Champions League CLASH: Real Madrid vs Manchester City and Premier League Weekend Preview

Get set for an exhilarating deep-dive into the Champions League spectacle, focusing on the riveting 1-1 draw between football giants Real Madrid and Manchester City. We deconstruct their strategic approaches, highlighting Real Madrid’s capitalization on key moments and Manchester City’s robust response. The fiery exchanges between Carvajal and Grealish, alongside Real Madrid’s skill in curbing City’s offensive threats, contribute to an engaging Champions League narrative.

In the broader European football arena, we evaluate the current standings in both the Champions League and Europa League. We scrutinize the potential outcomes of critical match-ups between Inter, Milan, Manchester, and Real, offering insight into the shifting dynamics of these elite competitions.

Turning our gaze to the Premier League, we delve into the fierce relegation battle, taking note of Brighton’s impactful games against Arsenal, Everton, and Manchester City. We also contemplate the challenges Manchester City will face in their upcoming clash with Everton at Goodison Park.

As we look to the Premier League weekend, we discuss Leeds’ face-off with Manchester City, Liverpool’s recent form, Aston Villa’s European ambitions, and Nottingham Forest’s looming relegation. We wrap up with a preview of crucial ties including Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth and Southampton’s pivotal match against Fulham. Stay tuned for a compelling exploration of the Champions League, the Real Madrid vs Manchester City showdown, the Premier League relegation struggle, and all the latest from Liverpool.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 – Real Madrid vs Manchester City Analysis and Recap

0:06:01 – City’s Two Types of Players

0:08:24 – Tactical Match With High-Value Shots

0:11:50 – Premier League and Champions League Update

0:17:06 – City’s Tough Game Against Everton

0:22:59 – Weak Goalkeeping and Disappointing Results

0:23:47 – Premier League Weekend Preview

0:30:09 – Premier League

0:34:07 – End of Season Football Analysis

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#PremierLeague, #ChampionsLeague, #RealMadrid, #ManchesterCity, #Carvajal, #Grealish, #Inter, #Milan, #Everton, #Goodison, #Leeds, #Newcastle, #AstonVilla, #NottinghamForest, #CrystalPalace, #Bournemouth, #Southampton, #Fulham, #Football, #Tactics, #Narrative

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Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Squeaky Bum Time Podcast, presented exclusively on the CHOP Sports channel of the premier streaming network. We are recording this on Thursday, may 11th. I am your host, laurent Cortines. In this episode, manchester United feel the heat from Liverpool. Arsenal, face another must win and we say goodbye to the last man standing of the greatest midfield of all time. But first, manchester City vs Real Madrid. How did I feel? What did it do And how did I survive? But before we get to that, please like, share, subscribe the show. Like, share, subscribe the show. Like, share, subscribe the show and we'll get into it.

Right after this We're gonna talk Real Madrid Manchester City 1-1 in the Champions League. How did I feel? How did it feel? It felt fucking stressful.

These games are too big to be normal. They're too big to feel anything normal. They're too big for anyone to kind of understand, and I think these games take on different meaning for different folks. I know that there are people that hate Real Madrid because they're the biggest team and they win everything, and there are people that hate Manchester City because we're Manchester City. So there's a giant rock in a hard place level. However, if you come at it from a neutral perspective. If you come at it from a lover of football, if you come at it from just wanting to see high level stuff, there was nothing better than this game. I'm so used to seeing City dominate whoever they play that seeing them play and equal for lack of a better word was unusual.

I was offset, i was sort of pushed back and in the first 25 minutes it felt like Real Madrid were giving City a bit of a rope-a-dope the famous Muhammad Ali tactic to let George Forman punch his arms out. City had the ball. We're moving around, everything's good, everything's fine. It feels like we have chances. Holland scuffs a couple shots. It's like oh, oh, where are these goals gonna go in? Is it just a matter of time? Not so fast with Real Madrid. They are better than you expect them to be And I shouldn't have been so naive as to not think about that. Now. To be fair, a lot of this game there was nothing going on. First 20 minutes, like I said, city were on top, took five shots, none of them very good, aside from the Rodgerie one that Courtois made the save, and again Courtois. The guy is a giant fucking space pelican who has the arms of an octopus and he's gigantic. That shot that Rodgerie took would have gone in against 95% of goalkeepers, but against Courtois not so fast. So everything's fine Then. I believe this to be true.

But there's a moment that Ilke Gundogan gets bumped. He knocks his head on the floor, he kicks an elbow or whatever, and there's a stoppage in play at about the 25 minute mark And at that point there seems to be a change. After that, rayon Madrid just get a bit more into the game. There's a bit more controlled, there's a bit more fight, there's a bit more of something. And it's in that moment that Bernardo, after it, restarts.

Bernardo is on the far side playing with the ball. He loses it on a back pass. Camavinga gets a hold of it and runs three quarters down the field. It's an incredible sorry, that's not accurate. He wins the ball, passes it to Modric who, of course, in Modric style, i mean just what an incredible player. He just touches it around the corner back to Camavinga, who then runs down the field, not being fouled because everyone's man marking each other in city or just trying to squeeze the life out of Real. So if someone takes a run and just runs past you, the man who's marking you goes with you. So Bernardo is behind Camavinga the whole way. He can't really get a hold of him And there's a given go between he and Venetius Jr and Vinny just pops it in the top bins.

A laser beam, a laser strike. The Baron of Baio goes nuts and I am sunk. It's against the run of play. I'm just like what the fuck just happened. But Real Madrid do this. This is what they do. They are the best at capitalizing on the moments. Because to be a Real Madrid, to be a madrista, is to not be afraid, is to believe, is to. By nature of the shirt, you have confidence And if you don't, you don't play. So there's no lack of confidence that lives within Real Madrid. No player who's lacking confidence can play for Real Madrid because, by nature of the fact that you are on Real Madrid, you are, by nature, confident. So they're there And Vinny Jr does put it in and we ring the second half.

There's a lot of chippiness going on. Carvajal and Grealish are really getting into it. There's a little bit of fouling and biting and things like that, and it's fun. It's got an intense match And, to be fair, to create a narrative out of this game, there's not much going on. It's a lot of tactical, a lot of control, real sitting deep in control of the game, not making sure to keep City at arms, at arms length. Alaba and Rutiger are really on top of Holland, not staying in front and behind them all the time. So there's a lot of space for the midfield to really get in, but Real Madrid are keeping it very tight. Keeping it very tight, not letting City get much penetration. And when City play with Bernardo Silva, it's for control, because he's not a creative player.

There are two types of player that City play with. They play with this concept of the pausa, which are these players that are outlet balls that'll slow the game down and control tempo, and they play with attacking players who get in behind an attack. So De Bruyne are the attackers, holland is a forward thinker, márez is a forward thinker, foden is a forward thinker. These are players that want to go up and down and attack, whereas Bernardo Grealish, gundogan, these are your players that slow games down. They won't go forward, they'll turn and make that turn. They're the players that you want them to make that pass, but they tend to keep things settled, ticking the ball over, making the next pass, in control of the game.

Grealish will get a ball, he'll go in a little run, he'll turn around, he'll get fouled. Now does he create stuff? Absolutely. It's not that he doesn't create things, it's just that their role in the team is to control tempo, because with tempo you control a game, and what Guardiola wanted to do more than anything in this game was control it and not being a track meet with the two most clinical players in all of Europe in Benzema and Vinny, reducing the chances they could to hurt City. But in the second half City were a bit frantic, they didn't get as much control And you had, mostly in the second half, many, many shots by Rae. Al Vinny Jr had a shot, rodrigo Tony Cruz, valverde, benzema on 65. So Benzema, that whole crew gets in control and City are on the back foot through the middle of the second half.

Come at the moment. Come at the man on a turnover by Grealish into Gundogan who lays it off to De Bruyne, he fires it in and he flies through the air both feet off the ground, top bins, beautiful from De Bruyne, and it meant everything to him. He was not having a great game but, like I said, this game was very tactical, very controlled and he put his hands to his face as though he were tearing up, and I can see why it's happening. Kevin De Bruyne is now in year you know, he's in his 10th year as a professional, maybe 15 as a kid and he hasn't won this Champions League and I think he knows that his time with Belgian is probably in its past in that they're not going to win their golden generations who will do nothing. And this Champions League is his moment to win, and I think he felt all the pressure of that moment to score and get it done.

But after the goal, nothing much happens. Both teams seem to go okay, there's a goal, let's let it slide off. We do get the one ranged shot from Tuka Mini, another shot from Benzema on a header that was sort of dangerous, but things were okay, were okay. There was a high value shot that I believe that that that Edison did make a couple saves that were important. It's the Benzema header that he definitely gets a hold of on the cross by Tony Cruz. That I do recall. But there's not really many high value shots to write home about. Aside from that one, there was another one, i think on the break There was a cross that was cut out by Diaz in the first half. That was dangerous. There were moments and every time Raoul came forward they were dangerous and petrified me.

But this game was more tactical, more controlled. What city wanted? they take the point, they didn't play extra players. They take the nerves out and they go on to the next game And I don't think about it. But from a feeling perspective it was a difficult game to watch because I wasn't used to city not being in control and the threats that Raoul Madrid have are very real and very, very dangerous.

And as we segue a little bit into the Premier League, we'll just touch on it. Do play Everton at Goodison and you would expect that all the front three will be replaced. It'll be more, as it'll be Alvarez, and it will be Foden, probably playing up front, and then Phillips, just to spell De Bruyne, or maybe Bernardo will drop into the midfield and then I would expect La Porte to come back in. A Kenji hasn't missed the game and then John Stone seems to be favored at all times. It'll be a bit more. I would expect Kyle Walker not to play because he's not needed. There are some outstanding players in this game John Stones and Kyle Walker. They relatively kept Vinnie Venetius Junior quiet, really controlled things, and then Diaz with the block and Edison, who I give a hard time to, did come through with a big save. But we go on Champions League.

We go on to the Milan Derby, which didn't disappoint from a spectacle perspective in that it's to the biggest teams in Europe, but did disappoint from AC Milan's perspective. They were all over the shop in the first 15 minutes and really got beat badly and it could have been worse. Frankly, jekyll on an amazing cross body side foot volley on a cross from a corner, puts it in on eight and then Miquetarian just breaks through and fires in on goal. And there were three other chances. This game was not close. Ac Milan were terrible. They scored on their first two shots on goal and then on 16 Miquetarian had another great shot and Inter were just completely dominant through the first 40 minutes. Milan did have chances. Jero had a couple blocked on 43 and a couple more. But then the second half was a bit more bitty. Jekyll had another incredible chance, set up from Bastoni that he didn't put through. A 50% chance. I mean that is about as big a chance as you can get.

Did not score and it doesn't look like these teams will be a challenge for Real or City. But it is football. Anything can happen. But when you think about Ed and Jekyll, who's 37 and Miquetarian, who's basically a Premier League, reject you've got material diamond in this team, a Manchester United team, you know you can't reject. There's a lot of you know non-internationalists this is a hakan Chakanaglu who's been there for what feels like 15 years at Inter. You know it just not much going on in terms of high level players and high level quality, and so you know they didn't play. But and Leal didn't play. So not a lot to write home about for AC Milan. But they have it all to do. They've got a lot of work to do and that's where they are in this Champions League and whoever wins between this, milan Darby will have a really, really, really good time getting through and going forward into these games. Champions League gets more and more and more difficult as you go through it, but that's Europe.

I do want to touch on a couple things. West Ham congrats, you won your first leg in the Conference League and, i believe, roma in the Europa League. I don't even know who's in the Europa League, whatever, leverkusen versus Roma. Jose Mourinho, europa League will figure out at the final, not going to go too far into it, but I did want to touch on. West Ham did get their win today against Azad Alcamo. A couple goals there from Said Ban Roma and one from Mikhail Antonio, so good stuff for them.

The Champions League games resume on Tuesday for Inter and Milan and Wednesday, the 17th, for Manchester and Real at the Etihad. This is main road, but the Etihad is the other picture. So let us transition, transition, transition to the Premier League, But let's get our standing. Let's see where we are. We did have Monday games, just want to touch on them again. Those were all those relegation battles with Lester losing to Fulham, everton with their massive result against Brighton and nodding him farce with their massive result against Southampton. So we reset. The battles are really for two, three things really. I do have to give credit to Arsenal. They did win their game against Newcastle. They do place pressure on Manchester City. They do are only one point behind City, have a game in hand but have to go to St James, do have to go to Goodison to play on Sunday in a very hostile environment. So nothing is solved, nothing is done.

Arsenal will host Brighton, which is let's just start with that, with. Let's just start with the, with the Champions race, with the, the Premier League title Excuse me Arsenal have Brighton, city have Everton. Arsenal have to win all their games to even finish four points behind City. That means City have a game and a draw to play with. I'm sure they'd rather not play with them. City have an extra game to play. They do have to play Brighton in the middle here. So Brighton is going to figure in everything. They have been slowing down despite the fact that they got they got they played earlier in the week and lost to Everton 5-1. The XG was different, but it wasn't real. Brighton still created a lot and created many chances, and Everton and Arsenal will have a hard time with Brighton, but I'd expect them to win.

I believe that the last game was won by let me just make sure. Let me just make sure here. Yep, the last game was won by Arsenal for two at the MX. So we'll see. But then, prior to that, brighton had beat Arsenal both in the EFL Cup and in the Premier League last season under Potter. So Arsenal did have a good game against them earlier in the season on the reverse fixture. But now Brighton, who are a great away side, will play Arsenal, who have their own injuries to deal with. I believe is in Chenco's out. Saliba is not coming back. Neither of them are coming back this season's in Chenco's hurt.

Brighton are one of the best teams away in the league. They are fourth in the table in a way point, so a very, very good season for them. Arsenal, actually the best away team in the league, but they're playing at home. They are third in the table in home points, so good for them. But Arsenal, i want to see more. I want to see you play. Brighton are going to let you play, so I want to see from soccer. I want to see from more to nearly. I want to see you guys do damage to the side.

And then on the Everton versus City front, big, big game. Normally you wouldn't expect this. This is a bottom of the table team versus top of the top of the league, best team in the world. But the circumstances and the context of which City are playing Everton are make this an interesting game. Everton at home coming off an amazing result, city having just spent the most mental energy you could probably spend in a game coming off the Bernabeu on Wednesday, on Tuesday now have to play at Goodison, a place where they have not played well historically.

I could see City having a really, really hard time and maybe a draw. I'm not being funny, i'm not being hyperbolic, i'm not being hedgy. A draw in this game would be okay. A draw would be okay for City because then they would just go. Okay, we got our draw, let's keep going. But super, super, duper tough game for City to have to play in the middle of that run against Real Madrid And I am frankly worried.

Is it all right if I'm worried? Because I'm fucking worried for sure. I'm very, very worried, yeah, very worried. I'm going to go through a couple of other games, especially in the relegation battle, lester versus Liverpool. Lester host Liverpool at the King Power Lester. After the last game. It was just another awful performance losing 5-3. It could have been worse, as they say, and Fulham had no players. I mean it was Williams Cross, it was all this stuff. They were awful. They still can't defend, they still can't stop in the midfield No, indeedy means they don't prevent anything from getting to their back four And it's just going to be another very, very difficult game for Lester to feel like they can get a result.

Liverpool have been playing much better of late, especially at home. They are actually getting clean sheets now. They actually are on six wins on the bounce. I remember it counted it online live, which makes for great podcasting when you count numbers to clean sheets in a row one against Fulham, one against Brentford, both at home. I would say the Brentford performance was much better. They got that lucky win against Tottenham where they probably should have drawn. I mean, listen, come on, it is Tottenham and they are bad, but they gave up a decent amount of XG. The other games you'd feel good about. They did legitimately beat West Ham and Nottingham Forest before that, but it's that home cooking. They've had four of their last five at home, which really makes a difference, and then two of their next three will be away from home. So their last three games are Lester, aston Villa and Southampton. They have a chance at the top four because United have slipped tremendously.

Klopp making the changes at the right time. Player of the season, mr Allison. Plus nine goals and expected goals, that's a tremendous amount And I always said that Allison was great, but he really is that good. He's fantastic. He carries the team a long way makes up for a lot of defensive mistakes. Especially we have the slip event like he's not bad, he's just not as unbelievable as he was throughout most of his career.

But I think the big thing here is the transformation of Alexander Arnold moving into the midfield getting assists in five games in a row just completely changed the way things are going, getting some consistency, with Gakbo now playing regularly. Nunez, it was just have to take time to bed in. You've got Gakbo, you've got Diego Jota, you've now got Diaz back the midfield solidifying, because the attack is solidifying. The more bodies, the more running, the more pressing. The better Liverpool's defenses, the better their pressing is. So as their press gets better because they have more bodies, then their defense can improve because they have less time to deal with runners in behind and less time for passes to get picked out. So Liverpool playing well away from home is a different gravy to home.

Lester, do pack and attack. They still do create chances. James Madison is on 10 and nine. That's very, very good for any kind of creative player. Rv Barnes with 12 goals And we've got our friend Mr Vardy starting to play, starting to fight. If they're gonna win it's gonna be because their old boys.

Iverson was terrible. Again he missed the goal. So one of the things I think about with Lester why they're so bad, even though they can attack, they've got bad goalkeeping. You really notice bad goalkeeping when you don't have a good goalkeeper And Lester's two-headed monster just did not help them at all all season. And Liverpool should have an easy go against Lester. But Lester are fighting for their lives. If they don't win this game. They're really, really, really in trouble and they don't have an easy run.

Lester's remaining games are let us get to the scores and fixtures of the great and powerful Lester City. Their remaining games are Liverpool, newcastle, west Ham away at Newcastle. They're one game that maybe they can win is home against West Ham. They're away at Newcastle. They just can't buy wins anywhere. I think that Leeds game was damaging, the draw against Everton damaging. Those are the teams they needed to beat because they're better than them, better than those two teams. They should have beat Leeds and Everton but, being the weak team that they are, they couldn't handle it. Ward and Iverson are just crap goalkeepers barely saving 65% of shots, unable to keep clean sheets, just both really bad in hurting their team And their chances to stave off relegation. Okay, more relegation. Banter Leeds playing at home against Newcastle. Big Sam going against one of his clubs.

I watched City and Leeds play. There's some thought that Leeds were okay, okay versus City. I would dispute that. Just because they didn't give up five doesn't mean they were good. They were not good. They got lucky in that the City inexplicably gave up a goal. But they were poor. They did try and stay narrow and stay deep, so they did get a reprieve in that regard. They did freaking. Finally, bench Mellier, who was a minus 12. I mean 12 goal difference. I mean bad teams have bad XG, but minus 12 for a keeper, it's just untenable. You can't play that guy. So there's that And they have a shot, i suppose, at home against Newcastle.

They had a nil-nil draw against Newcastle earlier in the season and Newcastle are coming off a relatively tough loss where they played okay versus Arsenal. But anything but a win here would be shocking. Newcastle do need to get points. They're not quite nailed on for the top four but they're getting very, very, very close. Newcastle sitting in third still and looking very likely to finish in the top four just getting the final points here. They sit on 65, with United on 63, and Liverpool on 62. Every loss hurts. They had only lost two of their last 10, but those two happened to be two games at Liverpool one. So Liverpool closing the gap on them. They're still much stronger, they're still pretty strong and they're on for a great season. They still should finish in the top four. I expect them to. They're better than United, but they've got to get these wins. Putting a lead side out of its misery will help, but they need to get the wins just to solidify that top four spot. Only three spots left. Only three games left. Liverpool chasing down the pack, trying to get those coveted champions league spots, leads playing Newcastle for their lives with Big Sam, trying to find anything at this point will be very, very, very difficult In the Who Wants to Play in the Conference League Cup?

Aston Villa host Tottenham Hotspur, who have slept, who have slinked down like a stone. The Harry Kane team just has to keep relying on Harry Kane to do anything. He's now resorting to assisting to himself. They don't really have a coach. I don't trust Ryan Mason. Sure, there's a little bit of vibes going. It feels very Ole. He should not get the job. Please do not give Ryan Mason the job.

They have two wins in their last eight against Brighton, which was inexplicable because they should have lost, and against Crystal Palace, which is about as dull as you could watch a game in the season. But they have Villa, brentford and Leeds. This Villa game is big for them. A win will solidify Europe. For them, very likely Either Europa or Conference, looking more and more like the Conference League. But Aston Villa to get into Europe will be huge. Unai Emery's run has ended. The Ali Watkins scoring a goal every day has ended. Aston Villa have played 35, same as Tottenham. And then you have Brighton in between there, but with two games in hand. But they have Arsenal this week. So cool game looking forward to it. But I'd expect Villa to win this game, especially at home. Especially Unai Emery's going to outcoach Ryan Mason until the cows come home. Now more relegation, friends.

Nottingham Forest away against Chelsea, chelsea getting their win finally against Bournemouth. They are staying up And Fat Frank does not have to feel shitty about his life anymore. He can just go. Oh well, i just fucked up. But anyway, forest coming off that huge win against Southampton. They'll be aiming for a draw. They're sitting on 33. A win will definitely make them safe. But away from home Forest are just abominable And if Frank Lampard loses to Forest at Stanford Bridge he should be fired. He should have been fired last week, but that'll be what they work on there. Looking forward there, not much. A lot of Steve Cooper. Is he a better coach than Frank Lampard? You bet your ass is that he is. Nottingham Forest will try and sit deep and frustrate Chelsea and hit Chelsea on the break. You'd expect them to do that And maybe Chelsea will start playing the kids. They have nothing to play for. They're safe, nothing. So I would expect Forest to show force and push Chelsea back. If they get an early goal there, then Chelsea should be in trouble. The Roy experience.

We move on to Crystal Palace. First Bournemouth. Crystal Palace are safe, sitting right on 40. They are the classic middle of the table team. They've been about as middle of the table as the middle of the table can be. And then this is a battle with Bournemouth who are sitting on the same amount of points as they are on one point behind, on 39. The quality of Palace is much better. They've got to feel shitty about that weird West Ham game I mean Spurs game, but Roy's team as, after winning a bunch of games, they've now slowed down just a little bit, losing to Tottenham and losing to Wolves, sandwiching their win against West Ham. That got us all worried about West Ham, but we'll see where they are after this one. Gary O'Neill got his boys in good shape. 39 will take them home. If they get a win and can match Chelsea, that would be incredible. For Bournemouth It would be an amazing result, but less about where they need to go.

Another game Southampton Fulham. If Southampton lose this game, they are officially relegated. They must win this game. So Southampton holds Fulham, they're done. I liked Celis, but I don't think that's gonna happen.

And then, finally, the last game on Saturday Manchester United versus Wolves. These are the games that United needs to win. They're very, very good against the crap of the league, and so I would expect Manchester United to pull this one out versus Leeds and then really solidify their top fours place. They're on a two game losing streak. Big, massive losses. The Brighton one probably hurts the most because it was the last second, but the West Ham loss also just not able to create anything, not finding the goals they need to find. The draw against Tottenham probably hurt. And then I think after the Sevilla outing, that really hurt.

They've got to get back to that middle period of the season when they really were kicking on just sorting the Premier League standings here, when they really were winning there. Yeah, in the middle of November, just after the World Cup, all the way through to February they were really doing well. The Liverpool 7-0 really damaged them. They took a dip there, then drew against Southampton nail nail inexplicably, then lose the Newcastle away. Then their home cooking does well for them, beating Everton, brentford and Nottingham Forest. But these last two games have been a real blip again. After the injuries they suffered, they need to find a way to get themselves back off.

the Schneide been very good about reacting to losses and getting wins when they need to, but, as I said in a video that I might share later, if United lose this top four spot this season, it will be a catastrophe. They've got to hold down to this spot. They have an opportunity to get into the top four with a team that's not that good. Frankly, it's not as good as it should be. Everything underneath it says they should be better. But the nice thing is they have four games. They have Wolves born with Chelsea and Fulham. Four games that they should win, but you would have said they would have beaten West Ham and they didn't. And three of them are at home.

So the schedule is very, very favorable for United to stay in the top four, but they've got to find a way to score goals and they've got to keep mistakes down and not have to throw games away, like he did against West Ham. Two points the draw against Brighton and a draw against West Ham would have made them totally safe and really had the upper hand on Liverpool. But now they're in trouble And if Liverpool catch them, it will be a crushing blow to lose the top four spot that they've been holding onto for so much of the season. As much as Liverpool were just like. Well, we're just going to play, we're just going to win and keep going.

Liverpool, manchester United, have handed it back to them, dropping the two games in a row while Liverpool are on a run. That's six points made up in a week. So a massive, massive, massive game for United. Wolves do not score either, so a draw wouldn't be good enough. They need to win this game, find a way to get Rashford backscoring, get Erickson and Fernandez playing with Casamiro, everything should be fine. They've just got to finish their chances And I think, frankly, they play better with VegHorse. It sort of frees up Fernandez and Rashford to score. I mean, i know he doesn't score, but he does things they need him to do, whereas Marcial might be a better finisher, but he's just such a miserable player It's difficult to see what he's supposed to be doing.

One more game West Ham versus Brentford. Both teams on the beach. West Ham doing that Thursday-Sunday thing, just winning their conference league game against Azad Alkmar. They don't need to win this game. They're probably safe. They're four points ahead of Nottingham Forest, but another couple points, another win would feel great, especially if they got to the magic number of 40. And Brentford, their season's really over. They're sitting comfortably mid-table on 50, less to play for, really just playing out the string at this point, trying to reach some goals. Get Ivan Tony more goals, things like that. They're in good shape.

Season's getting very, very, very close to the end of the season. Only three match weeks left. Some teams only have three games left. Some have four, some have five. Brighton specifically has five. Got to play Manchester City on two weeks from now, on Wednesday.

Let me just check here on my final notes for the show. Just little things that are going on. Do you want to bring up a couple of things? That Dish Everton thing that's happening They're all of a sudden scoring goals Makes me very nervous for that city game that's coming up.

If I didn't cover it enough, freaking me out, then we've got another thing Sergio Busquets of Barcelona finally going to be leaving Barcelona. He has the second most trophies of any player. I believe it's 34 and 18 seasons. That's a lot of trophies Intrigal to the Pep's Barcelona. He's the last player left from the 2011 team And that will be the end of that era. 12 years later, he's the final piece left of Pep's super midfield, of Xavi Iniesta and Busquets legendary team winning everything, including the World Cup, including New Euros. Just an incredible career for Sergio Busquets, looking like MLS. I don't see why he would do that. I'd love to see him in the Premier League in the middle of the table team just showing the world what he can do, just in terms of popping the ball around. At this point, he's more Giorginho than Rodri, to be honest, but he still can make a touch, put a ball around a corner and play a player in and just controlling that balsa, that tempo of a game. So respect to Sergio Busquets in his last few weeks of the season. We're getting very, very close to the end.

Ok, that was the squeaky bum time podcast with Laurent Cortines. We are the football wing of the CHOP Sports Channel and presented exclusively by the Premier Streaming Network. We record on Mondays and Thursdays Show. Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast so you never miss an episode. And if you're listening on Apple, please rate and review the show, as it means everything to us. Thank you and good night.

By Laurent Courtines

I'm here and I am ready to go. Been doing my homework and I have things to say.

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