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Serie A Matchweek 4 Recap | Derby della Capitale Drama, Napoli Stay Top, Milan Make a Statement
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In this episode, the hosts discuss the latest happenings in Serie A, including Match Week 4 highlights. The hosts delve into the tactical decisions made by various Serie A teams, focusing on player utilization and performance. They discuss Como's exciting young talent, AC Milan's strong showing with Pulisic at the forefront, and Juventus' ongoing struggles with defense. The conversation shifts to Napoli's recent match and squad rotation under Conte, before previewing the upcoming match week and making predictions for key games. The episode wraps up with a discussion on players of the week and betting insights.
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Transcript
00:00:05
Speaker
Ciao, paisans! Welcome back to another magnificent episode of Coucho Culture. I am your host today, Logs, joined by both my co-hosts, Mats and Vos. Vos, fresh off the vacay in Hawaii.
00:00:21
Speaker
Welcome back, my guy. Big match week four. Big match week four. To start us off, Ilupe steal all three points at the Derby de Capitale. Pellegrini getting on the score sheet for the 1-0 win for Roma.
00:00:36
Speaker
Milan and Atalanta both cruising to 3-0 wins on the road behind a couple of braces. Como turning on the afterburners late in Florence for a 2-1 win. Unfortunately, Juve dropping huge points against a relegation candidate in Verona.
00:00:54
Speaker
Inter and Bologna squeak out 2-1 wins. And today, Monday, Napoli avoids disaster against the Towermen in Naples. Lads, paisans, welcome back.
00:01:05
Speaker
Very, very excited to be here for some Match Week 4 coverage. Mats, Vos, how we feeling? and We're a living large, baby. Excited for this episode, Vos. How was the vacation?
00:01:16
Speaker
Vacation was good. I should have worn my lay on here. I didn't think about it. I have that sitting around. um But you guys did good. You held down the fort. um I appreciate the couple shout outs that I got on some good takes, I have to say. also i also tweeted today during the Napoli game about how good Spinazzola was.
00:01:29
Speaker
And then he scored. So shout out myself for that one, too, after not watching Calcio for like a week. Couldn't even wait. Had to get that out early. not wait until we have a full-on section about Napoli. Just had to spit that out right now. Thank you, Vos.
00:01:45
Speaker
In any case, we are today getting back to our roots. We're jumping on the PJ. We're getting on the private jet. We do have to make a quick trip to Paris.
00:01:56
Speaker
We are going to the Ballon d'Or ceremony And after today, we it is official. Ousmane Dembele of Paris Saint-Germain has won the Ballon d'Or. He comes in first after a magnificent year, winning the treble with PSG, coming in second, runner-up for the world cup ah Club World Cup here in the United States this summer.
00:02:19
Speaker
A couple of other... players maybe more deserving i think that most and i certainly agree that mo salah had a great i'm in there having one but and mozz is also in there but you've a pool you've a pool runs deep you've a pool runs deep in the pod listen mo salah had maybe arguably and it's not close the best premier league season of all time i mean unfortunately what i will say trophies what i will say yeah quick here I don't think this is one of the like more like contentious ones. like if If Mo Salah won it, I think people would have been like equally like, oh, why didn't Dembele win it?
00:02:55
Speaker
like He won like five trophies, right? They actually won everything, and he was the best player on the team. yeah but I think it's crazy that Mo finished in like fifth, actually. He wasn't even second. I get it.
00:03:06
Speaker
It's about like what you've done throughout the season in terms of what you've won. But Dembele is a guy that like this coming season could have seven goals and seven assists. Like the fact that he won, i just don't, I don't love it. Like, i think that,
00:03:22
Speaker
I don't know what this is. That he might not have, like he's not big enough of a superstar. He was the best player. He's super inconsistent. Like it's just. But what does that have to do with lack of sugar? I mean, dude, Biggie Benz won the Ballon d'Or and he had just one really, really, really, really good season. Yeah, I think he deserved it that year.
00:03:40
Speaker
I just like. Ben Dembele deserved it this year. No, not for me. For me, it's Mo Salah. I mean, if you just look down the list, like, it just shows you just how since the drop-off since it was Messi and Ronaldo's, like, award, like, the list is just embarrassing. I mean, Bastoni not even being on there was a little bit shitty for me.
00:03:59
Speaker
I mean, I know, like, things ended, like, they didn't win any trophies, but... He was probably the best center back in the world last year. I think it's like hard. Dumfries being on the list and best. Don't you not be on the list? Yeah. It's like, it's a good shout, dude.
00:04:13
Speaker
The biggest one for me, which I'm going to pronounce the guy's name wrong on purpose, because this is how me and my Arsenal fans say his name groceries. 15th on the list is just embarrassing. Like he has no reason to be 15th on this list. Like he yeah scored a million goals and not the greatest league.
00:04:33
Speaker
I just like it's just embarrassing to my parents. I got to know what your standards are for the Ballon d'Or rankings. You know, you are you all over the place. I don't like he's not a good player. He is not a good player.
00:04:48
Speaker
Remains to be seen. They just bought it 80 mil, so we'll see about that. But in any case, congratulations, Umane Dembele. You are the Ballon d'Or winner this year. You are now amongst the ranks of the greats of all time alongside none other than Luka Modric, AC Milan player, if I may add.
00:05:05
Speaker
but We do take the P.J. back. to Italy. This week, we have a couple of other to other tournaments going on other games besides the regular season.
00:05:15
Speaker
We do have Copa Italia this week, a bunch of games, two of the bigger games. Lecce is coming to San Siro tomorrow to play Milan, and Sassuolo is going to the lake on Wednesday or Thursday. They're playing Como.
00:05:29
Speaker
That's going to be a bloodbath, if you were to ask me. Europa League also this week kicking off. We have two Serie A participants this year.
00:05:39
Speaker
And we've got Roma at Nice. We've got Bologna at Aston Villa. So a couple of big games this week. Mons, did you want to add something? Did I miss something?
00:05:52
Speaker
Yeah, you just missed the three Serie A players that were on this list that was just I got distracted because you were just going absolutely haywire with your reign. ah But the three Serie A players that got on the list of the top 30 was Denzel Dumfries that we did mention at 25, Latara Martinez at 20, and Scott McTominay at 18. So we did have representation in the Serie A, which is great, but it's still terrible list, so who cares?
00:06:21
Speaker
All right. With that being said, we've got match week four to cover. We got match week four, and I don't think that there's any better place to start than the Derby di Capitale. Technically, Roma away at home against Lazio.
00:06:36
Speaker
Roma take one three points with a 1-0 win. Lorenzo Pellegrini, the unsung hero of the game. somebody you Nobody saw coming. i don't think he got any minutes before this game.
00:06:49
Speaker
He puts it away for Roma. Actually, a great finish, something I'd love to see out of a nine that I will not name right now on Milan. But Vos, I think you had the most experience with this game.
00:07:00
Speaker
You are a Roma lover. Mott is a Lazio hater, but I'll give it to you, Vos. How do you feel about this one? Yeah, this one is, it's interesting because ah the whole Pellegrini situation was really like a big piece of this game going into it. Pellegrini, formerly the captain of the team, had kind of been phased out going back to last year under Ranieri, even hadn't really gotten a lot of minutes.
00:07:20
Speaker
And then he came up with a goal and he he historically has scored in these derbies. And I think that was big for him. But at the same time, I think he didn't play all that well, to be honest with you. And I think this goal is kind of...
00:07:31
Speaker
made him look better. i'm not I'm not sure he's going to get back into the team after this game necessarily. um But really interesting before the game, I think it was Ricky Massara said it the director. They had tried to move on. He literally said that we tried to move on from Dovvic, Baldonsi, and Pellegrini.
00:07:46
Speaker
All three of those guys played in this game, which was pretty interesting. My big takeaway, though, I think taking like a big step back overall in this is coming into the season, the big thing with Gasparini has always been creates a lot of opportunity, concedes a lot of goals, and he hasn't really shook that I don't know what's the right word for it. Like that, that's his thing. Like he hasn't shaken it.
00:08:07
Speaker
Yeah, stereotype. And then going back to last year though, looking back on it, Atalanta was really good defensively. And I think now at the beginning of this season, we're seeing this like new side of Gasparini where he's got the the defense right. I mean, they haven't, have they conceded a goal? Yeah, i think they conceded one goal so far.
00:08:24
Speaker
keeping the clean sheets. And that's a big part of being a successful team on like a big stage. And we always pointed to Atalanta where they were failing because of the defense and the defense didn't show up in the games and needed they needed to show up in.
00:08:38
Speaker
And I think that is what's going to really propel this team. We haven't really seen the goals piece of this yet for them. They've only been putting up like one goal a game, basically, i think the whole season. and That's all they've done, really.
00:08:48
Speaker
And I think he's still figuring out what his best 11 is and what that front three makeup need to be and where players need to be to really get the most out of that and turn this into goals.
00:09:00
Speaker
Because like I do think one big issue with the team right now that that I've been seeing and I still think is there is they're not getting the most out of Manu Kone in an offensive standpoint. And Brian Crestante is just never really going to produce.
00:09:13
Speaker
And when you go back to Atalanta, you look at Darun and Ederson, who were key players for his team in all three phases of the game, offense, build up play and defense. And right now, like like I've been saying and what the team's really been showing is they have that defensive component to it.
00:09:27
Speaker
But how do you then turn that into into offense and like taking risks in different areas to make that work? that That's kind of been my big takeaway from Roma so far this season. Yeah, I agree with that. He hasn't found his his best 11. I don't think that's his fault.
00:09:42
Speaker
don't think that's Gasparini's fault, just given the injury woes that they've already had to start the season. You look at Dybala, who's obviously he's hurt three games in the season. Leon Bailey took three steps into the practice pitch and was hurt already in his in his debut from from Aston Villa.
00:09:58
Speaker
What I said on the preview episode, though, is I think what's going to shine through here, and you I know you said the defense looks solid, does, but does this defense weather an entire Serie A season and three competitions?
00:10:11
Speaker
Does Schellick being your right center back because Hermosa's out and you don't have a solidified guy coming in from the transfer window being your right center back really going to get you through the entire season and vying for a Champions League spot come end of the year?
00:10:25
Speaker
I don't think so. Why? Because my my pushback to you was last year in the second half of the season, they were arguably the best defense in the league. And what they did was just add better players to help them.
00:10:36
Speaker
So why why is that the case? is What did they add and what did they add it in their center back? Hermoso has come back. And now they still they add Wesley as a wingback. They still have Mancini and Indica who were were there last year. So like why? They also added that. What is different? Yeah, they added that.
00:10:51
Speaker
John Zinolowinski. And they added Spacey on his name, the young Italian guy as well, to be a rotator. But like in this game, we didn't even see Wesley. Like Chella came in, who was there last year, was that guy.
00:11:02
Speaker
And then Divine Wrench came in, who didn't have the assist, but had the press and then passed to Sule that led to the assist. So I don't know what you're pointing to to say that this team... doesn't have the defense to go there. They are they not the best defense in the league. Start the season. And at the second half of last year, they were still there. So like, I have no, I have no belief in Mancini to have a full season on a, on an above average basis.
00:11:26
Speaker
ah You will never, you'll never convince me otherwise. And shellic is, again, one of those situations where like, it's like Darmian on inter. right It's just another year older, and I don't think he was ever that good before.
00:11:38
Speaker
So four games in the year. Sure, he played well on a one-off basis. But again, like I said, they've got three competitions here. We just mentioned that they're playing Europa League for the first time this week. They've got high hopes here in in Syria.
00:11:51
Speaker
And I just don't think that this back line's that deep. I mean, obviously, from a wingback perspective, I think they're strong. And I think the divine wrench in Wesley off the right is incredible. But from a center back position, when you're playing three,
00:12:02
Speaker
I have my concerns and I'm, and I know one of you guys is going to be like, well, look at Milan. Milan's got shitty center backs too. And I'm like, yeah, they do have fucking shitty center backs. And I do have concerns about that back line. So I'm not, ah my concern here is again, I just think that's a little bit, a little bit weak on the backside. So to say that, you know, they're the best defense of the first three games, four games. I'm,
00:12:23
Speaker
Yeah, well, okay they maybe they can, don't want to say afford to, because obviously you want to have a strong, solidified defense, but having Filar in the goal between the sticks to clean it up really help helps. Having the second best goalie in the league definitely helps.
00:12:39
Speaker
ah the best goalie, can't even be a starter on his ah and his new team, Alex Moret had played ah another good game this week as well. um But in terms of my take, I definitely very much agreed, and I think Bozda was a very good shout.
00:12:52
Speaker
Gasparini is still very much trying to figure out what this front three is going to look like. He has rotated it, and I believe every single game. The two what seems to be constant players or at least getting the most minutes are Sule off the right and Ferguson as a nine.
00:13:10
Speaker
And then he kind of shifts, right? He had Pellegrini this game. He went with El Anawi, whatever his name is. to how to pronounce this. Oh, I figured out. It's El Ainawi. No, maybe now. I know. It's is what I heard. Ainawi. El Ainawi has that false nine.
00:13:26
Speaker
Didn't really work. And then he had El Sharaway off of the left earlier on the season. So he's still playing around. It's still that unsolvable puzzle that we've talked about. But at the very least, he's playing Sule every single game, which I love to see. And no longer Sule in that wingback position that Ranieri kind of utilized him. And Sule is making impacts in every game. He has a goalie, he has an assist.
00:13:49
Speaker
What I will say, though... Is he starting to play Dovbic a little bit? Let's see Dovbic a little bit more. I don't think he was... I thought Dovbic had a pretty solid season last year. i don't know what Gasperini's problem is or gripe is with Dovbic.
00:14:03
Speaker
Give him some runs. We've seen Ferguson for a while now. Let's see what Dovbic can do, especially the way Gasperini likes to play with those crosses. That's what Dovbic does. That's his bread and butter. Everywhere else behind that front three has been pretty constant.
00:14:18
Speaker
in terms of like, yes, he's done a little bit of rotation, but I think we know who Roma's starters are in every other spot besides that makeshift front three, besides maybe Sule. Yeah, and i think for umma yeah i i I think that's an important point. Yeah, that because that's the other thing I wanted to talk about with Roma now going forward. Because when you look at it and you look at the obvious thing you have to compare it to is Gasparini's Atalanta. And kind of what the recipe was every year there was Lookman, who's like your kind of like tricky winger, a creator who was like CDK last year, and then like a true nine, whether it was Rattegi, whether was Camakta, whether was Duvon Zapata.
00:14:55
Speaker
And when you look at what he has now, like... Sule is very clearly the Lookman archetype, right? Like he's our guy that's going to kind of run around. Ferguson is kind of like an in-between for me where I could see a situation where he's kind of the creator that can come a little bit deeper. And then you can get Dovbeck into the team if you really wanted to.
00:15:13
Speaker
i think there are going to be questions about if he does want to play Dovbeck. This is a little bit very Gasperinian, like phasing him out and then bringing him back in. We saw it with Lookman many times. And then it's like, if you are going to play a number 10 then and go with Ferguson and Sule, you're kind of stuck with Inaui. Because Pellegrini, again, like I said, like didn't really play great. It seems like there isn't a path for him to be in the best 11. I mean, I think ah as Roma fans will probably agree with that. it's It's kind of been trending that way for a long time now.
00:15:43
Speaker
So we might be in a situation and then you have Baldanzi who maybe even shown the door too, which was which is weird to me. i don't, I don't really think that is the right decision, but I also don't think he's a starting 11 guy either. you're almost by default in a situation where it makes sense to play Dopevick.
00:15:59
Speaker
Well, just don't think you give up on Dobrik right now. Again, like i I think our biggest conversation over the summer was without Evan Ferguson and even in the picture yet was Dobrik was a perfect fit for the type of nine that Gasparini has done incredibly well with over the years. And I think Dobrik fits right in between Rittegi and a Skamaka where he's a yeah just gigantic body.
00:16:21
Speaker
incredible in the air but also a little bit more nimble and a little bit more of a better has a little bit better movement than Skamaka which is more of the retagment prototype I know I'm not here I'm not here ready to say that but mean I forget what you can point to is he had 17 goals last year it's like what more score the ball what more can you ask one and lali yeah what can you ask what more can you ask somebody to do to like jump a chance in the yeah like it just doesn't it doesn't really make sense What I will say is this was the first kind of, I guess last time it was maybe last game, it was maybe introduced with the way that they lined up. Although on paper, it didn't say that it was a 3-4-1-2.
00:17:03
Speaker
But I'd say this is the first time in the season where it was legit. We're lining up in this 3-4-1-2 where Sam and Nate are, when they they came on for the um Roma preview said that that's what they would like to see Gasparini is obviously known for the 3-4-2-1 obviously like this could at some points in the game it it was a 3-4-2-1 at some points there's a 3-4-1-2 so very fluid but Gasparini may be slowly introducing it and seeing it as well like maybe the best lineup would be the 3-4-1-2 rather than 3-4-2-1 but obviously in game on ball it can change to either one of those two as a hybrid
00:17:44
Speaker
And obviously all eyes were on Roma this past weekend, but I do think that we need to talk about Lazio, especially given just the fact of, I think the entire league was incredibly hot on them coming off of their 4-0 win a couple weeks ago.
00:17:55
Speaker
I, for one, was not. I, for one, was not hot on Lazio last season. But, Knowing that they did a they had a couple of changes here, Sar made a couple of moves that maybe we did not agree with. most I know that you definitely didn't agree with some of the keeping some of the players on the field.
00:18:10
Speaker
But how are we looking at Lazio going forward from here? Are they really a top-of-the-table contender? Are they going to have to make some winter changes? I know it's only four games in. but ah Can they?
00:18:22
Speaker
I think they still have a transfer ban, yeah. all right, so they're fucked in the in the winter window still. So we've got eight more months of just this roster. Does this team look like a team that's going to make a push for European ball? i'm not even going to Champions League ball, but European ball. Yeah, I i think would be crazy to say they can.
00:18:39
Speaker
In this game, if you watch it, Cataldi hit the post. They had they they very easily could have won this game at the very least drawn this game. But it is the same. Sorry is immediately running into the exact same issue that Barone had last year. And Marino alluded to it in his preview. And when we did our table predictions on this, this team without Tati Castellanos cannot win football matches.
00:19:05
Speaker
Very simply. I don't know why he didn't start this game. I think it must have been injury. He came on and I think he started the second half. And Lazio fully beat Roma in the second half.
00:19:17
Speaker
Tati Castellanos was an absolute machine. Tati got something the 62nd minute. Okay. So when he came in, completely different team on the pitch, without question. The problem with Dia, and we talked about this last year, Dia's a very good player.
00:19:29
Speaker
But Dia is not a point man number nine. He is a play off the striker, get room for the striker to go score. He had a great opportunity that he definitely should have scored one v one But at the end of the day, it's hard to hold that over him because that's not what he does really well. He does running well in dropping in to create space for other people well. And Baroni figured that out last year. And that's why he played him with Tati Castellanos so much.
00:19:54
Speaker
The other issue with this is that Ravella came off at halftime. So without both, and this happened last year, same thing. Without Ravella, the team is so much less effective because they don't have somebody that's really in that archetype.
00:20:06
Speaker
So when you never have the two guys that are the most key players to your team on the field at the same time, you're going to struggle to win. And Ravella now got played when he was hurt and got hurt again.
00:20:17
Speaker
I don't know how long he's out. That's a problem. And then the other big issue with this is Gunduzi got a red card after the match was over. So now you're without Gunduzi and Ravella for your next games, you would think.
00:20:28
Speaker
And then Dele Bashiru also got hurt, who was who started this game. So he's running into the same issues. I don't know how he's going to deal with them. This is going to be a really tough spell for this team without Ravella. But it's nothing new.
00:20:40
Speaker
and But when their best 11 is on the field, one competition, they can win any one-off game. And this is an example of a game they probably should have at least gotten one point from.
00:20:50
Speaker
If Ravella is in the game in the second half, I think they do go ahead and get that point. Or if Tati's starting. Tati's starting, yes. I think that you have to hold that ah over Dia. like I know, I get it, you're better at creating, but you his position is striker, offensive mid.
00:21:07
Speaker
You need to score that as ah they're starting number nine. That's also maybe the problem with Sarri's 4-3-3 is you can only play one of those guys, and Dia's definitely good enough to be in this team, and you do definitely need to give Tati rest, but they struggled score. But you're right, when Tati came on,
00:21:24
Speaker
They looked very good and he almost scored a goal. Lazio almost scored a bunch of goals. It probably should have been a draw one to one. even Even the Roma goal was Tavares. but It was a pretty bad mistake on Tavares. There's great press from Roma, um but it was a cheap giveaway by Lazio.
00:21:41
Speaker
um But yeah, I mean, listen, that's what we talked about in the preseason of or in the season leading in into this for Lazio is their lack of depth. And this is what happens in long seasons.
00:21:52
Speaker
People get get injured. You need to be able to turn to other players. And they don't have that those players that they can turn to on the bench that will deliver them results. And Sarri should have known that coming into the season, obviously, because of...
00:22:09
Speaker
He knew that or I guess he didn't know that there's a transfer ban. Actually, Latito did not make that known. And then when Sarri found out, he was like, oh, shit, like you just fucked me. Classic Latito. But it it's it makes Sarri's job 100 times harder.
00:22:22
Speaker
But he signed up for it. and He's got to figure out what to do. But I definitely agree. Like they're starting 11 is a top five, six roster in the league. It definitely is. They're starting 11 player per player. I'm not even going to address that. However, speaking of the depth, does anybody have a pulse check on Gustav Isiksen?
00:22:41
Speaker
Is that guy alive, and why is he not on the pitch? Because that man was one of the the brighter, shining spots of this team last year, and I don't think he's seen more than 60 minutes this season.
00:22:52
Speaker
Yeah, i I don't know what's happened there. I really don't know. I don't know if he forced his way out. he The other problem with him is he is very much not a Maurizio Sarri type player. so And I think Sarri is a pretty strong personality as well.
00:23:05
Speaker
So yeah it might be a case of like, you just don't fit into my plans. They didn't really want to sell him because he's good. And so he's just rotting away on the bench. Pedro fits into his plans?
00:23:15
Speaker
Yes, very, very much. Pedro pedro is a very Sarri-esque player. And he plays well when he's played, he got hurt. But i mean, we'll see what he might. The number of players that are presumably going to be unavailable is actually insane. Of the starting 11, Guendouzi suspended.
00:23:30
Speaker
Ravella hurt, probably out. Della Bashiru hurt, probably out. Pedro hurt, probably out. Their backup center, Amanda Bellanyan, got a straight red card suspended. So like you just go through the team it's like, is Castellanos even going to be 100% healthy? Like they're really, really in trouble.
00:23:47
Speaker
Yeah, Lazio not looking great. Four games in the season, but like we like to say, season doesn't start until game 10. So we will see how they deal with that going forward. But good shit by Roma.
00:23:59
Speaker
They do get three points in the Derby. Well done. We are traveling up to Turin, one of our favorite places in all the land. Atalanta. took a visit to Torino, to the Bulls, and they took it to them only in the first 45 minutes. They score all three goals of the 3-0 win in the first half.
00:24:21
Speaker
Kerstovich, the previous Leche striker, now on Atlanta, taking a brace. And Suleymanov with a great showing off the left ah with a goal and an assist in the first half, like I said.
00:24:34
Speaker
Atalanta could not have looked any better in this first half. They looked again, like I said last week, they've got this Gasparini blood still in their veins, and it looked just like the Gasparini team of last year.
00:24:48
Speaker
They come out from halftime, and Juric might as well have let them take a nap in the locker room because they were sleeping at the wheel in the second half, Torino making the most of what they had.
00:24:59
Speaker
They certainly could have had a couple of goals here. um They did not look great. I won't say that. I won't go as far as saying they looked amazing. I think Atalanta was able to take their foot off the gas, but in any case, definitely โ back to the form that we're used to seeing at Atlanta in from last season and into now, even with a more defensive minded coach.
00:25:19
Speaker
And so good to see the Bergamo team ah doing much better. Another big storyline here. Look men, Adam, look men is back on the bench. He actually subbed in for Suleyman late in the game here.
00:25:32
Speaker
So he is willing to play for this side. That was a huge question mark of the last couple of weeks of whether or not he was willing to take the pitch here, he will be playing for Atalanta for the foreseeable future, which is huge for them.
00:25:45
Speaker
Mats, your thoughts on Atalanta here? like It kind of goes back to what we but I said. they have They definitely have the Gasparini DNA. i don't I'm not going to say that that it's back.
00:25:57
Speaker
right like I don't necessarily believe that this is who the Atalanta is because they had one high-scoring game. or I guess they this is the second one in a row they stacked. i CDK had a good game last...
00:26:09
Speaker
last week. But i still think I still think there's question marks around them. um i need to see more in order and need to see more games in order to believe that this is what they're going to do game in and game out.
00:26:22
Speaker
Yeah, both. I mean, these these are your guys, aside from Bologna and Torino and have the elite. But Atalanta tends to be your squad. They have now put together a string of games, which for better for worse against some rather subpar teams here in Syria, even with a game, middle of the week game against PSG where they got throttled.
00:26:44
Speaker
They come out and they look good. Yeah, I think part of this, we do need to say that Torino looked like the in the intergame. They just for whatever reason, it might be a theme for the rest of the year. They just fully were not, they didn't show up for this game whatsoever. You could kind of see it from the first like minute to two minutes.
00:27:00
Speaker
Atmosphere in the stadium was terrible. The players didn't look like they were ready for it. So I think part of this does definitely have to be like, they got Torino on a Torino bad day. So I think it helped them look a little bit better.
00:27:12
Speaker
But this team has been around. like All these guys have been around, and Juric is a manager that's been in the league, and he's he's going to do some things well. But at the same time, he also has players that have been in this league that know how to perform. So like when you throw those guys out there on any given day, like they're going to play well, and then they're going to get results.
00:27:30
Speaker
I haven't really seen anything from Juric yet that's really different from what Gasparini was really doing. He's kind of kind of like Kivu. I think the same thing about Kivu, really. Just like, don't fix what's not broken kind of thing. Like, get them out there.
00:27:43
Speaker
The only tinkering he really did was bench Belanova, which made zero sense to me. um But Zalewski got hurt, and then Belanova came in in the 10th minute. I think the other thing that he's penetrating from is what I just talked about with Gasparini.
00:27:56
Speaker
Last year, Gasparini stabilized the worst part of this team in the defense. They now have three centerbacks that have been very good for over one year now. And Izequian is kind of like an under-the-radar name in world football still, but he might be like the Bremer at the end of the season here where people are like,
00:28:11
Speaker
this guy could make a move somewhere and be like a center center back because that's what Bremer did at Torino that made him so well. Like he just doesn't really make mistakes. He's really good defensively. He's really strong. He's really big and just does that position very well. And the right behind them, they have Connor Secky. And it's like when that's the base of your team, like your, your, so your floor is pretty high. And I think that's kind of what we're seeing right now.
00:28:34
Speaker
And I also think that the other kind of clever piece of this was the Kerstovich signing. Like you go around the league and there were plenty of teams that passed on Kerstovich and like Torino could have been a Kerstovich pickup. And it's like, Atalanta, just go and do this. And it just is one of those moves that makes sense. It's not risky. He was good in the league last year. Let's add him.
00:28:52
Speaker
And then you immediately get dividends on it. So I don't really have anything new on Atalanta. It's a little bit weird. And I think more of the story with them this year is going to be how do they play in the big games against big teams?
00:29:04
Speaker
Because that's where I think the worst parts of Europe are going to be shown. And that's where the worst parts of Atalanta historically have been shown when they do get their doors blown off by Inter Milan once a year. Like we haven't seen that yet.
00:29:16
Speaker
And it's probably going to happen. There's a chance that it doesn't. um But I still don't think this team is going to be as good as Gasparini's Atalanta is. And that's because Juric is a worse coach than Atalanta.
00:29:26
Speaker
I mean, then Gasparini. And i mean, you you kind of said it, but the one issue here is that, again, you're going to have games where you get your doors blown off and Samarjic, Kerstovich, Suleymane are to be nowhere to be found.
00:29:39
Speaker
This game, they certainly paved the way for a big win. They were ah they were the trident up top, but those guys have not been here. Those are not the most experienced part of this team.
00:29:50
Speaker
And so when you get into those big games, and we saw it again against PSG, I know PSG is a far better team, and they are the reigning champs of Europe, and that's a bit of an unfair comparison given the fact that Gasparini's gone now.
00:30:02
Speaker
But PSG, 4-0 with the firepower that we think that they have, it's a tough showing. um So it's good to get the momentum back against a Torino team who looks looks to be limping through the Serie A season thus far.
00:30:14
Speaker
Something is going on with Barone, though. His lineups don't make sense. Why is Shea Adams not starting every game here? Something's wrong there. Duvon Zapata comes back in here, obviously off a horrid injury last season.
00:30:28
Speaker
He's old, but steps up with PK Mark. Karnaseki saves it. Horrible PK, but that's really going be a detriment to the confidence there as well. this team isn't gelling. They're missing their heart of and soul. The team in Ricci, who is now rotting away on the Milan bench.
00:30:41
Speaker
And so I think that, again, like you guys said, this Atalanta team needs to play some real games aside from the best team in Europe. And Torino needs to figure their shit out. Listen, I mean, I think that's a little bit harsh on Torino. They're in like 12th right now. It's not like it's been an absolute disaster. They've played some really good games. They've also played like some of the hardest teams in the league to start here.
00:31:01
Speaker
They played Inter. They played Atalanta. They played Fiorentina. Like, t I was seen that's promising out of Torino. In the Fiorentina game, they definitely should have won that game. And I thought they were very good in that game. I think in this game, I don't know what Veroni did here. For whatever reason, he switched to 3-4-3 and they had his midfield to be Aslani and Illich, which is like very much a pairing that should not be in a midfield to like neither of those guys cover a lot of ground.
00:31:28
Speaker
They're kind of like creative players. Yeah. So I don't know where that came from, and that was really the issue with this. Like, they just got overrun all over the field. It didn't make sense. So I don't know what he was doing with that. But the key pieces of this team, and when they played the three-man midfield, they looked very good, and they looked very different.
00:31:44
Speaker
So I'm not going to sit here and say, like, they're going to be a punching bag. Like, right now they're in 12. Like, you can't even say they've been a punching bag. Yes, they they lost to two of the better teams in the league by a substantial margin. They have the worst goal difference in the league as well.
00:31:55
Speaker
Yeah, but they lost at a 4-0 loss and a 3-0 loss. But at the same time, they're center of the table, kind of where you expect them to be. um The other thing that Barone did that maybe he was listening to me is he benched and and Gog and played, um I can't even say his last name. I think it's Abukal, who's looked pretty good. He had one very bad moment in the middle of the game where he made the worst run I've ever seen and took probably a goal away from, I think it was Mari Pond streaking down the field.
00:32:18
Speaker
But apart from that, I think this is still going to be a story the whole season. And and I'm not um not out on Torino just yet.
00:32:25
Speaker
Remains to be seen. Remains to be seen. But we will take this now to two teams vying for some European footy. One team looking a lot better than the other.
00:32:36
Speaker
The little lads by the lake. The little lads by the lake. Slow start here against Fiorentina. They were in Florence for this game. Fiorentina comes out. Mandragora with a free kick top of the box.
00:32:49
Speaker
Initially hits the wall. Rebound right back to him. And oh, how he hit it so sweetly. Bottom right corner. Goalie had no chance. It was one of the better hits I've seen all season.
00:33:00
Speaker
Absolutely great. Up there with Lloyd Kelly's goal, I will say that, Motz. But after that, which was literally in the 12th minute, I don't think Fiorentina had it anything going for them. especially in the second half, Como belt ass.
00:33:12
Speaker
Como looked like a real ass team. This game firing on all cylinders shots left and right. The Haye under fire. It was a civil war out there. Cause every time the commentators were like in the Spaniard against the Spaniard and the Spaniard, this, and this, there are Spanish guys all over the pitch for Como it is actually insane.
00:33:30
Speaker
But in any case, They do win two to one The Dutchman, the new signing from AZ Alkmaar, z alkmar ah die, comes into the 94th minute, streaking up the right side of the pitch.
00:33:42
Speaker
Makes a nice move in the box. He'd like to see De Gea save that goal near post. Tough showing, but in any case, that got the book they do get their final goal, 2-1. Como comes away with three points on the road.
00:33:57
Speaker
Fiorentina and Stefano Pioli looking a bit out of whack out there. Vos, your thoughts on Fiorentina? ah It's about the same. Like it's more Pioli not knowing what he it really shows in the lack of offense. Like good coaches know how to create offense and Pioli historically has not been that guy. And I think one of the things that carried him through at Milan were players having exceptional performances and creating chances for themselves and no players on this team create chances for themselves. Like Moise Keane last year did very well by like getting,
00:34:31
Speaker
balls played to him in very specific situations. It was able to kind of like streak forward in like a like weird transitional situations. On Milan, he had Raphael Leao, who got into very specific areas, and got the ball, and then did a bunch of stuff to get goals. And like that's why he was exceptional.
00:34:49
Speaker
And at Fiorentina, he just doesn't have that kind of guy. And I think this is only going to continue to get worse. And he's still tinkering a lot, which which is also kind of weird for Pioli. I haven't really seen that. I hated that. like he went In this game, he went Mandragora, Nicolucci, Fazzini. It's kind of like the midfield three.
00:35:06
Speaker
is really what it ended up looking like, although like that wasn't what it was on paper. And like for me, I think the two best midfielders on this team are very clearly Fagioli and Mandraga. So like I don't know why you you would make that change, particularly... like I also don't know why now you're not playing like a a traditional back three like with your three center backs who have been good and... like I don't know what he's trying to do.
00:35:28
Speaker
I don't think he knows what he's trying to do. I will say like for on the um the last goal, Prongracic did some bad stuff. or like It was horrid and he's probably their best center back. So that was kind of unfortunate, but there's nothing to even like discuss because I don't know what they're trying to do in every game. And like players are coming in, players coming out. Like you can say that Gudmundsen didn't play in this game, but like Gudmundsen hasn't been effective when he has played because he doesn't put him in the right situations.
00:35:54
Speaker
And this is one where I could see it, them not getting a win for a long time. like seriously, like they, like when you look about who the other teams are in this league,
00:36:06
Speaker
They're not going to be able to break anybody down that's sitting in a low block. That's pretty clear at this point. So I don't know who they match up well against. And we're in a situation where like maybe they do show Pioli the door. Like, I'm not sure Spaletti would want this job, but and you let go of Palladino. It's just like when you look back at what Palladino did last year, like the entire season, even in their bad points, we're all like, OK, we see what Palladino is trying to do.
00:36:30
Speaker
This is growing pains. They have a very particular way with this. It's you've taken several steps back from where you were at the beginning last year and your team is better than it was last year. So this is the first one for me that it's absolutely alarm bells going off. I'm getting ready to like pull the chute, get purely out of here. Let's get somebody else in.
00:36:48
Speaker
Yeah, not from a tactical standpoint, I'm going to speak on this game. From a mindset standpoint, the second half was you're in Florence. You're at your home stadium.
00:37:00
Speaker
And you it was in embarrassing the showing that the Fiorentina players put on the pitch in the second half. They fully rolled over and gave Como the game.
00:37:11
Speaker
They were holding on by their fingertips for a tie. They were praying for a tie against Como, who... We all have high expectations for, and they did spend a lot of money, but it's Como.
00:37:23
Speaker
Their second year in this league. Fiorentina is usually seventh place every single year. You need to go win this game. At the very least, look like you can win the game. You have the home fans backing you.
00:37:34
Speaker
You fully rolled over from a mindset standpoint, awful. I i second everything Bo said in terms of a tactical standpoint, he's tweaking too much. They don't know what they wanna do.
00:37:45
Speaker
And i'm thinking I'm sitting here while Bo was speaking and Spoletti, I don't think takes this job. who I think, although didn't have a good stint at his last club, who I think would be good for this club because they have they need high possession.
00:37:58
Speaker
there they would They need to solidify their defense because they're letting they're leaking in the back. Mata, Thiago Mata. Yeah, I agree. 100%. Very, very, very like Bologna. They have good players, strong midfield, and he's very much like Palladino.
00:38:12
Speaker
I think Palladino's a little bit more progressive in the way that he plays and his style of attacking, but I think Mata could maybe steer this ship in the right direction. but I was very high on this Fiorentina team because you go through the list of there the players that they have, and it is strong at every position.
00:38:29
Speaker
And they look awful. Piccoli's been terrible. Moise Keane looks good on the national team, doesn't look good for Fiorentina. The midfield three that you mentioned, Boas, is a strong midfield three that they could potentially have in Hans, Nicoluzzi, Koviglia, Mandragala, and Fajoli.
00:38:47
Speaker
That could be one of theโ That's like top five midfield in the league, probably, if you just throw them out there. And we saw the how good their wingbacks were last season in Gosens and Dodo.
00:38:58
Speaker
De Gea is one of the best goalies, so the talent is there. The tactics aren't there in Pioli. The mindset's not there. And so they he's going to need to turn it around, in my opinion, fast because we saw what happened last season whenโ a team like Roma started off so poorly and they, Roma did not lose a game since this last season until this from December until the end of the season.
00:39:23
Speaker
And they didn't finish in champions. And that's how big the, yes, we don't say that the 10, it doesn't start for the 10, 10 games in, but you need to be in the middle of the pack and be able to make up that ground.
00:39:35
Speaker
You can't be saying here, one one spot at relegation as Fiorentina. And the last thing I'll say is the Fiorentina fans, low key, the reason why Palladino was sacked was because the Fiorentina fans called for his head.
00:39:50
Speaker
And they were mad that they finished in seventh and they thought they should have done better than what they did last season. The Fiorentina fans are going to be calm for Pioli's head next week if they don't get three points. like They're bad tactically, bad mentally, bad everything, and the players are good. So I don't i can't last much like can't last much longer for Pioli unless he starts turning the ship around quick.
00:40:12
Speaker
Well, if the Fiorentino fans were calling for Palladino's head last year, they'd be calling for Pioli's third leg here. But ah it's it's kind of, it's a little strange, right? Because you look, we just talked about how Juris has come into Atalanta and has kind of adopted the Gaspari style.
00:40:28
Speaker
Those talked about how Kivu is kind of just embodied in Zaghi's play style as well. Pioli's not a dumb guy, right? He's ah purely a man manager, but one thing he was always good at at Milan was just doing things putting players where they should be.
00:40:44
Speaker
We can talk about how we put a right mid at a right mid and didn't even play him the ball or let him do anything, but that's a whole other story. He put the guys in a position where they were going to thrive for the most part. Here, he feels like he's this tactician. Like he did his 70s and he's like this newfound tactician of the world. This guy is not that guy. And so for him to go and Basically, hege the two two of the best players on the team in Gozens and Dodo and play them as very traditional outside backs and not using them as wingbacks as they normally would with a three-back set here.
00:41:17
Speaker
I think it's a horrible decision. Not letting Moise Keene and running the offense through him and trying to get cute with a two nines up front, I think is a disaster as well, even though I think Piccoli is a great striker and did well last year with Cagliari.
00:41:31
Speaker
He's just trying to do too much. He's trying to do too much. Yeah, i mean, in and like, I think that's that's a good point because in this game, like you clearly were okay going, like with Como, like you know they're going to want to be ball dominant.
00:41:43
Speaker
Why would you get away from the back three that that you actually probably looked your best with and take Kamutsu off the field to get like Tariq Lamptey out there? Like, it just doesn't make sense. So like, when we said like how good he was at man managing, like now he's not even doing that. Like he's not even putting players in the right position to succeed. It just doesn't make any sense.
00:42:04
Speaker
I do think somebody who's doing all the right things and putting players in the right position is Shek Fabregas because this Como team looks awesome. They so exciting to watch. They're fireworks every time they take the pitch.
00:42:15
Speaker
I have nothing bad to say about Nico Paz. That guy is one of the most electrifying players in all of Europe right now. Again, another great performance, a beautiful free kick setting up the first goal from...
00:42:28
Speaker
ah miles away. it was Modric-esque. And he's just, he's a magician on the pitch. He's so comfortable, even for just a 20-year-old out here who's only played one full season. But he just, he really just, he grabs this team and puts them on his back.
00:42:42
Speaker
And they, and similar to of A with Ildis, Como goes as Nico Paz goes. And I think that's going to be the storyline for the rest of the season. And not only that, but they continue to show that they have a ton of young talent, and we haven't even seen Asandiyah this season. He's been hurt.
00:42:58
Speaker
So this, for me, it's only up from here for this Como squad. Yeah, I mean, Jacobo Ramon was also suspended for this game, which is the red card. Like, who's their number one center back, really? um And this might be kind of jumping the gun a little bit.
00:43:10
Speaker
Maybe not. Like, but... do we have to talk about him as like the best player in the league? they he has to be in the conversation now where like, if he is on a Napoli or if he's on an inter inter, we're like, this guy's the best player in the league. Probably like, it's only because he's on Como that he he's down there. Like,
00:43:28
Speaker
He's at the level that I think Kovaritskelia was at at Napoli. Like like he's he's very close to that. Where like every single game, 10 out of 10 performance, like it's just a matter of how are the other guys around him going to perform.
00:43:40
Speaker
i honestly think if you put him on a top four team, he is the best player in the league. i I don't remember a game where he played bad. And it isn't like he's like playing okay in every game. a key is creating opportunities.
00:43:54
Speaker
He's taking shots that are really good shots. and If they don't go in, they lead to corners. They lead to like these weird saves. But i' both feet if you never watched... soccer in your entire life before and like you didn't know anything about Como you couldn't see a jersey and you just like watched them play this guy would jump off the screen at you and be like this guy is the best player in the game like every game he plays so I think we're getting to the point where we have to talk about that because the list of guys that are better than him is very small now and I like I I struggle to put together list that I can say like 100 percent
00:44:30
Speaker
those guys are better than him. Like, and we if we go back to last year, Scott McTominay won MVP. Yes. Scott McTominay's MVP was also partially because of the players he was with. And if Nico pauses in a situation like that, who's to say he's not backing like 15 goals on like a really good team from but like a midfield role and being like 15 and 10. Like, I think it's a legitimate shout at this point.
00:44:54
Speaker
I don't, listen, is he one of the best players in the league? I'm not, like, I don't know if I'm going to put him as a top five player in the league. He has the potential to be, and he's electric on the pitch, but I think you have to remember everybody on the other, on those higher level teams are playing multiple games.
00:45:10
Speaker
And so Nico Paz has one game a week. where I'm not trying to say that that's his fault, right? That's Como. He has other players like a Yildiz or a Lataro or Teron. They could look poor, not as consistent as Nico Paz does week in and week out or for the Serie because they're playing in you' European games, right? So I want to see, not that I don't Nico Paz could, but I think it'd be a little bit different if Nico Paz is playing multiple games. And also he is their...
00:45:38
Speaker
their focal point, which it should be like he he had six key passes, 88 touches on a team with other players at his level. It's not going to be everything run through Nico Paz and he has the ball at his feet every time so he can he can create everything like he's probably not taking all of the free kicks for an inter.
00:45:57
Speaker
He's probably not So that would be a goal and an assist that has taken off because he did score on a free kick and has an assist. So that those are the things that you have to think about. But listen, he is he's clearly ready for the next step.
00:46:10
Speaker
It's going to happen next season. We'll have to see what happens with Como because Madrid's got the rights to him. I hope he doesn't go to Madrid because they have too many players. And that's the last thing you would want is for him to not be able to continue to play and continue to build.
00:46:25
Speaker
um But what I will say is, for this game, the players that they scouted again and they bought and they brought in Tacoma are game changers. Not game changers. They are game impactors.
00:46:38
Speaker
Jesus Rodriguez was somebody they brought in this summer. He has had a great start to the season in the Serie And one thing I'll say really quick is Cesc Fabregas, I don't know where he said this on, but he basically said like,
00:46:50
Speaker
When it comes to developing players, you need to play them when they're young and you need to allow them to make mistakes and not not sit them for the rest of the season or fall out of favor when they make those mistakes.
00:47:04
Speaker
You need to allow them to grow. But the thing is, is when you allow those young players to grow is typically you don't always get results, right? Like last game against Bologna, Como didn't get the result that they probably should have gotten if they had more experienced players on the pitch.
00:47:17
Speaker
Maybe they get the draw. With the young players, that's how they learn. And Como is allowing Fabregas to do that, and it's beautiful to see. And it's going to allow Como to grow and these players to be great. So i love i love Como. I love Cesc Fabregas in this league, their scouting team, the players that they bring in.
00:47:35
Speaker
It's very exciting every single game to watch these guys. And I, Mots, to your point, I think that's just that's just in the blood of Fabregas, right? I mean, being a part of the Barcelona system and in knowing that Barcelona is probably one of the better teams in the world at bringing up young talent and letting them play. We've seen it time and time again the last couple of seasons, especially just given the fact that they can't really go out or haven't been able to go out and make a ton of huge splashes in the market.
00:48:00
Speaker
you know We've seen the likes of Lamini Maul come through and Pedri and Gabi, and the list goes on and on. And so I think that that's that's the bloodline that he carries into this Como team. And they have they have the liberties of doing so, right?
00:48:13
Speaker
They have a great mix of those young guys coming through, Asandiyo, Niko Paz, my guy Adai this week. you know It's going to be time and time again like that. And they've also been able to balance it all out with a lot of โ a lot of um Older vets. Experience as well. Murata.
00:48:28
Speaker
sir Murata, Sergi Roberto. They had Pepe Reina last year, who obviously is not like the best goalie the world, but he's been around the block for years and years and years. They go in, they get a Diego Carlos back from the Saudi League. He could have bunch of great years um in in the Prem and La Liga. So they've done a really good job with the roster build here. And I think that they're set up really well to make a push for, if not the Conference League, maybe even the Europa League.
00:48:51
Speaker
So remains to be seen very early on, but but not... Don't have anything bad to say about Como at this point. So with that being said, this next team, i'm on a ah I'm on a short leash this week. I'm actually not allowed to talk about this team for longer than five minutes, which I usually do, but I'll try to keep it short and concise. And it really is hard to not talk about the best team in the league for more than five minutes, but I'm going to do my best.
00:49:16
Speaker
Milan takes it to Udinese this week. Udinese falls to the likes of the best team in the league, AC Milan, 3-0.
00:49:26
Speaker
Disclaimer, this is going to be a Christian Pulisic glaze fest. This guy is the real deal. He is the best player in Serie A right now.
00:49:39
Speaker
Two goals, one assist. I think I can mute you. I'm going to mute you because I can't even listen to this. The second goal here, even though Fofana with a ah beautiful finish, Matt, I had near post. It was all Poulosic on the press.
00:49:52
Speaker
The first goal, I'll just praise Gabia. Didn't know he had it in his locker. Plays a great ball over the top to a Stupinian. A Stupinian plays a pretty bad ball across the box because... Obviously, Santi Jimenez is out of position and and no place to receive a cross.
00:50:06
Speaker
But fortunately, a couple of deflections here and there. Pulisic on the left off of a weird bounce, puts in the back of the net. And then at the end, of the gate towards the end of the game, 60th minute or so.
00:50:16
Speaker
Pulisic just confident as ever. One touch, turns, slots at home, goalie looking like a complete dumbass, but in any case, that puts it up 3-0, and AC Milan takes all three points.
00:50:29
Speaker
Guys, I don't even care when Leao gets back. Pulisic is going to be our yieldees, our Nikopaz, the guy that Milan flows through. um on the ah offensive side of the ball. Obviously, we have Modric, who's going to continue to be an absolute masterclass, shifting the ball side to side, being the regista that he's, I guess, decided to be.
00:50:49
Speaker
But this is this is what we need out of Pulisic if we can stay healthy, just a ton of confidence. And maybe that confidence is able to flow through to some other players, potentially to a player who plays the nine position for us.
00:51:02
Speaker
But something I will say that I was a little bit tippet about the last couple of weeks, and naturally I'm going to be a little bit
00:51:09
Speaker
in and out the door on Rabiot this whole season. But the way that Allegri seemingly wants to play with those two eights that are playing in front of Modric, Rabiot and Fofana are playing that that position perfectly.
00:51:20
Speaker
that Fofana, again, is he's got his little quirks, a great finish here. I still think Ricci needs those minutes and should be getting those minutes. And if he doesn't start against Lecce tomorrow, I don't know what to tell you.
00:51:31
Speaker
But Rabiot is playing that position perfectly. The two games that we've gotten out of him, incredibly progressive, incredibly physical in the midfield, a great complement to what Modric doesn't really excel at.
00:51:43
Speaker
And so I think that's a really good pairing for us going forward. Really the one thing that, aside from the defense, which I think that we've now had two, had two Two clean sheets and no Mignon.
00:51:55
Speaker
You know, that low block is working out. We're only letting shots in from 40 yards out, which if it goes in, it's an absolute worldie and we can live with that. um But the other thing is obviously Santi Jimenez in our nine position.
00:52:06
Speaker
Again, another game where he has a very clean open goal, 1v1 and absolutely botches it. He now leads the league by over... double the next person in clean chances missed at seven, even if he has three of those goals converted, you know, our goal difference is now what?
00:52:26
Speaker
Seven, were own where we would have the highest goal difference in the league if Santi just puts three away, which really isn't asking that much out of how many chances that this offense has created for him. So I'm not going get too excited. I'm controlling myself this season. I'm not going to get ahead of myself and say that we're going to be winning the league. I never said that.
00:52:45
Speaker
But we are looking good. This Allegri system seems to be working as much as he wants it to. i don't think it's the most exciting football in the world, and it never has been and never was for Juve in the second stint.
00:52:56
Speaker
But this low block, giving up very low quality shots is fine by me. And if Modric in this midfield can continue to facilitate the move up to the top and Pulisic stays in form and we get Leal back, I can be happy with the result of this one game a week season.
00:53:11
Speaker
ah you um I think that it's good that low I would love an opinion from somebody who's not a Milan fan, but I think it's good that ah Christian is definitely firing on all send cylinders, which is great. And it's good to but have the inner squad competition right when the outcome is back.
00:53:25
Speaker
I don't think he should just be given the left spot. I think he should earn it. I doubt that will happen. They'll probably just give it to him. But then I think you've got to i'll just get it back. Yeah. You got to bench Jimenez. Obviously, I don't think that's a tough decision.
00:53:36
Speaker
But yeah, listen, this is Allegri football. Obviously, it it makes sense why he's playing the Fafano Rabiot next to Manchester to ah cover the ground. little frustrating as you don't, you guys just have, you have Ricci, they're not really playing a ton and he looks really good when he comes on.
00:53:52
Speaker
It'll be interesting to see it. and And I'd obviously, I'd also say it's maybe it's a blessing in disguise that just sorry, you got injured because would he be playing with, would the leg, we just bench the 40 million that was spent on him. I don't think so.
00:54:04
Speaker
Where would he fit? Would, cause I, I think that but he offers a lot like she does and he's just not playing them. So, It was a good game, solidified the defense, which is good. Udinese, where they did beat Inter and they did look, they did score two goals.
00:54:18
Speaker
They, we know that Udinese is going to try to get one goal and then do the Corto Musso Allegri style. It didn't work out for them as they fell behind and they had to throw numbers forward. So it worked out better for Milan to counterattack and kind of capitalize Udinese having to come up too far when they don't like to do that. so I'm not going to read too much into this game and say Milan's going to do this every single time because it went the way that they wanted to in terms of 1-0, but they're going to play other teams in the Serie A that are much more progressive and can play and can score.
00:54:49
Speaker
And then it's goingnna it's going to um be, are they going to be this compact and this strong defensively against a stronger team offensively? So that's all I have to say about Milan.
00:55:00
Speaker
Yeah, I think this coming weekend is going to be the big test for on. They're playing Napoli. I think Napoli is going to actually kill them, to be honest with you. But you can't argue results. And like, that's always been the thing with Allegri.
00:55:12
Speaker
Like he gets the job done. It's terrible and it's horrible to watch. But like he he wins you games once in a while. And if your stance going to every game is let's not concede a goal. And if we get a chance, we'll take it.
00:55:23
Speaker
It works, especially when you have a bunch of good players that are asked to do not a ton of things. And I think This is two weeks in a row where they took advantage of other teams' mistakes. Like, they didn't really do anything exceptionally well other than defend.
00:55:38
Speaker
Last week, Bologna killed themselves. And then this week, Udinese killed themselves on all all three goals. I mean, the giveaways were terrible from Udinese, which led to goals. And it wasn't even like it was off of crazy Milan pressure, I don't i wouldn't really say.
00:55:52
Speaker
um So I think it's... Second goal for sure. I mean, it was all Pulisic. But yeah, I mean, I guess i'm I'm not going to say like depressing, like crazy pressing, great pressing. It's just. These are gonna, they're gonna get wins and it's gonna be ugly and it's gonna be shitty. But I, again, like against the bigger teams, I, I don't see things going well. And against the Napoli, I think this is gonna go very poorly. They probably won't even get any opportunities to score because who Napoli is.
00:56:17
Speaker
And at the same time, that game could be a snooze fast in its own right, because Conte is gonna go into it. We're not losing to Milan and we'll take a draw, but I don't really have anything new to say Milan. Honestly, they're really boring. They're really bad to watch, but they get results.
00:56:32
Speaker
I like watching Milan. I mean, i mean i again, i'm not I'm not going to get too excited about this. I still have my doubts on the back line, and I i think that this weekend will be will be a really tough test for them. um i don't i don't think that Tamori and Pavlovich and Gabby are going to have a great time against Hoyland and McTominay and De Bruyne.
00:56:48
Speaker
It sounds horrible to deal with, but we'll see if ah if we can defend our spot here and potentially go top of the table. But in any case, that... That's Milan. I think I covered it. think I got it under five minutes.
00:57:00
Speaker
No, definitely not. Did get it under five minutes? No, it was close. It was close. But in any case, we have Mots coming up next because we do have Juve. Bad draw, Mots. One to one against Verona, who I do think is going to be going down this season.
00:57:17
Speaker
you You said it best. Verona looked like Juve. Juve looked like Verona. Second half, yes. Juventus came off first half looking very strong, like they wanted to kill the game. And then the second half was poor. And they they deserve, Juventus deserve to lose this game, if I'm completely honest. Verona, I'll play them in the second half.
00:57:37
Speaker
Now, but before I say anything else but before that, I'm not going to make this as an excuse. It's not an excuse. this This referee did own such a bad job.
00:57:48
Speaker
Number one victim you've victim. No, no, no. This one's real. This one's real. Gotti got elbowed in the head in the player. um It was a striker. Orban.
00:57:59
Speaker
He straight up looked at Gotti. He looked at the ball. Saw it was in the air, looked at Gotti, and then just elbowed him in the face. There was no VAR check, no nothing, just a yellow card.
00:58:11
Speaker
That's insane. That is insane. He should not have been on the pitch. Secondly, the Jao Mario penalty. you Jao Mario, you need to do better. You can't close your eyes on a header.
00:58:22
Speaker
what like where What is he supposed to do when he jumps up with his arm? like it's ah His arm is they're tucked in, but they're slightly out. And it raises his arm, and he gives a penalty. I don't think it was a penalty.
00:58:34
Speaker
It's very similar to the Bologna penalty that was given against Genoa. The guys, like, it's in a natural position, and it hits the arm. I think that those PKs that they've been giving just because it hits the arm, no matter where it is aren't the best to give because it's such an un and such a natural play, and you're gifting somebody the best opportunity to score goal.
00:58:57
Speaker
So very frustrating there, and the ref did an awful job who, if you haven't seen, he has now, after the game, been demoted. He can no longer ref Serie games. He can only ref Serie B games.
00:59:08
Speaker
That's how poor of a job he did. With that said, Juventus still did not look good in terms of the second half. We have a very, very big issue. defensively We cannot, our defense is not strong. We have Bremersat this game, which is, I think, justifiable because he just came off an ACL and he didn't sit any, he hasn't rested at all. He's played every game, every minute of every game.
00:59:33
Speaker
um With that said, we didn't look strong defensively at all. And it goes, it starts off with the midfield, in my opinion, because we have no shape. Terram and Locatelli, they end up sitting too far back.
00:59:44
Speaker
And where we have no but we have nobody guarding the midfield players and they can just progress to play as much as they want. So no, not strong defensively, no shape. And to top it off, they everybody looked tired. Yildiz looked tired.
00:59:58
Speaker
Taram was literally walking. Cambiasso looked tired. Kalulu looked tired. There was every single player looked tired. And I think he needed to do a little bit more rotating.
01:00:10
Speaker
And then bring those bring some of those guys on off the bench to then try to win the game. Because then by the 90th, Taram didn't make it to the 90th, but he was gassed. Yoldez was gassed. And we did we had no had no legs at the end of this at the end of the game.
01:00:25
Speaker
That paired with, I thought Locatelli had a great first half. And he, Tudor subbed him off for Coop Miners. And you cannot play... lo or you cannot play Coop Miners and as the they do the same They want to do the same thing. They want to get forward. They want to attack.
01:00:42
Speaker
You need to have a pacer, and that's Locatelli in there. So if if you're going to put Coop Miners in, I think you you should have subbed him in for Taram, especially because Taram looked tired. I didn't love that sub from Tudor there at all.
01:00:54
Speaker
With all that said, though, Verona looked good. i'm go to give the flowers to Verona. They were compact defensively when we did have the ball, and they were amazing on the counterattack.
01:01:05
Speaker
They did a very good job. They were in the second half. They were pressing the shit out of Juventus. They probably should have scored a couple. They did actually score one, and they got called for offsides, which it was offsides.
01:01:16
Speaker
um But they played great, and just a player to watch. After the game, i was... i was I thought this guy is very good. He was a handful for Kelly, who the striker, Giovanna.
01:01:27
Speaker
He brought in on a free, 21 years old Brazilian. He was carrying the ball. He was taking on Kelly. He was a handful. He's player to watch for me. Not the best game from Juventus at all here. You cannot drop points.
01:01:40
Speaker
A lot to learn. Matz, how far we've come from the days of you preaching and bitching at Allegri that he was keeping Locatelli in a cage for not letting him get forward. All of a sudden, he's your regista and he's your pace setter, the one that stays back while Taram gets forward.
01:01:56
Speaker
that's what That's what has to happen, though. that's what if you have If you buy Taram, you can't let Locatelli. like if If you have a Rabiot, I want Locatelli getting forward.
01:02:06
Speaker
If you have Taram, then I want Taram going forward. I don't want, it it depends on who you pair Locatelli with. Also, this is a midfield two. So you have to, one guy has to stay back.
01:02:18
Speaker
Allegri's always playing on midfield three. And he made Locatelli stay back. So I think you are trying, you're you're shifting there. You're not taking the full context of how I usually talk about Locatelli.
01:02:31
Speaker
With that, Vos, any thoughts on Juve, Verona? You're not a big Verona guy. It's like one of the only teams the league that you don't really support. I mean, I i think Mott's talked enough about Juve. Like on Verona, though, this is, I think Giovanni's a very good player. He's not going to be there next season. He's definitely going to go to another Serie A team. And I think Gift or Vona is going to be in that same that same group. They're exceptional players for sure.
01:02:53
Speaker
But here we go. This is another game, two games in a row. you had your chances to go and win the game and both times you didn't. And that's why we all have them going down. Like when you get your opportunity to steal points and you don't steal points, that's how you get relegated.
01:03:07
Speaker
Like when you're already in a relegation battle and and that's what we're going to see. And, Against, like Mott said, they I actually didn't watch this game, but like Mott said, they had a good lower block in this game. That's good. I haven't seen that yet this year.
01:03:20
Speaker
But against other teams and like teams they think they can beat, they've opened up. And like they just don't have a plan to just get points to keep them up. And I think that's still going to be the issue. And that's why I don't really love this team.
01:03:32
Speaker
I mean, I will say this and then we'll move on. Three draws to start the season out of four. They're not let necessarily losing games. Like you have other teams are losing games. So that's at least a ah positive takeaway for Verona because all three of us did have them going down. But and ordered one one aspect of staying up is to not lose. And four games, three draws is good for them.
01:03:58
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. One team that is losing games and that is for sure going down. is the Towerman at Pisa. Pisa goes to Napoli this past weekend. Napoli, actually today. Pisa went to Napoli today.
01:04:14
Speaker
And Napoli comes out with a 3-2 win, a lot closer than you would think from the top of the table, the Scudetto winners from last season, although a very late second goal for Pisa and a penalty in the 60th minute for their first goal.
01:04:29
Speaker
I would have liked to not see Napoli give up this three, to the the second goal here. I would have liked them to finish out a lot stronger, especially considering that I took them minus one and a half today. But Vos, again, as our in-house Napoli expert, because you got every other team besides Milan. Whoa, whoa, whoa. ma I know it's your Gumar. as I know it's your Gumar, but Vos likes his McTominay. He likes his KDB. He likes the Kits this year.
01:04:55
Speaker
What do you think about Napoli? I think that i think it's it is more of the same of actually the theme of this episode. No, this was I think this was a little bit different from them, to be honest with you. ah I think there were some there are significant changes here.
01:05:06
Speaker
What I will say, what happened in this game, Pisa played very well. And the second goal actually came from Napoli kind of switching off because they thought it was in like the 90th minute, basically. um When they basically switched off, weren't really paying attention and had, there were several really bad giveaways that did lead to that, like in terms of it was just passing around the defense and not paying attention, essentially.
01:05:25
Speaker
um But this was the first time I think under Conte, we've seen the mentality not be there in a game. And they were a little bit lazy at times. They still did get three goals and kind of like this should have been three one and like coasting to victory kind of thing still.
01:05:39
Speaker
But at the same time, there was that like little switching off at the end of the game, which we we don't see. I don't think it'll happen again, to be honest with you. I think Conte probably is going absolutely ballistic on everybody after this game. But at the end of the day, they got three goals.
01:05:54
Speaker
And he rotated the squad pretty heavily. Billy Gilmore came in and Elmas came in, which I think is interesting. I think the Elmas one is particularly interesting because Billy Gilmore was always going to be a Labaka kind of rotator.
01:06:07
Speaker
But what this is telling me is that he's not really willing to go back to that 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 right now. he's He's happy with the diamond they've been rolling and they're going to continue to roll it out there. And that that's a loss for Noah Lang and David Neres.
01:06:19
Speaker
But Elmas, and I tweeted about this, is a very different archetype from those guys. He is a winger, yes, by by traditional trait. ah But most people will probably say that he's a worse player than the two of them.
01:06:30
Speaker
What he does bring to the team is what Conte wants in people, especially guys that are going to be your bench players. He's going to work really hard. and put in a full 90-minute shift if he's given the 90 minutes, and just play that position well.
01:06:44
Speaker
And that allows for McTominay and DeBron to go and still do their thing, and you don't lose the Zombo engine. That's a really important part of this team. The other thing that I really liked about this is, and I didn't get a chance to talk about it last week, but I did tell you guys that I wanted to bring it up, is Spinazzola.
01:07:01
Speaker
I think without Spinazzola, they can't even be running this diamond that they've been doing. Because he's basically playing Di Lorenzo's position and Paul Atano's positions off the left side of the field. In this game, he scored a phenomenal goal. It was a screamer, but I don't think that's all that important to what he does.
01:07:16
Speaker
What he does exceptionally well is to play a traditional left back and play as a left winger. And Foley, the left side of the field but is his area. McTominay is not a left mid. If you watch any of the games, he's more of an attacking midfielder, center mid.
01:07:28
Speaker
And without Spinazzola, I don't think they're going to be as effective. And that's something that Conte is really going have to watch. But overall for me, they feel like Inter Milan felt like to me when they were just rolling and in blew the doors off the league a few years ago.
01:07:42
Speaker
There's just nothing that's going to stop them in my mind. And they just create and they score. and And even in this game where they allowed opportunities, granted it was against a much worse team who maybe didn't take as many.
01:07:53
Speaker
I just, I don't see anybody capable of stopping them. And every game they're just rolling and rolling and rolling. And it just feels like they're coasting to me. But Mats, you had some things you wanted push back I don't necessarily think that they rolled this game. I think Pisa very much had the better chances overall.
01:08:10
Speaker
And Alex Moret saved a lot. He did. He had some very big saves. I agree with you there. Now, Napoli have the players to go and win the game. So I'm not shocked that Napoli won the game. And the 3-2 scoreline...
01:08:21
Speaker
it does make it seem a little bit closer than what it was. But I think that it's justifiable because in my opinion, it was it could have very easily been a draw this game if if Pisa can take their chances because they had the bigger chances in this game.
01:08:34
Speaker
Billy Gilmore, he played great. First goal for Napoli, wanted to give him a shout out. Scott McTominay had a great assist to Lorenzo Luca on that pass. But if you're a piece, it's two to one.
01:08:45
Speaker
Scott McTominay had nobody within 20 yards of him. He's in, he's like five yards away from the 18 yard line. You need to close down that space. But I expect the against Milan.
01:08:56
Speaker
I don't know if Conte is rolling out Bucuma and Bongiorno. That's two games in a row now. They haven't necessarily been the best center back pairing. They played against Fiorentina, and yes, it 3-1, but Fiorentina missed some chances late to make a push for that game. Yeah, Vonda made some great saves. And same with Pisa in this game. So I would be shocked if they, which i think in my opinion is the better two center back pairing than Rachmani and Juan Jesus.
01:09:26
Speaker
But Juan Jesus and Rachmani have in the games that I've seen been much more efficient defensively. um So I want, I'm curious to see who Conte starts in ah milan the Milan game.
01:09:38
Speaker
And then one thing I will say is it's great that Lorenzo Luca did score. He went with Hoyland again, and Conte went berserk when Lorenzo Luca scored. Lorenzo Luca didn't even celebrate, I think, because maybe the show, like, hey, don't forget about me, which is great, that inner competition.
01:09:53
Speaker
So we'll see there. But listen, they they won the game. They're obviously the the the favorites. I'm not saying that they're not anymore, but they... very much snuck out ah away with a win on this game, um in my opinion.
01:10:08
Speaker
And then Fiorentina, they snuck away with a draw. And then against Cagliari, they won 1-0 on a Bongiorno late goal. So, like, they are not so sure. The scorelines may reflect a dominating performance by Napoli where they won 3-1 against Fiorentina.
01:10:22
Speaker
And this game was a 90th minute 3-2 when Napoli shut off and Di Lorenzo made a ah big mistake. And same with Bucuma. They're not, in my opinion, just dominating these teams.
01:10:33
Speaker
There is real opportunity for these teams to come in and steal points against this Napoli side. No one's done it yet. That's why they're the champions. That's why Conte. But I wouldn't be shocked if they start potentially dropping some of these points because they could have they could have dropped multiple points in these last three games.
01:10:52
Speaker
Yeah, I agree with most of what you guys said. I'll try to keep this short. But one thing, the biggest thing for me here is this is the first time now in two seasons under Conte that we are coming off a midweek Champions League game from them.
01:11:04
Speaker
They did go to Etihad on Thursday. A tough showing from them. Early red card from Di Lorenzo. They come into this game now against Pisa. Maybe a little bit hubris. Maybe they don't take him so seriously, but they give up 2.6 XG.
01:11:17
Speaker
Granted, about a 1 or maybe 0.9 of that is going to be the PK. But that's still 1.6 XG given up to a Pisa team that we, oh my God, foresee going down. Four big chances to them zero. Like that's that's my point.
01:11:31
Speaker
So again, i think, Monsier, your point about the center-back pairing maybe not being it. I think they do have to go back to their roots, and I think it should be Rachmani and Borgiorno coming up on this weekend against Milan.
01:11:42
Speaker
But I do think that this has a little bit of concern again because we did talk about this last season, and that was the reason that Napoli was so good is because they were not playing three competitions. And now have those three competitions, it's now baring its ugly teeth.
01:11:54
Speaker
very early on the season, and Conte has been known not to manage through those competitions as well. It's very, again, very early, and again, you know, Man City is one of the best teams in the world, so coming off that game um where they went, unfortunately, on 10 men very early on is not going to be the trendsetter, but I do think that's a pattern to watch if it does come to fruition.
01:12:14
Speaker
One thing, Boca, you said that I'm not sure i i truly believe in is that Elmas being in a this squad, in this diamond, i don't think that works. I don't think that Elmas has ever been an engine type of guy.
01:12:26
Speaker
He was taken off in the 58th for the engine in Zombo. um I think Elmas is a tricky player and a really good, we talk about it a lot, like a luxury type player, but I'm not sure. and i did get completely disagree when you compare him to David Neres and Noah Lang.
01:12:41
Speaker
It's crazy that No Lang hasn't even broken in. Spent some good money on him. i I just don't think that the Elmas is going to be a guy you want in a diamond, especially when KDB is playing, because I think that that takes, ah I think that takes two positions in that diamond where there's not too much of an engine there.
01:12:57
Speaker
um But in any case, Napoli still top of the table, still favorites, in my opinion, is still incredibly deep of a roster, big matchup coming in on Sunday. Am I hyping them up as a little bit of a,
01:13:09
Speaker
a little bit of a little mind tricks action, maybe, but I'm excited to see what comes of the ah the game on Sunday. So with that being said, we do want to finish out the rest of the match week here. Genoa did go to Bologna. Bologna squeaked out a 2-1 win.
01:13:23
Speaker
Genoa did get robbed of a point here. Probably should have tied it up. Unfortunately, Patty Cation, contract, Shouldn't have been a penalty is really what it was. Yeah, should have been a penalty. Patrick Vieira ended up getting a red card, so it'll be tough for Genoa next game.
01:13:36
Speaker
But they played well. Santi Castro opened up his his book, too, which is a big one. That was a very good goal as well. Very good goal. He played the exceptional again. And unfortunately for Patty Cakes, we are a big fan of Patty Cakes, Patrick Vieira. Sassuolo did go to Inter to San Siro.
01:13:51
Speaker
They lost 2-1. Inter pulled that one out. Sassuolo with a late goal. For the Colpi leg, we do love to see that. Again, that Sassuolo front line is quite dangerous. I don't even think that one of the three of them scored, but in any case, we will take that goal for the Colpi leg.
01:14:06
Speaker
Cagliari, the Islanders. Island boys. They pull out a win on the road this time against Lecce. El Gallo? El Gallo. elgala But Lottie, two goals off the on the mark there. ah Yeah, this one, I just want to point out two things really quick. Esposito on Intervalon, he hit the post a couple of times.
01:14:28
Speaker
You go to Cagliari, same thing. His brother, Sebastian Esposito, who pulled out as one of the guys to watch. He also hit two posts in this one. So just keep that in mind. um And the two guys to watch, Lowe's briefly mentioned it last last week. Prati on this team, he's playing as like a low-lying six defensive midfielder. He's going to be a big one. I think he's going to leave at the end of the season.
01:14:47
Speaker
And then the other guy that's kind of burst onto the scene now, I think he was injured to start the season, is Pelesher, who's their wingback. He's replacing Zortea. He looks very good. um and So that's what I'm going to watch last year is Zortea, who really kind of burst onto the scene, left, went to Bologna.
01:15:01
Speaker
So I think that could be another guy that does the same thing this year. Beautiful. And last but not least, Davide Nikola sticking to his guns. They pull out a draw. Kremenese at home against Parma.
01:15:15
Speaker
Nail. Rock fight. But that's what you need to do at the bottom of the table. You just got to get points, baby. That's all it's about. Got to get points. That brings us to players of the week. We like to continue to have this in our little lineup of ah features here. We do want to talk about some guys that just don't get the love in the review.
01:15:33
Speaker
But I'll kick it to you, Vos. We did talk about him a little bit, but your player of the week. Yeah, my player of the week is Mateus Soule. He had the assist on the goal, but I think overall it was more his overall performance.
01:15:44
Speaker
And I'm partially putting him on here just because of everything that's happened this season. I think that he is Roma's best player at this point. And I think in every game he has been the best player on Roma. And I think we were waiting for this to happen all season last year. And it is expected of him at this point.
01:16:00
Speaker
um So I just think he deserves a huge shout out. He's extremely creative out there. He's kind of, it's almost like his football IQ went up to start the season and and he doesn't just get that tunnel vision. He's, he's looking to create opportunities for other people, create opportunities for himself.
01:16:14
Speaker
So he is my player of the week with the one assist. Ma, it's a late change play of player week from you. ah Yeah, I just went back to who I had before. I had Carlos Augusto. We saw the lineup. Bastoni was not in. Augusto was playing in the left center back Bastoni role, and I thought he played very well. He had two shots on target. He had a goal that was ruled an own goal because of the deflection, but it was his attempt. He should have had another goal as well.
01:16:39
Speaker
um He played a great defensive game. He had Four duels won, one aerial duel won. He had a 96% pass accuracy. Great game overall for Carlos Augusto. And to run it all out, obviously I would take Christian Pulisic, but we all know that he's the best player in the league, so I'm not going to do that. My player of the week, I've already talked about him, Jaden Nadai of Como, right winger, played only 29 minutes this game against Fiorentina, but with a 94th winning goal, a nice tricky play in the box, beating De Gea near post. He did get all three points for Como.
01:17:10
Speaker
This is a Dutchman. We all know I do love my Dutch guys, La Ronge, out of the Netherlands. He only just turned 20 this past August. Definitely a player to watch. Another promising product of AZ Alkmaar. Some of you may know that a couple of other players from AZ Alkmaar, none other than Toonkoopminers and Tijani Reinders, also came from the Netherlands team.
01:17:31
Speaker
That takes us to match week five. lot of fireworks to be expected this weekend. We've got Creminesse at Como. Atalanta goes to Torino taking on Juventus. Mats, how you feeling about that game?
01:17:43
Speaker
I feel good. That's ah got the overwritten all over. A lot of goals. lot of goals, baby. lot of goals. Inter going to the island, taking a little trip. They're playing Cagliari at home. It'll be interesting.
01:17:55
Speaker
Vos, we all know how hard it to play Cagliari. It's very hard. I don't feel great about it, but it's very hard.
01:18:02
Speaker
In any case, Udinese coming off a big loss to Milan. They are going to Sassuolo. Let's see if they can keep their front three in check. Fiorentina coming off a bad loss to Palmao. Really poor showing. They are traveling just down the road to Pisa, to the Tower Men. I think that's i don't even think that's their nickname, but I'm going to coin and I'm going to stick to it.
01:18:20
Speaker
Verona. is coming off a huge draw against Juventus. They are going to the Capitale. They're playing Roma. I think that this is the game where Roma get it going and net quite a few.
01:18:32
Speaker
I do think this is the one. You heard her here vote first. Vos thinking Roma gets it going, gets the gears turning against Verona. Not a bad shout considering I don't think Verona's that strong.
01:18:43
Speaker
Bologna is going to Lecce. Lecce seems to be a poor team this year. I will be seeing them tomorrow, Milan playing them in the Coppa Italia, like we said. The game of the week, here we are. Napoli at the San Siro against Milan.
01:18:59
Speaker
That's going to be the game you got to watch. You can't miss it. Whatever you got going on, Whoever's cousin's getting married, whoever's fish died, I don't care. You got to tune it in for Napoli at Milan. This is my pick for Rock Fight of the Week. I literally think it's going to be 1-0 or 0-0.
01:19:14
Speaker
I don't think anybody's going go for it. It's going be a shit game. That's my prediction. You did say that Napoli was going to kill Milan, so I don't know. Yeah. Are you confused? It might be a 0-0. We'll see. The way I'm looking at it is there's there's there's no way Napoli lose that game is how I'm thinking about it.
01:19:32
Speaker
That's a big word. Those are big words. We will see. I feel okay about it I'm not going to be surprised if we do lose. I don't think it's the end of the world if we do lose. But in any case, rounding it out, last two games here, Torino going to Parma.
01:19:47
Speaker
Hopefully they can get back on track. And Lazio goes to the Salamis at Genoa. Patrick Vieira looking to get back on track against a hobbling, Yeah, that's a good Won't on the sideline. That's a good one for Genoa to get a win under the table. Oh, Patrick Beer will be sidelined, but he still will be rooting for Genoa, I would presume.
01:20:09
Speaker
And that's it. We are down to the last segment. Everybody's favorite segment of the week. soona Unfortunately, paisans, we have not hit a Colby. We are through four weeks.
01:20:20
Speaker
We will get on track this week. This is the one last week. Bosa and I did get it hits. Baloney Moneyline inter Sassuolo. Like I said, Sassuolo came through both teams to score. That Juve couldn't figure out how put two in the net against Verona. Sad show for Matsk. Looked so good early on. They scored in like the 15th minute of the game. The 19th minute looked so good.
01:20:41
Speaker
Just goes to show, it's not over to the Fat Lady Sings, but in any case, Vos is leading the way. He does have two hits this year. Mots and I sitting at just a measly one hit. So for the Colby this week, you know what do, Paisans. You bet all the legs. You bet them singly. You bet the parlay. You bet the Colby. You make some money.
01:20:59
Speaker
Join us. Put the dollars down on whatever betting sites you prefer. But with that, I'll kick it off. I see La Viola getting back on track this week. They have a short, short trip to Pisa.
01:21:11
Speaker
Pisa is apparently pretty decent, I guess. They played well today against Napoli, but I don't i think that this is one where maybe Stefano figures out that he's doing too much, gets back on track. Money line is plus 130. I see good value there.
01:21:25
Speaker
That's good value. I'm looking at the table right now. Pisa's only one point behind Fiorentina, though. So um battle of the lower table. I'm sticking with my old lady.
01:21:35
Speaker
Similar bet to last week. However, I'm not just going to rely on Juventus' score. I'm just going to take the hole over in the Atalanta-Juve game over two and a half. Plus money on this. Juventus can't defend. They also have very good attack.
01:21:48
Speaker
And Atalanta's been firing in terms of their offensive with four goals against Lecce, three goals against whoever they played this past week. That was Torino. So lot of goals happening. Juventus obviously scoring as well. So over two and a half plus 100.
01:22:03
Speaker
All right. That brings it to me. I'm running my pick back from last week. I took Bologna. Moneyline, it hit. um I'm taking it again. Plus 110, going to Leche. This is simple math, guys.
01:22:15
Speaker
Bologna's good. Leche's bad. Bologna will win. And we'll take our plus 110. Great odds there. Total Colby plus 845. My leg's going to hit again. I'm going to continue to expand my lead at the top here.
01:22:26
Speaker
Hopefully it lasts a long time, but Lokes and Monson have a lot of catching up to do. I hate your pick, Luz, I have to say. A lot of catching up is but that author to say raise one crazy. i I do say, i want to say Luz, I don't. i Betting Fiorentina is very scary to me right now. They are very bad.
01:22:44
Speaker
It'll be the second time I bet Fiorentino this season. Hopefully the second time is the charm here. But I do think that with the short trip, getting out of Florence might be the key that they need. They just need a little bit of a day trip, and they might come out with the win here. Again, guys, bet the Colby plus 845. You bet $100, you get 945 back. That's just the way it works.
01:23:02
Speaker
And with that is a wrap on another episode. of Coucho Culture. Thank you for joining us this week, Paisans. You know what to do. You know the deal. You know where to find us. Comment, like, subscribe.
01:23:14
Speaker
Interact with us. Five stars everywhere you can. We really appreciate it. At Coucho Culture FC on YouTube, X, TikTok, Instagram. And you're listening to us on your favorite streaming podcast sites, Apple Pods and Spotify.
01:23:29
Speaker
Mots, take us away. Paisanos do not be a gaguz in Forza calcio culture.
01:24:16
Speaker
you