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Her Game, Our Take, Episode 1: Champions League quarter finals recap
19 Plays3 months ago
Welcome to the very first episode of Her Game, Our Take, a podcast by sports journalist Rumyana Penzova and Charlene.
In todays episode we will discuss the first leg of the Womens Champions League quarter finals, we touch on Wolfsburg home win against Olympique Lyonnais and Barcas thrashing of Madrid before we go into detail about our observations in Arsenals 3:1 win and Bayern winning at Old Trafford. Also Charlene tries to use the German saying "loslegen wie die Feuerwehr" in English. Enjoy!
Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/hergameourtake.bsky.social
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Per Game, Our Take' Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the very first episode of Per Game, Our Take podcast. I'm Charlie and i will be one of your hosts. I have no deep qualifications other than watching way too much football. And with me is... And I am Romiana. I will be your co-host. I am a sports journalist. My passion for football goes back almost 12 now. But funnily enough, given the immense popularity of the men's game, that is all I used to watch for years. But then last summer, actually, I rediscovered women's football and the magic that girls and women create on the pitch. I watched the entire Euros last summer and the rest is history.
00:00:43
Speaker
Yeah, um we wanted to move some of the spotlight on women's football and yeah talk about observations of stuff we noticed on and off the pitch.
Coverage of UEFA Women's Champions League Quarterfinals
00:00:52
Speaker
In today's episode, we're diving into the first leg of the UEFA Women's Champions League quarterfinals. We will briefly cover Wolfsburg-Leonese as well as El Clasico and then go into more detail for both the London derby as well as yesterday's tie between Bayern and Manchester United.
00:01:10
Speaker
We've got some massive matchups to get into, including the London Derby, Arsenal versus Chelsea, which is currently one of the biggest rivalries in the women's game. And of course, Manchester United taking on Bayern Munich. So as Charlie mentioned, we've got some massive matchups to get into. ah And these will be like real tests of where these teams stand at the top level. We'll be breaking down the key moments, tactics, standout players, And what these results will mean heading into the second legs. So plenty to get into.
Wolfsburg vs. Lyon: In-depth Analysis
00:01:44
Speaker
ah Let's start with Wolfsburg, shall we, Charlie? Yeah, so in Tuesday's tie, Wolfsburg had Lyonnais as big guests.
00:01:58
Speaker
Wolfsburg had the better opportunities, although Lyonnais had more possession and shots, but yeah couldn't do much out of those. was a game of many ah many turnovers, particularly early on I noticed, like very high pressing, very aggressive from both sides.
00:02:15
Speaker
um To just give a rundown, Wolfsburg went up 1-0 pretty early by courtesy of Berenstain's deflected shot on the edge of a box. um No chance for Ndlew, since like I said, a Lyonnais.
00:02:28
Speaker
Defender deflected that one and then we went into total madness for 10 minutes between the 20th and thirtytieth minute. So first long ball to Enderman. She's in front of Enderman's goal but Enderman cannot control a ba ball and so did not record shot there. In the 23rd minute, the square after um a set piece situation to Hegerberg who doesn't hit the ball properly at the edge of the six yard box. 27th minute, Chvinga shot with a potential handball violation V. Wolfsburg got very lucky you not to not see Lyonnais getting awarded a pen V. 28th minute, a shot from the 6-line by Domonet. And in the 29th minute, Berenstein for Wolfsburg misses is an absolute sitter 3 or 4 meters out wide after a lovely delivery from Svenja Hood from the right-hand side.
00:03:24
Speaker
um The game cooled a bit cooled down a bit afterwards, Liao being dominant particularly in the first 15 minutes after halftime, but lacked precision and efficiency in front of goal.
00:03:37
Speaker
The best opportunity they probably came by courtesy of Diany, who hit the post in the fifty ninth And then um in in the last half an hour Wolfsburg allowed Leon a bit of space out wide and then got the ball away by the offensive wingers tracking back quite a lot, both Enderman and Hoot and later Korazikai.
00:04:03
Speaker
Yes, um so that was
Debate: Strategy or Luck for Wolfsburg?
00:04:06
Speaker
basically it. like Wolfsburg b a m being very efficient and honestly pretty lucky to get away with a win, in my opinion.
00:04:16
Speaker
um That's super interesting because I personally expected Lyon to get a hold of the game. I didn't expect this result at all. I don't know about you. Yeah, um to be honest, it was, like I said, it was also a really lucky result for Wolfsburg, in my opinion.
00:04:33
Speaker
um had some interesting ideas, um like Padamor was playing over the third, which is, you know, player A wants to get the ball to player B and uses player C as like a bridge.
00:04:45
Speaker
and Pettermoor from the number 6 position using either an out-of-centre-back when Wolfsburg was in back 3 or full-back when Wolfsburg 4 to get to the winger. That was ah generally like an interesting um um thing about this game. like A lot of play over wings, like I said, the best chances of Wolfsburg came either after delivery from the wing or from winger cutting in with Endermann.
00:05:14
Speaker
We got an exciting second leg coming up, don't you think? yeah yeah What are your thoughts it's like? What do you predict for the for second leg next week?
00:05:27
Speaker
oo That's a tough one. I feel like Lyon will get this one either but by 2-0 or co one But we'll see. we'll see Maybe Valkburg will or present a surprise.
00:05:40
Speaker
Honestly, next week in Lyon, I'm pretty sure that Lyonnais will persevere. um Like i said, Wolfsburg got lucky. They had a really good fighting spirit in this game, but...
00:05:54
Speaker
I watch a lot of Bundesliga and I've seen the vulnerability of this defense. And yeah, they really got lucky and very good Stina Johannes in goal, but also Lyon just had a lot of good opportunities and didn't and couldn't keep the shot down. Like, ah think it's only three shots on target out of 19 from Lyon and most of those were taken in the box.
00:06:22
Speaker
um yeah And when you see players like Hegeberg, she will not squander a chance like she did this second time.
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: El Clasico Summary
00:06:32
Speaker
Yeah, definitely.
00:06:33
Speaker
I think let's jump ah now probably briefly to Clasico, but the women's El Clasico, which happened yesterday. The game between Real Madrid and Barcelona, which I'll summarize quickly. Well, as we and most people who follow women's football know Barcelona obliterated their rivals. It was 6-2 and even as guests.
00:06:57
Speaker
So pretty much they're probably already through unless Real Madrid pull out a miracle. They absolutely dominated yesterday this first leg of the quarterfinals. Even in the sixth minute was the first goal came. yeah When Eva Pajor opened the scoring. Then six so minutes later, another goal. So it was already 2-0 for Barca. Then towards the 30th minute, Madrid fought back or tried to fight back. They pulled one back, Linda Caicedo, in the 30th minute.
00:07:37
Speaker
Literally two minutes later, boom, another goal for Barcelona. um They pretty much got crushed. that That must have hurt because it's like their biggest rivals, of course. Like it's a huge rivalry. That girl in particular, like getting one back instantly and also by the defender who just looked like who really got cooked by Caicedo earlier. Because like when you watch the replay, um first of all, Caicedo won hell of a game. But like the way she freaking body checks Caicedo just very slightly and before the first goal.
00:08:13
Speaker
Oh yeah, that that must have been unpleasant. And like Paredes is one of the best defenders in the world, isn't she? and Yeah. But also like that mental strength of literally that same centre-back instantly re-establishing the old lead, what was it, two or three minutes later?
00:08:30
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. ah Same thing about the second half. Again, that the demolition continued, so to speak. ah Again, Pajor and then the the Spaniards in that team, like Vicky Lopez, Alexia Puteas, who...
00:08:45
Speaker
is a legend, dare I say. um they They also like had goals to to reach that 6-2. Caiseto called another goal for Madrid.
00:09:01
Speaker
They got a second goal, which you never know. It may be crucial. You never know. Maybe in the second leg, Madrid will pull out a miracle and like go to 4-0 and then go to extra time or... Do you think so?
00:09:15
Speaker
No, not really. But you never know in football.
Impact of Young Players in El Clasico
00:09:18
Speaker
This is why I love football, because you truly, truly never know. But against that Barca side, I really don't think so. And against this particular um team, like this 11 of theirs, with, as I said, Puteas, Eva Pajor, Vicky Lopez also, they are part of an incredibly strong Spain squad. I watched them last summer at the Euros. they reached the final and they fought really hard some will say that England got really lucky like to to win in these finals a lot of people definitely would say that yeah a lot of people thought that Spain Spain had to win this like Spain had it in the bag but yeah so these these girls are part of a as I said an incredibly strong Barcelona team so
00:10:08
Speaker
um there is there is quite a huge gap, in my opinion, over Real Madrid in Spain, but now in the Champions League when they matched up as well.
00:10:18
Speaker
Yeah, they they are different levels, just different levels. Do you know how old Vicky Lopez is? She's quite young, isn't she? I don't know her exact age. Yeah, I know that she's ah pretty much a teenager, yeah. ah She is a teenager! Yeah.
00:10:34
Speaker
but Yeah, incredible. And Spain played Germany in the, what was it, Nations League? And Vicky Lopez like scored an absolute screamer.
00:10:45
Speaker
And then a friend that was watching it with Floix said, like you do know that she's a f freaking teenager. it'ss It's insane. like But on both sides, like ah Linda Caicedo, who, in all honesty, was like the only thing that kept Real alive in this game. um She's also like, what, 21 or something?
00:11:05
Speaker
Yeah, there some of them are quite young. I think only Puteas is a bit older, I think, from from the Spaniards in ind these teams, in Real and Barca.
00:11:16
Speaker
Yeah, and Paredes. Yeah, yeah. But also with Caicedo to be 21 and carrying that offensive line, even if it's still basically going four less than Barcelona, obviously. But at that young age, like the way she cooked Parade is before both goals. um she like She freaking sent her packing her suitcase
Barcelona's Depth Despite Injuries
00:11:41
Speaker
um with the second one.
00:11:43
Speaker
That is hella impressive. The thing is, like Real have like one of those talismans in Caicedo and Barcelona start with those. Yeah, and to even think that Aitana is not there. Aitana is out injured, so I don't want to think if Aitana was on the pitch yesterday.
00:12:01
Speaker
But he's, yeah, unfortunately sidelined with an injury. But if she was on that pitch, maybe it could have looked worse, maybe. um Yeah. And also, like, even with this setup, I personally felt like Barcelona, particularly in the second half, they were like not on for like not in fifth gear.
00:12:18
Speaker
Like, if they would have wanted to, they could have like easily played a bit faster, a bit more faster.
Arsenal vs. Chelsea: Tactical Insights
00:12:25
Speaker
efficient like play their passes with a bit more sharpness they just felt like it felt like in the first leg already they were coasting because also like next week they're gonna play in the camp now yeah shall see yeah so i guess let's so move over to the two games that we're gonna analyze more in depth let's say beginning with the the london derby arsenal chelsea which was the other day so two days ago almost um
00:12:52
Speaker
which ended 3-1 to Arsenal, didn't it? Yeah. This first leg, yeah. So Millie Bright, a huge figure, was missing for Chelsea, for the guests. ah Hannah Hampton, who was pretty much the starting goalie in the Euros last year, she started in goal for Chelsea. She was injured, but that was her like only second Champions League start.
00:13:20
Speaker
this season. Arsenal also had some missing figures. Steph Catley, who was playing who away for the Asian Cup. Leah Williamson, who I think Leah Williamson struggled and struggles with with injuries quite often these days, which is yeah which is sad.
00:13:40
Speaker
um So both both starting central backs were out for Arsenal. That was an interesting matchup because these are the reigning Champions League champs against the domestic league champs.
00:13:55
Speaker
So apart from a London derby, it's a derby on another level as well. um So pretty much, yeah, 22nd minute, Blackstinius, the Arsenal forward. That happened after a free kick.
00:14:12
Speaker
Then 10 minutes later, Who else? Chloe Kelly, a banger. Then, as we know, VAR is available for these games. 40th minute, there was a VAR intervention because of a foul. So I think, correct me if I'm wrong, the Chelsea goal was got disallowed. yeah ah And then Alessio Russo towards the end of the the second part, the second half. Alessio Russo made it three one
00:14:47
Speaker
I think I missed... ah Who was the Chelsea goal scorer? Did I? ah Lauren James got one back after a corner. ah yeah Yeah, correct.
00:14:59
Speaker
So this is pretty much very shortly. so yeah um sixty five minutes Very shortly how the the London Derby played out. I think you can give us more of a tactical explanation now on everything that went down on the pitch?
00:15:16
Speaker
Yeah. ah First of all, i was delighted to hear that the broadcasters frequently brought up how many quality players are missing due to the Australians reaching the final of the Asian Cup.
00:15:30
Speaker
Australia i mentioned. Yeah. um Yeah. um I thought it was very interesting um how a Chelsea solved their number nine issue because they have four strikers in their squad. All of them either injured or with Samantha Coe out because of the Asian Cup.
00:15:50
Speaker
they had um They opted for a striking duo with Lauren James and Alissa Thompson, who like were playing in sort of a pendulum, like one one being in the center and one shifting out on their respective wing. Thompson to the right when the attack was on the right for Chelsea and same with Lauren James on the left.
00:16:16
Speaker
and they all like And pretty early on, you could see that Arsenal was surprised by that because both James and Thompson hit the post in the first 10 minutes. And also um in the center, then it was the the one who like replaced then the forward that got out wide was Sjöken Nüsken, who is not a nail-down starter at Chelsea. um Maybe Germans know her from her national team or her time at Eidracht Frankfurt.
00:16:46
Speaker
And like she was like supposed to get in those spaces with deep runs, which worked in the first half, but not really when the second. Yeah, um, then of course, most Arsenal goal ever, scoring after a set piece. In general, many of those goals after set piece.
VAR's Role in Arsenal vs. Chelsea
00:17:03
Speaker
I think the screamer of Lauren will ah lauren James after 65 minutes was after was after a corner.
00:17:12
Speaker
The 1-0 by Blaxdinius was after a free kick. Um... And also the two but two goals that got disallowed for Chelsea. There was a second one, which I like the international broadcast. I think the commentator claimed that it was a karate kick that Buchanan performed against Anika Bob in Arsenal's goal.
00:17:33
Speaker
Yeah, that was interesting, wasn't it? Because if they didn't get disallowed, pretty much the result of this derby would have been 3-3, which, wow. But yeah, maybe... a Talk a little bit about what did you think about VAR? Like, was it the two disallowed goals? Was it 100% correct decision? Or what is your take on that?
00:17:55
Speaker
Lucy Bronze had some very strong words after the match. I think i think the quote was, a only the referee thought it was a foul and none of her players. Which I can see, like, i think that was, that's definitely questionable. And Chelsea um allowed to feel pretty hard done by that decision. The second goal, I think it's very clear.
00:18:18
Speaker
Like the way that Buchanan um rather requi recklessly enters the challenge against Arsenal goalkeeper Borba. Yeah, but you think the first one is a tiny bit questionable, huh?
00:18:31
Speaker
Yeah, you can you can definitely say that. Or like, would you disagree with that?
00:18:38
Speaker
Not necessarily. I'm just thinking out loud because, you know, VAR as a system, it got introduced with the idea to clear out um how to say, like, mistakes or like missing missed calls and stuff like that. But what I'm thinking is that sometimes In in both men and women's football, I assume, it creates even more debates. You know what I mean? Yes. Like, instead of clearing out stuff, it creates even more debates. But, yeah, that's that's just me. That's what I think.
00:19:09
Speaker
I'm with you on that. But, hey, the... What was it? The committee, IFAP, have new rules now, which will totally make everything better overnight. This time, really.
Key Players: Lauren James & Chloe Kelly
00:19:21
Speaker
Yeah. Do you think Lauren James was... uh the the key player for chelsea was she the most decisive one in this tie for the blues Yes, definitely. She was um she was like very very sharp in her actions, very determined to do something in this match. And she did score that screamer from, I would say, 22 meters out.
00:19:45
Speaker
Which, just in general, one one hell of a goal after the next. like Yes, they were like from set p said pieces, but still 22 meters.
00:19:56
Speaker
meters out from from Lauren James and like that Chloe Kelly funderclap from also like 20 meters or something out from the left channel. By the way, most Chloe Kelly performance didn't do like nowhere to be found for majority of the game, but always there to score a really important goal.
00:20:16
Speaker
Yeah, she's that player, isn't she? Like even from the Euros last year, Incredible. Like how she comes onto the pitch, makes this difference. Like it could be her only, and not her only touch, but like her only proper touch, let's say. And she just makes that difference. that's
Arsenal's Second Leg Strategy
00:20:33
Speaker
That's incredible. I think it's a very key player to have in your squad because she didn't used to be a starter. I think her arsenal in the Women's Super League in England, I think she was getting started from the bench a couple of times from what I've seen the past months.
00:20:49
Speaker
But she's just that player who can make that difference. Definitely. And after watching football for, what, 16, 17 years, I've never seen a player that's this clutch.
00:21:01
Speaker
it's Exactly, yeah. Completely insane. Yeah, I'm happy to see Lauren James like performing well, because from what I remember from the Euros last summer, she was there, but in my eyes, she didn't make I think she scored one goal for the whole tournament or something like that, if I'm not mistaken.
00:21:23
Speaker
But she didn't like particularly shine, in my opinion. For sure, she helped the team and like she played ah her part in in in England securing that title.
00:21:35
Speaker
But just in my eyes, she wasn't. you know I think all eyes were on Chloe Kelly anyways because she was yeah saving them um game after game. But I'm happy to see Lauren James shine and get her moment.
00:21:48
Speaker
even though like Chelsea lost, but the the second leg, you never know. It's it's at the Chelsea. So um maybe they'll turn it around or reach. I think in this game, it's more possible for if Chelsea win 2-0 to reach at least extra time.
Chelsea's Tactical Adaptability
00:22:04
Speaker
We'll see. I think it will be quite interesting. Yeah, I mean, let's see like who the centre-backs on Arsenal's side will be able to return because Kodina got subbed off at half-time because she got got like yellow cat later ah and a in the half and she really had her problems with Lucy Bronze and Alyssa Thompson because um McCabe, who's like the lift left back, was pretty high up the pitch for most of the time and Kodina had to cover for her.
00:22:32
Speaker
And yeah, in general, um like obviously like her match ratings won't be that great since she didn't have a goal or assist. But Alyssa Thompson in this match really, um I think, had a pretty good performance. um I think 19 and 19 passes that got through in the opposition half alone.
00:22:54
Speaker
um Yeah. Like if some of the players like were more clinical in front of goal, if Zyukunuskin maybe had like a bit more of match experience in the last couple of months, um I know it's a coulda, woulda, shoulda.
00:23:08
Speaker
Or like one of the strikers were available, one of the natural strikers. I think Alyssa Thompson could have easily had an assist or two. um yeah so that's like i would definitely watch out for her and also Lucy Bronze like um she oh good old Lucy Bronze I love her yeah she I didn't notice her too much until the last 15 minutes hit and then you could tell that she was all um almost playing hero ball with like one D pass after vina after another like hitting those inside diagonals which for those who have a life unlike me Is when when someone from the fullback position.
00:23:49
Speaker
Plays a pass all the to the striker. so quite ah So quite long balls. But through um stretching the pitch earlier. Since you know it's from the fullback position out wide. There will mostly be a space available. We will talk about that more in the Bayern match.
00:24:07
Speaker
And Lucy Brons tried those twice in the end. She had like quite quite a few dribblings. Like, she was determined to do something. Yeah. I think she always is. And this is what I love about her. I love her as a player. She has this, like, fighting spirit. She doesn't give up.
00:24:26
Speaker
And as you said, like, try to create chances and everything, even from from the back. So... Kudos to Lucy Bronze. I'm probably a bit biased, but I really, really like her.
00:24:38
Speaker
Yeah, she's like ah also, I think, a great leader for this rather young team on Chelsea. Oh, yeah, for sure. For sure. Yeah. It's like one of the best, like, leaders by example you can have in World's Football currently,
Bayern vs. Manchester United: Match Summary
00:24:51
Speaker
I believe. Yes, I agree completely, 100%.
00:24:55
Speaker
Maybe we can mention Alessio Russo, which, according to... One of the like bigger life score apps is is Woman of the Match with 8.5 rating um for Arsenal, that is.
00:25:12
Speaker
Yeah. That goal of hers is, I think, the perfect encapsulation of how to exploit the very um the very popular, like I guess, woman marking in for in football.
00:25:27
Speaker
Because like a few years ago, like it was like all about zonal defending, like protecting like splitting the pitch up into zones and having one player in those at all times. Like Guardiola loves to do that.
00:25:39
Speaker
And more recently, um some teams introduced, like, good old man-to-man pressing. And because, like, it was new, like, they most teams, like, didn't know what to do.
00:25:54
Speaker
um how to... counteract that and it's now it's at a point where um like it's gotten very popular and like now the big teams use it because obviously when you can like just send plays on into 1v1s over the entire pitch the team with a better place will most likely persevere And you can see um you can see how to exploit that in that goal of Russo's.
00:26:20
Speaker
So ah McCabe, vertical pass into the center to Black's Denius, who was starting in the left channel, um as well as Russo, which like isn't an ideal situation when you've got like both players on basically the same spot.
00:26:35
Speaker
But they they played out really well because Blaxdinius then like moved towards the center. And in that moment, like all Chelsea defenders only looked towards the ball. And Ole made that ah one step or two to Blaxdinius, who then just squared to Russo, who just needs two contacts to instantly finish. And you can see in the replay that...
00:27:00
Speaker
bros recognize that but because like she's for fullback and out wide she sprints towards the center and it's just one step too late um but all that room that ruso's got like you cannot give that to her yeah yeah ruso is really yeah i think in some cases pretty underrated uh this is not to say that uh I'm thinking currently of how I think she was second to Aitana Bonmati for the like the Golden Ball Ballon d'Or. She was really close but to getting that award.
00:27:37
Speaker
She's a really, really good player. I think this is not to say, again, I'm saying that Aitana did not deserve it, but to see that Russo was up there in the top three with her, that's quite the recognition. That she deserves, I think.
00:27:52
Speaker
Yeah, that was her eighth goal of a Champions League campaign, by the way. Yeah, that's that's what I'm saying. Incredible. I think she, I hope she, yeah, I hope, truly hope for her that she she gets that Ballon d'Or next campaign, like next tier.
00:28:09
Speaker
I think she deserves it. some Some may argue because she's a forward. Like she plays as a forward most times and scores goals, but it definitely would not be undeserved.
00:28:20
Speaker
If she got the next the next Ballon d'Or. Especially with Taitana injured this like half this season. Now already. so Excited to see how this will pan out next year.
00:28:32
Speaker
Yeah, ah interestingly enough, the Ballon d'Or jury favours central or offensive midfielders in the women's game with Bonmartie and Puteas.
00:28:45
Speaker
and I've noticed, yeah. And favours the attacking winger or goalscorer from the wing in the men's game, funnily enough. like When you look at like how many Ballon d'Ors...
00:28:58
Speaker
Messi and Ronaldo won in their day and like Ousmane Dembele won it fairly recently.
Bayern's Tactical Execution
00:29:03
Speaker
Yeah.
00:29:06
Speaker
Okay, so Manchester United, Bayern Munich. um Let's give a quick a rundown for our listeners on that one. Bayern were missing their talismanic figure, Clara Buell. She's out injured, muscle injury, unfortunately.
00:29:23
Speaker
So first goal was ah really quick so in the second minute. We have a saying in Bulgarian, which is my native my native language.
00:29:35
Speaker
And we say like goal from the changing rooms. I don't know if you have if you know anything like that, but like that's what we call like very quick goals like this one. In the first or second minute.
00:29:46
Speaker
In Germany, you say starting like the Feuerbrigade, which is why I wrote bat down in the dark. Yeah, I guess. Yeah, every language. The the beauty of languages. But yeah.
00:29:57
Speaker
So this very quick goal, Bernier Harder. she is, I think, one of Bayern's key figures. Really good player. yeah, definitely. Yeah. Maya Letizier, she got one back for United.
00:30:13
Speaker
Around 20 minutes later, it was a pen. a penalty ah was ah awarded to them. The captain, Leticia, she converted it. So first half ended 1-1.
00:30:27
Speaker
Pretty much that was it for the first half. But then but then ah in the second one. So actually there was not that much of action because the the second goal for Bayern, which is the second Per Niel Harder goal, came into the 71st minute, which is quite, quite late into the the second part of the game, the second half.
00:30:53
Speaker
So that was 2-1, 2-1 to Bayern. Then Lundqvist, five minutes later, they were just like um getting gold.
00:31:04
Speaker
Like one would score and then the other one. So that was the two two ah for United, Lundqvist, and then the final goal for Bayern, which was the 3-2.
00:31:16
Speaker
That was Tanikawa. ah That was, again, Bayern came in front. Tanikawa re-established Bayern's lead. That was the final goal of the night.
00:31:26
Speaker
i um I was thinking quite quite a fun game because a lot of goals, like five goals in total. ah So yes, give us give us the juicy details then, the tactical juicy details.
00:31:41
Speaker
It's like you said, Bayern started out really, really early and with um with a sort of like pattern you what you saw multiple times that evening. So first one was long ball...
00:31:55
Speaker
Oh, God, I believe it was Ked. um for For Harder. And you can see, talking about player marking, you can see how Linda Dallmann, who's like a few meters behind Penel Harder, like ah elects not to go in deep, but to like instead do a horizontal run to um basically clear the way for Harder so that she's only got Letizier and Van Bregoli to beat.
00:32:22
Speaker
um Generally, like good build up from United's side. Bayern wasn't like very effective for the entire rest of the first half. like Solid 3-2 build up, in the back,
00:32:37
Speaker
um Yeah, it what would I thought was really interesting is that Schöller cannot buy a luck at this point.
Second Half Goals: Tactical Shifts
00:32:47
Speaker
like She's only scored once since her move from Bayern to United in in January.
00:32:52
Speaker
But I thought she was like really well integrated on a tactical level because you could see how the players try to find her... um behind the back line and make space for her and like her and Mallet had like quite a bit of um positional change going on Mallet um cutting in from the left wing and Schiller going out wide um and therefore dragging out the Bayern centre-backs out of position and you could also see that just um before the pen where Schüller goes in deep on the right-hand side. And two ah United players like keep four players of Bayern, Gilles, Stanway, Kett and Simon, all occupied, which are the left pivot player, the left winger, the left back and one of the centre-backs, all just covering Mjatsawa and Park.
00:33:42
Speaker
um And the entirety of the right channel was unoccupied then. And yeah, um then of obviously United got lucky with a handball.
00:33:54
Speaker
But I thought that movement was just really good. And then, like you said, like nothing happened and then enough of three matches.
Second Leg Predictions and Expectations
00:34:00
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Especially in the second half. That was, I think, I don't know if anyone like saw it coming that poor, not like three actually more goals would be scored like in in such short of a time, I guess, like in 20 minutes.
00:34:20
Speaker
Yeah, 20 minutes of the game. I watched the first half at a friend and then the second half at home and it took me more than the half time. And you were a few minutes ahead of me and you texted me, oh, it's too too and Yeah, that that's exactly what happened. And I was literally just like in the dark days of like 60 something so something minute and for like the last 20 minutes nothing happened here.
00:34:46
Speaker
ah How?
00:34:49
Speaker
Football, that's football for you. Yeah, and I believe that Tanikawa's sub in did quite a lot. like You could see that aforementioned inside diagonal of hers. She drops out very wide just before the second goal, before she sends in Pernilhada, who then also confirmed in the post-match that... This was like something that Bayern wanted to exploit. United's high line and that they sometimes it's quite a gap between the centre backs because they have to um they have to cover in for like an attacking fullback or because just the centre backs being apart even when they're all in the back full.
00:35:28
Speaker
And that's like how she scored both her goals, basically. and Yeah. How do you see the second leg of that one? Ah, um... It's gonna be a close one.
00:35:39
Speaker
um Yeah, I think so too. I really want to say that Bayern can win
Georgia Stanway's Influence in Bayern
00:35:45
Speaker
this. Because I think you could see that just the team cohesion was just bitter.
00:35:51
Speaker
And also like the... um Like, they all, like, knew what the plan of the other 10 players were on the pitch. Like, it was always very, very clear.
00:36:02
Speaker
Like, it it really ran like a well-oiled machine, even even though I believe that you United's got better players. Like, yeah for example... Yeah, that's quite interesting, yeah. Also, like, Bayern, like, had a good plan A, but I believe they got lucky late on when base and when they subbed off Schiller and Malar was then leading the line as a center forward. She had, like, quite a different style. You can see that on her pass map on SofaScore. Instead of Schiller, she tried, like, dropping them a bit deeper and then, like, sending on, like, those subbed-in runners on either wings and try to send them deep with passes.
00:36:41
Speaker
where Bayern were really like good in terms of tracking back and making sure that none of those passes or like not a lot of those passes reached their target. but But like it it was all rather close and also I wouldn't count on Rolfo having like having a second game where she was really the weak point of the side because you know we've all seen like Rolfo in like the past years for Barcelona where a market opportunity opened then for United last summer because Barcelona cannot freaking work with money at all.
00:37:15
Speaker
yeah ah but And I was like surprised that she both played as like a touchline hugger. So like overlapping instead of go instead of like dropping into the center what in build-up play.
00:37:29
Speaker
Because a few times she was V. I thought she did a pretty good job. And so... you know, there are like a few tactical switches that United can do and really switch switch up things. And I do believe that like Clara Bühl missing, you know, that's, that is like the main player of Bayern. So.
00:37:49
Speaker
Yeah. But also Perennial Harder in what she did. She's woman of the match for sure. Obviously. Yeah. She's ah an amazing player as well. Also, ah very experienced. I think it's worth mentioning also Georgia Stanway, who used to be in Manchester City for a long time. So the the city rivals of United. I'm pretty sure she... um Yeah, Georgia Stanway.
00:38:18
Speaker
No, you can hear me? Wait, can you hear me?
00:38:35
Speaker
Okay, can you hear me?
00:38:41
Speaker
Hello?
Manchester United's Tactical Insights
00:38:42
Speaker
Yeah, you're back. Oh, crap ass Wi-Fi. Cut this out. next Okay, Georgia Stanway.
00:38:55
Speaker
ah So Georgia Stanway used to be in Man City for quite a long time. ah So I think she's pretty familiar with United's game. what What did you think about her performance yesterday? i think she's like a hidden gem, so to speak, in Bayern's team, because maybe she can give insight on... She's played United probably quite a few times.
00:39:21
Speaker
And also she's English, so she's friends and like... um co-workers kind of in the England national team with a lot of a lot of the girls in United. So I think she has quite a bit of insight, Georgia Stanway.
00:39:38
Speaker
Do you think? It will certainly make the analysis before the matches easier. like when you know It's one thing like watching videos of your opposing players, but when you've been literally training with them, I believe, um you know, like a thing or two more about their movements. You'd also see that with Schölle, I think. um and Yeah. Because like she knew when the spaces are going to open.
00:40:05
Speaker
I thought Stannoway's role was pretty interesting because she dropped deep quite a few times in the build-up place so that in the, like Bayern also build up in the free up the back to have a pivot and she sometimes even dropped back to back to the pivot from the pivot I mean to the center back position very rarely made mistakes, 92% passing um accuracy um Yeah, and by the way, her um pivot partner got quite a bad rating on on the only freaking platform that provides data for Williams football nowadays, Armani. But I thought that was her first freaking appearance the Champions League. And I thought she did a pretty amazing job, like amazing off-the-ball movements, of the way she um kept some of the United players occupied, whilst other Bayern players like, for example, Akhet, Dahlmann, or Harder went deep.
00:40:58
Speaker
Yeah. And also she had like a pretty good ah yeah pretty good passing stats. Like um she has not, she's completed every single pass in her own half and only had like three failed passes, which were all like in the less relevant part.
00:41:14
Speaker
as see I would argue um it being in the opposition's half. Like 36 out of 39 passes, that's like a pretty good completion rate. Oh yeah, definitely. That's like 90% maybe. don't know.
00:41:27
Speaker
Not the best at math, but pretty good. me really good second. 92%, Yeah, I was sure it's about it's above 90. So yeah, yeah that's that' good.
Emerging Trends in Women's Football
00:41:41
Speaker
What did you think about Gwyn, Julia Gwyn? she She has quite a low rating from the ratings that we're looking at here, 6.0.
00:41:53
Speaker
she didn't She didn't have like ah the best of her games, but still, like even there, you could see all the tactical knowledge. like A player like this possesses like She had pretty good off the ball movement. I remember that i remember a Dahlmann shot where Gwyn um overlaps her in the final third, and in that moment, both of the United players only look look out for Gwyn's run, and none ah and none of them cover Dahlmann.
00:42:22
Speaker
And just in general, like, not the most, ah like, they did a pretty good job, like, occupying her. But um I think, like, even there, like, she still had quite quite a bit of value for the team, even even though, like, it's it, like, doesn't appear on, like, counting stats, so to speak.
00:42:41
Speaker
yeah Who I think had a pretty good game um was the left back of United, Hannah Lundqvist. She got a goal. Not only because of her goal, but obviously also amazing, but won every but one of her duels, won the ball back four times out of four um defensive actions.
00:43:06
Speaker
Two out of two tackle tackles, and then also yeah getting getting the goal back. I think that was quite a good game of her in a United side that didn't look in control an awful lot of times. Like this United side looks like an awful lot of individual brilliance, but not like the best unit, which I discussed with Bayern earlier.
00:43:27
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. I agree. To be fair, I also think Bayern have this in the bag, even though, as I said earlier, and as I always say, football can like surprise you in many ways.
00:43:40
Speaker
And many, many times like the visually worst team, let's put it that way, goes through. ah I think we, I think a lot of people felt that way with what we mentioned earlier about Chloe Kelly and England. Yeah.
00:43:58
Speaker
Yeah. But let's see. I think this will, this will also be a close one. I think um if you don't have anything else to add about this game, maybe a few final remarks.
00:44:11
Speaker
I can make or do you have anything to add? Maybe that it was interesting that, like, whilst all the other um players from v who were involved in the Asian Cup final, so either Japan, Australia, were missing in, like, all ties. i think the only one who, like, made an appearance on the first ah first night, and that was only on the bench, and, like, she didn't get subbed in, was Carpenter.
00:44:36
Speaker
um But Tanikawa, like, had a had a, like, impact the second she stepped on the pitch for Bayern. like both for um bother assists, like I mentioned, the inside diagonal to harder to... um with a second goal and then scoring the third one in the move that's also just tactically on ah on such a high level because they also have that like cat stretches at the pitch wide and Tanikawa then has basically no oppositional player.
00:45:05
Speaker
And then, i to be fair, who was it that slipped? One of the number six players from United. think Ulmer unfortunately slipped, but...
00:45:16
Speaker
Like, the way she just finds pockets of space in the oppositional box where they shouldn't be was, I think, quite remarkable. And if she can go the whole 90 minutes in the reverse fixture, then that will give you United one more thing to worry.
00:45:32
Speaker
Honestly, the more I think about it, the more think that Bayern will persevere.
00:45:37
Speaker
I think so as well. But let's let's see. You never know. in The United side is not... ah is not bad as well like yeah objectively speaking not sure where Ella Toon was do you know anything is she out injured because Ella Toon is quite a solid player for United and she was also part
Semi-finalists Predictions
00:46:02
Speaker
of that England team um that got the Euros I've got nothing in my notes about her
00:46:10
Speaker
Not sure. Probably she's... Let me see if she was ah on the bench. No, she wasn't on the bench. Probably she's out injured. Yeah, most likely. um But yeah, so Ella Toon is a player who can make the difference. But if she's injured, maybe she will not will not see her next week as well.
00:46:30
Speaker
But yeah. Yeah, you never know. I think what I was going to say earlier, like in general, about all four ties that happened this week in the Women's Champions League, maybe excluding the El Clasico one, Real Madrid-Barcelona, they are quite close. Even Arsenal-Chelsea, even despite the fact that Arsenal won three one I think next week we can expect some some great duels.
00:46:59
Speaker
Yeah, totally. Yeah, you never know, honestly. i For example, I um i don't think Arsenal fully have this in the bag, like Barca do, for example, like I think about Barca.
00:47:13
Speaker
Yeah, I agree with you. I think they need be on the lookout next week, especially because Chelsea will be hosting. So, yeah, it will be on on their own stadium.
00:47:26
Speaker
A lot of lot of factors.
00:47:30
Speaker
um I'm pretty pretty interested in seeing like all the new ways that the teams will find to exploit for player marking um defending, because I think we've we've seen quite a bit of that happening in these ties.
00:47:44
Speaker
like um I think what was like a thing that only United it was like dribbling more from the fullback position. And just in general, what like is a general trend in football, but I think it was really noticeable here like how many goals were scored as a result of set pieces.
00:48:03
Speaker
yeah Yeah, that's an an interesting one. I think set pieces were most... we most talked about in the London derby, didn't we?
00:48:14
Speaker
Which is quite ironic given how like the current male Premier League is decided basically on good defending and and set pieces. Yeah, that's a very interesting point. I guess football in a country, no matter ah the gender, I guess men or women, they it has some similarities. Quite an interesting point.
00:48:38
Speaker
ah that we can observe. yeah I assume that, for example, Bayern, the Bayern women's team take a lot of examples from the general Bundesliga style play or like the the men's team.
00:48:52
Speaker
um Probably with similar like similar patterns can be observed, I assume, if one look closer. Yeah, I mean, football is, like, such a broad ecosystem. Like, the access to games has gotten, comparatively speaking, so easy when you've got the money that if you have the money, um then, like, you can see, like, matches from all over the world and obviously also across genders. So, like, tactical trends, like, will...
00:49:21
Speaker
will emerge, if a tactical trend will emerge on either of a side of the game. Is that a good use of that saying? um Like, it will get noticed by, like, the video and analysi analysis team.
00:49:38
Speaker
Agreed, yeah. I think we're in for a treat ah next week. And I think that's probably how we can end today's episode, our pilot episode. So exciting. We've broken down these first legs. We talked a lot in detail.
00:49:57
Speaker
Thank you so much for providing the tactical insight as well. My pleasure. I hope I didn't yap too much. Now the big question is who will get the job done in the second legs? And that's what we're going to find out in a week.
00:50:13
Speaker
I think, together. So make sure to tune in next time. We'll be reacting to the results. We'll be reacting to the semi-finalists because we'll already have the confirmed semi-finalists for this year's Women's Champions League.
Closing Remarks and Next Episode Teaser
00:50:30
Speaker
What you predict, really? Who will be semi-finalists? yeah yeah let's Yeah. Let's do our predictions. So mine are Barcelona, Bayern,
00:50:44
Speaker
The Arsenal-Chelsea is super tough. I truly have no clue how this one will will come through. And then possibly Lyon, Olympic Lyon. ah But the Arsenal-Chelsea, I truly cannot say.
00:50:59
Speaker
I have no idea. But yes, this is my incomplete predictions. What about yours? I'm so boring. I'm just... Because I'm going to stick with her with the same ones as you. I will i will say Arsenal in the London derby.
00:51:13
Speaker
Okay, yeah, perhaps. with the with Now they have a bit of leverage, but you never know. um Yeah, well, we you could have said the opposite teams for ah for there to be a bit more spicy, like, duel between us. But yeah, we we're boring like that. We share the same opinion. But let's see if these teams will maybe prove us wrong.
00:51:38
Speaker
So tune in to find out you know exactly a week from now. um Yeah, if you enjoyed our football bull yapping and this episode, follow, share, um just in general.
00:51:53
Speaker
Enjoy. And thanks for listening. We'll see you next time. This was Charlie and Rumi tuning out now.
00:52:03
Speaker
Bye-bye. it