'all had top mentioned and talked about you know what in terms of giving no this PSG team a run for their money in the next round.
Aston Villa's Champions League Prospects
01:01:37
Chuku
But I want to give a shout-out to Aston Villa, man. Like, wow, I've been impressed with Aston Villa. Like, I mean, sure, they they may have done it against a team like in Club Bruch, but the way they handled...
01:01:48
Chuku
That team, like, you know, and again, a lot of it has to do with you see what a team can look like with additions in the January transfer window.
01:02:00
Chuku
Like, can we talk a about Asensio? Like, what is this guy doing? This guy is on a tear, bro. Like, he has been scoring goals nonstop.
01:02:09
Chino Onwuka
So funny, talking about flops, another one.
01:02:14
Chuku
Hey, another one. Fair enough. Fair enough. But hey, you know, you can call him a flop, but he's one of those guys, just like Kola Moani, a guy has left to PSG in a new environment.
01:02:25
Chuku
And all of a sudden, there's a reason why this guy was a name at one point in Madrid. There's a reason why PSG went and got him from Madrid. He is a baller, bro. Like, he is a baller. He's just... Sometimes it may not work in a particular situation or a particular environment.
01:02:43
Chuku
Same can be said for a one named Marcus Rashford, who I'm seeing... You know, I'm seeing glimpses of the guy that we all saw in my United, who we know has the talent and, you know, has the ability. But, again, things just weren't clicking or working for him in the current United setup.
01:03:01
Chuku
It is what it is. And... He's having the opportunity to play, enjoy his football again. And I'm really liking and seeing what' you know what's what's going on with this Aston Villa team, man. i i look look The more I had a chance to know deepen and think about it, I still think PSG are going to take it, but I definitely think is going to be closer than what i i originally thought. And, you know, I just think that attacking, like, you're going to definitely, for for one, it's going to be a very, very fun game to watch because I think the attacking players on both teams are going to be very entertaining.
01:03:38
Chuku
Asensio is going to have, you know, chip on his shoulder playing against his his parent club that he's getting loaned from, you know, Rashford going to be very fun to play.
01:03:49
Chino Onwuka
Is he allowed?
01:03:51
Chuku
I'm pretty sure would be allowed to play.
01:03:51
Chino Onwuka
Is he allowed for a game?
01:03:53
Chuku
I'm pretty sure he's allowed play.
01:03:53
Chino Onwuka
Oh yeah.
01:03:54
Chuku
Yeah, I'm pretty sure. There you go.
01:03:54
Emeka
He's allowed to play.
01:03:55
Chuku
There you go. yeah
01:03:57
Emeka
Y'all forgot Coutinho scored against Barcelona for Bayern Munich.
01:03:57
Chuku
pretty sure
01:03:59
Emeka
That the legendary goal.
01:04:00
Chuku
there you go
01:04:01
Chino Onwuka
oh yeah
01:04:01
Chuku
they There you go. So, I mean, yeah, it's a shout out to Aston Villa, man. And, yeah, just wanted to mention them in terms of helping the EPL secure that fifth, you know, about to help them help EPL secure that fifth place position to allow a lot of 15 to make it into the Champions League for next season. but Yeah, great football from Aston Villa, and just wanted to just give them a quick shout. But, yeah, I think we go ahead now with the predictions if someone else has something else to say or mention about the clubs.
01:04:37
Chino Onwuka
No, carry on. Just jump right into your predictions, and then during the predictions, we can talk about any clubs.
01:04:41
Chuku
Oh, sure, sure. So, I guess, do we want to just go through, like, all together, or should I just be giving my predictions for all the matchups for the next round?
01:04:54
Chino Onwuka
we can do it tie-by-tie. Since you already started with PSGS and Villa, you can start with it.
01:04:54
Chuku
I will tell you how to do it.
01:04:58
Chuku
Okay. Yeah, so PSG-Aston Villa, you know, obviously, i like as I mentioned, like, you know, I wanted to give, I wanted to make sure I gave Aston Villa their props. You know, they've been playing really good football of late, but with all that being said, one team got that, Dembele, Cravedona, Barcola, you know, What more can I say? I got to give it to PSG.
01:05:21
Chuku
The more talented team on paper, team that I believe has, you know, just is clicking at the right time. Yeah, I'll give this, I'll give that one to PSG. I think, I think going to, they're going to, it's going be closer than people think, or at least closer than what originally thought.
01:05:40
Chuku
I think it should make for a very close game, but at the end, I think PSG just have enough to pull through. so I don't know, are we giving scorelines or should I just go with who we think is gonna make
Arsenal vs Real Madrid Preview
01:05:51
Chuku
it?
01:05:51
Chino Onwuka
No, we don't have to give score lines.
01:05:53
Chuku
Okay, then yeah, I still got PSG pulling through for sure. So that's my, that's who I got.
01:05:59
Chino Onwuka
Okay, Emeka.
01:06:02
Emeka
Unai is a European specialist, and I i think... You know, for sports and football is about matchups, and I really think Aston Villa match up well with PSG. It's going to be tight.
01:06:15
Emeka
I was just trying to look up the odds real quick, and I'm surprised how big favorites PSG are. Usually in English teams get of juice, but I guess people, after seeing them beat Liverpool, they they're they're riding the wave.
01:06:28
Emeka
much as I want to you know be smart analytical and say, hey, man, I can see... I could see Estavilla surprising people. and if they took their chances, they really could. But I got to give it with the team, I think is going to make it all the way to the finals. I think PSG win this round as well.
01:06:48
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, I think I'm on the same boat as you guys. I think it'll be a closer tie than maybe a lot of people would expect. I think Aston Villa have all the ingredients to to make things interesting for PSG in that they have a goalkeeper at the back that can keep them in the game.
01:07:07
Chino Onwuka
You know, know, Their defense isn't all that, but you know Martinez has shown a lot of times he can come in and and stand on his head and and and keep his team in it.
01:07:17
Chino Onwuka
I think they have a midfield. you know We talked about, I love Piaget's midfield, but you know the one thing that they have going against them is maybe perhaps size. And you know we've seen Emery do this before. He's not going to care about the ball, but you know Villa have players that can really...
01:07:34
Chino Onwuka
bully to some extent PSG, even though PSG will fight back. But I mean, Onana is a beast. And you've seen Morgan Rogers rubbed out physical midfields in the Prem on a weekly basis.
01:07:47
Chino Onwuka
and And they have a clinical striker. And in, in, Watkins and Quinn and attackers in seemingly good form right now. So, you know, I think they can be a threat, but yeah, I still have PSG.
01:07:59
Chino Onwuka
I think PSG will just be too much for them because we've talked about, you know, the trouble Villa, I think, and cause PSG, but that's not to say PSG will not cause Villa a lot of troubles as well.
01:08:13
Chino Onwuka
Next game I'll talk about, maybe we'll just stick with that side of the draw first, is
01:08:21
Chino Onwuka
Barcelona Yeah, no, no, yeah, that's how the drugs Arsenal Madrid and so this is a quick one Roman did on my I'm gonna say too much I guess already talked about it Chico
01:08:35
Chuku
Man. So, we'll go in Arsenal-Madre. This is a tough tough one, man. Because, obviously...
01:08:42
Chino Onwuka
And I guess like I got to ask you, when it's, I know this hasn't happened since 2005, was it 2006? But, you know, I envy you a little bit because this is, you know, for people who don't know, Chukwu is an Arsenal fan, but it's, like I said, it's also Madrista.
01:08:50
Chuku
Yeah.
01:08:57
Chino Onwuka
But this is a win-win for you. You can't lose no matter what happens in it.
01:09:02
Chuku
I mean, for me, that's how I feel. That's how I look at it because, like I said, look, like I told you, if Arsenal win, I'm always rooting for Real Madrid to win. And this year is one of those years if Real Madrid doesn't win, you know you know I'm rooting for PSG because I you know i just enjoy the football and the players they have. But, yeah, like you back to your point, like this just yeah, for me, as a you know it's it's a win-win. i note that if If Arsenal lose, my only – ask is that just just don't get humiliated is all I'm asking for.
01:09:36
Chuku
Like, you know, don't, don't, you know what I'm saying?
01:09:38
Chino Onwuka
All right.
01:09:39
Chuku
Like, don't go lose 7-1 like we just did to PSV. That's all I'm asking. You know what I'm saying? Like,
01:09:44
Chino Onwuka
And for those listening, this is not a defeatist attitude. This isn't, oh, here it comes.
01:09:47
Chuku
it's not, yeah.
01:09:49
Chino Onwuka
It's just with the circumstances, if we had, you know, a fully fit team or decently fit team, I would feel that we're good enough to, I wouldn't call us favorites to give Real Madrid a game. We can employ similar tactics to what Atletico Madrid did, but we just have no threat going forward at all.
01:10:08
Chino Onwuka
Like,
01:10:08
Chuku
At all, bro.
01:10:09
Chuku
Like...
01:10:09
Chino Onwuka
In the Champions League one 16, we started a front three of Kieran Tierney, Mikel Moreno, and Tresard. And that's all i'm going to say.
01:10:19
Chuku
Bruh. Bruh. Yeah, like I said, that's enough as enough said. So, you know, i'm not all I'm asking for is just don't get embarrassed. Like, you know, well try and keep it within a reasonable scoreline.
01:10:31
Chuku
You know, it can't be having Mbappe doing the – I can't see. But, you know, that celebration he was doing after he killed Vardio, man. I can't be seeing on my screen. You know what I'm saying?
01:10:47
Chuku
But, yeah, I still think, you know, as much as we we all have high hopes and, you know, want to see us at least do our best and try and give Madrid a game, I think, I just think it's safe to say Madrid is most likely going to come out of this, like, the victors. And i don't want to talk about scoreline. i want to talk about scoreline. So I'll leave it at that. Madrid, you know, to make it through to the semifinals.
01:11:16
Chino Onwuka
I'm not going to...
01:11:17
Chuku
good
01:11:18
Emeka
hu Look at this defeatist attitude I'm hearing on this on this on this podcast. Like we didn't just give PSV a smooth seven in the first leg. That all being said, Madrid easily win. I mean, let's be real here.
01:11:33
Emeka
I will say though, i will say, i really wish Saka was fit. I really do. i want I want to, as much as I would like to see everyone who talks about, Arsenal win the Champions League. Yeah, Arsenal the Champions League.
01:11:45
Emeka
But i I just want to see Arsenal compare ourselves with the big teams. I want to see us play these guys. Last year, though we lost, I loved seeing Arsenal play Bayern Munich. When I was suffering through you all those Europa League nights, this is what I was dreaming of. And I'm glad that we're back under the floodlights against Madrid that we haven't played in almost 20 years now. It's actually incredible.
01:12:05
Emeka
And I'm going to last time we did play, we did win. I'm throwing it out there. was pre-Black Magic, Zidane era, but we still we still beat them in the Champions League. Young Fabry got scored.
01:12:16
Emeka
We got a young Ethan Waniere now. You know, maybe history repeats itself. But, yeah, let's be... Unless by some miracle, Saka comes back and he's firing. yeah it's going to be a pretty pretty pretty convenient the Real Madrid win, sadly. Although, hey, Arteta was built for this. I'm going to say this right now.
01:12:34
Emeka
Arteta was built for this. I know he's he's betrayed his roots a little bit recently, but when he first started, he was a sit-back, hit-on-the-counter, pragmatic manager. Paella Pulis, our Taliban, is not out of the realms of possibility.
01:12:49
Emeka
we We put up a generational terrorist performance and get a result. That's all going to throw out there. It's not the realms of possibility.
01:12:55
Chino Onwuka
That's the only way it can happen. yeah And you talked about missing Saka, like that's a given. Bruh, at this point, I'm missing Kai. I'm like, man, like if we had Kai, like,
01:13:06
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, let's let him miss a bunch of chances, but at least it's like we'll see something to groan about versus, oh, man, it just sucks.
01:13:14
Emeka
Hey, facts. Let's move on.
01:13:17
Chino Onwuka
It just sucks. Okay, now we'll move on to the to the other side, the other bracket.
Inter Milan and Barcelona's Youth Talent
01:13:27
Chino Onwuka
Barcelona versus...
01:13:30
Emeka
Borussia Dortmund.
01:13:32
Chino Onwuka
Versus Dortmund, yeah, to me, that's going to be a shellacking. Both teams are very open, and Barcelona will just put Dortmund to the sword. Like you said, you know you talked about Yamal and Rafinha. Yeah, I just wanted to give a shout-out. Rafinha has been one of the best players in the world this season. Yamal is, he like, he just turned 17. Like, it's, I don't, like, it's, you talk about, you know, other young players and what they're doing. This guy is leading the charge for Spain and Barcelona at 17. I don't know how LaMassa keeps doing it.
01:14:10
Chino Onwuka
There's more of the pipeline I could tell you guys about, and it's just crazy. Pedri has been having, you I'm glad to see he's finally over some of the injury situations he's faced. He's having an amazing season. in And yeah, just just for the sake of time, I'll stop there. But yeah, Bayern easily. And I think for the sake of time, I'll just do the second one as well. Yeah.
01:14:30
Chino Onwuka
Inter Milan versus Bayern, we talked about it already. I think it's going to be tight. It's going to be a contrast of styles, but I think Inter will will manage their way through the tie. I think this is like a game where they'll keep it tight and take it into extra time and penalties and Inter will go through.
01:14:48
Chino Onwuka
Just because I think Bayern, as talented as they are, are a little too inconsistent. Chukwu, and then we'll have Emeka and the predictions.
01:15:00
Chuku
So, sorry, which game were we on?
01:15:04
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, just just do both.
01:15:06
Chuku
Okay, so let's see here. We talked about Bayern already. So I told you Bayern, Bayern Munich going through my opinion. The other game was, so what was the other game?
01:15:22
Emeka
Barcelona Derby.
01:15:22
Chino Onwuka
Barcelona, Dortmund.
01:15:24
Chuku
Oh, come on, man. Barcelona, easy, bro. Yamal. Yo, oh my. as well who Yo, as Uncle say, OKC, KFC, UFC, Barcelona in two.
01:15:40
Chuku
Yeah, bro. Barcelona, yo, Barcelona is going to take care of Dortmund. It's going to be walk in the park.
01:15:45
Chino Onwuka
Bye.
01:15:48
Chuku
So, yeah, give me Barcelona on that one.
01:15:52
Emeka
Yeah, I mean, while slander, i mean, we look, we're all picking Barcelona. Quick shout-out to Gerasi. 10 goals in the Champions League this this year. i mean, damn. would have thought that? He's doing really good for himself. But, yeah, Dortmund, the love story ends here. Barcelona, going to put them to the sword. It's... Oh, my goodness. We already talked about Barcelona for all this. We haven't mentioned Lewandowski. That's how deep they are.
01:16:15
Emeka
They have all these guys that... Pick your poison. they pick your Literally pick your poison. I Real quick on Yamal, I always hate comparing guys to the big, big names because it's unfair.
01:16:29
Emeka
If his career, progression's not linear, if his career continues the way it's shaping, that photo of Messi holding him as a baby, might have to fly my kid to LaMessia and have Yamal touch him because there's something something that can't pass.
01:16:42
Chuku
Something in the water.
01:16:44
Emeka
There's something in the water over there. no I don't know.
01:16:45
Chuku
Something in water.
01:16:46
Chino Onwuka
You guys don't even understand. You guys don't even understand. And like, I think sometimes we forget that we had already generated another next one. And you sort of seen the opposite of what can happen in Fatih, where Fatih came in, took the number 10 at 16 and was just killing it for Spain and Barcelona. And then he got injuries and then that's just ruined everything. But we had Fatih that looked like something flamed out and then, okay, is that didn't work. Bring in the next one. And then that one worked. It's just crazy.
01:17:15
Emeka
Yeah, man. that La Masie. So, yeah. Easy. OKC, Chuck Casey, whatever. Muscle too easily. And then lastly, like we talked, I'm going to ride Chino, man. I think Inter... I really think Inter Milan are underappreciated. I really do.
01:17:30
Emeka
And it's going to a perfect test against Bayern Munich. not going to be easy. It's going to be hard fought. I agree. probably john she said Probably extra time, penalties, one of those legs. But it's going to be something.
01:17:42
Emeka
Real quick on Bayern, two quick points. One, one of my favorite footballers ever, getting slandered. Kimmich put on a virtuoso performance against Liverpool. Like, I don't understand how this guy's been balling for over a decade it still doesn't have his flowers. What is what a stud.
01:17:57
Emeka
The balls he was pinging, running in the midfield. And if I'm Musiala, don't know if you guys saw this, but after the first leg, I'm putting the pause on Joe Paulina because he ruined what should have been an all-time, I'm not forget when I say this, top five greatest assists.
01:18:16
Emeka
If you haven't seen it, go look at Musiala's almost, let's see, the touch he had. Bergkamp-esque. I was stunned watching that. And then Paulina had the nerve to miss an open goal.
01:18:24
Chino Onwuka
got not Seeing seeing that.
01:18:27
Emeka
miss an open goal and ruin my man's highlight. said, I put the paws on him. If I was, don't care if I'm up 3-0. I'd have put the paws on him if I was Musiala. But, yeah, hey, shut up company in Bayern Munich, but Inter Milan, I think, Inter Milan got it.
01:18:42
Chino Onwuka
Seeing that, but this is sort of an aside. We'll move on to games of the week now, but it's just going to be painful. when we see Madrid sign either Musiala or Wurz. That's my prediction. They're going to sign one of those too.
01:18:57
Chino Onwuka
That's my prediction.
01:18:59
Emeka
God forbid.
01:19:01
Chino Onwuka
It's happening. It's happening. Okay. All right. Now we're going to move on to games of the week. And we've gone into a bad habit of what we've, know, we've talked about the games of the week, but we haven't had the chance to review them. So hopefully, you know, with the interlaw, we'll have a chance to talk about these games. But we've got in the Premier League, you know, two London rivals, Arsenal versus Chelsea, in what is really now just a top four battle versus, you know, earlier in the season, it was before, you know, potentially a a championship battle, a title battle, but now it's just a top four battle.
Arsenal vs Chelsea and Newcastle vs Liverpool Predictions
01:19:40
Chino Onwuka
And then the League Cup final between Liverpool and Newcastle. So Emeka, since you ended off with us with the last one, I'll give you the chance to start on those two games of the week.
01:19:56
Emeka
I would never, ever be not take the opportunity to remind few Chelsea fans we have listening that Arsenal own Chelsea over the last like four or five years. We either draw at Stamford Bridge and smack them at Emirates.
01:20:11
Emeka
And ye hey, it looks dark. I'm to still talk on my chest. at Emirates, I'm going predict a nice, comfy 3-1 for Arsenal. far
01:20:21
Chino Onwuka
Jessen. Whoa. Okay. All right. And then Liverpool, Newcastle.
01:20:28
Emeka
I think like I've been safe with my predictions this week, so I'm going to go on a limb here. Bad juju, bad vibes. Got knocked out of Champions League midweek. They're sleepwalk in here.
01:20:39
Emeka
And Newcastle, even though they don't have Anthony Gordon, which is a huge miss, Surely they have they have not won a trophy in 70 years. They got to end this somehow, sometime.
01:20:50
Emeka
And why what better time than now? Newcastle 2, Liverpool 1, shock upset. Eddie Howe brings the trophy to the tying side for 70 years. It's going to happen.
01:21:02
Emeka
I'm predicted. I just feel it. Bad vibes this week for Liverpool. Newcastle
01:21:08
Chino Onwuka
Okay, okay. Chukwu, your predictions.
01:21:12
Chuku
Wow. Wow. Wow. I'm going to upset. That's crazy. But, man, you are very optimistic, bro. You are very, very, very optimistic, man. Look, I know we used to own Chelsea and all, but, like, I'm just... I really don't think we are focusing the league at the moment in time, bro. I just think...
01:21:37
Chuku
I don't know. truth is, don't know what to expect with this club. And can you blame us? Can you? can I can't really blame it. Like, bro, we're playing Michael Moreno up top, bro. Like, you know trying to say? Like, one week, we're battling PSV. Another week, you know, we're struggling against some other stuff.
01:21:56
Chuku
I just, look, look, look. I guess where I'm at at the moment, I'm just OK. I'll take a draw, man. 1-1. one one 1-1 Chelsea Arsenal, man. I'm going with a draw.
01:22:09
Chuku
But I hope we stop them. I hope it's a 4-1, 3-1 thing. But I just can't i cannot trust us at this moment in time to deliver that.
01:22:21
Chuku
And that's why I'm going with a draw. But Newcastle, Liverpool. Interesting, you know I guess, you're you're your thoughts on that. Because I'm of the opinion, I think...
01:22:34
Chuku
Liverpool, like I explained earlier, Liverpool, like the team knows this is going to be, this is their last hurrah, you know.
01:22:44
Chuku
And I mean, they just got kicked out of the Champions League in a very, very, very hurtful manner through penalties. I mean, got to believe they'll put,
01:22:57
Chuku
put pull through, put put it together. They've got to come out of this. They've already pretty much got the league in the bag. I think they want to come out of this with as many trophies as they can. i just think the fact that Newcastle ain't going to be in full strength, missing a top talent in Anthony Gordon, but that can only hurt them. Do we know for sure Isak is playing?
01:23:19
Chuku
Is that confirmed, boys? Anyone?
01:23:22
Emeka
I'm pretty sure he's playing.
01:23:23
Chino Onwuka
I'm pretty you sure Ezek is playing, but I was going to talk about it in my predictions, but like like all of Newcastle's defense is out.
01:23:24
Chuku
Yeah? Okay.
01:23:32
Chino Onwuka
I think that's even about his Gordon.
01:23:32
Chuku
oh Oh, even worse. Yeah, exactly. I know hall Hall is done for the season.
01:23:35
Chino Onwuka
Yeah.
01:23:38
Chuku
that's That's tough. So that you're going to miss Hall and Gordon on that left side is just, man, yeah, give me Liverpool, man. Liverpool will win and they'll win their first trophy of the year.
01:23:52
Chuku
So those my those are my predictions.
01:23:56
Chino Onwuka
Yeah, from my predictions, i again, I don't know how it's going to happen, but i I'm just going to call a draw at the Emirates, a tie. Again, we just need to limp our way through.
01:24:08
Chino Onwuka
Chelsea is is it's not easy opposition, especially as they rest players in in in midweek with their conference league run, and so they'll have players fresh.
01:24:18
Chino Onwuka
I guess we'll have players fresh as well, but yeah, 0-0. Martinelli's back, so you know I think... Not sure if he'll start yet, but you know it's nice to have him back. Also, yeah, i'm I'm predicting a draw there. Hoping for a draw, really. It'd be nice if we can win. It's been a while since we've we've won in the Prem.
01:24:39
Chino Onwuka
And then Liverpool, Newcastle, yeah, I just think with... know i' I've been looking forward to the game, but with a lot of the injuries Newcastle have, especially at the back, with the way Liverpool bowed out in the Champions League, I think they're going to be coming out for vengeance.
01:24:55
Chino Onwuka
And I think it's going to be a pretty convincing 3-0 victory for for Liverpool. So with that, I think we will we'll round up the episode for today. Thanks, guys, for for for listening to us. Looking forward to coming back next week and seeing the results of this game and finally getting to talk, you know, a little bit of, you know, nfl season, you know, free agency and maybe, you know, a little bit of of of the draft as well.
01:25:22
Chino Onwuka
We'll see. But, you thank you. Hope you have a good time listening to us. Thank you for so your support and we'll catch you on another episode of The Love of the Game.