Latest / Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football / 🏆 PREVIEW: UWCL Quarterfinal 2nd Leg | Barcelona Wolfsburg Chelsea Manchester City Arsenal Real Madrid Lyon Bayern Munich | UEFA Women's Champions League 2025

Transcript

🏆 PREVIEW: UWCL Quarterfinal 2nd Leg | Barcelona Wolfsburg Chelsea Manchester City Arsenal Real Madrid Lyon Bayern Munich | UEFA Women's Champions League 2025 · Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football

0:02
Okay, welcome to Into the Channel podcast primarily about
0:06
Once football. I am your host Dino de Cespas,
0:09
and as always, I am joined by my Co host Mr. Grant Angle.
0:13
What's up, man? I'm feeling all right, buddy.
0:16
You know, things were happening before this show started.
0:18
I had a couple of meetings that I needed to get to right before
0:21
we come on here to, to hit record.
0:23
I hit the button unwittingly to raise my desk to maximum height.
0:29
I hear the engine start humming up and it started starts
0:32
lifting. I'm like, no, no, no, get to the
0:34
right height. So if if the camera looks off,
0:36
my apologies. We'll try to get back to your
0:38
regularly scheduled programming here quickly.
0:41
Oh man, you look great. Height's good, you know, Length,
0:44
good wingspan, they all they all seem to be checking out.
0:47
So I think we're we're on the right track.
0:49
All right, man, busy, busy, busy week, tons of NWSL.
0:54
We we covered match Week 2 yesterday live last night went
0:58
in on I think all seven matches. And then we've got some
1:01
Champions League midweek action, you know, and some pretty epic,
1:08
I mean, appetizers, you know, you know, what was it like the
1:12
undercard? Like not quite undercard because
1:14
I mean, these are the heavy. It's almost like seeing the two
1:17
heavyweight champions sparring each other and then before they
1:19
actually go into the ring for, for, for the real thing.
1:23
So I mean, tons of lead up. It's sort of at a loss for
1:27
words. Where should we get started?
1:29
All right, I'm going to forsake chronological order.
1:33
I'm going to, I'm going to go against everything that anybody
1:36
who's ever been watching this program has has seen.
1:38
I'm not going to go alphabetical order, not going to go
1:42
chronological order, but I'm going to go by order of what's
1:47
most interesting per day. And obviously, once again, as
1:50
we've discussed, how could you possibly determine what's most
1:53
interesting? We got the microphones, it's our
1:55
show. We're going to decide what's
1:57
what's most interesting. Yep, that all checks out.
2:00
All right, so first, it's been a long day, buddy.
2:04
I'm talking to my pal about football.
2:07
Let's crack the beverages. All set, cheers to the football.
2:13
Sounds delicious. Cheers to the football.
2:16
Cheers to you, my good man. Let's start with Arsenal versus
2:22
Real Madrid. Yes, it is the second match of
2:25
Wednesday afternoon, but recent results would dictate.
2:30
I think we should talk about this one first.
2:33
Yeah, man, huge, big time results.
2:35
Arsenal 4. No, I'm just kidding.
2:37
Real Madrid get the get the monkey off their back.
2:41
Shout out to the guy Chris Sharples.
2:44
He he kind of like a leapfrogged arsat of of 15 straight.
2:47
So it turns out, I think across all competitions, 18 straight
2:50
losses between these two sides. So this is a a matchup that
2:55
Barcelona absolutely dominated. But yeah, I think we all knew
3:00
this day was coming and it just so happened to be this week.
3:03
And then once we heard our once we heard our guys Sharples on
3:05
the call it it elevated it at least 2 1/2 levels for me A.
3:11
100% Speaking of elevating at 2 1/2 levels, both Dozna and Sidak
3:17
checking in early as soon as we start the live stream.
3:20
Shout out to these two champions.
3:23
So wait, you're you're muted Dino?
3:27
So what you missed was let's go. It's Champions week.
3:30
Appreciate you some time. Yeah, it's not.
3:32
Let's fucking go. There it is the beauty of the
3:35
live show. Yeah, I mean, Sharples just that
3:40
that baritone Chris Sharples voice just showing us what what
3:45
a big match should sound like. Look, I mean, Real Madrid gets a
3:51
three one win over Barcelona in Barcelona.
3:56
They just came out tough as hell from the very beginning.
3:59
Their attack looked dangerous from the start.
4:02
They weren't they it didn't even look like they were trying to
4:04
win the possession battle, which we know our pal MLS architect
4:07
has talked about like in in the YouTube comments before, like
4:10
don't try to out Barcelona out Barcelona.
4:13
Just be Real Madrid and play play the type of football that
4:16
you can kind of counter Barcelona with.
4:19
And they did exactly that. 100% I mean, I think you look at the
4:23
possession numbers here, well, interesting You look at the shot
4:27
number and the shot on target #18 to 15 in favor of Barcelona
4:31
in terms of shots, six to five shots on target.
4:35
Barcelona dominates possession, dominates the passing.
4:39
But the chances were pretty even.
4:41
I think Misa had a huge game, that back line had a huge game
4:45
and Antonia for Real Madrid was annoying the shit out of
4:49
anything that was within 10 or 20 yards of her pretty much all
4:53
match until she gets pulled off. She was great.
4:55
Mendez was great defensively. They they they were there for
5:00
it's hard to kind of like describe like they were they
5:03
weren't going to get rolled in this one.
5:05
I think even if they gave up an early goal, obviously they they
5:08
went, they jumped out ahead, but even had they fallen behind, it
5:11
just kind of felt like this. This was the kind of day where
5:13
they were not going to let themselves get beat and
5:16
definitely not let themselves get embarrassed.
5:19
Yeah, no doubt. That's a great point is that
5:22
we've talked about like it it hasn't just been losing to
5:25
Barcelona for Las Blancas. They've just been getting cooked
5:28
by that just consistently. So that that definitely wasn't
5:31
going to happen. And I always I think about and
5:35
obviously we're going to preview Arsenal, Real Madrid here.
5:37
But I I just think, you know, Real Madrid, this you get you
5:42
get these performances. Mayel Lacar, all world
5:46
performance in on the defensive line.
5:49
Misa, Misa Rodriguez, phenomenal game.
5:52
I have to think Madrid fans remember that performance
5:55
probably going forward for the rest of her time at the club,
5:58
probably for the rest of their lives.
6:00
Caroline Weir, the Scottish stalwart in the center of the
6:04
park, playing fantastic, you know, obviously getting icing
6:07
the match. Linda Kaisedo, game breaking
6:10
speed and skill and as we've said multiple times on this
6:15
program, Alba Redondo professional goal scorer.
6:19
Unreal. I mean, 41st minute Carolyn
6:23
Mueller puts a ball right on the money.
6:25
Literally like the exact point in time and space that also
6:29
represents Alba Redondo's maximum vertical leap.
6:32
Like it it was just like a perfect, like a perfect math
6:35
problem of like putting the ball exactly where it needed to go.
6:38
Redondo's like reaching up, gets a professional goal scorer
6:42
header to get to the back of the net and like the exact kind of
6:45
goal that they needed. Mueller was great, I thought as
6:48
well. Alberto Toriel, I thought out
6:51
coached Romeo in this one in a pretty big way.
6:55
I think had the adjustments felt like they were half a step ahead
6:59
from from a tactical standpoint, even though Barcelona I think
7:02
had had a good skills advantage. My favorite part was when Toriel
7:06
puts two players on on Barcelona's short corner, you
7:09
know, just to kind of not get beat.
7:10
By that I mean, just pretty much confirming what we probably
7:14
already knew our guy, our guy Alberto Thorio, definitely a
7:17
listener to the ITC. He was definitely locked in when
7:19
we no doubt we talked about Barcelona, Wolfsburg and their
7:23
shortcomings there. But I don't know, man, really
7:25
great performance. Athenea huge as well.
7:27
Like a a huge headache for that Barcelona defence.
7:30
I mean, she put a ton of pressure on on them and then
7:33
obviously was involved in the in the third goal.
7:36
But I mean, great win, just a really great professional win.
7:41
And I think we were talking about this last night.
7:45
I was so excited for Madrid until I kind of wrapped my head
7:48
around, oh, no, Arsenal's going to be taking on this team that
7:53
must be flying. I mean, to say they're flying
7:55
high would be an absolute understatement.
7:58
Yeah, I mean, that's kind of where my head was was going to
8:01
is, you know, wow. What does this mean for them?
8:05
You know, they come off of an impressive win at home versus
8:09
Arsenal, gutsy in the in the rain, in the elements.
8:13
They do it again versus Barcelona.
8:15
They they finally slay that dragon and and, you know, kind
8:21
of get over the hump, get the monkey off their back, as you
8:23
said. But I, I, you know, I got to use
8:28
a sports cliche. And you know, sometimes I have a
8:31
a tendency to go a little negative.
8:34
What if you're Real Madrid and you just win that massive match
8:38
and then you, you are at the the highest of highs probably for a
8:41
lot of those. But now some of those players, I
8:44
mean, obviously Oliver Carmona won the damn World Cup.
8:46
Contact. No, pardon me, but you know you,
8:51
you have this massive moment and now you have to have the come
8:55
down and now can you ramp it back up when you go to London
9:00
and get it and try to finish the job to knock out Arsenal?
9:05
Yeah, I mean, I think I mean two huge results for them
9:09
back-to-back. I mean it, I feel like if they
9:12
were going to the Emirates even, you know, or, or even just up
9:15
one, it might be a little bit more treacherous.
9:18
But the fact that they're up two and they're kind of absolutely
9:20
rolling and they're they're good players are playing really well.
9:25
Like it's not just, you know, it, it's not just OK, like,
9:29
'cause it, I don't know, like you just see them and it just
9:32
seems like there's different combinations.
9:34
Like Angledahl was involved in stuff.
9:36
And you know, even even in the last goal, the third goal to, to
9:40
really kind of ice it, like Olga's involved, Kaiseido's
9:44
involved, Atenea's involved, Caroline Weir, like kind of like
9:47
gets it literally over the line to, to kind of seal it.
9:51
But all their players, like there's great interplay, the
9:53
defense is rock solid. You know, not it's no easy feat
9:56
to hold Barcelona to one goal, but I guess we'll we'll we'll
10:00
talk about that. But yeah, I All in all, I think
10:04
they were they were rock solid. So I think if I had to pick
10:08
between, is it a let down game or do they ride the momentum?
10:12
I it just kind of feel like this team could ride this momentum
10:15
into the semifinals. I now I don't know whether to
10:20
decide. Is this pessimistic Dino the
10:22
Arsenal fan or is this optimistic Dino the Real Madrid
10:26
supporter? What am I getting here?
10:29
I mean, I, I'm, I'm really trying to be objective.
10:33
I, I really, really am. I really do think that I don't
10:37
know, man. Like if I had to, if I had to,
10:38
if I had to bet, you know, next week's show on it.
10:41
I'm like, I, I think Madrid's getting through.
10:43
I think it's going to be a tall task for Arsenal.
10:46
I mean, this team just locked Barcelona down at home.
10:50
You know, whether it was one goal or two goals, whatever, we
10:52
could talk about that. But even that is a feat for that
10:55
team. That team is not going to be
10:57
scared to go to north London and be like, all right, OK, Mariona,
11:02
we, you know, we know Mariona, who's like one of the more
11:04
dangerous players and they shut Arsenal down last week.
11:07
You know, I think there there was some shuffling in the
11:10
Arsenal lineup versus Liverpool. Obviously Friedamanum, the
11:12
biggest chess piece there to kind of come in, but I don't
11:17
know, I don't think they're going to be any kind of
11:19
intimidate. I think they're going to be way,
11:20
way up for it. And I think they'll be cagey,
11:23
defensive. They'll take their chances.
11:26
We we saw them, we just saw them win a game with 32% possession
11:30
on the road against the defending champs of literally
11:33
every tournament that they they participated in last week.
11:36
So I don't know, it's sort of scary hours for the Arsenal side
11:39
of my brain. Yeah, I think that's totally
11:42
fair. I mean, now I, I do try to look
11:46
into, you know, football just being a super weird sport and
11:49
you getting kind of these, these weird results.
11:53
You know, you, you see a team play four matches and you go,
11:56
OK, well, that's who they are. And then that fifth match they
11:59
come around and you're like, where did, where was that been
12:01
for a month or a month and 1/2 or something like that?
12:03
So are we doing predictions? I I'm done.
12:07
Let's do it. What do you got?
12:15
I think it's 21 Arsenal and they fall.
12:18
Short look at you. That's how I love that pick.
12:21
I love that pick that is perfect.
12:25
You know, footballing drama. Do we get a bonus?
12:28
When? When does Real score their
12:31
first? I feel like it's AI feel like
12:39
it's a one one at some point. So I feel like Arsenal opens it
12:43
up. You know, the Emirates are I'm
12:46
not sure if they're, you know, at the wood or at the Emirates,
12:49
but the the building's cooking and and then I think they give
12:54
up a Backbreaker, you know, whether it's a Weir or molar or
12:58
Athenaea or Kaiseto. And then maybe they're able to
13:02
kind of make it interesting get get one in the second-half or
13:04
later in the match. But ultimately, I, I think they
13:07
do fall short. I mean, that that Madrid
13:09
defenses, they're locked in. They're, I mean, it's going to
13:13
be tough to score on that team. Yeah, totally fair.
13:17
I think the defense is locked in, but I think with some of
13:20
that emotional let down, I think there's going to be some
13:23
swinging. I think play might get
13:24
relatively open. You know, we've seen it with
13:26
like with Cal Dente, you know, and and Russo running forward.
13:33
I think it's definitely, I think we might see some goals in this
13:36
one. I'm going to go 2 two with
13:39
obviously the Gooners still falling short of going through,
13:42
but I think a couple goals squeak through when you're when
13:45
you're dealing with tired legs. What your third match and
13:48
whatever it is, 1011 days or something like that, the way the
13:51
calendar is working out. So yeah, give me a two, 2 draw.
13:55
Las Blancas are through to the semis.
13:58
Love it. All right, let's let's, let's
14:02
give our guy or friend of the pod, P3 Messia a little, a
14:06
little. Let's let's scratch the edge
14:09
here. The offsides call.
14:11
Yeah, let's do it. The offsides call I've got.
14:14
OK, I'm, I'm interested to hear your take.
14:17
But my take away from it was let's say they do get the goal
14:22
right. And it's 22 now.
14:24
It's 22. Barsun is still playing the same
14:27
kind of football, the same kind of forward football.
14:30
And they're still just as likely to give up the third the other
14:33
way. Like you, you won't like, I
14:35
don't know that a, a second goal there changes any of the game
14:38
dynamics. It's not like Barsun's gonna be
14:39
like, OK, let's, let's protect this point and be a little bit
14:42
more responsible. Granted, no way to know what
14:45
happens, but ultimately in within the final score line,
14:50
that goal didn't matter. You know, 'cause I think, I
14:52
think the game just kind of proceeds just the way it does.
14:55
Madrid wants the winner. You know, Barcelona is probably
14:59
wants the winner as well. So that that's my take.
15:04
Bad call, rough, roughish call. But ultimately, I don't think on
15:08
this day it would have made a difference.
15:11
OK, wow, I love that. Yeah, that is bold.
15:13
I mean, you know, I'm a big believer in like next goal wins,
15:17
like no matter which way it comes from and like kind of kind
15:19
of that idea in football. But I I can see that because,
15:24
you know, I think you could justify that because of the way
15:27
Real Madrid played and the confidence their players showed
15:31
on that day. I think that's totally fair.
15:34
I think when I think about the call I was trying to give at
15:39
least like somewhat of a generous read here.
15:43
Let me make sure. Let me find my notes here.
15:45
So, OK. And you know, your boy likes to
15:47
look at the IFAB rules of football from time to time.
15:52
Of course, it's excellent night time reading.
15:54
I think, you know, to get it out of the way, I didn't like the
15:59
call. I realize I am the Barcelona guy
16:01
on this podcast, but I I'm just really not sure if that call was
16:07
either fit the spirit or the letter of the law.
16:10
So thinking about what happened, Alexia plays that little
16:13
floater, that little looping pass, that little chip over the
16:16
top. Yasmine heads it and is clearly
16:20
she heads it and is clearly trying to retreat backwards, at
16:24
which point CGH appears to be in an offside position and is
16:29
almost kind of like setting a screen, pardon me on Yasmine.
16:34
And that's when Yana comes up and smashes the ball into the
16:37
net. So I fab Law 11.2, as everybody
16:43
listening to this podcast knows, is about the offsides rule and
16:47
it says you are offside if you are gaining an advantage by
16:51
playing the ball or interfering with an opponent when it has
16:55
either been rebounded or deflected off the goal post
16:58
crossbar match official or an opponent or has been
17:03
deliberately saved by the opponent.
17:04
So there you kind of like, well, did the ball like rebound or
17:08
deflect off of Yasmine? I don't think so.
17:11
So you keep looking down the 'cause she deliberately headed
17:15
it backwards. Well, luckily the IFAB people
17:18
watch a lot of football. The next part of the rule says a
17:21
player in an offside position receiving the ball from an
17:23
opponent who deliberately played the ball, including by
17:27
deliberate handball, is not considered to have gained an
17:30
advantage unless it was a deliberate save by the opponent.
17:33
And this goes back to say if the pass, if the pass in an attempt
17:38
to gain possession or clearance by the player in control of the
17:42
ball is inaccurate or unsuccessful, this does not
17:45
negate the fact that the player deliberately played the ball.
17:49
So that's a lot of words to basically say that I think even
17:53
though so I think some people were trying to make the
17:55
argument, CGH set a screen from an offside position on Yasmine
18:01
and that justifies the offside call.
18:03
I don't think so because Yasmine in in her mind, either trying to
18:07
get a clearance or trying to play the ball somewhere out of
18:10
danger, played the ball deliberately backwards and Yana
18:14
comes in. Yana, pardon me, comes in for
18:16
the smash. So I think it's a bad call.
18:20
Like you said. I think you could justify it
18:22
that Real Madrid still might win goals, change games.
18:26
As a local manager here, Laura Harvey likes to say that it is
18:30
true. So we'll never know.
18:33
But we do know that Real Madrid walks off with the biggest win
18:35
in in the history of their women's program for sure.
18:39
And now they got to carry it into the Champions League.
18:42
That they do. All right, so we made our picks.
18:46
We'll see how this one shakes out.
18:48
What's the other Wednesday match up?
18:51
Squirrely. Squirrely.
18:51
Squirrely. Oh, and real quick, why you do
18:54
that? P3 is right, It was, it was
18:56
still 2/1. It would have been, it would
19:00
have been 21 for Barsa had they scored that.
19:02
So they would have taken the lead, right?
19:04
Right, right. Yeah, 'cause yeah.
19:06
Carolyn Weir in the 87th. Yeah, point taken.
19:10
Either way, Madrid gets Skull Boat.
19:16
I mean, let him get one. I mean, still, obviously there's
19:19
still the driver's seat. Well, I mean, we'll talk more.
19:22
We'll talk more about Barsley, yeah.
19:24
Yeah, I think they earned it. Let's let's go.
19:25
All right, So Wednesday, the early match, 1:45 PM Eastern,
19:30
Lyon hosting Bayern Munich. What do we need to know about
19:33
this one? Look, I mean, Leon Notch is a
19:36
comprehensive victory. Get in a comprehensive away
19:39
victory versus Saint Etienne, 5 nil on Saturday.
19:42
Lesa Mayer scored in the ninth minute.
19:45
I think, you know, at some point we will do the rankings of who
19:48
scored earliest. Maybe we'll do that in the end
19:52
of ESL preview show. We'll figure out a time to
19:53
figure out who won the race this week.
19:56
It definitely wasn't Barcelona. I want to say you know off the
19:59
top of my head I think Orlando Pride wins the race this week
20:03
for elite team who scores the earliest because of the the own
20:07
goal in the 1st 2 minutes of the match yo.
20:10
G Let's go. Yeah, there you go.
20:13
So I digress. Well, there it is.
20:18
See, you saw it coming. You know, Lake Samir scores in
20:21
the 9th. Hegeberg and the Brits, they had
20:24
first half goals, make it 3 nil before halftime.
20:27
Melchi du Mornay comes on in like the 73rd minute, scores in
20:30
the 74th minute because that's what she does.
20:34
You know, St. at the end couldn't do a damn thing on
20:36
offense until like maybe the 50th minute when they had like
20:40
1/2 chance. You know, the flying death
20:43
machine continues. The March toward greatness
20:45
continues for Leon. Absolutely, yeah, it's wild. 2.4
20:50
XG, 5 real G and five different goal scorers.
20:54
Lesselmeier, like you mentioned, Hagerberg, the Brits, Gilles du
20:58
Mornay just a couple minutes, a couple seconds after coming on.
21:01
I think, yeah, we'll see. I think.
21:05
I mean, I don't think Byron's got any shot in this one.
21:08
They're having a really good season.
21:12
But obviously Drew definitely drawing the the short end of the
21:15
stick. Bayern's probably like their
21:18
their ascension is probably a multi year ascension.
21:21
And you know, we'll see if they get the proper support, you
21:24
know, off the pitch or, you know, from within, within the
21:27
organization. They get great crowds.
21:29
But I think this is probably where their Champions League
21:32
comes to an end this season. And if it is, I think I think
21:35
they should definitely be pretty proud of of kind of like how far
21:38
they got this year. Yeah, certainly a better
21:41
performance than last year in the Champions League.
21:43
You know, they're still super in contention, super live for a
21:46
domestic double after they over the weekend fell down to nil to
21:51
Hoffenheim in the semi final of the DFB poke all but for Neil
21:54
Harder wasn't going to let that slide.
21:56
She ends up notching a hat trick to get them back in the game.
22:01
And I just got to say James Thurgood on the world feed for
22:05
the zone doing the Bayern game. I mean, who is just rocketing up
22:11
my my announcer power rankings. Let me make sure I I wouldn't
22:15
dare misquote our guy. So let me just make sure that I
22:19
have this right as he says when So there's an absolute howler by
22:26
Hoffenheim's goalkeeper when she comes out way, way far
22:30
out-of-the-box off her line, tries to get a clearance.
22:32
Can't get it done. Harder's right there chest sit
22:35
down walks it into the goal for the hat trick and the lead and
22:38
James Thurgood proclaims when other players go hard, Pernille
22:43
goes harder and I'm just like, is James Thurgood is James
22:48
Thurgood becoming the Stuart Scott of women's football
22:51
announcing RIP the legend Stuart Scott.
22:54
But I just I mean I that was a legitimate lol when he let that
22:59
one go. Yeah, he probably put his mic
23:02
on. He probably put his mic on mute
23:03
after. It was just like Booyah.
23:07
RIP Stuart Scott fashion. Yeah, incredible.
23:11
He he's got to be on the show at some point.
23:14
So definitely for the end of the Champions season, we're going to
23:17
try to make that happen. Yeah.
23:19
Out there, if you want to, you know, tag, tag our guy
23:22
Thorogood, Let him know that we're looking for him for sure.
23:26
All right, Predictions. Do we need to make a prediction?
23:28
I mean, my prediction is Leon advances and they cruise.
23:30
I don't know if I got to go any deeper than that. 3-1 Leon.
23:36
Oh, you think Byron gets one? Interesting.
23:39
I do. We know, you know, do we know
23:41
Julia Gvin? Do we know injury status?
23:43
I know she she was maybe on the sideline a little bit.
23:48
Yeah, she was on the sideline. Yeah, no worries.
23:52
I don't know her status for Champions League.
23:54
I do know she obviously didn't play in that DFP PO call match.
23:59
She had some, yeah. She had some words, though,
24:02
after they win that match. In an interview with Sky Sports,
24:06
she had some words for Bayern Munich executives who apparently
24:09
didn't bother to attend the semi final, which is a bit of a
24:12
strange choice if you ask me, Julia given said quote.
24:16
It's a bit of a shame. She went on to say, quote.
24:19
I think it's one of the biggest games.
24:20
If you look at all the competitions, we're doing really
24:22
well in the league and a cup semi final is something where
24:25
you hope for some presents. And then she later said, quote.
24:29
It's very, very regrettable. I hope they at least watched it
24:32
on TV. I hope we go through and that
24:36
they will be there in Cologne for the final, she added.
24:39
End Quote. So you know Julia given.
24:44
Great player, great penalty taker, great quote also.
24:48
Yeah, yeah, scorched them. I mean, you know, we had, you
24:52
know, Claire McEwan on the show a few weeks back, definitely go
24:55
back on this to that if you missed it.
24:58
I mean, and if you missed it, Chris Sharples on our show after
25:01
last last year's Champions League final, Barcelona versity,
25:04
go back and listen to that, that we had a great time.
25:06
I mean, another Hall of Fame voice in my opinion.
25:09
But you imagine being, I don't know, you imagine telling your
25:12
grandkids like 40 years from now.
25:13
Oh yeah, I was in management at Bayern.
25:16
And then they're like, whoa, tell me, tell us about that
25:18
game. That pretty harder hat trick.
25:20
DFP Pocol semifinal wasn't there?
25:23
I was out fishing or doing something, yeah.
25:26
Like local farmers market was. Popping that day, yeah, a lot of
25:31
a lot of local, local brew action that I need to get get
25:35
involved in. It just kind of feels like
25:38
there's so much happening in the sport every every week, every
25:42
match week. It feels like new players are
25:46
surfacing, new things are happening on the pitch that I've
25:49
never seen before, We've never seen before, like just absolute
25:52
rockets. I can't wait to talk about.
25:55
Well, I guess we'll talk about we get to Barcelona.
25:57
But some of the stuff that they were able to do against Real
26:00
Madrid in a loss would just flabbergasting like these
26:03
players are so, so good. And to just be like, yeah, I
26:08
wasn't there for that one. I'll sad it out.
26:10
Maybe we'll see about the final if we make it there.
26:13
It it's just to call it a bit of a shame is is an understatement.
26:16
I think Julia Vins probably being a little gentle there that
26:20
it's it it's an absurdity. Like when you think about how
26:24
much money this sport is going to be generating, how much
26:27
interest it's generating in real time, the things that are
26:30
happening, like why would you not want to be in the building
26:33
in a part just taking it all in and just experiencing like an
26:38
explosion of popularity. Like the men teams, the men, the
26:41
men's game has been sort of at this level, I don't know what
26:44
like 30 or 40 years maybe you know, where it's just dominating
26:48
globally and the brands are dominating.
26:50
But this is like really like the the beginning of The Big Bang,
26:54
it feels like. Yeah, I think that's totally
26:57
fair. And I mean, you know, it's been
26:58
dominating globally for for that stretch, you know, and, and when
27:02
we talk globally, I know we're largely talking about, you know,
27:05
like when did Americans start to get to really what consistently
27:08
watch European football? But you know, football in
27:11
Germany has been the biggest sport there unless, I mean,
27:14
unless one of our German pals can correct me.
27:16
I mean, it's been absolutely massive for 100 plus years.
27:20
So like, you know, it's it, it would be silly to think that
27:23
women's football is not going to start to really catch up and,
27:27
and get its own market share. It's, it's still football and
27:30
it's a great sport and it's exciting and people are are here
27:32
for it. So, yeah, the, the, the Bayern
27:35
Munich execs, they got to do better.
27:37
They should answer for that. It's good to see a player of
27:39
Julia Givens stature call them out as well.
27:43
Yeah, absolutely love it. Love to see that level of
27:46
accountability just kind of go in going in every direction.
27:50
It's very important for for the growth of the game for sure.
27:52
Let's Fast forward to Monday though.
27:54
I know you kind of got us all out of order.
27:56
At least we did Wednesday before Thursday.
27:58
So our props to us for that. But 4:00 PM Eastern, 1:00 PM
28:01
Pacific, Round 4, Chelsea host Manchester City.
28:08
I mean, where do we even start? I'll, I'll kick it to you.
28:10
I want to Where do you want to start with this one?
28:13
We, we've seen, obviously we've watched these teams play each
28:16
other three times. Chelsea two wins, 0 draws, one
28:20
loss. Obviously, inversely, Manchester
28:25
City Football Club, one win, 0 draws, 2 losses.
28:30
These teams know each other, man.
28:31
They, they, they have, they're getting used to each other's
28:34
tendencies. I know you love a good boxing
28:38
comparison. I mean, they are in the I know
28:40
what? I know your moves, you know my
28:42
moves now it's just who's going to execute them better at this
28:46
point, I thought. And Kiara Keating comported
28:52
herself very well in this third match in the league match.
28:57
She's not going to play in the Champions League match, It's
29:00
it's Yamashita, she has to play. She's been too good, but I
29:04
thought Keating looked great, especially after the real shaky
29:06
run of form we saw from her earlier in the year.
29:09
I thought it was, I thought it was cool that Nick Cushing
29:13
played her in this match 1. You get Yamashita a rest and you
29:17
look at Kiara Keating and say I know you're still good.
29:20
You just got names to England's international break squad
29:23
alongside alongside some other great keepers including the
29:27
great Anna Morehouse from Orlando Pride.
29:29
So if you're Nick Cushing, you're looking at Keating and
29:31
say I still trust you. Like I've come in and now I'm
29:34
going to, I'm the caretaker manager of this club for a
29:36
little bit. I still want you to play against
29:38
Chelsea Football Club. And even though Keating's not
29:41
going to appear in the Champions League, that resonates, I think,
29:44
throughout the entire club of like, OK, this dude, it has
29:47
belief in everybody up and down the roster.
29:51
Yeah, and and I mean, obviously Keating young player, he talked
29:54
about his struggles, six big saves in this one and under a
29:59
ton of pressure in the second-half.
30:01
I mean, I thought she held up really, really well against, you
30:05
know, I think Chelsea's best again, you know, as that game
30:09
kind of like near the finish you did.
30:11
It was funny you mentioned these teams knowing each other's
30:15
moves, that Cataline goal to open up the proceedings.
30:19
Nobody knew that move. That's the new move that went to
30:23
stop, Yeah. When I talk about like the
30:25
explosion of the game, seeing things we've never seen before,
30:26
I've never seen that before. Like that was really, really
30:28
incredible. If you haven't seen it, go back
30:30
and check that out. Just a wondrous display of skill
30:34
there by Catalin. Yeah, I mean, she is in a run of
30:38
form right now where I think, you know, she's she's starting
30:44
to really heat up NBA Jam version.
30:47
Now we just need for her to walk into the Champions League second
30:52
leg and for somebody to scream. Hopefully Chris Sharples.
30:55
She's on fire, NBA Jam style. That would be incredible.
31:00
Watching this Chelsea City match, though, I I kind of I I
31:05
got a little bit of a brain worm just thinking because UE had
31:09
that free kick from like a great spot rocks the cross bar.
31:14
If City goes up two nil at that point, somehow I kind of feel
31:20
like things snowball the other way.
31:23
And you know, now city becomes like, all right, we're we're the
31:28
power puncher in this division, you know, but it's just been
31:31
wild how the like the ebbs and flows of just within this
31:34
series, like how it's gone. And and I don't know if I know
31:37
the League Cup wasn't nobody was necessarily technically at home,
31:41
but it does feel like it's been a like a lot of like home and
31:43
away, you know, flip flopping. You know what I think, I'm not
31:48
sure if that bodes well for City.
31:49
I just know it's going to be an awesome match.
31:52
This 4th one. I'm really curious to see, you
31:55
know, from an endurance standpoint, you know, like, you
31:58
know, obviously City, the the story of this season has been
32:01
like so close, but the injuries, this is a lot of minutes.
32:05
This is a lot of grind. And I think what have we talked
32:08
about with Chelsea all season that makes them stand out?
32:11
It's the depth, you know, you bring players in and like,
32:14
you're just like, holy fuck, this is the player that we got
32:17
to like take on. And then you have players that,
32:21
you know, performance wise, we, you know, we had talked about
32:25
JRK, who was obviously on absolute fire at the beginning
32:28
of the season, then cools off in this match.
32:31
A, a, a total problem. Like, you know, city had a
32:34
really, really tough time just getting in the way of her or
32:37
just kind of understanding where she might be going.
32:39
And it just felt like she was leaving defenders in her wake.
32:43
And, you know, on a different day, she might have had two
32:46
goals in this one. Yeah, totally.
32:49
I mean, what she had that like spinning, like, it was like a
32:53
spinning karate kick to try to like, wrap the ball into the,
32:56
into, you know, just inside the right post.
33:01
And, you know, our pal Bliss in the chat points it out
33:03
correctly. Keating did play very well, but
33:05
Medema got more goal clearances than shots on target.
33:08
And, you know, Bliss suggests that you got to use key.
33:11
Pardon me. You got to use Medema as a, as a
33:13
proper #9 I think especially if Bunny Shaw is not going to be
33:18
available, which I'm not quite sure her injury status at the
33:20
exact moment. But yeah, I mean, Medema at the
33:23
9 or at the, you know, an attacking 10, she needs to get
33:27
out there and be active like we saw in in the big win in the
33:31
first leg of the Champions League.
33:33
Yeah, I, I think, you know, you got to go.
33:36
You got to play at Stamford Bridge.
33:37
You got to play a Champions League match at at Stamford
33:40
Bridge. And it's going to be extremely
33:42
nervy and it's going to be extremely high stakes.
33:46
It's about as high stakes as as this city squad has seen,
33:50
especially this version of the city squad.
33:52
But even though last year's team basically had a game to win the
33:54
title against your gooners and ended up losing it, like, you
33:59
know, it's, it's going to be absolutely massive.
34:01
And before we get to the predictions or if you want to
34:04
use this to roll into the predictions, I think they're
34:07
going to be up for it. I like it.
34:11
I OK, I'll I'll go first with my prediction and the player, you
34:16
know, thinking about Viv at the 9, obviously very interesting.
34:19
Could see that working. You know, maybe it's Catalina on
34:22
one side and I don't know, maybe Fujina on the other.
34:24
Well, I mean, we'll see, but the player that I'm interested in
34:27
cause has been relatively quiet in this series, just park.
34:32
I think it's a player that is capable of being explosive,
34:37
being hard to kind of pin down. And I think Cushing now if just
34:43
Park can get unlocked by, you know, sort of surrounding Park
34:46
with like the right players or the right just kind of
34:48
combinations and schematically having something, you know, up
34:52
his sleeve to be able to, you know, unlock Park a little bit.
34:55
I could see just Park kind of having an impact on this game,
35:00
whether through just kind of her passing or her movement or maybe
35:02
it's just, you know, a colossal sorts.
35:05
We'll see. So I actually think this one
35:09
finishes 11 and city advances. OK, I love it.
35:16
Let me just make sure that because I I was I was on that.
35:20
I I was on it for, you know, I was I was kind of tracking that
35:23
this morning and I think I'm going to change my mind.
35:28
Chelsea has 2 two to one victories in this series.
35:33
And then obviously you have the the Manchester City 2 nil
35:37
sandwiched in between those. I think it's City's turn.
35:40
I think City's gonna win this match at Stamford Bridge 2 to
35:45
one. Let's fucking go all.
35:49
Right, I need some goal scores. OK, give me I mean meet him is
35:55
gonna get one. Love it.
35:57
And then let's go meet him in Fujino.
36:02
I love it. I like that.
36:04
I don't know if I, yeah, I think, I think Medemark gets it,
36:08
actually. I feel like I'm, I'm gonna, I'm
36:10
gonna stick with just Park. I think.
36:11
I think just Park lets me whip. I would like to pick just park,
36:15
but you got it first and I just, you know, out of out of the
36:17
integrity. Oh, here we go.
36:19
Here we go. OK.
36:21
No, all right. Next time you can go first, it's
36:23
fine. You stole it from me, you know,
36:26
Give me Albert for Gino Wonder Strike and then Viv Medema
36:30
Scrappy. I'm just running at you goal.
36:33
Oh, bridey in the house. Let's fucking go.
36:37
Love it. Kidding me.
36:38
Welcome to the the legend in the absolute legend, bridey.
36:43
We got some USWT coming up, so the invites, you know it's in
36:47
the mail. We'll keep an eye out for it.
36:49
With that said, let's scoot ahead.
36:50
Barcelona, Wolfsburg, 1:45 PM Eastern, 10:45 AM Pacific.
36:58
Barcelona's gonna be wee bit salty heading to this one.
37:02
What do we need to be looking out for?
37:05
Yeah, I got to tell you, one of the first things that I thought
37:08
of after that match was, and this is this is so niche.
37:13
So inside the I, I know you're your pal from Miami.
37:19
I believe Jonathan Zaslow is his name that he used to say about
37:23
when teams would play the Miami Heat.
37:25
He would. He would just say bad news for
37:28
them. And that was what I would.
37:31
That's honestly what I thought about Wolfsburg when they when
37:35
Real got that third goal, when Weir got that decisive goal, I
37:39
was like, oh, bad news for Wolfsburg because Barcelona's
37:42
going to be in a foul mood and they're going to be looking to
37:45
take it out on somebody. Yeah, man, I think, I think
37:49
that's exactly, that's exactly right.
37:52
And against. I mean, it's Barcelona.
37:54
They're never going to play poorly, but we have seen them.
37:58
You know, I, I think one thing to keep an eye out for, not
38:01
necessarily in this match, but I think as a tournament plows
38:05
forward here, Barcelona did look a little frustrated.
38:09
I think for the first time. I, I and you know, I, I brought
38:12
my notes. I don't really remember seeing
38:14
them pass backwards so often, you know, and I think that was
38:18
that was something in this match where they're just like, OK,
38:20
here we go, OK, we got to recycle like reset here.
38:23
This is this is not working. We got to start over and it just
38:27
felt like there was a ton of that.
38:28
And I, it looked like Madrid's positioning was, was kind of on
38:31
the money. And then mentally, you know,
38:34
the, the moment that I put in my notes, I'm not sure if you
38:38
remember this, this was like a like kind of like a little bit
38:40
of a flash moment, but CGH kind of had like what looked to be a
38:45
pretty nasty injury, maybe around the 35th 38 mini mark
38:49
right before Madrid scored. She's getting treated and
38:54
there's no like huddle, there's no talking.
38:58
There's like sort of like pockets.
38:59
There's two players here, three players over there.
39:02
They're not really talking. They're just kind of meandering,
39:04
you know, like we're just you just kind of strolling out and
39:07
strolling, strolling through the park.
39:10
And I was like, damn, I'm like, this game's not really going
39:12
well and this is a stop and play and like it's a superstar player
39:18
that's kind of hurt. Either you kind of go there and
39:20
like see what's going on or you take a moment to say, hey, like,
39:23
let's let's, let's put our heads together here because it just
39:26
kind of wasn't working. Was 0% surprised to see Madrid
39:31
kind of break the seal on that one.
39:32
Like literally like a minute, a minute after that, just because
39:35
I don't think Barcelona was like really totally checked.
39:37
In the flip side of it though, what they're able to do the
39:40
moppie ball in to CGH. Come on now, An.
39:43
Absolute missile like I was just like, Oh my God, I could just
39:47
imagine hearing the, you know, being in the building, hearing
39:50
the whistling of the ball like whizzing by 'cause it was just I
39:55
mean fire. It was an absolute fastball like
39:58
right, right on the money. All CGH had to do was just
40:01
connect, make a little contact to to get them back into that
40:04
match. So prediction wise, I'm just
40:09
gonna skip ahead to my prediction.
40:10
Give me. 30 to nothing Barcelona in this room.
40:15
All right, win on aggregate then.
40:18
Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, one thing I wanted to
40:22
mention about Barcelona, like when you think about the
40:24
ingredients that you need to beat Barcelona, and we talked a
40:28
lot about Real Madrid, obviously at the top of the show, but you
40:31
need to play, if not your absolute best, you need to be a
40:35
good enough team where you still play great.
40:37
That might not, that might not be your best and to even have a
40:41
chance. And then secondly, you need
40:43
Barcelona to miss some chances. And so, like you said, like that
40:46
Moppy Leon to CGH header, like that worked great.
40:50
But then there was a moment in the first half where Alexia sent
40:52
in a bullet that looked like all CGH had to do was was stick her
40:56
foot out and it was going to be a tap in.
40:58
It was an absolute sitter and she ended the ball go sideways.
41:02
And like our guy Sharples was just like, what was that?
41:05
Like? He was just like confused on the
41:08
broadcast. It was very bizarre.
41:09
You never see that from CGH. So the second part of the recipe
41:13
is you need Barcelona to leave goals on the pitch that that
41:16
don't go over that don't get over the line.
41:19
And they got that. And so like we've talked about
41:22
before when Barcelona has had kind of had some curious, like
41:27
curious performances in the past that doesn't last for prolonged
41:32
periods with Barcelona, they're going to score those more often
41:35
than not. And so there will be a three in
41:39
my prediction. Also.
41:40
I'm going to go with Barcelona 3 nil.
41:42
I think it's I think it's easy day.
41:44
I think they I'll say they scored two in the first half.
41:48
I think Wolfsburg, obviously they have a ton of pride.
41:50
They have great players. I think they'll come out there
41:52
and, and, and fight it out hard on defense, but I think I think
41:57
Barcelona ultimately ends up kind of coasting in this one.
42:01
Yeah, I agree with you there. I think 2 in the first half,
42:03
twenty in the second-half and that's how we get to 30.
42:06
It's just an absolute be done. I the one last thing I'll
42:08
mention about Barcelona and better is Romeo like tactically
42:14
you don't get I'm not I'm not at that level where I'm like OK,
42:17
X's and O's. This is clearly this clear
42:19
didn't work. But substitution wise, I thought
42:22
the attack went pretty stale and in my notes I'm like, I don't
42:25
know what we need. We're like right around the 50
42:27
minute mark. I wrote down three names
42:28
estimate Brux, Claudia Pina, Vicki Lopez and and and I'm not
42:32
sure I'm not fully locked into the injuries of kind of where
42:34
like where where everybody's status is Brux ends up getting
42:36
in the game. But they just needed something a
42:39
little bit different than they had and that would say they
42:41
brought in Bariuello, I think at halftime for a shirt in life
42:46
who, you know, Barryolo didn't look at quite as good as you did
42:50
last week, but I think had had had some moments.
42:53
But I I just felt like they needed they needed something a
42:56
little different. With that said, they did get
42:58
cooking from like the 65th to like the 80th, 85th minute, like
43:03
they were really putting a lot of pressure on Misa who set up
43:06
to it for sure. But I don't know, I think I
43:10
think we might be also starting to see I agree with your point.
43:13
So I'll I'll say that I think you definitely need, you know,
43:15
Barcelona to be a little bit off and they were a little bit off
43:17
on this day for sure. But I think we have yet to see
43:22
if Hiralda's departure is going to have any effects this season.
43:27
And I think as the stakes get ratcheted up, we already see we
43:30
can see what's happening in Lee F.
43:32
We're going to see what's going to happen in the Champions
43:34
League. Shout out to P3 Macea, who very,
43:38
very dramatically says as soon as Barcelona hears the, the, the
43:41
Champions League anthem, you'll see it in their eyes.
43:44
They're damn serious. I, I don't, I don't disagree at
43:46
all. And I think you won't even see
43:48
it in their eyes. You'll see it in their play.
43:50
And you might see it in in that second-half against Wolfsburg
43:52
when they knock in somewhere between 20 and 28 goals.
43:55
We'll, we'll see where the actual final number lands.
43:58
But I, I do think as the, the, the tournament gets deeper and
44:03
deeper and those little adjustments that those line UPS,
44:07
tactical things start to like really have big, big impacts.
44:11
I'm interested to see what Romeo's going to have and if
44:14
that ends up being a little bit of an Achilles heel for this
44:16
team. Yeah, I mean, you know, we
44:19
obviously have a relatively small sample of of pals who, you
44:24
know, are Barcelona supporters, but people have questions about,
44:27
you know, how Romeo's been been, you know, adjusting in in the
44:30
post Geraldes world. So I think it's absolutely going
44:33
to be interesting to see. I do.
44:35
I do have a question though. I mean, you mentioned you're not
44:37
at that level as like an X's and O's guys who I think we all know
44:40
I'm not at that level as a Nexus and O guy.
44:43
If if I wanted to watch a podcast or a or a video of
44:48
somebody who is about those X's and O's and somebody who is a
44:52
genius level strategist like that, what what do you have any
44:55
suggestions of a show that I might want to watch?
44:59
Yeah, well, I mean, if you know, if you follow your boring
45:01
threads, you already know that I've given the show, you know,
45:03
definitely plenty of love. But yeah, Bridie O'Toole just
45:06
popped in with us busy watching women's soccer, an excellent X's
45:11
and O's type show. And you know when there's any
45:15
collabing, I mean, you already know that it's fireworks when
45:19
when these two shows come together.
45:20
But if you're not following that show, well, this is live.
45:24
So definitely stick around with stick around with us if if
45:27
you're rock with us live. But as soon as the live's over,
45:29
go to busy watching with the soccer, hit the subscribe button
45:32
because I, I guarantee you, guarantee you will not be
45:35
disappointed. No doubt on Patreon as well.
45:38
Support our pal Bridey. Let's go.
45:41
OK, so you're at 30 to nothing. I'm at 3 to nothing.
45:45
I think that's all. Four matches of the Champions
45:47
League quarter final, second leg, my man.
45:51
I feel like we've done it. I agree with you, yeah, no
45:54
arguments there. Quick look ahead.
45:56
We're going to have Champions League recaps after these
45:59
matches wrap up Thursday. We'll know who our semi
46:01
finalists are. Very excited about that.
46:03
And then NWSL Week 3 right around the corner, some really
46:06
nice matchups. Washington Spirit host.
46:09
Bay FC Orlando host the surging San Diego wave, KC current
46:14
against our beloved Utah Royals. Angel City versus your Seattle
46:17
rain. That one closes out the weekend
46:19
Sunday evening. Well, we'll be back probably
46:22
after all that action wraps up maybe early next week to provide
46:26
you with the NWSL week three-week recap that we know
46:29
you're anticipating with with great fervor.
46:34
So yeah, I agree with you, man. I think we did it.
46:38
All right. I mean, there's nothing left to
46:40
do but watch the matches and I guess maybe after this, perhaps
46:45
talk about the US women's national team roster and then
46:47
put that show out. Maybe after those matches.
46:50
I don't know. We'll see how it goes.
46:51
What a pro Appreciate you. Thanks for Thanks for.
46:55
I have my back there, man. This has been another episode of
46:57
this channel. Thank you, thank you, thank you
46:58
for hanging out. If you enjoyed the show, if you
47:01
enjoyed the show or love them so far as much as your boys do,
47:03
make sure you're kicking with us each and every single week.
47:05
Like if you like to subscribe, follow YouTube, Spotify, Apple
47:07
podcast, wherever you like to watch or listen, leave us a
47:10
review or your favorite podcast app.
47:11
We want to hear from you. We love hearing from you.
47:13
Links to all of our socials except one in the show notes of
47:16
this episode. And a big thank you, Michael as
47:19
well, the champion of the ITC Mr. Grant angle.
47:22
I appreciate you bro. Likewise, buddy, what a squad we
47:26
had today with us on the live show P3 Brighty Sedoc Skin and
47:31
Bones was in the house. Bliss was kicking it with us.
47:33
I mean, I've this, we talked about Barcelona fielding a death
47:37
line up. This was our death line up.
47:38
We were absolutely unbeatable today and it's a thanks to all
47:41
of you. So we appreciate you racking
47:42
with us and we will see you all next time.