Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the Italian football podcast.
Speaker: OK, let's move on to the big one, Chelsea versus Milan at Stamford Bridge. So we'll do a little bit more of an extended preview on this game. Now, my view of this game is that if Milan had all their players, had a full -strength squad for this game, I really would fancy them. Maybe not to win at Stamford Bridge, but to get a draw for definite, and certainly to really have a chance to beat Chelsea in the return game at San Siro.
Speaker: The problem is, I mean, Milan have so many injuries. I mean, they are decimated, absolutely decimated. And they've just got three more injuries in the game at the weekend. So Calabria's now out. I think he's going to be out. Selamaker's is out. Kiaia got injured as well. They're already missing. Teo Hernandez, Mike Manon.
Speaker: Oregi is a huge, huge doubt, and he's barely played. He's not nowhere near much fit. Zlatan, of course, is out. It's actually his birthday today, 41 years old. Junior Messias got injured before the game at the weekend. Florenzi is out, obviously, in the long term.
Speaker: But also added to that is that they couldn't register a number of players as well. Ranks to your Adley, back of your car, all of them were unable to register. So they're actually going to go to this game. They're going to travel to London probably with 14 to 15 players available. So, I mean, they are, like I said, completely decimated.
Speaker: it's gonna be realistically is going to be really really difficult and it's a shame because chelsea are very vulnerable that they don't look right this season obviously thomas tuckel got the sack a few weeks ago he's been replaced by graham potter who's manager i like but
Speaker: you know, Chelsea, I think they broke the record in the summer, Chelsea, for spending in a transfer window, the biggest ever spending spree ever in history in a summer. But despite buying all those players, I look at their team and for me, they're not particularly much stronger than they were last season, which is a crazy thing to say when you've spent all that money. And I think the reason for that is I'm not sure whether they've bought players to suit a certain system or to suit
Speaker: the other players they're playing with. That's the impression that I've got. It's a criticism that I've had at Juventus in recent seasons as well, that when you buy plays, they've all got to suit a certain style of play and be able to play with one another. Excuse me. I'm not sure if that's the case with Chelsea. You've seen that with their performances. They haven't looked great. They just about scraped the win at the weekend against Crystal Palace.
Speaker: for that reason Milan have a chance but can you see them getting a result with all these injuries and with such a depleted team? I think winning will be really difficult which again for all the reasons you outlined is a shame because I think a Milan at full steam and at full health and a full squad could actually take it to this Chelsea. I really think so.
Speaker: And it's like you said, it's a shame, but I don't think with all these injury problems and with all these players that are half injured and not fully fit, I think they have to just focus on getting the salvaging a point. That's the main focus, salvage a point. But having said that, purely, as we saw against Empoli,
Speaker: again, the in -game management is just, and the belief that he's instilled in these players. I mean, the mental strength that it takes to do what they did against Empoli after conceding late, late an equalizer from a brilliant free kick, a bit of a great free kick, bit of a howler from Tata Rosano as well. Yeah, I was going to say, it was a weekend for donkey. Yeah, but it was still, I mean, it was a good free kick, but it was a bit of a howler by Tata Rosano, who's going to start against Chelsea probably as well. So, yeah.
Speaker: Well, Tatarizani wasn't even in the original Champions League list. They were allowed to bring him back in. But my point is simply that when you do that and then you turn it around and you have Balotore scored the 2 -1 goal because he's playing above his level. I mean, that is purely, that is a system. This squad is so united. They believe in everything they do.
Speaker: And that's for me, for me, that's the that's their one hope in this game. Well, not just that is their spirit. Well, not just that, not just that. Also, because Rafael Liao is unplayable right now. He is absolutely unplayable. The.
Speaker: Everything goes through him and no one seems to stop him. Even when they put two players on him, he goes past both. He just looks like he's just too good. He's just too good. And Chelsea will be taking the game to Milan, which means there's going to be space for Rafael to attack.
Speaker: Look, I obviously Chelsea are favorites, but if I were a betting man and this was one of those, you know, I think you get good odds on Milan winning. I'd put a little bit of money on that.
Speaker: I really would because I mean that that Raphael finish was was absolutely unbelievable. Unbelievable. That was that reminded me of of a peak Ronaldo, the Brazilian, the OG, the OG Ronaldo. I mean, the way that he just I remember when I used to play, that's one of those finishes that I used to try in training all the time and I could never do it.
Speaker: I could never do it. I never understood, it's like the way that you dink it under the ball and get it, but the way the physics of it, the way that it kind of just kind of goes up and down. Yeah, the way it goes kind of goes up and down.
Speaker: That is such a hard skill, believe me. The difficulty level of doing that is so, so hard, that exact execution. I mean, you don't see how many footballers you ever see do a finish like that. You get lots of people doing dinked finishes, of course, where the keeper rushes out to you usually at the angle and you just dink it over it. I mean, that's not a particularly hard finish. But this one, where you're running at the goalkeeper and you just kind of
Speaker: just kind of effortlessly just kind of loft it over him and it kind of just goes up and down, you know, like a falling leaf. I mean, it's stunning. And so, no, I think it's going to be really difficult for Mila and Chelsea, our massive favorites. But when you have Rafael Liao and Ismail Benasser and Sandro Tonali and these guys and Pobega and all these other guys and Giroud playing the way he is.
Speaker: Giroud is ridiculous, the number of games he's played. It's just on the high level he's playing at. I maintain that only Giroud has never been in better form or in condition, better condition than he is right now.
Speaker: He is, but the big but is he hasn't performed in Europe in a big game for Milan since joining. And so it's about time he did. He's always been largely been disappointed in Champions League full stop for Milan. If I'm perfectly honest with you, I know he scored in the last game was a penalty, wasn't it? He scored in the last round. So, you know, it was a penalty. He's a penalty. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. We look forward to that game anyway. That's definitely going to be an exciting one. Some big Champions League games this week.
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