The Athletic

Hello and welcome to the weekend preview on the Athletic Football podcast, sponsored by Bet365.

I'm Dan Bardell, George Ellick and Bet365's very own Steve Freeth are alongside me, as ever, to preview the best of the weekend's Premier League action, which includes Liverpool v Spurs and Arsenal against Leeds.

Only one place to start, though, absolute classic Champions League encounter on Wednesday night.

I mean, I'm pretty sure you weren't on Carlo Ancelotti's Christmas card list anyway, George.

He's really taking some offence to your comments in recent podcasts, him and the Champions League and Real Madrid in the Champions League this season. It's just been amazing.

Actually, the first one's list. I think he's put my quotes up on the changing rule at the

Burnabow and said, prove this absolutely nobody wrong. I mean, I still just can't really

believe what we've seen from Real Madrid over the course of these three games against PSG, Chelsea and City. I mean, I still just can't really believe what we've seen from Real Madrid over the course of these three games against PSG, Chelsea and City.

I mean, Lazarus only did it once, and they've done it three times.

It is beyond comprehension.

I think there's been a lot of talk about Benzema.

There's been a lot of talk about Vinicius.

I think Rodrigo deserves massive credit for the impact that he's had, both in terms of scoring.

Can we talk about that header for the second goal? Because that header, it didn't really, it kind of went under the radar, I thought, and wasn't really talked about. Is it a good header? Ludacrous? Because it hit Essensia. But does that not make it, like, he took a little Nick, and he changed up. very fortunate.

It was just impossible for him to do that.

If I hadn't have hit Essensia,

that's going nowhere.

Exactly.

But isn't that,

so is that skill or is that fortune? I mean, even Antrolotti spoke after the game about the need for luck in this competition. I mean, it was incredible. And I think Thibbe Courtois deserves just immense credit. He made crucial saves, that saved from Bernardo in the first half. And then I think you'll struggle to see a better save with your feet than the one from Greelish, the second shot in about 20 seconds where to the naked eye it looked as if he'd skewed it. I think he should save the goal there. Yeah, possibly. Yeah, I wouldn't disagree with that. You know, Maras kind of sends him the wrong way almost from that angle.

He opens his body, then kind of clips it inside.

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