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Free Weekly Episode - Osimhen Is BACK, Inter Groundhog Day, Inzaghi & Allegri Out?, UCL Preview & Much More (Ep. 315)
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From Napoli draw against Hellas Verona but Victor Osimhen back, Stefano Pioli rotate heavily as AC Milan deserve to win but draw with Bologna, Groundhog Day at Inter Milan who live up to Pazza moniker, poor Juventus lose second Serie A game in a row, Lazio all but secure Champions League football next season, Roma strengthen grip of top 4 finish as well as preview of Champions, Europa and Conference League quarterfinal return legs and much, much more as Nima and Carlo break down all the talking points from an absolutely action packed weekend of Italian football.
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Transcript
Champions League Football Preview
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. I'm Carlo Garganese, joined, as always, by Nimat Avali. Big show for you today. Once again, it's going to be a huge week of Champions League football, the second legs of the Champions League quarterfinals.
00:00:24
Speaker
Milan leading Napoli 1-0 from the first leg at San Siro. We've got the second leg in Naples on Tuesday. Inter leading Benfica 2-0 from Lisbon in their first leg match. They're playing their return at San Siro on Wednesday. We've also got the Europa League second leg quarterfinals with Juventus leading Sporting Lisbon 1-0 with Roma trying to overturn a 1-0.
00:00:50
Speaker
deficit in Rome to final and then we've got the conference league quarterfinal second leg between Fiorentina and Lech Poznan and Fiorentina already virtually in the semi-finals after winning 4-1. So we're going to be previewing all of those games. We're also going to be of course reviewing all of the Serie A midweek action. Most of the big teams, nearly all of the big teams slipping up, Napoli,
00:01:16
Speaker
Milan into losing and Juventus losing as well. And the Rome team is taking advantage of that. So we're going to be analysing and breaking down everything that happened there. We're also going to have Badger and Prem Face of the Week. It is a very, very competitive week, the Prem Face of the Week as it usually is. But today, in particular, we've got quite a few
Napoli's Form and Osimen's Return
00:01:37
Speaker
whoppers. So lots to look forward to. Let's get into it.
00:01:41
Speaker
Right, we'll start off with the weekend Serie A action and we'll start with the leaders Napoli who failed to win again. They lost, of course, to Milan last midweek, 1-0 in the first leg of that Champions League quarterfinal.
00:01:58
Speaker
and they rested quite a few players from this game against Verona. They drew 0-0. It wasn't a particularly great performance from Napoli once again, their form has really dropped, but Nima, there was one huge, huge positive ahead of that second leg against Milan and that is Victor Osseman is back. He was on the bench, he came on for the final 18-20 minutes and he immediately made a difference, smashed the ball against the crossbar
00:02:25
Speaker
to show what he can offer in that second leg against Milan. Well, without a doubt, I mean, we saw there were, you know, I don't want to draw too much from those 18 minutes, but of course, you know, you're going to look at him and when he, you know, whenever he plays, he's going to draw eyes to himself. A lot of questions about what physical, you know, how is he, the physical shape he's in after this injury and well, you look pretty good to me.
00:02:47
Speaker
I wonder if he's got how many minutes he's got in his body going into that Milan game. But for sure, this is the cutting edge that Napoli lack when he's not there. The bite in their bark, to match their bark, because they can retain possession until the cows come home and they can hurt teams and they can press high up the pitch and so on and so forth. But Osseman gives them
00:03:14
Speaker
that kind of cutting edge up front, the killer instinct in the box, even though he does miss quite a bit of chances and he still can improve his efficiency. But he wreaks havoc in opposition defences, not just because of the finishing, but also because of his link-up game, his aerial presence, you know, and his movement. He never stops moving and he always makes intelligent runs. And he always is a passing option for the midfield or the wingers or the wing or the fullbacks.
00:03:41
Speaker
So there's no doubt that this guy is going to be decisive one way or the other for Napoli when he plays. And you saw there was a complete different feel and vibe about Napoli against Verona. Now, I don't think the result against Verona really matters as much because, well, they've already won the league. Everybody knows that it's just a matter of time.
00:04:02
Speaker
But I think going into the Milan game, it was important for Napoli to kind of get some sort of a moral boost from Osseman. And of course, which we're going to talk about, the Aurelio de la Rente is taking that photo and peace treaty that he has with the Napoli Ultras. So this is exactly what Napoli needed after a bit of a bit of a unnecessary shit show, to be honest, that they kind of can do to themselves. I mean, obviously not Osseman's.
00:04:32
Speaker
of Osmond's injury.
00:04:35
Speaker
And that's where I am overall with this game. Yeah, it wasn't much to talk about the game itself. Virtually no chance has created at all. I think the only really big chance was, well, the Osmond hit the crossbar, but that was him. That was a piece of brilliance from him more than anything. And then in Gong, Mr. One-on-one right at the end of the game for Verona, where he could have stole all three points, but not really much to talk about from the game. Napoli rested pretty much everyone that will play on Wednesday. I think Di Lorenzo,
00:05:05
Speaker
maybe the lasano and he's jesus but he was there to gain minutes pretty much everyone else was rested and i think that.
00:05:17
Speaker
There's two points I want to make from this, from a Napoli
Raspadori's Role at Napoli
00:05:20
Speaker
point of view. First of all, there's no doubt that Napoli have, I don't want to say lost form, but they've definitely, this isn't the same Napoli that we saw at the start of the season. They've got one win in their last four games, two of those with defeats. They failed to score in three of those matches. Even in their last eight, even if you take it back to the last eight games, they've lost three, drawn one, so half of those games they haven't won.
00:05:44
Speaker
schoolers for successive games for the first time this season. So, you know, Napoli have lost form. They have lost form at kind of the wrong time of the season in terms of the Champions League. So that's number one. Number two, and I wanted to ask you about this, Nima, is
00:06:06
Speaker
is Raspadori, because he played, I know he's still not fully matched shape since his injury, so maybe it's a little bit unfair to ask this question now, but looking at it over the course of the season, is Raspadori going to make it as a Napoli player? Or is it a case, just to continue that question, or is it a case of we know now that he's not gonna make it as a centre forward in a three?
00:06:35
Speaker
That's the thing. I don't think he's going to make it as a center forward, because I don't think he is a center forward. I think if you look at how he played in for Sasolo, he's a wide player in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3, playing off of a central big number nine or a focal point in number nine at Sasolo was Skamaka. Here it's Osseman.
00:06:57
Speaker
I think I don't think he's a center forward. If he's going to play as a center forward, he needs to play in a front two. And I think we have to remember also that Asbadori is this is his first season. He's still pretty young. He's not, you know, I'm not saying he's a teenager, but he's not also he's not exactly, you know, 30 either. This is his first big club move. I'm willing to and a club that is
00:07:22
Speaker
winning the Serie A, going to win the Serie A. They're in the latter stages of the Champions League. They're fighting for trophies. That's a huge step. And I think there's always going to be a little bit of a time to adapt to that for him. So I think this year is a little bit kind of
00:07:38
Speaker
Because he's done well in the Champions League. He's got a lot of goals in the group stages, the Champions League. He's got four goals in the group stages, which is one of the best. It's very good. Fantastic. But you look at his Serie A numbers this season, one goal in Serie A all season. And yes, OK, he's had some spells injured. But that is very, very disappointing, especially when you consider he's playing for Napoli, who create so much, dominate so much, and we've seen what they've done this season.
00:08:04
Speaker
you know so I don't know it's I mean it's done well for Italy as well generally done pretty well for Italy but yeah I do think that as a central man in that in that front three no no yeah I think we've almost got the question answered for us there that it's not doesn't look like he's not he's not a number nine in a in a sole number nine in a four three three or a four two three and he's not he's not that guy but if you you need to please need someone to play off of
00:08:31
Speaker
whether it's wide or... And that raises questions about his future at Napoli, really, doesn't it? Because, I mean, if he's not going to be the number nine, that means he's not going to be the successor to Osseman if Osseman leaves. And then, you know, so his other option in a 4-3-3, I don't think he's going to play as a right-wing guard. I'm not sure I've seen him play on the right, and I'm not sure that he would be really suited there on the right of a free. It'd be the left of a free, but there's Claret Scadia there, and Claret Scadia is not going to be sold this summer because
00:09:01
Speaker
Osmond sell, they're not going to sell both of them and it'll be Osmond will be the first to go. Well, if Kim and Jay leaves as well, given the clause, I doubt they sell too. I think they sell Kim and Jay. I mean, they're not going to sell both forwards. I think that's pretty obvious. They're not going to sell both forwards. I think Cloud at Scalia will be the second one to go after Osmond. Osmond will go first, whether it's this summer or next.
00:09:20
Speaker
And then, Claret, so that raises questions over respiratory's future. I mean, can he afford to stay as a, as another backup for another season behind Claret? And, you know, how much is Claret going to be rested? He's going to play pretty much, he's going to be their main man next season. So, if Osman leaves.
00:09:35
Speaker
Well, I mean, we did see them play kind of a false nine. I mean, they could do something like that. Sarri did, of course, when Higuain left. Or go to a 4-2-3-1, in which case he could play, I guess, as an attacking midfield centre. So, I mean, yeah, there are other options. But yeah, I think that definitely did raise some question marks. And the other thing, and this is what I really wanted to talk to you about, because he is Swedish, and I remember you talking about him a few months ago.
00:10:01
Speaker
is Isaac Yan, the centre-back for Verona, because I was really, really impressed by him in this game. I thought he was magnificent. I went and checked his numbers as well after the game, and he made four tackles, seven clearances, one block, one interception. He won all five of his duels. I thought he was so dominant. I thought he was absolutely brilliant. So, yeah, what do you think about the future of this guy? To me, he looks a player, this guy.
00:10:27
Speaker
Well, he does. And of course, Torino have snapped him up, if I'm not mistaken. I mean, it's not official, I think, but they've got some sort of a deal with with Hellas in place. And, you know, it's impressive given how Torino are good at snapping up talents and developing them. And if Ivan Jorich stays for another season, you know, massive, massive development for him. I thought he was very good as well. But I think he's been all outstanding all season, to be honest.
00:10:54
Speaker
The fact that he's gone from the Swedish league to the Serie A and done so without hitting the ground running is so incredibly impressive. I'm really, really impressed by him. I find him he's a very commanding, imposing centre-batter. He makes his presence felt and I was really impressed.
00:11:15
Speaker
Really, really impressed by him. And just quickly, before we move on to Milan, so did you see that there's been this officially this truce, this this ceasefire or or who knows between Aurelio De Laurentiis Italian thing, this entire scandal is the most Italian scandal.
00:11:33
Speaker
of all time or italian problem only this this can only happen in italy i think well already de la rentes did a tweet before the napoli game uh a photo of him with all the the napoli uh um ultras sorry and you were right the first time
00:11:50
Speaker
So there was kind of like De Laurentiis in the middle and then he accompanied that with a message kind of, you know, basically saying that, you know, we're all together, we're all together, all united, you know, Napoli to win. Basically saying that, you know, they've sorted out all the problems and everything. But the funny thing is like De Laurentiis had this kind of like,
00:12:13
Speaker
It almost looked like like blink twice if you need help out. Yeah, like he was like, you know, the kind of emoji with a nervous laugh emoji where they kind of like your teeth. It was like one of those kind of like gritted teeth smiles from from De Laurentiis. I mean, yeah, is this just one for the cameras or what do you think?
00:12:32
Speaker
Well, they had to do something when Spalletti was so pissed off, he said he's not even going to stay on the bench if they don't have proper support. Well, you know, they had to they had to do something and there was infighting amongst Napoli fans as well. And we read a statement by famous Neapolitan politicians and musicians in last week's episode. And I think it was on Thursday we did. Patrick Kendrick, the ruler, you know, lead, read, translated brilliantly what was said. This was a problem. This they had created a problem and they were not united and Napoli are not
00:13:02
Speaker
Juve. Napoli are not a stable environment. They're not a stable, controlled, calm environment. They're a volatile environment, and that's both good and bad. And this is what, when it turns bad, this is how it looks. And so they needed to be united. They needed to cut this nonsense out and go into this game to create some sort of momentum for them and positivity. And I think, you know, Osseman, like I said, alluded to earlier, Sue Osseman coming back in this photo,
00:13:31
Speaker
as comical and as Italian of a photo. It's the most Italian football photo I've ever seen. But yeah, this is what they needed to do. I mean, let's remember De Laurentiis was given police protection and because of all the threats he was getting from certain parts of the club's fan base.
00:13:51
Speaker
The good thing, I think the positive from this is that hopefully they get the fans, the fans will actually cheer on Napoli. That's the key to it in this actual game. I think so. Long-term look, it's Naples and the chaos is always just around the corner and the next crisis is just five, one minute away.
00:14:12
Speaker
but they're playing Mila and they are playing Mila in the Champions League semi-final and they need to be united and need to focus on that and I think the ultras understand that if they have seen and perceived in the city of Naples and among that Piazza and that Tifozeria that they are the reason for causing problems and Napoli losing that quarter-final well then they will lose all of their legitimacy and all of their friends that they have and that's they will be seen as a pariah
00:14:40
Speaker
Yeah, well, I think they have
Napoli's Internal Issues
00:14:44
Speaker
to win. Napoli have to go win, have to win this tie in order to save the ultras, in my opinion. Because if it doesn't matter, the damage has been done. They've lost that first leg 1-0. They lost the psychological advantage. So if they go out now, whichever way you want to spin it, they've contributed to that. So I think they need Napoli to win just as much as Napoli.
00:15:08
Speaker
If anyone wondered if Karlo has Neapolitan roots, they only need to listen to that 20 seconds about placing blame. That's the most Neapolitan answer I could have hoped for. Yes, that is one way to look at it.
00:15:27
Speaker
I'm sure the blame game will be interesting to follow if and when Napoli are thrown out or lose to Milan, but regardless, I think that's a given now because I don't see how Napoli beat Milan by two goals without conceding at least one.
00:15:42
Speaker
Yeah, we'll come to the preview after, but let's talk about Milan's game against Bologna. There really isn't much to talk about on this game either. Milan rested 10 players, the only player that will start against Napoli, almost certainly will be Mike Mignon, the goalkeeper. Everyone else was rested. In terms of the game itself, I mean... I was so impressed by Stefano Pioli.
00:16:06
Speaker
Pioli? Well, resting everyone you mean. Well, resting everyone and getting Milan with a better team. They were playing against a Bologna who were so informed and have been hyped so much. And yet Milan deserved to win that game on the preponderance of play and the chances created. They were the better side. Their reserves were better than Bologna's best side.
00:16:29
Speaker
And that is just all on Pioli. Again, it just goes to show what a united team this is behind their coach and how the mental strength they have, because they went down to a goal within 30 seconds to Bologna after rotating this much. Now, if that were Inter, that's a game Inter lose 3-0. But Milan come back, dominate, equalize, and should have perhaps had one or two penalties, or had at least one penalty, or one penalty for sure, and they should have probably won that game. They were better than Bologna.
00:16:58
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I agree, they probably deserve to win the game, but they still dropped two points. And I think that they got away with it because and will come to enter in a minute, they got away with it because inside then ended up slipping up against Monza, losing to Monza. So they've gained a point on Monza, but then they've lost points on Lazio in Roma. So whether or not it was the right thing to do, I mean, time will tell with the Milan versus Napoli game. You know, I don't think it matters, to be honest, if you finish second, third or fourth, it's about finishing in
Milan's Strategy for Champions League
00:17:26
Speaker
the
00:17:26
Speaker
Yeah, but what I mean is that there's the race for the top four is still on, you know, and, you know, they're two points above into, yes, but they've lost ground on the other. So, you know, so that who knows who's going to who's going to who's going to finish in the top four at the end of this. Let's remember that not Roma have a difficult game like fictionalist left. They're playing Inter Milan. They're playing, you know, they're playing all the, you know, they've got pretty difficult fictionalist left. And I expect that if if and when Roma go through to the semifinal of the Europa League, I think that's where the focus is going to be.
00:17:55
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, listen, I admire Pioli for having the balls, let's say, to rest 10 players and really go for this Champions League, which I admire. Time will tell whether it's the right decision or not. In terms of negatives,
00:18:10
Speaker
I mean, there's no looking past Charles de Kettler again. The more I look at him, the more, I know you make the analogy to Nyla and you've said that from day one, you know, let's not judge him until season, but the more I look at him, the more I just think that he's shaping up to be one of the most historic flops at Milan. I'm just
00:18:31
Speaker
I'm seeing nothing. I mean, because I've not heard anything. Maybe there's something about off field issues as well, because that we don't know of adapting to life in Milan. Maybe there are problems there. Possibly because he does look like on the pitch anyway, personality wise, he looks like somebody who is very, and I think I saw it in one of the player ratings, I think it's from Gazetta, where, you know, just like a very meek, very
00:18:56
Speaker
He's scared. Scared boy. And whether that is a personality thing off the pitch. Yeah, and I'm thinking is there something going on off the pitch that we don't know about? I don't know. Is he just not a good enough player? A character. Yeah, certainly from a character point of view, there's definitely big question marks. But even if I just look at his attributes, of course, there's no doubt he has a wonderful left foot.
00:19:18
Speaker
and he probably sees the game and he's probably creative you know I'm not doubting the technical qualities or even the kind of yeah like his vision and things like that those kind of qualities but I'm just looking at you know I don't see a player that's got that that that little explosive from one to five yards to be able to get away from someone and that little spark which I think you always see from great attacking players and I just don't see that with him that's that's my concern for
00:19:44
Speaker
We knew that Tenali always had that, even when he was having his difficult first season. We know that Tenali's got that in his game. De Kettler, I didn't see him that much of him before he joined Milan, but I haven't seen it at all from him in Milan. So that's my concern. Origi, we know, he's virtually a write-off now. I mean, it was a poor signing. It was a completely abject, poor signing, because that's not exactly a teenager or a player with a hot prospect for the future.
00:20:14
Speaker
We're talking about someone who was the fifth striker at Liverpool and they wanted to bring someone with experience in and he turned out to be an abject failure and I hope that they'll be able to offload him in the summer. I just find the whole situation and I keep saying why about Colombo, because Milan liked to play with a big striker who's rather technical, well I'd rather give that spot to Colombo, at least he's young and he can train with Milan. He can develop a little bit, yeah.
00:20:40
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure Colombo is ready. I mean, he's not even getting an electee team either. No, I know. But what I'm saying is like, I'd rather spend, give that spot to Colombo. Yeah, no, no, I agree. I agree. At least, yeah, totally. At least you've got something potentially from the future, from him. Whereas, I agree. You just know you're not getting anything. What are you getting? What are you getting? What exactly does a four million a year, he's on as well. So.
00:21:00
Speaker
It's such a... Look, I think Massara, as I keep saying it, Ricky Massara has been probably the best sporting director, or is the best sporting director in the last two years in Stanley football.
Inter's Recurring Challenges
00:21:10
Speaker
But this is a howler, or Iggy is a howler. There's no doubt about that. Yeah, it can happen, can't it? I mean, he's had an off-season, Marotta's had an off-season. Talking about Marotta, Inza. I mean, I was speaking to one of my good friends about Inza, and I said to him straight after the game, it was groundhog day again for Inza. That's the only way he could explain it.
00:21:29
Speaker
This is the most inter-season, patsa inter-season I can remember since 93-94 when Inter almost got relegated from the Serie A but won the UEFA Cup. This is just classic inter. That season as well, they were woeful in the league. There was nothing there. They couldn't deliver. Bagnoli was sacked.
00:21:53
Speaker
And then they go on and win the UEFA Cup, which was at that time what the Champions League is now. But can I just come in here and say why it's Groundhog Day for Inter? Because we see the same, there's the same ticks on the Inter bingo card that there is every single week. Number one, straight after a great result in Europe, Inter slip up.
00:22:15
Speaker
Inter slip up against a small team. Inter have so many shots, so many huge chances, cannot score. Inter have more than 25 shots of the game, can't score. Inter attackers continue their drought. Romelu Lukaku, another huge sitter that he misses.
00:22:33
Speaker
I mean, it's groundhog day. It's Lautaro, Correa as well, Jeko. Now all four of them decided to miss good chances in this game. It's bizarre. But again, I keep saying this is like 94. I'm just waiting for Bill Murray to appear on the pitch. That's what I'm waiting for next.
00:22:52
Speaker
No, look, I mean, I think there's a big difference between this game and the previous losses. I think Inter were poor in this game. They were not as dominant and they made so many simple, unforced errors when they weren't even under pressure. Playing Aslani was something that, you know, this was the second consecutive Serie A game that he started.
00:23:12
Speaker
But he showed why he's not quite ready to do that just yet, because there was no ball progression with him at the ball. Barela got so frustrated, he kept deciding he was going to do it all on his own and kept moving down and grabbing the ball. And he was going to do what Brozovic did because he got so annoyed with Aslany, which made Aslany completely redundant, making Inter play with one less man on the pitch. And Barela was having a shit day as well. So he missed simple passes, which is completely unbalanced the midfield.
00:23:42
Speaker
Denzel Dumfries' attitude was disgusting. I don't know who he thinks he is, walking around, making gestures and pointing around. I love you. I love you. I go after Dumfries every single week. It's like me and Leggery. I'm not going after. Look, watch the games. There's nothing personal about Denzel Dumfries.
00:24:02
Speaker
It's just, I mean, just look at the attitude. I mean, the half-hearted, half-assed runs, brainless, didn't even track back when he makes them, makes simple mistakes, can't cross a ball to save his life. And then, I mean, every single one of them. Lukaku was the only one who at least was working hard, but of course, he can't score. Can you explain something to me? Why the Interfans? I've seen it a lot. Why the Interfans called dumb frees brick frees?
00:24:28
Speaker
Because he's got the, because the first touch, he's got brick for feet. Oh, right. Okay. And, and he's got... He cracks me up that day and he's like, brick, please. Why are they going to be brick frees? No, he's, because he is, he's brick city when it comes to his, his control of the ball or the lack thereof, he can't cross a ball. It's, it was just woeful to watch every single player. And, and, and again,
00:24:56
Speaker
You know, when in Simone as well, when the changes he makes were too late, I mean, that's all on Simone in Zaghi. Why did not Raoul Belanova start this game? Denzel Dumfries is not good enough. Play him in Europe then, because that apparently is the only tournament, you know, as Marco Parolo said, after, I think it was brilliant, he said after the game, Formolazio player, Coaster was played under in Zaghi, he said, inter-players only care about themselves. They only care about showing off in the greatest stage, because that's good for their careers.
00:25:25
Speaker
Even though I do agree with you, this, you know, Inter went into made a lot of unforced errors in this game. But at the end of the day, it's still the bottom line. If you if you tally up the number of big chances that Inter had in this game, they still created a host of absolutely huge chances, sitters. You know, like you said, all four of the strikers missed Mr. Mr. Sitter pretty much.
00:25:48
Speaker
I think, yeah, they did. All four of them, Mr. Sitter, in this game. Maybe not Correa, but the other three did, and Correa had a good chance himself. And they still had an XG. I mean, this isn't super high, but it's still pretty damn high. 1.89 XG into had to 0.88.
00:26:05
Speaker
for Monza. So, you know, again. But it's the same thing over and over again. It's like, you know, they create chances, they don't score, they get frustrated. It's like a virus that goes from one player to another. There's frustration and annoyance. And then they start missing simple passes and they start with a negative body language. And they all just bring it to the ground. Is it a psychological issue now in the sense? Without a doubt. This is happening, like I said, because it's ground talk. It's happening time after time. It's like they almost
00:26:33
Speaker
you know it's affecting them when they have these chances and now you know you look at their you look at their run you know they've now gone five without a win in seria one point from those five games they've scored two goals from those five games they've now got 11 defeats in seria which is insane number of defeats only twice before have they lost the lost 11 games at the 30
00:26:58
Speaker
lost 11 matches at the 30 game stage, which is where we are. And for the first time in history, Inter have lost three straight games in Serie A at San Siro without scoring a goal. So psychologically, this has got to be affecting them, hasn't it?
00:27:14
Speaker
Of course, this is a mental issue because I think it's a combination of a qualitative issue and a mental issue. And I think Simon Inzagi, the camera zoomed in on him at that point, at some point in the second half. And I thought he was going to quit at half. I thought he was going to quit after the game. He had that look of, I'm done with you, people. What is wrong with you? We do everything, work everything. We prepare everything. And as soon as it's game time, you can't score to save your lives against these teams.
00:27:45
Speaker
And, you know, there are rumors going around that he wanted to resign after the employee game but was convinced to stay on. They're not verified, of course, so we have to say they are rumors. I understand. I mean, he's completely left alone again. Nobody comes out to shoulder the responsibility with him. Every single day, his job is being speculated of who's going to take over and who's not going to take over and what's going to happen next season and whatnot.
00:28:14
Speaker
There's no ownership structure in place. There's nothing there. There's no soshita to use Italian terminology. I've seen also the interfans have been very critical of Marotta and the upper management, how they only seem to come out and talk when to win and when they lose, they go into hiding. They all hide like mice. They all do their best cricket impression and disappear. We haven't heard that one for a while.
00:28:37
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's it's it's embarrassing but I mean this this is Intel as a whole but and then of course whenever you know again Intel go into a game they start well they start creating chances they miss to get frustrated one player isn't you know someone like Barilla decides to be a leader and he's not having a good day he makes Aslani completely redundant
00:28:56
Speaker
Inter playing essentially with 10 men, Denzel Dumfries has a shitty attitude, can't play football, can't cross and it just goes round and round and then of course from the 70th minute onwards the opposition have a corner or a set piece, Inter forget to defend like Bastoni did on Calderola, they head in the goal game over finish.
00:29:13
Speaker
It's just another former Inter player, two weeks on the road. It's like they're almost like they're being trolled. It's like like adding, you know. Yeah. Well, this is Inter. This is classic Inter. This is vintage Pazza Inter. This is part of it. And Calderola, of course, came on in the first in the 2-2 game. It was it was a judge to be a to be own goal, but he's the really, he's headed there. Yeah, that's right. I remember that. So Luca Calderola, former Inter player, Inter primavera player, a huge Inter fan. Of course, he's going to score. Michele Di Gregorio also came up through the ranks that Inter has a
00:29:43
Speaker
has a fantastic game. It's just peak interismo. This is peak interismo, which is why I come back to the 93-94 season, because there are a lot of parallels here. That was the Pellegrini era the year before Hisoto Morati.
00:29:59
Speaker
Everyone knew that Pellegrini was tired, he was fed up with Inti, wanted to sell. The team was pretty poorly put together. They almost got relegated from the Serie A, but they won the UEFA Cup, they did well in Europe. It was a complete mind f watching Inter. There was no sense in it. This is exactly how it feels, again, watching Inter. Now we'll have to wait and see. If they were to lose against Benfica or get knocked out,
00:30:28
Speaker
I think Zag is definitely will definitely be gone. Oh, no, it's over. It's completely off the game. There's no doubt about that. I think it's very unlikely. I think it's in such a strong position. But, you know, if it was to happen, I think, yeah, he's definitely he's definitely gone. Just before we move on to Lazio.
00:30:44
Speaker
But I just wanted to say there's quite an interesting, I mean, you know, we know the same thing is true here of like, you know, the 93, 94 and now, because Suning are going to sell at the latest within a year. It's a team that's kind of poorly built together. It's got a few good, it's got good individual players. Some of the players are really good, but they can't deliver consistently. There's a lot of parallels there. But of course, the other parallel, well, if I'm not saying, yeah, not just that, just more of the stuff that are going to go on to win the Champions League.
00:31:13
Speaker
as they did back then in 1994 to win the UEFA Cup. Well, there's a counter narrative because there's also another narrative across town with Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, his Champions League curse, he's part of Milan, they're in the Champions League, they could reach the semi-final and he's not registered to be there, if they do, which would be the ultimate, imagine Milan win the Champions League and Ibrahimovic doesn't get a win this medal.
00:31:39
Speaker
I mean, it's madness. So there are competing narratives for craziness. And in that 1993-94 season, Banioli, Osvaldo Banioli, he got sacked with a couple of months or so left of the season and was replaced by Gianpiero Marini, who then won the UEFA Cup.
00:31:57
Speaker
Yeah, as an interim coach. So I don't think that's going to happen. I don't think they can afford to sack Gonzagi. And I think he would be madness to do so in bringing Christian Kivu to who that's throwing away the season, as long as they're in the Champions League, that is. But we'll see. I mean, they have to go through to the
00:32:16
Speaker
to the semi-final if they do. If you don't want to play champions in football next season, they're going to have to win the champions. I think it's done now, it's over. Yes, they're two points away from Milan, but I expect Juventus to get those 15 points back, and then God knows what happens
Juventus' Serie A Uncertainty
00:32:31
Speaker
with the other. Well, that's the thing with Juventus. I think they get the 15 points back, but I think, listen, a lot depends on if that other case is settled before the end of the season, and
00:32:40
Speaker
But even if it's settled after the season, what happens? What's going to happen? Well, that's why it's such a mess, isn't it? There's no existing laws and it's all arbitrary about when it will be decided. So who knows? It's not arbitrary, it's just they're not finished. No, no, it's not finished. But there's not really any existing law in terms of, well, when we try a case, it has to be decided by this point. So no one knows what's going to happen. And when they do decide it, it's closed.
00:33:03
Speaker
What we do know is what we said on Thursday and that is that the FIGC have informed Juve that their investigation into the salary maneuver, what's known as a salary maneuver, has been concluded and Juventus have two weeks to hand in their response and then after that they'll decide on what Juventus have said and what everyone have said, what the correct position of the law is in terms of the sporting
00:33:23
Speaker
aspect of it. This is just a sporting thing, this is the FIGC investigation into the salary maneuvers and we'll know then what and if and what and how it'll happen but before then I expect the Juventus to get their 15 points back. So we could be in a position where both Milan and Juve are out of the Champions League and if they want to play in the Champions League next season they're just gonna have to win it.
00:33:43
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it's not something you can, yeah, you certainly can't make any calculations. That's the point I'm making. Just a word on, just a quick, very quick word on Monza. You have to give a huge praise. I mean, what they've done this season and their first season back in Serie A, for God knows how many years, and they do the double over Juventus
00:34:03
Speaker
And they go on beating against in sir in in in both games and win and win one of those games if you the first game right the draw yet to say i'm in this game so i mean it's taken from from ten points from twelve against the event as an inside me that's incredible and achievement from ones especially because of the start the season losing the first five games.
00:34:26
Speaker
Well, because they had an awful coach. They had the worst coach in the Serie A to start the season. And I was saying that in the Serie A preview that the sooner Monza Sacks Stropa, the better off they will be. And that's been 100% turned out because I look at that squad and I think it's squad that should be in the top 10 in the Serie A. And I have no doubts that they would be if they hadn't, if they had Palladino from the beginning of the season and not Stropa.
00:34:50
Speaker
No, they're very impressive and I thought Pasina was great. I think Julia has had a really good season. Sensi, he got another injury, which is typical Sensi. And yeah, it's nice for the Galliani and for Berlusconi, obviously, he's been in intensive care and not been very well. He's got leukemia and
00:35:12
Speaker
Yeah, so yeah, good day all round for Monza and yeah, I wonder what Bellascone sent the players from his hospital bed. God knows. That's the O then, that's the O.
00:35:28
Speaker
they win again and I think now it's absolutely certain that they've got top four signed up because they've won three nil and they against Spezia away and then now the gap between them and fifth place and let me just double check this make sure it's 10 points with eight games to go. Yeah and then they're playing Inter and they're playing Milan
00:35:52
Speaker
Both of them away. Look, even if they lose those two, that's four points to spare against Torino Sossolo, Lecce Udinez, Kremonez and Empoli. I expect this. It's not going to happen. Milan and Inter are not winning all their games anyway. Well, exactly. It's just not going to happen. I think Lati have got it all sewn up. I think Lati have got it all.
00:36:14
Speaker
in the bag. And again, Maurizio Sarri, you've got to give credit where credit is due. Some of the goals... The second goal, the move for the second goal is unreal. If he'd have scored that Anderson without the defender getting a touch before, that would have been a goal of the season.
00:36:30
Speaker
It was unreal. They just keep doing this time and time again. The same thing against Juve. It doesn't matter if it's Spezia, Inter, Juve, Milan. They play some of the most sublime attacking football that I think I've ever seen. And he's doing it with players that have never ever played this good before. It's just unbelievable. Some of those goals belong in the Louvre.
00:36:53
Speaker
They completely dominated. They totally dominated this game. I don't know what you thought about the penalty though. I thought that was really harsh for the first penalty that they got. I mean, ultimately, it didn't matter that they were much the better team, but it wasn't nil-nil at the time.
00:37:08
Speaker
goes back to what I've said so many times. I just think you can't give penalties unless you're certain of it, because the reward is too high. I thought that was a bit unfair, really. Again, pretty comfortable win for Lazio, very impressive.
00:37:27
Speaker
It's important to get Ciro Immobula back scoring again, isn't it? Because he's had a bit of a weird season. For sure, but now he's fractured his rib. He had a car accident, didn't he? Because you see that, the most Italian thing ever. He had an accident with the tram driver, and the tram driver blamed Immobula. In Rome.
00:37:44
Speaker
It's like the most Italian accident ever. It's like, of course, your car hit a tram. And the tram was blaming you. Yeah, it's typical. It reminds me of my granddad. He's long since passed. He left us in the year 2000.
00:38:01
Speaker
And he used to be typical Italian southerner. He liked to enjoy the drink during the afternoon. Sometimes you know what it was like back in the day when people used to have a drink and they used to drive, and they were probably a little bit over the limit. But that was kind of the accepted thing back in the day. Well, anyway, one afternoon, he'd had a few too many to drink. He was drunk and he drove back home.
00:38:26
Speaker
And as he was driving down his street back home, he proceeded to basically crash his car into every single car that was parked down the street. But he hit, and this is no exception, he hit about 10 cars down the street. I'm sorry, I'm laughing. It's not drinking the rain, no laughing matter. But this was back in a day when that was kind of accepted. This was, I think, probably in the 80s, the 1980s or maybe the early 90s. I mean, it probably wasn't accepted back then.
00:38:51
Speaker
except it was more accepted than it is now, especially among the older generation. It was kind of, you know, they would have a drink. Oh, I've only had four. I've only had four or five. It's all right. You know? Yeah. And he hit every single car down the street, right? During the middle of the afternoon. And my granddad was quite loud, quite passionate kind of, you know, guy.
00:39:17
Speaker
Was he from, was he the, is that the Neapolitan? No, he's not from Neapolitan. He was from Puglia. He's from, from Fodja. And, and well anyway, so he smashed it. Obviously he made a huge noise. And so that all the street, basically the whole street came out and all the people that owned these cars that had been came out and they were like, what are you doing? Anyway, like my granddad, my nono, proceeded to blame every single person down the street for the way they parked.
00:39:40
Speaker
And he was shouting at them, why did you park like that? Why did you park your car there? Your car was, even though he'd crashed into like 10 cars, he was blaming every single other person.
00:39:52
Speaker
Oh, brilliant. I love these stories that you share of your family. They are believably good. Yeah. Or your own stories as well. They're absolutely fantastic. That was the trap driver, that was. Just let me think of my granddad. No, but luckily he's OK. You know, Fractured Ribs are. Yeah, and his daughter's OK, because I think she got a little bit of an injury as well, but I think everyone's OK. So hopefully, you know, I think we'll see him in a couple of weeks time. But it doesn't matter, because Latio don't need him this season. No, they have it, and that's the thing, isn't it?
00:40:22
Speaker
that they've actually, you know, they've found a way to proceed without Imoble, which is something that, you know, it's not easy, like Napoli are going to have that trouble, as we've discussed already. We're not, if Ossema leaves this summer, that's becoming apparent now, that's going to become a problem. Whereas Natsio seems to have already solved the issue, haven't they? Yeah.
00:40:43
Speaker
They have to just keep a hold of Maurizio Sarri in order to, because Sarri's resolved it by playing his brand of football.
Juventus' Offensive Struggles
00:40:53
Speaker
A team that also needs to solve their goal scoring problems is Juventus, who lose to Sassuolo 1-0 on Sunday evening. They're embarrassing away record. There's two points I want to make from this game.
00:41:12
Speaker
about Juventus as a way record and about their attack and their inability to create chances. First of all, it was a dreadful performance from Juventus. I have to make that point first. They were outplayed. Again, for the third time in a week, they were outplayed. Sassuolo created, I counted five big chances in this match and Juventus
00:41:37
Speaker
had one and a half big chances that the chance that De Maria had when he prodded over which I wouldn't say was really clear clear but it was a good very good chance and and the header of a corner Rabio which was brilliantly saved from from Consili uh that's it that's all events has had in this game uh so sort of created the big open chances and they had five of them they only scored one of them
00:41:59
Speaker
Juventus didn't have their first chance until the 67th minute with that header from Rabio, which I mentioned. So the two main points I wanted to say, first of all, Juventus' away record this season is absolutely abysmal. It's played 15 in Serie A, won seven, drawn two, lost six,
00:42:21
Speaker
They've scored 13 goals in 15 Serie A away games this season, conceded 13. 13 goals scored in 15 away games. That is absolutely unbelievably bad. I can't underline how bad that is for a team that's fighting for top four.
00:42:39
Speaker
wanted to fight for the Scudetto, but even wanted to fight for Europe, scoring 13 goals away is terrible. They've now lost nine games away from home in all competitions. Remember, they also lost all three games in the Champions League group stages away from home, including against Maccabi Haifa.
00:42:55
Speaker
So, first of all, before I talk about the attack and the creating the problems, I mean, what can you say about this, Nima, about this away record? I mean, because their home record's actually really good. I think it's... I think they've actually got the best home record in Serie A this season. I think they might even be better than Napoli's now, because Napoli have lost a few home games, a couple of home games recently. I'm pretty sure Juventus have got the best home record in Serie A, but their away record is so bad. I mean, what... Yeah, Juventus do have the best home record in all Serie A. 36.11 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss.
00:43:24
Speaker
Um, and then away they are, they are dreadful. Um, they, they are absolutely abysmal. They're six, but we should say they are six with one Matt, one game in hand to Milan.
00:43:36
Speaker
who are just above them. But yeah, no, they don't have a good home record. They really, really... I think it's the goal scoring as well. I mean, Inter have got a bad, a worse away record actually than Juventus have this season. They do. They scored 21 goals. And so have Milan. And so have Milan as well. They've got a worse record. They both two teams, at least, I mean, they're scoring. But Juventus, I mean, 13 goals. I mean, 13 goals in 15 games. I mean, that is just, that sticks out like a sore thumb. That's that number. I mean,
00:44:03
Speaker
It does. It really does. But I think it also shows that it's a team in, it's a work in progress, isn't it? I mean, it's a team that's not creating a lot away. They're not a team that create generally a lot.
00:44:16
Speaker
But they usually, Allegheny teams, have that kind of killer instinct. And this season, they don't have that. And we've spoken about that about with Vlauvic and so on and so forth. But I don't think it really, I think the broader point here is not just Juventus as a way record in this game. I think it's not by chance.
00:44:34
Speaker
that every single Italian team that played, I mean we're recording this on a Monday before Fiorentina play, but so far out of the seven that have played in Europe last week, only Roma won. Every other one, every other other team lost or drew.
00:44:51
Speaker
So that tells me that no Serie A team or generally Serie A teams as a whole don't have the depth to compete on at this point of the season on several fronts. And there's also the motivation issue. Juventus know they're not going to finish in the top four overall. They did rest a few players as well, as did Milan, as did Inter.
00:45:16
Speaker
That's the rotated five players. Yeah. So, so there is, but that's what I'm saying that the depth just isn't there for these teams to perform on two fronts. And Napoli have built such a huge lead. So you can't really blame them. They've already won the Serie A. Inter and Milan, you can blame them more because they haven't won anything and they haven't secured anything. And Juventus, well, you kind of kind of understand that because, well,
00:45:38
Speaker
they have to deal with what they've got and what they know is that they are, you know, they don't know they're going to get there. Allegri doesn't know for a fact that he's going to get those 15 points back. And he knows his best chance to play in the Champions League next season is to win the Europa League. So that's the overall point. But if we look at the actual away record, yes, I think it's dreadful. There's no excusing it.
00:46:00
Speaker
It's unacceptable for a team like Juventus to score 13 goals in 15 games. It's unacceptable for them to not do better.
00:46:16
Speaker
he's extra cautious in the away games. This game, I mean, that's a problem in itself. And that, I mean, it's a very simple way of looking at it. But that does help explain why they've created and scored so few goals. But in this game, he actually went 3-5-2, but he went, he went Milik and Vlauovic together. I mean, it's just, I mean, I'm sorry, but that's just common sense that those two are never going to work together. They're way too similar. They're two big strikers.
00:46:42
Speaker
who, you know, they're two alike. They're just not gonna work together. So, I mean, I just thought that was a really big mistake. But if we're looking at the broader picture and the problem is that, you know, I've said this and I tweeted about this even after the sporting game, which Juventus won. So people can't criticize me for just, you know, jumping on a bad result because they won that game against sporting. But Juventus and Allegri, Allegri is incapable of building an attack in open play.
00:47:10
Speaker
Juventus, they can only create on a counter-attack, on a cross, if we're talking about open play, but basically off corners and set pieces, which is where the Brexit football comes in. Here we go. In open play, it is abysmal. They're just incapable of putting any kind of patterns together to create anything in open play. And I did some digging on this after the sporting game, because in that sporting game, in which Juventus were so incredibly lucky,
00:47:37
Speaker
to win that game. They had a 0.24 Open Play XG. They basically created nothing from Open Play against Sports in Lisbon. So I did a little bit of digging and this is accurate as before the weekend game. So not after. It would have got worse after the game against Suswala because Juventus actually had a 0.4 Open Play XG against Suswala. Juventus' 10th
00:48:01
Speaker
in Serie A for Open Play expected goals this season. Juventus had a 29 Open Play XG before the last matchday. What about for actual goals from Open Play? Where are they on that? I think they had 30. I think they had 30 from Open Play. It was similar. It was pretty much similar, but I think they had one more goal.
00:48:26
Speaker
and then they're expected to... I just thought when Fagioli was substituted off for basically making that goal for Sarsolo, that mistake, and started crying, I felt bad for him, but I just couldn't stop laughing because that's the most allegory thing in the world.
00:48:44
Speaker
What do you mean, like, subbing him or subbing him after the mistake? Immediately. Immediately after the mistake. Like, you're right, you're off. And I think that will help Fajoli. Yes, he was upset and he cried and all that, but this is the profession, this is professional sports. It is unforgiving. It is that hard. You have to deliver. You can't make mistakes like that and it don't have... I think in the long run, it benefits the members that have that. Like Juric in the, what's his name?
00:49:11
Speaker
Djuric really substituted the, what's his name, Radonnjic? Seven minutes off, they're coming on. Yeah, but I think, you know, you have to, actions have to have consequences at this level. And I think even though it's harsh, it will benefit you with it and it will benefit Fajoli in the long run if he learns from it. Yeah.
00:49:32
Speaker
Yeah, no, no, yeah, I thought, yeah, I don't want to lay too much blame. It was a bad mistake, but, you know, those things can happen. And I mean, let's be honest, all the individuals were terrible in this game, apart from Perrin, who has been absolutely brilliant this season. For me, the best number two in Europe. My overall point stands, Juventus just can't create from open play. And that's where, you know, when you say work in progress, I know you're only using a term there, you didn't mean it literally. But, you know, when you
00:49:59
Speaker
there is I don't see any progress because there I mean, I thought things were picking up a few weeks ago. Remember I said on the pod that this for the first time I'm starting to I thought I was starting to see some progress with Juventus in terms of just the efficiency and just that feeling of that things were inevitable. Juventus were inevitably going to win games even when they weren't in their best. The last five games
00:50:21
Speaker
Juventus have really been bad. It started with the Verona game, but they won 1-0, but they played terribly in that game. Then there was the 1-1 with Inter, when Inter were the better team, and the Juventus kind of only finished strongly in that game, kind of last 20 minutes. They were outplayed completely last week, 2-1 to Laxi. They were completely outplayed by Sporting, and they were just, they were lucky to win 1-0. And then again, they were outplayed for most of this game against Sassuola, and they were so bad going forward.
00:50:50
Speaker
So, you know, again, you know, I'm just I'm kind of I feel like I'm back to square one now with my feelings on Allegri. And I hope they can just somehow sneak through versus sporting because the league's gone now. I think they will. The league's gone. And, you know, unless they get those 15 points back and even with those 15 points back there, you know, they'll be in with the fight now for the top four, even with those 15 points.
00:51:12
Speaker
And yeah, it's really bad. Vlalovic, as I said, abysmal in this game. There was one example I want to pick out for Vlalovic in this game. When Gazer came on, it was the 70th minute, so everyone can go back and look. He had the easiest through pass on to put Gazer through on. It was such an easy pass.
00:51:31
Speaker
and he over-hit it, and for me that just summed up everything about Wlawicz at the moment, like a simple pass, it was a straight pass, it wasn't even a difficult pass, and he totally messed it up, and it's just like...
00:51:45
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know where to look right now. I just hope you they can somehow sneak
Juventus in Europa League
00:51:51
Speaker
through. And I hope that Sevilla can somehow knock Man United out because Man United have got a lot of injuries. And they threw away that game and drew 2-2. If Sevilla were to somehow sneak through against United, then Juventus can beat Sevilla. But I thought, I said a couple of weeks ago, a few weeks ago, that I felt like, you know what? I thought Juventus maybe had a chance against United.
00:52:12
Speaker
But the way you get to play now, I don't see that. I think they do still have that chance against United. I think they've got a chance against both Sevilla and... Well, no, I think they've got a chance against Sevilla because Sevilla are not a good team. But Man United, yeah, even playing as the way they are now, I mean, it's really bad.
00:52:29
Speaker
He's going to stand there with the Europa League trophy and you're going to bitch about it. I'm not going to bitch. I hope they do it. I really hope they do it because it's the only thing where they can get something out this season. And also, you know, because with the points penalty. Well, there's the Copitalia return leg as well next week. Well, I mean, kind of to get into the Champions League. That's what I mean. Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. For getting the Champions League.
00:52:49
Speaker
Okay, Roma, just to finish off, just quickly, good win for Roma, 3-0. I think a good warm-up for the finals game. I thought they were really unlucky against finals to lose one. They did not deserve to lose that game against finals in mid-week. And this return leg is going to be an absolutely, it's going to be a packed Olimpico. It's going to be a European night and Mourinho is just, he's
00:53:12
Speaker
he can say they're so solid defensively he's going to approach that game with you know carefully approach that game try to get you know you know slowly but surely grind Fayanor down score one and then you know allow Fayanor a little bit of time to get in to attack them and then you know
00:53:30
Speaker
up the tempo and hurt them again and just do those kinds of things. I feel, what's the situation with Hibala, Nemma? Is he going to be back or is he going to be out? I don't know. I haven't seen, I mean, hopefully he'll be back because I think, you know, he's such an important player, but I've not seen anything. Yeah, nor have I. Nor have I. I've been trying to find out what his situation is. I've been trying to find something out there either. I've not seen anything. I mean, Abraham's back, which is good because there was concerns about him. He came on and he scored in this game.
00:53:58
Speaker
Is there any surprise that Pellegrini finally looks good when Diabala isn't there? This is what we spoke about in the spot. Pellegrini, we hope, and he said it after the game, didn't he? We hope this will liberate him, Pellegrini. His first open goal, open play goal for 560 days.
00:54:18
Speaker
That's horrendous. That is so bad. It really is unbelievable that he's gone that long without scoring a goal from open play. So we hope that it liberates and we hope it also it's an immediate recovery from that penalty against final. I hope they can do it against final. I wasn't impressed by final. I'll be honest with you. I was not impressed at all in the first leg. And I feel like if Roma play how they can play, they play to their best of the ability. I think they can go through.
00:54:43
Speaker
And they need that crowd behind their back, because that is the 11th, like the 12th man. We keep saying that, but look, for cities like Rome and Naples, like these piazza, that crowd can elevate them to do crazy things, like when they beat Barcelona.
00:55:03
Speaker
a few years ago with Jose Biore Francesco. Those magical moments in time can happen at that stadium and they need one of those nights for the crowd to do that because they have a really good time. A famous Roma comeback. We've seen them before. Yes.
Roma and Fiorentina in Europa and Conference League
00:55:19
Speaker
We've seen them before. There are a lot of examples of that from the past. I mean, the Barcelona one done the United in 1984. They lost 2-0 on the first leg, the semi-final of the European Cup. Comeback won 3-0 on the second leg. I mean, Roma does do comebacks.
00:55:33
Speaker
Yeah, they do. And Mourinho is the guy to lead them to do it. And I think at home, at the Olympics, if they can, you know,
00:55:41
Speaker
I really want them because I think they've got a pathway to the final. I think so too because also because the other game was 1-1 between Union, S.G. and Leverkusen and Union at home, the first for the second leg. So, I mean, yeah, it's there for them. I hope they can do it. Right, rest of the Serie A weekend match, Colin, they're just quickly criminazi. Two wins in a row. Yeah, what is going on?
00:56:04
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I still think they're too far away. I think they're seven, seven off safety. I mean, it's unlikely, but it's not impossible. Yeah, it's good. Good. They've kept themselves alive. Lecce one, Sampdoria one. Bad, bad result for Lecce. I mean, the Sampdoria does nothing for them, but Lecce, bad, bad result for them. Terrible result for them. Yeah, they're in the relegation battle. They might regret that. That could be the draw at the end of the season. I mean, I still think they should be okay, but
00:56:32
Speaker
You know, they haven't won for so long and they destroyed that door in this game. They had so many chances. And now they're only... How many points are they above the relegation zone now? Letcher five. Five points. Yeah. So it's very... No, look, if Kremonez have 19, Verona 23, Spezia 26, Letcher 28, it's those four teams. And Kremonez have two wins in a row. So if Ballardini pulls this off, I mean,
00:57:01
Speaker
good God, build a, I don't know, Seria should build a statue for him in his honor, because he is, Cremonius have no business doing that. But yeah, they keep doing it. And Verona, Verona play, they travel to Bologna and then
00:57:18
Speaker
Cremonese her las Verona, 30th of April, 3 p.m. Make sure there are some big relegation heads-to-heads coming up. Torino 1, Selenetana 1, which is a good result for Selenetana, again, two good results in a row after the inter-game, and that just keeps them, you know, the gap over the redications. I think they're six or seven over the redications. Who?
00:57:45
Speaker
So Lenny Turner. Lenny Turner, they're seven points off. Seven points, yes. They've got a nice little gatler. They should be okay. And then we're recording this on Monday, late afternoon recording this and Fiorentina play at Atlanta ahead of the, well Fiorentina play on Thursday in the conference league.
00:58:04
Speaker
Champions League preview very quickly. We've already discussed this We've already did a preview as that you can get on you can see on YouTube and in our show from last week for the Napoli Milan second leg So Austin when he's back that is that is crucial, but angry site is out Kim Minjae is out So the question are really who replaces them at week one Jesus that will replace Kim I think that's pretty clear who replaces and we sat in the second field. Well, I
00:58:31
Speaker
He will have to go with Elmas. Elmas feels like the natural player to go. Or he's surprised. I think he plays Zielinski in a more deeper role. And then he plays Elmas, I think. But it's possible he could play with Don Bele, but I'm not sure. He'll trust him from the start. Absolutely. And who plays in the right wing? Who would you play in the right wing for Napoli? Would you play Lozano or would you play
00:58:59
Speaker
would you play Politano? I'd play Politano over Lozano in this game because I think it's the kind of game that suits him or Napoli are going to be crossing a lot of balls into the box and I think Lozano's crossing. That's not really his forte is it? I think Politano's better. It's a tricky one for me because I feel like the Rafael Liao, I think Lozano does a better job covering defensively and I think they do still need to think about Liao because I do think he's going to be a threat
00:59:23
Speaker
Napoli do need to open up, so I see both sides. I wonder if Milan don't play a 3-4-2-1 against Napoli. I'm thinking out loud, I'm wondering if he wants to centralise and surprise Napoli.
00:59:42
Speaker
and basically just shut them down in the middle and just send them out to the wings and have three players in the air with Mike Mignon, you know, collectively just have the ball sending crosses. Yeah. You know what I mean? I would be surprised. I would be surprised. Well, you can't count Pioli because he has had Spelletti's number this season, all three games, including the one that the Milan with the better team tactically and just in performance in that game as well.
01:00:11
Speaker
Yeah, going to be interested. There were fears that Giroud would be out, but he's finally trained today. So I would expect the same team from Milan. In to Benfica, as we discussed. In Zaghi, if they lose in Zaghi, they've got a 2-0 lead. And we talked about Inza's bad run of form. Yeah, Benfica have fallen off a cliff. What is going on there? They've fallen off a cliff. They were 10 points clear of Porto. Now they just fall. Yeah.
01:00:36
Speaker
And Sergio Conseil, you know how much I love this guy, but if he pulls this off and he pulls off a domestic quadruple, because they've already won the League Cup and the Super Cup, they're in the semifinal of the Portuguese Cup, and they're four points clear with six games left to play. Sorry, four points up with six games left to play. And Benfica have a more difficult fixture list. If he pulls this off,
01:01:00
Speaker
My god. Yeah, I don't know what's happened to Bitfica. They've got three defeats in a row. I mean, there's no disgrace losing to Porto and Inter, but they lost to Chavez in this, who are, I think, mid-table. Yeah, they're completely off with. With a 94th-minute goal as well. So, I feel like we're talking psychologically about Inter. I think psychologically,
01:01:18
Speaker
Ben Vika can't be in good shape. They've got a young team. No, they're not. They've got a young team as well. Yeah, I think Inter would require a real patter Inter collapse for them to... Yeah, they have to lose by three goals. Yeah.
01:01:34
Speaker
or two and on penalties, but I think they should be good in this game. Europa League, so as we said, Sporting Hill, Juventus 1, we're playing in Lisbon, and Sporting Drew as well at the weekend, and Juventus need to play a hell of a lot better than they have done, and they need to improve their away form, although their away form in the Europa League has been okay so far in the knockouts.
01:02:04
Speaker
Roma, as we've discussed that already, we hope they can turn that round. And Fiorentina in the conference, they won 4-1 against Lech Poznan, and they'll be absolutely fine. No, they'll be fine. They have to get through. It's as simple as that. There'll be no problems. In fact, I would expect them to even rotate players.
01:02:20
Speaker
they have to go yeah exactly they have to go I think tonight against Fiorentina I think Fiorentina need to just get themselves focused on the Copa Italian to get themselves into the top seven top eight of the Serie A because you know they need to finish with decency in the league because it's not been a good campaign but yeah no look Fiorentina could be in two cup finals this season and that would
01:02:38
Speaker
That would make the season a success as opposed to... Oh no, they've hit form right at the right time. Right at the right time. And they look fresh. They look fresh and they look good as well. They really do. And that's important. Right, let's move on to Badgeo and Prem Face of the Week. Okay, Badgeo, Nima, do you have any... Latzil's second goal, the build up to that was mouthwateringly beautiful. It was stunning. Absolutely stunning.
01:03:08
Speaker
I thought it was, I mean, the build-up was just, muah, chef's kiss. Yeah. Yeah. Let's go with Lazio. Let's go with Lazio. They've put themselves, they've basically secured a top four place. So well done to them.
Controversial Punditry Comments
01:03:23
Speaker
Prem face of the week is super competitive this week. I don't, it's like, are they, it's not even pork sport this week.
01:03:40
Speaker
It's Richard Keyes, a being sport, who twice said, I mean, you take it away about what he said about Frank Lampard and Nagelsmann. Well, first of all, he tweeted about this
01:03:55
Speaker
in the week, earlier in the week, he tweeted, probably at the start of last week, he tweeted, basically saying that Frank Lampard is a better manager than Nagelsmann, he's more like proven, and you know, what has Nagelsmann basically done? That resulted in a pylon of him getting absolutely destroyed, people just calling him, basically calling him a prim face and a complete idiot, basically. Understandably so, it's a stupid thing to say.
01:04:19
Speaker
Anyway, he then, on his own show, him and Andy Gray, he then doubled down on it. He then doubled down on this and he did that after, after Chelsea had lost to Real Madrid. And after Frank Lampard said the now-immortally stupid words, we didn't think Real Madrid were this good.
01:04:41
Speaker
I didn't realize real Madrid with this good. Wow. That is amazing. He says it on his TV show. He goes, I'll read out what he says, Keith. So he turns to his long time.
01:04:58
Speaker
TV partner, Andy Gray, and he says, one of the candidates for the Chelsea job is Julian Nagelsmann. What has he got that the Chelsea legend that is Frank Lampard has not? A guy that knows the club inside out, a guy that the Chelsea fans think the world of. What has Nagelsmann done? Okay, he's won the Bundesliga, but he'd be hard pushed not to as he's the Bayern Munich coach, but he's won nothing else. So what makes him preferable to Frank Lampard? Is it because he's German? Is it because he's young? Is it because he rides a skateboard?
01:05:27
Speaker
And then Andy Gray replied to Keys, basically agreeing with him, saying, what makes Nagelsmann better? I don't know. Modern day owners of English Premier League clubs have a fixation with a foreign name, a foreign coach, that they would be better and be better equipped, that they bring a brand of football that we can't produce with British coaches, which is a nonsense. But there can be no other reason that Nagelsmann should be rated higher than Frank. Yes, he's won the Bundesliga, but you're right. You'd be hard pushed to not to win the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.
01:05:59
Speaker
You just hear this and you just think, are they really saying what proof is there that Nagismun is a better coach than Frank Lampard? Frank, I didn't realise Real Madrid, the reigning champions of Europe, would be this good. Can I just read out to you Lampard's record, his last 17 matches as manager. Last 17 matches, won one, drawn two, lost 14.
01:06:25
Speaker
He's lost 14 of his last 17 matches as a manager, and here is Grays and Keys basically saying, literally saying, what has Nagelsmann done and how is he better than Frank Lampard? But for me, Rio Ferdinand was worse. What did Ferdinand say? The Ollie Watkin same level as Eileen Hall, I think. It's just, I mean,
01:06:56
Speaker
I don't even know how to react to that. In what galaxy is Oli Watkins the same level as I only hold on? What are you talking about? What's the matter with you? There's some other ones this week as well that I've just I've just I don't know what I've done with him because there was just so many I kind of lost track of how many premises
01:07:14
Speaker
No, but the BBC, the BBC journalist who told Ruben Diaz that before the game that, you know, she should be essentially, you know, saying him that, well, you know, you're playing a Bundesliga team, so you really should be winning that, shouldn't you? Ruben Diaz basically laughed in his face and said, I think, you know, we're past this level of discussion, which is essentially saying you're an idiot. Shut up. Yeah, we're past this premise level. Now, what he said, the journalist was
01:07:44
Speaker
He said that because Manchester City are playing a Bundesliga team that Manchester City should win easily. That's what he said. And they did win easily. That's not the point. It's Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich are a bit of a mess this season because of everything that's happened and a crisis. But to say that they are not... I mean, this is Bayern Munich. Look at what they've done in the last few years. Look at their squad. Look at the players. I mean, stop. Just stop.
01:08:13
Speaker
It's embarrassing. And yeah, but no, it really is like it's just every single day, something stupid, more insane than the other. But real Ferdinand, for me, with the Olly Watkins comment, it's just.
01:08:28
Speaker
Yeah, the thing is, I couldn't forgive Ferdinand Moore because Watkins is in amazing form. He scored 12 goals in 13 games. Maybe he meant on form, you know, he's doing Bert Herd and Harlan. I don't know. I didn't see the context. I can forgive it more. What I can't forgive is I've watched what Keys and Grey said and I've seen them for 30 years. I know who these people are.
01:08:53
Speaker
They, the way that he was delivered, he was delivered with so much proud ignorance and proud arrogance. You know, it was said so dismissively as kind of, you know, it's Julian Nagelsmann. This is Frank Lampard.
01:09:09
Speaker
What has this foreigner got that our Englishman hasn't got? It was said he's such proud. It's like the famous, the famous that we quote all the time, the famous stand up by Chris Rock. Proud. Proud. I don't know that shit. Yeah, it's like that. Proud to it. I don't know that shit.
01:09:33
Speaker
I'm proudly stupid in England. They really are a different breed, aren't they? Like Graham Sooners with Deserbe as well. When Deserbe got hired as Brighton coach and he basically said,
01:09:53
Speaker
Roberta Deserbe, I've never heard of him, so why the hell are they hiring him? That's basically what he said. He's foreign and I've never heard of him, so how can he be a good hire? Why are they hiring this guy? That's basically what he was saying.
01:10:08
Speaker
Unbelievable. It's astonishing. Astonishing arrogance and stupidity. I'm sure we'll get more this week because it's a challenge. Oh, I'm sure. They're informed. It's like harvest season. It's preemface harvesting. It's like every five minutes there's something incredibly stupid. The preem harvest. Yeah. The
Podcast Humor and Intensity
01:10:24
Speaker
preemface harvest. They're going to make a sacrifice to the gods now.
01:10:28
Speaker
No, but it is. It's like, it literally is hardest. Give us your best prim face. We're going to sacrifice our best prim face to the gods. The more you get to the business end of the season, it seems like they just seem to pipe up more with these insane tapes. Love it.
Podcast Schedule and Content
01:10:47
Speaker
Okay, let's leave it there, guys. We will be back on Tuesday for the Q&A. And then Thursday, we will have the review of the Champions League matches. And we'll look ahead to the... And we'll have a... Yeah, exactly. On Tuesday, we'll do the Q&A for patrons only. And we'll probably do a post-match reaction to the Napoli Milan. Yeah, we'll see how that game goes. If it's an eventful game, we'll definitely do something.
01:11:17
Speaker
And then on Thursday, of course, we're back as usual for patrons. And yeah, I mean, those of you who are who if you want to become a patron patron dot com slash T.I.F.P. two ninety nine excluding the 80 a month and everyone else listening to this on Spotify, Google, iOS, please get a surprise to subscribe. Five star rating. It really helps us a lot.
01:11:36
Speaker
Yeah, subscribe on YouTube as well. We're on YouTube. We put the entire Monday pod now out on YouTube and we put extra clips and stuff out there as well. And we got, you know, we're going to do more stuff on YouTube. Whenever we've done interviews when possible, they've been video. We always put the entire thing there. So please subscribe to our YouTube channel. It's the same thing everywhere. At ita foot pod. Yeah, please do. OK, great. Have a good week. Enjoy the football. We'll see the patrons on Tuesday. We'll see the rest of you on Thursday. Until then, ciao ciao.