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Free Weekly Episode - Sarri’s Lazio Beat Juve, Inter & Milan Risk Top Four, Champions League Preview & Much More (Ep. 313)
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From a Maurizio Sarri masterclass when Lazio beat Juventus, Napoli fail to impress but back to winning against Lecce, Roma break into Champions League spots, to Inter and AC Milan stumble in Serie A putting top 4 finish in jeopardy as well as preview of first legs of UCL, Europa League and Conference League Quarterfinals and much much more as Nima and Carlo break down all the talking points from an absolutely jampacked weekend of action in Italian football.
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Transcript
Introduction and Serie A Weekend Overview
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast. Hello everybody and welcome to the Italian football podcast. I'm Kylo Garganese here as always with Nima Tavalli. We have a big, big Easter show for you today.
Napoli's Form and Serie A Title Race
00:00:17
Speaker
We'll be reviewing what was a thrilling Easter weekend of football, Napoli back to winning ways just
00:00:24
Speaker
Lazio beating Juventus in the big game of the weekend. Roma also winning two. The two Roman clubs looking really strong now to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League next season. Milan and Inter both fighting to get into the Champions League. One of those
00:00:42
Speaker
maybe even both of them looking like they'll miss out on the Champions League next season. They both dropped points. So we'll be reviewing the Serie A weekend action. We'll also be looking ahead to the Champions League returning the quarterfinals. Italy is flying the flag in Europe. It's going to be a really, really exciting
00:01:06
Speaker
week of European football, not just in the Champions League. Obviously we have Milan against Napoli and we have Benfica against Inter but also in the Europa League. Juventus playing, Roma playing and in the conference league with Fiorentina as well. So it's going to be a huge, huge week ahead and it's going to be a really exciting end to the season. So we've got lots to talk about today. Prem Face of the Week is a good one as well and Badger of the Week. So lots to talk about.
00:01:32
Speaker
For all our first time listeners, this is our free weekly episode, which we do every Monday, reviewing the weekends area action and all the biggest talking points in Italian football. If you want to support the Italian football podcast and receive all of our content that we do throughout the week, including our weekly Q&A episode every Tuesday, where we answer all the questions sent in from our Patreons plus the weekly Thursday midweek review show plus
00:01:56
Speaker
interviews, post-match reaction, and much, much more, then go to patreon.com slash T-I-F-P, and you can become a subscriber for just $2.99 a month plus VAT. And for all of you listening on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, we'd really greatly appreciate a five-star rating and a follow or subscription. We're also on YouTube as well, by the way. That all really helps us to grow. Okay, right, lots to talk about. Let's get into it.
00:02:25
Speaker
Okay, let's start off with Napoli, which wasn't the most eventful game, but as they are the leaders in Serie A and coming off the back of that 4-0 thrashing to Milan.
00:02:38
Speaker
they got back to winning ways. They won 2-1 at Leche. Nima, how did you rate their reaction to this Milan defeat? Because there was some concerns that psychologically, and there probably still is concern, especially ahead of the Champions League game, but there were concerns about how that would affect them, but they come back, they bounce back straight away and won. What did you make of their bounce back?
00:03:03
Speaker
I thought it was not a good game by Napoli. It was a rather poor performance, if we're perfectly honest. I think, you know, when Ossiman, they really miss Ossiman. But I thought, generally, they looked a little bit flat, Napoli. I felt they lacked the energy. And maybe they're a little bit tired.
00:03:29
Speaker
They really shouldn't be given that, you know, he's been rotating really well this season, but they did look tired, especially the midfield. And they didn't, you know, they haven't they didn't press as much. The intensity was not as as it as it usually is. Maybe they were on purpose not doing what they usually do because of the Champions League game. We'll we'll have to wait and see what happens on Wednesday.
00:03:57
Speaker
at the San Siro. So that depends, of course. So, but overall, I thought it was a very flat game. I thought Napoli rode their luck a little bit. But the most important thing for them is that they won. And they did so without probably, you know, their most important, you know, striker or the most one of their most important players, if not the most important players in Victor Ossiman. And I think that's that's pretty much all there is to say, really.
00:04:25
Speaker
Yeah, and there's not too much to say in this. I thought they wrote their luck as well. I thought a draw would have been a fair result in this game. And they felt colony, the goalkeeper and Galo between them, but certainly felt corner and dreadful own goal. And that won that play the game. But yes, I agree. They look flat. The pressing and the intensity wasn't there. The question is, are they tired or were they saving themselves? The Milan game will answer. The Milan game on Wednesday will answer that question.
00:04:53
Speaker
Given how they also lacked intensity and they also looked a little bit tired in the game against Milan, I'm a little bit concerned that maybe it is, that they maybe are tired.
00:05:09
Speaker
Spelletti hasn't rotate. We pray Spelletti for the way that he always kind of was able to sub players off like early in the second half or around the hour mark in games. And that has been the basis of his rotation, if you want to call it that. He hasn't rotated players that much from the actual startup games, especially recently, when they've opened up such a big gap that you felt that maybe they should have rotated more leading up into the the Champions League quarterfinals. But he hasn't. He's been playing pretty much
00:05:39
Speaker
his strongest team. The rotation has really been Lozano or Politano on the right and Rui or Olivera left back and that's basically really been it. Otherwise, if they've been available, obviously Osseman wasn't available in this game, if they've been available he's always started anyway with his strongest team. So
00:06:02
Speaker
I don't know whether that has come back to bite Napoli. Maybe now they're starting to show signs of being a little bit tired because they've played so many games.
Lazio's Pursuit of Top Four Finish
00:06:13
Speaker
We'll see. We'll see on Wednesday. I do think, though, that Milan will come to Milan. I do think Milan look fresher. Milan look in better condition than Napoli going into the game. And are we going to preview that game?
00:06:25
Speaker
Milan rested five starters against Empoli. They obviously didn't win. Whereas Napoli, I think they only rested Zielinski from the best 11 and they've also lost Simeone as well. So I think they really need us in them back now. So that was obviously another blow to them. But they got the win. They got the win and that was crucial for the confidence. They had to get a win. They had to get that confidence back after the 4-0 threshing. And if there's one
00:06:55
Speaker
thing we can definitely say is, not that there was any real doubt, the fact that Juventus lost and Napoli won, that means that now it's absolutely basically official that Napoli are going to be champions in Serie A. There was still, I mean, I would say there was like a 0.001% chance that, you know, if Napoli had slipped up in this game, Juventus had beaten Lazio, you know, and then Juventus got their 15 points back, you know,
00:07:25
Speaker
That could have become 10 points. Or if they lost this game, that would have been nine points. And then Juventus playing Napoli at home in next week, actually. That could have gone down to six points. There's that glimmer of a hope that maybe something could happen. But now with Juventus losing and Napoli winning this, that even if Juventus get their points back, it'll be 15 points. And there's nine games remaining. So it's all over now, definitely. So that is definitely something from a domestic point of view, which is good.
00:07:52
Speaker
But other than that, not much to say, other than actually lecturing, having 60 feet in a row is a worry. And the relegation zone, relegation is definitely a threat now for lecturing. Yeah, it is. But having said that, I just struggled to see how Verona can overcome lecture or specia. But yeah, it is a worry. But just a final word on Napoli. I mean, Di Lorenzo, talk about Captain Fantastic.
00:08:20
Speaker
I mean, what a leader he is. Even for the own goal, he's the one that, you know, finalizes the run forward. He's such an important player for them in both phases. He's always offering an option in defense, working hard, and he's always, again, creates, scores important goals, assists for them in attack as well. I mean, what such a leader he is. You know, one favorite quote that
00:08:47
Speaker
like to use was Spalletti talking to school children about, you know, working, how talent is important but working hard is even more. And, you know, it was on Instagram a couple of months ago, we mentioned it, and he says, you know, Di Lorenzo has the highest marks, not because he's the best talented player but because of how
00:09:09
Speaker
how hard he works and always turns up to every game prepared. And you should do that in school as well, he was telling children. So now I'm really, really, again, what a leader he's become for them. But as you say, I mean, even if you were to get their 15 points back, that means they've got 59 points and 59 to 74.
00:09:36
Speaker
I mean, that's now that any glimmer of the hope is now removed now. Yeah, you know, there was still a glimmer if if you know if left if lap leader slipped up and you've entered a beat and let's say that that's that's all gone now Because you've entered lost to let's see a 2-1. So let's move on to that game And I mean first let's talk about this from from the last year point of view. Let's see a winning 2-1 Saturday
00:10:01
Speaker
Sally the magician wow wow what that second goal it gives me goosebumps just talking about that the way that they how how he gets these players who are not exactly superstars
00:10:17
Speaker
But he gets them to play, not every single one of them, at least. I mean, Sily Minkovic-Savage was a world-class player, in my opinion. But he's not exactly blessed with world-class players other than that, except for maybe, you could say, Luis Alberto has glimpses of world-class level. But overall, just look at how they win that ball and the triangle that they create and triangulation and how they attack.
00:10:40
Speaker
And it's just, the man is a football, the way he teaches football is just outstanding. We've always known how fantastically good they are, Saudi teams are, at attacking. But now the defensive aspect as well, he's really adapted to, I keep talking about him being the pragmatic ideologue this season for the first time in his career. And I can't stress that enough because
00:11:07
Speaker
He's he knows what he's got and he's adapted his tactics and some of his the balance of the team, for example, in terms of defense and what line they play to that. But he's got them playing football. The best football any of these players ever has I have ever played, in my opinion. I mean, Zakani is is what the most prolific Italian attacker. Now, he's a decent player. I've always I liked him even when he was a Hellas, but he was never at this level. They were fantastic.
00:11:37
Speaker
And I think it's contact now, as they say in Italy, there's no doubt in my mind that Lazio will finish in the top four if Juventus don't get their 15 points back, or if they do and get penalized for other things. I think Lazio will finish second. I think they will. And that is a fantastic overachievement. I'm so impressed by Maurizio Sarri. I've been saying for a few months now that I think he's been throwing his hat in for a bigger job.
00:12:07
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:12:08
Speaker
No, I agree. I agree with everything there. I agree with everything there. They totally deserve to win this game. They dominated, controlled the game until, I would say, the last 20 to 25 minutes when Juventus went to a front three. And I think Allegri's to blame for that as well. But we can't take anything away from Lazio because they impose their game, which they do. And they're sorry, especially the midfield. The midfield just controlled the game.
00:12:37
Speaker
and I thought Milinkovic, Savage and Luis Alberto, they completely ran it in midfield. Felipe Anderson and Sicanny on the wings caused all kinds of problems, you know, they linked up obviously for that. That second goal was absolutely fantastic. As a team moves, starting from their own half when Vlalovic lost it and then moving it up the field, moving it onto the right wing and then
00:12:59
Speaker
and then Philippe Anderson with the cutback and then that genius flick that I mean this is this is why I love I've said it before overnight about Luis Alberto he's like a 1980s player like he's somebody that's kind of been killed out of modern football but is still so good that
00:13:16
Speaker
you know, you get these, like you said, those glimpses of world-class genius from Luis Alberto. And he probably doesn't have the physical qualities and the engine and the intensity to play for a top-top team because, you know, top-top teams can't carry those kind of players. But that's also credit to Sarri and those two haven't got on because
00:13:40
Speaker
for that very reason, that Sarri wants his players to all work for the team. And Luis Alberto isn't that kind of modern player, unfortunately. But even Sarri's managed to make it work, even with Luis Alberto. And to watch him and Milinkovic Savage do their stuff is wonderful.
00:14:00
Speaker
I also have to give a shout out to them, to the Laxia defense. I mean, it was pretty comfortable for them for the, for like I said, the first 60, 65 minutes, but
00:14:11
Speaker
Juventus really came strong in the last 20-25 minutes and I thought the way that Lazio defended it and closed out the game, I thought was brilliant and that shows why Lazio have got the best defensive record in Serie A and that was the first goal that Lazio even conceded in six games and it come off a corner. We know how good Juventus are at corners.
00:14:35
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely wonderful. I just want to, before we move on to the next point on this, I want to raise the issue as well, I mean about if Sarri leaves or stays. Here's the thing, if anything Napoli has proven this season is that with a clever transfer window, meaning if you, because let's remember Napoli didn't net spend at all a lot last, like this last summer. I think there was something like a negative of minus three or four million euros between players out and players in.
00:15:06
Speaker
And they also lowered the wage budget. Lazio will be looking at that with Sarri and going, well, hang on a minute, why we can do that as well if we strengthen correctly. I mean, for example, they sell, I don't know, just as a.
00:15:21
Speaker
example they sell sega million quits average for eighty million and then they replace them with players that that give them that suit that system and also provide them depth in in weaker areas look they they have one of the best coaches of his generation if we're perfectly honest in terms of tactic and the
00:15:40
Speaker
and the job that he's actually done. Sorry, you've got to look at him. He's done magnificent. He's been a roaring success in all four. I'm sorry, Chelsea fans can complain all they want. He's been a roaring success in all four of his last jobs. At Napoli, obviously, we saw what he did at Napoli. It was just magic, the football he played, just unfortunately didn't manage to claim that scudetto.
00:16:05
Speaker
And then Chelsea, where he won, won trophies, and then Juventus, he won the Scudetto, even though he had a team completely ill-fitted to his type of football. And we've seen the decline after he left as well at Juventus. And now at Lazio, like you said, he's massively over-achieved to get a Champions League football. That's what I mean. Lazio will be looking at this, and Sarri is in a fantastic position. He'll be going to Lotito saying,
00:16:33
Speaker
This is what I need. You give me another summer like last summer. Given where Juve, Icter and Milan are,
00:16:40
Speaker
I'm not saying that there is- That's the beauty of Serie A now. That's the beauty of Serie A, that because of the financial problems, everything has tightened up. There's no big gaps.
Addressing Racism in Italian Football
00:16:51
Speaker
Obviously, Juventus still have the financial superiority, but it's not marked like it has been in the past. Everything is tighter, and now it comes down to more to ideas.
00:17:04
Speaker
And also a good director for TV. And that's why I'm saying that if Sarri is in a good position, he can go to Lutito and say, look, do this. And if we do, they actually could be an outsider like Napoli was. I had them as a dark hostel in the Serie A. Why not Lazio next season?
00:17:23
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think I think the problem with this is going to be obviously the depth. But you know, if they get that's what I'm saying. Like if you if you handle it properly, and we know that Sarri will focus, you know, on the on the on the Serie A, you know, if they get into the Champions League, they'll probably end up in the fourth part. So they'll probably get knocked out. But
00:17:42
Speaker
Of course, you know, it's more important to him, the league, and if you were to deliver some sort of a magical season like in the Spaletti's had and Napoli have had, if they find the right players like Napoli have, they could. They could do it because the Serie A, the top teams, like the Inter, the Milan, the Juva, they're not what they once were. No, that's the point. Yeah, that is the point. There is an opening. There is an opening and it's a historic opening and Napoli have taken full advantage. Now it's up to Lazio to see if they can do it. And Lazio has rejected us.
00:18:11
Speaker
because they have a Saturday. They have one of the best coaches in the league and one of the best Italian coaches of his generation. No, absolutely. And I want to hammer home that point about being one of the best of his generation, because can you name me? How many coaches can you name me who in their last four jobs, four separate teams have been, like I said, roaring success? And such vast financial abilities as well. I mean, it's just not
00:18:37
Speaker
And I would actually argue that probably only one of those teams, probably Napoli, actually had the players to suit his football, to be honest with you. Chelsea didn't. Juventus definitely didn't. And I still believe that even Lazio, a lot of the players are like, you know, I personally don't even think Milinkovic, Savage and Luis Albert definitely isn't suited to his football. I don't think either of them work. And he's made it work.
00:19:02
Speaker
And it's so, so incredibly impressive. But no, I mean, I think they're going to finish second. I really think so. I think top four is pretty much nailed on. They're not in Europe. All the other competitors are. No, I have to give it to them. And they've got that gap. They've got a big gap now.
00:19:17
Speaker
as well. I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong, and I was wrong on Latio and Sarri, or not Sarri, but I was wrong on Latio being able to finish in the top four. I gladly hold my hand up and see. Well, I don't think anybody, I don't think anybody could be predicted, but we also, I don't want to take anything away from Latio. We have to also recognize that
00:19:33
Speaker
this has been a historically, I don't think there's ever been, without going through the history books, I don't think there's ever been such a historically low season in terms of the points obtained from second downwards. And that include Lazio in that as well. The number of losses, you know, you've got into 10 losses, you've got Juventus have got 11 losses in all competitions, you know, you've got I mean, these are, this is a historic low from two downwards. So obviously,
00:20:02
Speaker
Well done to Lazio. Lazio have taken advantage of that. Again, I'm not taking anything away from them, but we need to take that into account as well. But we also need to take into account that the Serie A teams are doing fantastically in Europe. It's strange. I think that it's the quality and competitiveness of the Serie A has improved.
00:20:22
Speaker
And of course, this whilst you have a financial situation that isn't the best. But I mean, it remains to be seen where this goes. But yeah, no, it's it's it's absolutely extraordinary. It is a great season for if you're a fan of competitive football, and obviously Napoli, I know that people can say, well, Napoli have gone way ahead. But I mean, it's very exciting to see. And also, let's use record into top teams this season just to give sorry another
00:20:48
Speaker
some more credit. They beat in all the top teams this season. They've beaten Juventus, they've beaten Roma twice, they've beaten Inter, they've beaten Milan, Atalanta. They hammered Milan not too long ago.
00:21:01
Speaker
They hammered Milan, they beat Inter with three against, they put three past Inter. No, you've got to give credit what credit is due. You've got to give credit what credit is due. But there is one negative, though, unfortunately, off the pitch, which we have to talk about it. It's a dark week for Italian football when it comes to racism. First, the Lukaku being racially abused by Juventus fans in the Coppa Italia semi-final.
00:21:24
Speaker
And now we have Juan Cuadrado being racially abused by Lazio fans in that match. It came when he got substituted. He could have got a second yellow. And so he was taken off. And as he came off, he was targeted by Lazio fans. And a number of reports say that the stadium speaker had to put out
00:21:54
Speaker
A friend of mine was there at the stadium watching the game and he confirmed to me what happened and he confirmed that it happened. The speaker said it, they racially abused Cuadrado and that's what happened.
00:22:10
Speaker
And this is again why we on the Thursday pod, which is for Patreon only, keep talking about that. This is not down to which club, or a specific fan base, or a specific club. This is an Italian football problem. It keeps happening time and time again, week in, week out, from the lower levels all the way up to the Serie A.
00:22:29
Speaker
and it will not stop until there is a uniform approach by all clubs at all levels with the LIGA culture and the FIGC leading the charge. It's as simple as that. If they leave it just to the clubs to do it, then you'll have the discrepancy, you won't have the uniformity, you'll have no consistency in how these issues are handled, and it will continue to happen. Because as everyone would tell you, if there are no repercussions,
00:22:59
Speaker
for bad behavior, the bad behavior will continue. And again, I think everyone has a responsibility here, the clubs, but also the FIGC in Serie A and Lega culture as organizers of this event. And also, I'm not asking them to change Italian society. I don't think football can change society at all. It's a societal problem, racism all over the world. But what Italian football can do is to create
00:23:27
Speaker
a legal framework that applies from the seria all the way to the seria c or seria b or all the way down the leagues that is it has a zero tolerance policy towards this stuff that identifies and punishes the individuals and not just one or two but every single one that does it because and and to do it uniformly and so it's really important that we stay away this is too serious of an issue to be
00:23:57
Speaker
to be turned into into a silly football tribalist club debate about your fans, my fans, my club, my fans, my clubs, fans of my club versus I'm sick of it. I'm sick of it. I really am. I'm just sick of the tribalism with anything, with every anything to do with Italian football when it's any kind of controversy. I get it when it's on when it's football, you know, that is part of fandom game.
00:24:19
Speaker
part of the fandom is you know making fun of your of your rivals and you know the banter and the mocking and you know that's part of football you know that's what but the whole kind of tribalism when it comes to serious issues and controversial issues and refereeing as well i hate it i'm sick of it and i just
00:24:40
Speaker
straight away I just turn off and I'm not interested at all because it's really one of the reasons why Italian football finds itself where it is now and the decline of Italian football is that is a big reason for it. For me it's like without going into the broad but the racism issue and how poorly they handle it and immediately what about that team what about as if
00:25:03
Speaker
As if you honestly think that anyone criticising what happened to Lukaku is automatically saying that racism from Inter's Curvanord or Milan's Curvasul or Roma or Hellas or anyone else is OK, but if you think that, you are an idiot at best.
00:25:20
Speaker
I mean, it's so exhausting that that even becomes to this. And it's a carnival bark, your sideshow, that whole debate. And I'm I'm not engaging with it anymore, because it's nonsense. There's also a time and a place for it as well, isn't there? Exactly. There's a time. I mean, there is a time. I mean, you know, there is a time to for what's about truth.
00:25:40
Speaker
you know, sometimes that will that definitely is there's a time for what there is a time for what's about to read. But there's also you also got to recognize that, you know, when you have a really serious incident, like racism, not with with, or with quadrada and with with Luca, immediately after the game,
00:25:57
Speaker
all you should talk about is just condemn it and and and steps to be taken to eradicate and that's it then maybe maybe later on you can talk about well you know you know you can look at the other side of things but straight away that should be the only thing that that's talked about and unfortunately in Italian football that that isn't
Juventus' Tactical Struggles and Future Prospects
00:26:16
Speaker
No, it isn't. Sometimes, as we saw this last week, you have actual people working for clubs on official channels, spreading the most ridiculous conspiracy theory, saying that one club fans could disguise as my club's fans and go and stand in our kurwa. It could happen. It could happen. And it's like, no, well,
00:26:35
Speaker
Why are you even bringing that up? The only reason you're bringing that up is to muddy the waters and gaslight because you turn it once again to a football tribalist issue. And that to me is just disgusting because when you do that, you're kind of also, even if you don't mean to do it, you're kind of running cover for the people hurling racist abuse at players. And remember,
00:26:55
Speaker
They have families there. There are young children watching this. How do you think that makes a kid feel? A black girl or a boy or a family member of any of these players feel when they watch a person of color get
00:27:12
Speaker
get racially abused because of their skin colour, monkey chance. How did that feel? What did you think of the punishment that was given out to Juventus? Well, I mean, I thought it was great, but it was just two people. And again, it's not Juventus.
00:27:27
Speaker
So Juventus does this, what will happen with Lazio? Do you see what I'm saying? And also the suspension, if I'm not mistaken, only applies for Juventus home games. This is madness. It should be for all sporting events or all football events. Home, away. You're not, if you racially abuse anyone and you're found guilty of it, you're no longer allowed at any football stadium. So those two Juventus fans are able to go to away games still.
00:27:54
Speaker
I think that's how it works, yeah, because they can't ban them. One of them's a minor. One of them's got a 10-year ban. I mean, that's great, but Juventus can't ban what Napoli do at their stadium. You see, this is what I mean about the uniformity and there needs to be a framework that goes from the top to bottom across all clubs. That's the problem, Carlo. And it's so exhausting that it doesn't happen. Because it's embarrassing. You know Italian football doesn't do that with anything. Yeah, but it's embarrassing.
00:28:25
Speaker
don't put projects together and plans together. What are you talking about? But it's 2023, Carlo, it's embarrassing. You and I love this league. We love this football. We're the only ones this podcast is the only
00:28:39
Speaker
The only podcast that truly I would say is honest about their love, because love means you criticize what's bad and you praise what's good. Otherwise, you're just... No, no, no, no, no. As I was told by one, you've got to be positive about allegory all the time. Otherwise, you're not even... That's what I was told at the weekend by someone.
00:29:00
Speaker
No, this is the thing though, it's obsession. When you cannot acknowledge when something is wrong with something you like, you're not in love with it, you're obsessed with it. An obsession is unhealthy. We love this league, we love the Italian football culture overall because we think it's beautiful, it's unique, it has a long history and it's beautiful and it's unlike anything else.
00:29:24
Speaker
But there are ugly sides of it and we have to talk about that in an open, honest and transparent way and put aside fan allegiances and tribalism. Anyone that's not self-critical about themselves or what they represent is never successful in life.
00:29:46
Speaker
never. It's not even about successful. They're dishonest and they lie to their audience. They're dishonest, yes. But I mean, if you want to succeed, and in this case, you know, you want Serie A to succeed, or you want your team to succeed, or you want the best for them, you have to be self-critical. Otherwise, you don't have to question everything. You have to be self-critical. Forget about criticism from the outside. Personally, that never bothers me. But you've got to be self-critical.
00:30:12
Speaker
But anyway, talking about being self-critical, will Juventus be self-critical after their performance? And we've praised Lazio for theirs, but it takes two to tango. There's always one side good, the other side bad. And I think with Juventus, it's frustrating with Juventus, because I think I said on the part, maybe not last week, maybe the week before, how, you know,
00:30:39
Speaker
I almost came close to really outright praising Allegri about how I was starting to see progress and I just feel frustrated because the last three games I feel we've seen Juventus and Allegri fall back into the old ways and revert to type. Certainly in the last two games I can forgive it in the Verona game because I think they were rotating players
00:30:58
Speaker
and they had one half an eye on the Inter game and the last year game. I can forgive that, but what I find unforgivable is the approach from Allegri in this game and against Inter. Just way too passive, way too defensive, this 3-5-1-1
00:31:14
Speaker
I just hate that system, outright hate that system. And just the whole approach and mentality just from the start, which set the tone for everything that we saw in the first hour against Inter and the first hour in this game as well.
00:31:30
Speaker
barely created any no no completely outplayed in the first half by let's go completely outplayed and they created nothing really in this game until they went three up front in the last quarter of the game and then they actually started to create chances and pin that's your back and and you know maybe even deserved maybe even deserved an equalizer maybe maybe at the end so it's just that that is
00:31:54
Speaker
as you know in a nutshell that is what frustrates me that just the approach and the mentality which I just felt like was just a step backwards at a time when I felt like
00:32:06
Speaker
Juventus and even Allegri to an extent were starting to show progress. They were in a good run of form and they were getting the results. They were efficient. There was that feeling of inevitability that you've always had historically with Juventus teams and even Allegri teams back in his first bout where it was kind of like you just knew it was coming. You knew Juventus were going to get the win. I just felt that, yeah, they've taken a step back and this was a terrible performance for me.
00:32:34
Speaker
I thought it was a step back, for sure. But I do also think that Lazio Way is one of the most difficult fixtures of the calendar. And as we've praised them correctly for, they showed in this game why they are outstanding in big games. I mean, they even beat Napoli away.
00:32:56
Speaker
That's how good Lazio have been this season, and their midfield is the key. All of this success comes from that fantastic midfield. Yes, I do think that you were not good enough in this game, but overall,
00:33:13
Speaker
Look, it's a crazy season for Yuba. If you zoom out a little bit and you look at what they've actually done in the pitch, 59 points second in the Serie A, all things considered, I think we're starting to see progress, like you said yourself. I'm afraid to say embryo because you'll start making fun of me.
00:33:29
Speaker
Even though you said it yourself, literally just use euphemistic language to express the very same thing. That embryo, that embryo. It's not even an embryo anymore. I'd say the kids about it's the kids being born. And I see something, I see something here. And I think, you know, I think he's creating some sort of stability here. And I love the fact that he's integrating these young players. The Fagioli I really like, I love that Locatelli is finally starting to show
00:33:57
Speaker
that he understands what it means to play for you but i was been outstanding. Stop you there because this is this is where this is what frustrates me actually is i keep hearing all this stuff about you know.
00:34:12
Speaker
what Allegri's done with the midfielders, you know, Rabio having the best season of his career in terms of gold, Fagioli getting his charts and growing, and Locatelli finally in 2023 starting to show more of his true level, and that may be all true, there is definitely truth to that. I mean, Rabio is on Allegri anyway.
00:34:34
Speaker
Well, I'll get to my point. The point is that there might be some truth in that individually, all of these players are starting to show more. But the midfield as a whole, I mean, as a whole, as a unit, it's regularly still regularly getting outplayed as a unit. So that is the issue. And, you know, I was checking out and I know, you know, you're certainly going to tell me that possession isn't everything.
00:34:58
Speaker
I don't think so. And that's true. It's not. Juventus are 13th in Serie A for possession. That is abysmal. It's abysmal. This is Juventus. This is Juventus we're talking about. It's not Tottenham. That's becoming on my bingo card. I was going to say, that's going on your bingo card. That's going on my bingo card now. This is Juventus. This is Juventus. This is you with patterns of play.
00:35:21
Speaker
This is Juventus, it's not Tottenham, that is number one on my bingo card now. 13th in Serie A for possession is just not good enough and that is down, I mean that's always down to the midfield more than anything, obviously it's down to the mentality, the style of play and everything but you know, generally it's down to the midfield, you ask your midfield to win the midfield,
00:35:39
Speaker
control the play, dominate the possession if you can. 13th, whether you're a counter attacking team... Can I ask you what you think, but don't you reckon that Pogba being brought in as a starter and being injured the entire season? Surely there's a little bit of leeway here because that can't be Allegri's fault.
00:35:57
Speaker
Oh, of course, for Pogba. Pogba was going to start. Pogba obviously improves the team and improves the midfield and improves the creativity and he gives you that match winner and if he's fit, a top-class player certainly at Serie A level. But 13th in Serie A possession, Pogba or no Pogba, that's abysmal. That is absolutely abysmal. And in this game, as I said before, they were completely dominated by Milinkovic, Savage and Luis Alberto, who are wonderful midfielders.
00:36:27
Speaker
But this is a big problem for Allegri, his midfields are always getting dominated and we can talk as much about how Rabio is having a great individual season, how Fagioli is getting his chance to develop, how Locatelli has started to show more of his true level even though he still hasn't scored
00:36:46
Speaker
He still hasn't scored a goal in over a year, and he's got one assist in 13 months, which isn't good. So I just think that the midfield, just the overall mentality, and also another thing, Juventus is a waveform. Juventus is a waveform this season. It's just horrific.
00:37:04
Speaker
In 14 Serie A games this season, away from home, they've won seven, drawn two, lost five. I mean, that is, that's horrific. And they've scored 13 goals in 14 games. 13 goals in 14 away games this season. Again, that's all down to Allegri and his style of play. And they just do not create enough chances. And I know we're going to talk about Vlauvić. We've got a segment on Vlauvić. So I won't talk about Vlauvić and how bad he was in this game. But yeah, so I mean,
00:37:34
Speaker
We can talk about progress or not, but at the end of the day, you can't defend that. You cannot defend that away from it. I can't, but I do think there's nuance here, and I think that the season you've had, I mean, things don't happen in a vacuum.
00:37:50
Speaker
uh... and the season that you have had with all the nonsense i mean they don't even have the sport they don't have anything there's there's no sporting director there's no there's nothing that it's only a lady and the kids and they're doing the best they can and they can act and they're still in europe they still indicate that copitalia there you know they could still you know with all the not if they'd if they had been have fifteen points deducted they'd be second spot all things considered i think it's okay
00:38:16
Speaker
But just on that second spot, just on that second spot, again, as I said with Lazio, I think, you know, we've also got to consider that this is a historically bad season in terms of second downwards, in terms of actual points accumulated. Yeah, it is. And you know, actually,
00:38:36
Speaker
Juventus are on course this season based on their points average again to hit 77 points this season. That's with their 15 points back. That's still less than what Pirlo got in his one much maligned season. And listen, just to make it clear, I'm not for one minute saying that
00:38:56
Speaker
who should be the event's manager. I was critical of him and so were you about how he just wasn't cut out, wasn't ready for the job. Maybe probably never will be ready for the job. We've seen what he's doing in Turkey. I'm just saying.
00:39:09
Speaker
those that are, you know, are all about, oh, Allegri, look how he's improving, Juventus, blah, blah, blah. They're on course to get less points than what Pirlo got in his season. Yeah. You see, I have a counter argument to that. I don't really care about that. The inter-team that won the treble in 2009, 2010 finished the season on 82 points. So
00:39:32
Speaker
At the end of the day, every season is unique because it's kind of decided by the inner workings and what happens in that season by the other teams. It's defined by the competition. Do you see what I'm saying? Of course, but I'm not for one second having this revisionism that we started to get when Juventus
00:39:53
Speaker
And I'd say this, every single time Juventus go on a run, I'd say the same thing. Why are people getting carried away? You know, look, you know, and Juventus have lost 11 games this season. No, it's too much. 11 games. I mean, you went absolutely berserk, rightfully so, about exactly losing 10 games. And they're still a quarter of the season left, by the way. They're still a quarter of the season left, and you've also lost 10 games in the Serie A alone.
00:40:17
Speaker
Yeah, so yeah, but yeah, look, I think that it is crazy. I'm looking at the number of defeats. I'm looking at, okay, now probably three defeats. That's normal for a team that's going to win the league. Lazio 5, Roma 8, Milan 7.
00:40:33
Speaker
And we're talking about Serie A here, right? Yes, just Serie A. Just the league. Napoli 3, normal. But then, Lazio 5, Roma 8, Milan 7, Inter 10, Atalanta 9, Juventus 6. I mean, Bologna 8, 10, Fiorentina 10. I mean, it's crazy. To me, that suggests that the overall quality of the league has increased. If you look at the European performances, the top teams in the top
00:41:01
Speaker
eight, nine teams in the Serie A, their overall quality has increased. But the distance between them, Napoli aside, is so little that everyone can be anyone. And that's why you get this number. It's definitely tied in. I don't know 100% whether you can say the quality has increased. I mean, that's subjective. I compare with the other European, like in
00:41:23
Speaker
Yeah, I would say it's tightened though. Definitely. It stays definitely tightened. And just one final thing before we talk about Blauwitsch. Just this, this, this, the link of it Savage on Alexandro incident.
00:41:36
Speaker
I've seen. There was a video where you see it from the beginning. It's the worst dive. It's a comical dive. It's the most comical dive I think I've seen. There's barely a touch on it. And he flies and throws him so forward. It was a Juventus friend of mine was
00:41:56
Speaker
chewing was foaming at the mouth with rage at Alexander. Why are you doing that? Alexander isn't an absolute idiot. I don't know why. Even if you feel a touch, why are you taking unnecessary risks like that? That's exactly what he said. He's like,
00:42:12
Speaker
for goodness sake, try to win the ball. Then if you tumble over, then you've got more of a shout. But today with VAR, when they see you throwing yours, flying, it was cartoonish. The weird thing is though, Luca Morelli, who's always held up as the main man when it comes to analyzing
00:42:33
Speaker
He said it was a, he said it was a, I saw that. I don't understand what he's looking at. The push was very, very obvious. BIR saw the incident. Here was a long check and they decided to allow the goal because if the referee has a full view of the situation, the judgment is left to him. In my view, the referee did not see the push properly. He was too far away. I don't know what images he's using if he's actually seen the whole thing because that's what I would say about this. What I would say is this, usually
00:42:57
Speaker
the referee gives those incidents. And I say that because usually the referee gambles a little bit sometimes. He thinks, right, there was a tiny bit of a push and he always sides with the defender. That doesn't mean that I think it was a push. I'm just saying that usually they get given.
00:43:14
Speaker
and then they might turn it around after if it wasn't. But, you know, I thought there was barely any, there was barely a touch and it was madness from, from Alexandre completely. It was one of, I disagree with Marrelli there as well. I think, I think he's really, but what I like about Luca Marrelli is he usually very, he's very good at explaining how things work and how the laws of the game are applied and in what way. And I think the point he's making is that usually,
00:43:38
Speaker
the protocol would be if there's a touch on the defender, they would give it even though the touch was so minimal. It's a joke. But I think he would say what one thing I would say is that even if we even if we go, we say that Juventus were, you know, unlucky, which I don't think they were, I think that they can't really complain because I think Locatelli
00:43:56
Speaker
did a really bad foul, which I would call an orange card, where it could have been a red in my opinion. And I thought Pajardo was lucky and then that was when the racism happened after that. Also finally Juventus' top four chances are over unless they get the 15 points back. They're not getting the top four now after this loss.
00:44:20
Speaker
Okay, just to finish off on Juventus, we have to talk about Dusan Blavic and we spoke about him a few weeks ago about how bad he's been. Should Juventus sell Dusan Blavic or does he just need to escape Allegri? I think that is the that is a big question because he was dreadful. Escape Allegri!
00:44:40
Speaker
Yeah. I love the framing and escape allegory. It's like some 1980s adventure movie like Indiana Jones and like do some of it and the escape from the allegory. Yeah. I mean, it's an escape from allegory, allegory across, across, across, allegory. Allegrothas. Allegrothas. Oh, my God. I mean, listen, this is this was.
00:45:13
Speaker
It was a dreadful performance against Lazio. I mean, the way that he failed to control the ball just seconds before that Lazio counterattacked the second goal, I think that just summed up
00:45:28
Speaker
Summed up Blauwitsch's career at Juventus. But if we look at his form, he's now gone eight games without a goal in Serie A. No assists in that time. And then I went a little bit further. And in his last 17 games for Juventus in Serie A, he's only scored in three of those games. I mean... It's a bismol. I mean, what is he offering? Absolutely nothing. I think I keep saying that
00:45:56
Speaker
I think it's also because of that he looks confused. He doesn't seem to understand what is required from him to play the kind of football or just to play for Juve. He doesn't understand because he's a fantastic finisher in the box. But if you want to be a world-class number nine playing for a big team, you have to be able to play with few touches
00:46:24
Speaker
in a game and also per game and also with your back against the goal and Laovis just doesn't do that and I'm really he doesn't know how to do that and of course I think there are some you know there's an aspect of Allegri 2 I think absolutely when you coach a player for one and a half or now one one year and two three months
00:46:43
Speaker
There is a big responsibility on the coach, but I think this is more, this is, I'm starting to, I look at, to do some large attitude and body language on the pitch and I'm starting to ask, does he even want to be at Juventus? That's the question I'm asking.
00:46:58
Speaker
No, he's broken. He looks totally bereft of confidence and I think absolutely he's got to be asking that question. Did he make a mistake joining the Juventus because Arsenal wanted him and he was very clear. He wants to join the Juventus and rejected them. The question is, why is he struggling? Is it
00:47:17
Speaker
down to Allegri, more of a reason down to Allegri, or is it a bit of both? You can't absolve Laovich of some blame. All of both of them. We've spoken about this before, so I won't go into too much of it. Allegri playing counter-attack football in a 3-5-1-1 system, when you only have one other offensive player on the pitch, Di Maria, in this case, for the Lazio game.
00:47:44
Speaker
generally. He often has three defenders on one, marking him because so many teams in Italy play a three-man defence, so he's often three against one. I picked out this stat. This is unbelievable. Nine shots on target from the penalty box this season from open play. Nine shots. Can you believe that?
00:48:05
Speaker
31 games in Serie A, nine shots on target from inside the penalty box from Open Play. How is that even possible? I don't know. I was actually going to DM you when I saw that on the script that today's show. Are you sure that's correct? I know. It just seems impossible. You come from a stats provider. No, I believe you. I'm not saying that.
00:48:28
Speaker
I didn't manually add demand. I was just wondering. It doesn't seem possible. It doesn't seem possible. That's the point. It feels completely like what?
00:48:43
Speaker
That's my reaction to that. I think Allegri definitely has to be number one to blame because of the fact that we saw what he did at Fiorentina. He broke a 60-year record. You can't go from that to this. Also, if you look at his scoring record for Serbia, it's actually pretty good. He scored even during the international break recently. He scored three goals, didn't he, in two games. I wonder if
00:49:08
Speaker
if Laovich is a striker, simply just isn't good enough to play in a team that plays like this. He needs to play in a team that is like Fiorentina, or Arsenal even, that is on the front foot. That's more offensive. That's what I'm thinking, that he just can't play
00:49:26
Speaker
that in one of those. I think I've always said, though, that, you know, with young attackers, I feel like feel like when they're still developing, you know, playing in an offensive brand of football is so much, so much more help for the development. And it's the same, same problem I had with Shkamaka joining David Moyes at West Ham.
00:49:44
Speaker
Scottish allegory, as I call it, because they play such defensive, such dour counter-attacking football, that how can you develop as a youngster? No, I'm sorry. I'm not letting you do that. I'm not letting you slander Allegri's name like that. I'm sorry.
00:50:02
Speaker
I saw some people jokes aside, or maybe this is a joke. Yes, it is a joke.
Inter's Finishing Dilemmas and Inzaghi's Role
00:50:09
Speaker
I've seen some people compare him to Amawi, saying he's the new Amawi, the Brazilian Italian that got Juventus from Palermo, who after a brilliant season at Palermo in 2008. And he was also seen as a kind of this monster of a striker, big six foot two, six foot three, bullying players, you know, great in the air. And then he ended up being very technically limited and a total flop at Juventus.
00:50:32
Speaker
There are questions also about Wlawic's technique, his first touch is often very heavy. I've seen some people refer to him as a petania with better technique.
00:50:49
Speaker
which I think is a little bit unfair. But look, I do think, I wonder if he's not, I don't think he's the kind of guy, I think he needs to play in an attacking team so that he's not the only focal point. I wonder if he's a little bit, you know, if someone like Elling Horland will score no matter where he plays, and he has.
00:51:08
Speaker
But Vlauvic isn't that guy. He needs to have players and a system that caters to him to get the most out of him. Otherwise, he turns. Should Juventus sell him? That's the big question. Yes, I think so. I think he's a young player. You can cash in on him, bring in someone because Allegri isn't leaving. This is how Juventus want to play. And I think they should continue this identity and build from basically from ground zero and upwards. And I wonder if Vlauvic
00:51:37
Speaker
Is it worth it? Should Juventus drop him now for the end of the season? Big games coming up for Juventus now. They're seasons on the line. Same with the question we asked with Rafaleo, forget about the summer. I mean, they're getting nothing out of him now.
00:51:53
Speaker
I don't know man I really don't know but I do think it's a completely bizarre situation because I still think he's that there's a player there I just think it has to be a plan so you don't break no no no you can have a wonder season in that or a wonder year but that's fine but no I think there's a player that I just don't think he's that striker today maybe he could be one day but I don't think he is that striker today that can play he needs to play in an attacking minder team
00:52:18
Speaker
with players around him who can create space and beat their man and do stuff like that. And at Juve, they play low and he doesn't seem to understand how he's supposed to interpret that role. To be honest, I find him struggling in all facets, whether they're pinning the team back and Crosses are coming to us. I don't see him very good from Crosses either.
00:52:42
Speaker
whether they're playing against deep defences or on the counter-attack. I think he's struggling in every aspect. Anyway, we have to move on. Milan. Milan smash Napoli 4-0, then they can't beat Empoli. I mean, what's going on here? It's the story of Milan and inter-season. I was just about to say that. Look, the problem is exactly this, the depth and quality overall. They can't deliver in all tournaments.
00:53:10
Speaker
They can't do that. They simply can't do that. Neither Inter Milan can do that. Napoli can, because they're in the quarterfinal of the Champions League and they're going to win the Serie A. They were unlucky in the Copa Italia against Cremonese. If you go and watch that game, the refereeing was shocking. So I don't count that. But Milan and Inter are obviously not good enough to compete on all fronts. It's one or the other.
00:53:33
Speaker
And it shows. And I think last summer we praised Ricky Massara and Maldino. I think Ricky Massara is currently the best sporting director in Italy. But I will never understand and I will die on this hill. Why in God's name do they get Rivoco Rigi? I don't understand that. It was so silly and stupid because he offers absolutely nothing. Nothing. And
00:54:01
Speaker
Yeah, well, we've spoken about Oregi so much, haven't we? I mean, he was booed off the pitch, so the Milan fans have had it with him. He was embarrassed. I understand them. I mean, and he's not when he is not exactly a teenager either. So we can say, oh, you know, you don't you know, he's young. Look at his numbers, Nimr. It's what is it? Two goals and 27 games and one assist in the Serie A? Yeah.
00:54:26
Speaker
Yeah. But the thing is, everybody saw it. We saw it. I went ballistic. I remember when they signed him because why are you buying the sixth or seventh choice striker at Liverpool? I mean, why? For me, that is the worst advert for Serie A that you can possibly get in terms of on the football inside of things. When you see
00:54:48
Speaker
Milan, this giant club signing the seventh choice striker at Liverpool who had, and let me read out his numbers at Liverpool, 22 goals in seven seasons at Liverpool, 10 goals in his previous five seasons before joining Milan, and you give him a four million per season contract until 2026, a four year contract. I mean, what did Milan expect from him with those kind of numbers?
00:55:14
Speaker
I don't get it at all. I don't get it. One thing I would say, though, away from Oregi, I did think that Milan, despite that, I thought Milan were unlucky in this game, and they created so many chances. They had 23 shots to one, and Milan and Inter had combined almost 50 shots in their two games. So I think you have to also acknowledge that
00:55:40
Speaker
that Milan, you know, were very, very unlucky in this game. And if I can bring some positives from this game ahead of the Champions League game, is I think Milan physically look in good condition. They look fit. They look fresh. Their pressing is good. Intensity is good. The players are moving well. Selamek is again, was doing some great little dribbles, you know, and they rested five starters who will play against Napoli. The whole attack, Liao Giroud and Brahim Diaz, they did come on. Krunich and Kiai didn't play either.
00:56:10
Speaker
So, you know, I think I'll say again, I think Milan look physically in better condition than Napoli going into that game. And, you know, so, so I don't think, yeah, I don't think we should be too hard on them. But obviously, they needed to win this game for the top four. And they look, I worry for both Inter and Milan. I really do. They could both end up missing the Champions League next season, which would be a disaster for both of them.
00:56:35
Speaker
I think we're at a stage now where it's almost certain that one of them will miss out. I think it's going to be intense. I'll be perfectly honest with you. I think it's going to be intense. If Juventus get their points back, one of Milano Inter is missing out. I think it's inevitable now because Napoli and Lazio are locked in now, I think. Juventus will be locked in if they get their 15 points back. So then you're looking at one place.
00:57:01
Speaker
Well, Rormar involved as well. Yeah, so it's not impossible. All both of them could miss out. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's a work. I mean, listen, we've done this to we've done this to death about in Zaghi. But just just to put the question to you, I mean, again, into absolutely battle. So anytime they had chance, after chance, after chance in this game, and they concede right at the end to the equalizer. I mean, in Zaghi,
00:57:29
Speaker
Is it Arinta's attack getting exactly the sack? Now, Rhimes, that does as well. They are. It does. It really does rhyme. But yes, they are. And the XG, I tweeted it out. I was looking out. And for me, XG is a tool that describes whether or not a club or a team or a squad is creating chances or not. And it's evident that... Agree.
00:57:57
Speaker
I agree with that. That's how I view it. And if you look at the stats, it's obvious.
00:58:06
Speaker
that Inter are creating chances. I mean, just look at the XG and goal scored. Spezia 3.87 XG, one goal. Porto 0.50, zero goals. Juventus 1.250, zero goals. Fiorentina 2.750, zero goals. Juventus 1.52, one goal. Salenitana 2.941, one goal. I mean, what is it? What can a manager do?
00:58:34
Speaker
What can a manager do? How is Romelu Lukaku's missing sitter after open goal sitters? Another open goal, yeah. He headed the crossbar from a yard out. The question is this, and this is the debate that I've seen with Inter fans, and I put out a tweet basically saying what you've said, where if you're having that much extra every game, if you're having 25 to 30 shots every game, you're creating six or seven one-on-ones and sitters every game. Lukaku's missing open goals every game.
00:59:03
Speaker
Can you blame the manager? That's what I asked, right? Or is it just that your attackers are just not good enough? Now, a lot of people agree, but I also there was a lot of inter fans who actually, and I think this is an interesting, this is interesting, have said, well, is that also down to Inzagi? Is it something that he should be doing in training? Is it a mental issue? Is it something that he's not mentally getting the attackers in a frame of mind?
00:59:33
Speaker
Let's talk about that, because if in order to answer that you need to go into detail and look at the personnel. Who are the ones missing the chances? 37-year-old Edin Jekyll, Joaquin Correa,
00:59:45
Speaker
Lautaro Martinez, who we know is Apache goalscorer, who we've, you know, who, if you remember the season they got rid of Lukaku and brought in Correa, and we were talking that summer, I said, I think Inter lack a natural goalscorer. That's what we're seeing now. There is no, if Mauro Icardi played for Inter, discard one die and all that drama, but if Mauro Icardi was at Inter this season and last season, he would score 40-45 goals
01:00:13
Speaker
a season, and Inter would have won the domestic treble last season. I can't say they would have won the Serie A this season, but they would be within five points of Napoli. Inter don't have someone who can put the ball into the back of the net. Romelu Lukaku is finished at the highest level. Edin Jacob, God bless, 37 years old. Joaquin Correa is a meme, not a footballer.
01:00:34
Speaker
And Lautaro Martinez is who he is. He's a patchy goal scorer. He's a 9.5. He's a 10.5. And he's one of the best in the world. With Jeko and Correa, I think, I'm definitely with you. With Lukaku, I mean, we can see the physical decline. There's no doubt about that. The only thing I would say that there is a question mark is, you know, if Conte was the manager, for example, I think Lukaku would be putting more of his chances away, I think.
01:00:58
Speaker
I don't know. I honestly don't know. I think the physical decline is clear because you see even when he gets those balls in the channel, you know, two years ago, when he gets the balls in those channels, he would he would go with his left foot up the line and he would blitz and he would destroy. He would race away. Obviously, he hasn't got that. That sharpness is gone. Completely gone.
01:01:20
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, and and that's what I'm saying, like, you know, it's it's like if football, if you keep missing sitter after sitter after sitter after sitter and you seem to have been unlucky hitting the woodwork a lot, but that's part of the game. There's not an excuse. So do I think if we're talking in isolation out of these, you know, these point drops, how much, you know, then, yes, I think Izagi is given a pass to some extent. But at the end of the day,
01:01:52
Speaker
The things I don't give him apart are. Let me give you some stats that I dug out here. Jeko, no goals in 17 games for club and country. And a 17-game streak without scoring. Again, a bit like that Blauwitsch number, I had to double check some of these. I couldn't believe that some of these were real. Lukaku, three goals in Serie A this season, missing open goals, two games in a row now. Correa has not scored in almost six months.
01:02:18
Speaker
And Leltaro, as you said, we know how inconsistent and patchy he is. He's now gone on an eight game streak without scoring for club and country. I mean, you know, went into again, going into a stage of the season now where, you know, top four is on the line. They've got see every I still think you're going to raise themselves in the Champions League. I think they just they just do. But, you know, those numbers are horrific for the strong and the attackers. I mean, they're all just
01:02:43
Speaker
their form and their confidence is so bad. And also, I just want to read out one other stat, which is also fantastic. I nicked this off Uncle Shama on his podcast, his Inter podcast, which is really good. And so this is his stat. In the last six games, Inter have had over 100 shots, 33 of those shots on goal.
01:03:04
Speaker
So they're kind of like, I think less than a third of their shots are shots on target, which is an issue in itself already, but still. And then from those 100 shots, only three are goals, and two of those were penalties.
01:03:21
Speaker
And if you look at the XG and if you look at the XG, which again is a tool that shows how much, how many, like in terms of goal scoring chances and how good those chances are, they're through the roof.
01:03:36
Speaker
I mean, if Inter weren't creating and had a dreadful XG and you just had shots like under Spalletti with crosses and inshallah, then that's something else. But that's not where we are here. They are creating chances. They are actually dominating teams. But the strikers are letting them down. And to me, as much as I love Beppe Marotta, bringing Lukaku back, he's been the flop of the seriya. There's no doubt about that. They should have gone after Paolo Di Bala.
01:04:04
Speaker
Paolo Di Bala and Laotaro together would have suited Hamor how Simonin Zaghi likes to play. Or, if not Paolo Di Bala, because he's not sharp enough or injured or whatever, then someone else who can put a tap-in merchant, if you will. Someone who knows how to put the ball into the back of the net, because this is ridiculous now.
01:04:23
Speaker
Yeah, no, it is. And it always seems to be the goalkeeper's also always seems to have a wonder performance. In this case, it was Ochoa, the Mexican who has actually been absolutely brilliant.
Serie A Race for Top Four and Relegation Battles
01:04:33
Speaker
Fantastic. He's joining Solenitana. He's saved him so many points and he makes him some fantastic. So good.
01:04:40
Speaker
Yeah. And also Anana, again, I'm a big fan of him, but you have to blame him. Yeah. I mean, it was a bit of a fluke. I mean, it was a fluke shot. He saw it late. I don't think, you know, the all goalkeepers always look stupid when they win that when a goal like that goes in. But it's, you know, I don't blame him for that. It shit happens. It's it's it's fine. But but, you know, because he he's he's very good and he's the future. And unless I think if there is one weakness in his game, though,
01:05:10
Speaker
It is the crosses. It is crosses, yeah. He does flap on crosses a little bit sometimes. He looks a bit flappy at times, I agree. Okay, let's just race through the rest of the results because we've gone way over. So Torino, Neil, Roma, one. That puts Roma in a really, really good position now. Puts them into third actually in the Champions League race.
01:05:34
Speaker
One point above Milan and two points above interest that's gonna be really really fascinating top four race udonese two months or two Fiorentina Drew 1-1 with Spezia so they're winning Street comes to an end Atalanta thrash three nil at home to Bologna another string to the to the Tiago motta bow Sampdoria to Clemon is a three so I think that now we can say Definitely and those two teams are both relegated now. So their honor did win
01:06:04
Speaker
So Verona one. Yeah, two one at sasola with a last-minute lob from Adolpho gage and they're four points off safety now So there they've given themselves a fighting chance now. Yeah, look at coming games for them They play Napoli, which you know, they're gonna hopefully, you know, they're probably gonna lose then they play for the velon or baloney at home then they've got cream on a set away and enter at home and then lecture away and
01:06:31
Speaker
So there is a chance for them to make up some of that ground. But that game against Letcher is a six pointer. Don't miss that in a couple of weeks.
01:06:39
Speaker
Yeah, I'm sure you won't. No, of course I won't. You definitely won't. Of course. You won't miss that. No, no, no. It's almost to the point where I might not even watch into the playing if they're playing at the same time. No, I don't. Yeah. You can completely see that, can't you? Right. Champions League. Champions League. So this is going to be a massive, massive week for Champions League football.
01:07:01
Speaker
three Italian teams in the quarterfinal, which I think the last time it happened was in 2006, if I'm correct. It's been a long, long time since we got into April and we've been able to look forward to and watch multiple Italian teams in Europe in final stages. So that's fantastic for all us Serie A fans. It's going to be really exciting to watch. We hope we get the good results as well. So Benfica vs Inter on Tuesday and then Milan vs Napoli on
01:07:28
Speaker
Wednesday interesting because Benfica lost at the weekend they lost at home to Porter only their second defeat in normal time in the in the entire season so are you how do you feel going into this? I look at this and I see Otamendi the captain is suspended although I'm not a fan of Otamendi so I'm not sure how much of a
01:07:48
Speaker
weakening that is, but when I was on a Portuguese football podcast, which I know you also were previewing the sporting game, I was on the same podcast, but they about the Benfica game, they have problems in defense.
01:08:03
Speaker
They're going to have two young centerbacks playing, aren't they? Yeah, they are. I mean, one of them is fantastic, Antonio Silva. I mean, I'm a big fan of him, but yeah, obviously two youngsters never played at this stage. Yeah, it could be interesting. I think they've got an injury. Bar, the right back. I don't think he's going to be fit. I don't think he is going to be fit. I think it was a serious injury from what I read, but I wouldn't
01:08:23
Speaker
I wouldn't take poison on it, as we say in Sweden, when we're insecure. So Inter could get more chances then, this is basically what we're saying. Yeah, and they're going to hit it, because it's not going to hurt. No, but seriously, I think this is a game where Benfica or... Grimaldo, I'm also seeing that Grimaldo, the left-back, is also at risk of missing the game. So Benfica could have problems in defence. But the thing is, with Benfica, is that they're an attacking side. I don't expect them to sit back and defend.
01:08:49
Speaker
I expect them to go after Inter, and Inter usually do well against teams. That's why they've done so well against top teams, except for Juva maybe, because Juva don't attack them. But the teams that attack and are open, that usually... Well, Juventus even got three goals against them in that second game. I think they took their foot off the gas probably because they were 4-1 up.
01:09:08
Speaker
But Vico are a great team, you've seen them this season, they're absolutely destroying the Portuguese league, they destroyed Juventus, they topped the group when unbeaten against PSG, they hammered, it was a club breeze, they're not a good team, but they're an attacking team. They are an attacking team and I expect them to go after Inter.
01:09:30
Speaker
Having said that, I still think that this is the same as the Porto game. I said it's 50-50. I still see it as 50-50 as well. On paper, I think Inter are better players, but I think as a team, Benfica are a better team. Not for sure. But I think that, you know, again, it'll be interesting to see kind of how experience comes into it. When you get to the latter stages, quarter five, experience does come in. Well, Inter are the oldest team in the city. Yeah, Inter have the more experience in their team. So I think that can help them. It's a retirement home.
01:09:56
Speaker
not a football club. Milan Napoli though, we've spoken about this a lot already, we've already done a preview on this which you can see on our YouTube channel from last week. And also it was on Patreon the Thursday episode but the clip is on YouTube so check
Italian Teams in European Competitions
01:10:12
Speaker
it out. Yes that's right yeah.
01:10:14
Speaker
Yeah, Milan Napoli, I mean, it's going to, I think the most interesting thing from this game were two things. First of all, we lost him and be back. Yeah, that will be absolutely key. Crucial. And two, psychologically, how will Napoli be affected and Milan, but how will Napoli be affected from getting that 4-0 threshing last week? And I think that is, that is absolutely key because those games, they do weigh on you. They do weigh on you. I think the first goal in this tie could be important, maybe, as well, the psychological point of view.
01:10:44
Speaker
And I do think that Milan look physically, they do look fresher. But then I said the same thing about Juventus ahead of the Intercopper Italia game and I was completely wrong there. So sometimes it's hard to tell, you know? Absolutely, absolutely. Sometimes it's a mentality thing, you know, as well. Sometimes it's how you mentally go into the game and then from the start and then that can...
01:11:03
Speaker
play a role as well. Europa League and Conference League, we've got Firenord Roma, Firenord are going to win the Eredivisie. I think they're unbeaten in 2023 until they lost to Ajax in the cup. And they're at Firenord at home in the first leg, I think. And then we've got Juventus Sporting.
01:11:25
Speaker
which I was quite confident with the UN, since then these last three games have kind of knocked my confidence. Sporting have struggled domestically this season, but they're in good form and they're unbeaten and they knocked out Arsenal in the last round. So
01:11:44
Speaker
Yeah, that's going to be it's going to be a tough game for Juventus. One game I am quite confident on though is Fiorentina in the conference league. They're playing Lech Poznan away. I'm pretty confident Fiorentina go through in that in that time. They're third in the extra lassa, extra extra lassa and the Polish league and they've lost a lot of games this season. So I'm confident in Fiorentina. That's the one the one team, one Italian team that I'm confident will go through.
Maurizio Sarri as Baggio of the Week and Light-hearted Moments
01:12:13
Speaker
Yeah, no, I'm with you on that. The rest are all competitive games. Yeah. Yeah. Talk tactical. OK, let's finish off with Badjo and Primface of the Week. OK, Badjo. Sorry. Sorry. Has to be sorry. That team move for the second goal is just stunning. Absolutely stunning.
01:12:42
Speaker
Yeah, it has to be. We've got a recommendation from Mike Lazar, our patron, who writes, I don't always suggest prim face of the week moments, but when I do, it's because I just heard the commentator in Liverpool Arsenal just say that substitute Jacob Kivior arrived from Spezia.
01:13:03
Speaker
I've been laughing uncontrollably at this ever since he sent that message. They're not called Spezia for me anymore. They're called Spezia. Oh, I love it. I love it. But we've got a whale. Did he say which TV station it was?
01:13:21
Speaker
I don't know. I'll DM him. He sent it to us on DM on Patreon. Mike, if you're listening to this, please let us know where you heard this and who said it, if you can. But we have a whale, whale of a prim face this week. This is one of the best all time prim faces ever, in my opinion. Dean Saunders, the former Welsh international, if I'm not mistaken, a striker,
01:13:48
Speaker
He went on an incredible, fantastic rant, which I think proves that they only do this on purpose at that station on TalkSport. They only say crazy, inflammatory, deliberately batshit things just for interactions. Because this is the kind of things, this is the level of analysis, is the kind of level that I expect from someone who
01:14:12
Speaker
who walks around saying Elvis is live and is from Mars. It's absolutely, incredibly crazy. There's no logic yet. And he says, assists are a bugbear of mine. Kante should have 3,000.
01:14:28
Speaker
I mean, he starts the move by intercepting the ball for his team. So how is he not going to get an assist for that? Because he doesn't make the last pass. So Kante goes through three challenges and you just side foot the groin in. If you play with bad players, you won't get the ball and your assists go down. And if I don't make the runs, your assists go down. So I don't believe in them. They're rubbish. It's a team game. Did Harry Kane get any credit for stepping front of that young lad at Everton?
01:14:58
Speaker
I got it handed to the host, I don't know who it is, but he was trying to explain to him, yeah, that's what an assist is. I don't know how many times he said it. That's what an assist is. I think you are, I'm starting to warm towards your theory about this all being deliberate. With this case, I am warming with you to your theory. I mean, come on. It's so blatant.
01:15:23
Speaker
I mean, how far back do you go? I mean, you're going back to the defensive midfielders. Well, how about well, if I go back to the mother and dad and having sex and conceiving the football player. Let's go back to the big bang. The universe gets an assist as well. Now, man, this is absolutely mental.
Unusual Incidents and Closing Remarks
01:15:44
Speaker
Like this is so crazy that I had to watch it like five times.
01:15:50
Speaker
And because that's what I tweeted, I was like, no, no, this is so obvious now. They are literally just doing this for interactions, because that's just crazy. And this makes no sense. And I've got to hand it to him. I forget his name.
01:16:06
Speaker
He's the person who showed this to me. He's our own prim face hunter. What's his name? Samuel Ventress. He's the prim face hunter and he tagged me. My joy at the floor when I saw this. That is amazing. That is a whopper for sure.
01:16:28
Speaker
Right, okay. I watched when once went to watch Dean Saunders play actually Italy Italy versus Italy versus Wales Euro 2000 qualifier at Anfield it's the one to nil and He he was already old by then he played in that game But that game was was most memorable because before the game we arrived at the game at Anfield we were outside the stadium and everybody was
01:16:56
Speaker
All the fans rule congregating outside the stadium waiting to go in and then all of a sudden out of nowhere this really like ugly looking dog come running running through the crowd like you know off its leave on its own and it was suddenly another dog
01:17:14
Speaker
Chuck came running after it and was chasing it, and then it caught the dog, and it was in the middle of this crowd, and there was thousands of supporters all watching this dog, and then it just started doggy-styling it. In front of everyone. I'm being serious. In front of everyone. In front of all the Italy and Wales supporters. The two dogs were at it before this, and I just thought, is this Liverpool?
01:17:43
Speaker
That's what I thought. That's what I thought. Welcome to Liverpool. We travelled in a minibus and we'd only just got out of the minibus and we'd just like, like two minutes earlier. It was like the first thing I saw in Liverpool was, was these two dogs.
01:17:59
Speaker
I love how you appearance-shamed dogs, two ugly dogs were having at it, having it away, and Carlo is just... I'll never forget it. So it would have been better if the dogs were cute, is that what you're saying? That was the my biggest memory from that Italy versus Wales game, was the two dogs. And given Diego Fusero abuse, because he was playing right wing and we didn't like him, we didn't want him to play.
01:18:28
Speaker
that's fantastic that is yeah that was a memory cool right listen let's leave it at that and we'll be back on Thursday to review tomorrow Tuesday for the Q&A pod oh right yeah yeah I was gonna get to that yeah I was gonna go first and then back to Tuesday Tuesday for the Q&A Thursday for the review the the Champions League the Champions League football Champions League matches yeah
01:18:50
Speaker
Okay, right. Have a good... Happy Morna Pasqua to all who celebrate. Happy Easter. Ramadan Kareem to all who observe that. Ramadan is still going on, isn't it? Another two weeks, if I'm not mistaken. Great. Okay. We will see you soon. All the best. Ciao ciao.