Tension at Man United following UCL loss? 👀 + FC Bayern & Arsenal draw | ESPN FC
ESPN FC dissects Bayern's Arsenal draw, Real Madrid's win, Manchester United's collapse and the Champions League race
The panel review Bayern Munich's 2-2 draw with Arsenal, Real Madrid's 4-1 win over RB Leipzig and Manchester United's 4-0 defeat to Como, debating Arsenal's progress, Como's tactical excellence and United's internal problems. They also preview El Clásico, assess the impact of Kvaratskhelia's injury at Paris Saint-Germain and identify the few realistic Champions League contenders.
- A 2-2 draw was acceptable to both teams but did more damage to Bayern — Bayern had already dropped points, while Arsenal held the midfield advantage through Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard; Bayern also need points to reach the Champions League's top eight
- Alonso Davis is a difference-maker for Bayern when he is physically fit — He repeatedly drove up and down the flank and combined effectively to produce a fine goal
- Joshua Kimmich's absence was a major structural and psychological loss for Bayern — Arsenal exploited the situation, with Rice and Odegaard gradually dominating midfield; without Kimmich, Bayern even considered using a No. 9
- Harry Kane was outstanding, but Bayern cannot rely on him performing every role in every match — Kane took goal kicks, distributed from deep, assisted, and scored, but he is most effective inside the penalty area and Bayern should place him accordingly in the competition
- Arsenal have rediscovered their ability to play proactive football — Rice and Odegaard made accurate decisions with the ball, while both coaches adjusted their tactics in a well-organised and thoughtful game
- Upamecano's positioning in the first goal was debatable, but his physical presence still constrained Saka — He chose to move inside rather than tight-mark Saka, giving the winger time to shoot, but his aggressive movement still created pressure and hurried the attacker
- Bayern currently lack clear leadership and have several questions to answer over the coming weeks — Beyond Kane, the roles of Musiala and Kimmich remain unclear; fine details could prove decisive against a strong Arsenal side
- An open game suits Real Madrid best and is what they will want against Barcelona — Real Madrid's defending is unreliable, but Mbappe, Vinicius, Bellingham and Arda Guler can exploit the chaos
- Real Madrid's overall performance was poor and only looked comfortable after taking the lead — They relied on Courtois before Mbappe scored because their midfield lacked structure, while Bernardo Silva and Camavinga's weaknesses allowed Leipzig to counter
- Arda Guler continues to justify trust — He offered exceptional creativity from the right and repeatedly applied pressure to Leipzig's left-back
- Leipzig missed a chance to beat Real Madrid or at least take something from the game — They had two or three chances to lead in the first half, and an opener would have allowed them to drop deeper and exploit their elite counterattacking ability
- Diane is gradually settling at Real Madrid, although his start has only been decent — He has made errors but also scored and shown his confidence and dribbling ability; playing on his preferred left side should improve his output
- Real Madrid need possession and pressure in midfield to create counterattacking opportunities — Barcelona's advanced full-backs leave spaces behind, but Madrid cannot exploit those areas unless they can win the ball and use their numerical advantage and structure
- Manchester United produced one of their worst performances of the season — Their duties were chaotic: they could not keep possession, progress from defence to attack, or stop Como playing out, switching play and running behind
- Manchester United are too cautious at times in refusing to press man-to-man and accepting space behind the ball — By leaving space, they give opponents confidence, and the coaching staff must sometimes take the risk of pressing high to make them uncomfortable
- Fernandes cannot demand a man-to-man press when he does not perform his own defensive duties — He should himself follow his assigned opponent and set the standard, or raise concerns internally as captain rather than publicly criticise the staff
- Switching to man-to-man directly led to United conceding and exposed their shortage of running and sacrifice — Two short passes released Dybikas one-on-one through midfield, proving that the players did not execute the press
- United's players, rather than simply the tactics, betrayed the coach, supporters and club — Carrick may understand better than anyone which demands the current squad cannot sustain, while the players failed to run, commit or solve problems internally
- United's main problem is a lack of leadership and team spirit rather than inexperience — The experienced players should already know how to press, cover and support one another, yet the side appears divided and unwilling to accept collective responsibility
- Manchester United urgently needs to correct its negative body language and effort — Fernandes gestured in frustration after half-pressing the ball, while the defence struggled to track runners, in stark contrast to Como's energy and concentration
- Como's success is the product of long-term squad building and has reached another level — The club has steadily improved while enjoying financial backing and playing fast, creative, high-pressing football anchored by the exceptional Nico Paz
- Paz is a player from a different class and has become Como's central problem-solver — He can move in and out of positions, assist or score, and United's second goal began with him finding the space in front of Dybikas
- Coma's performance reflects collective clarity rather than one exceptional midfielder — The players knew their next pass before receiving the ball, used frequent one-touch combinations and attacked quickly while their composed centre-backs also stepped forward
- The Como centre-back's attacking contribution reflects a mentality unlike traditional Italian football — Italian centre-backs would not normally join the attack and finish goals, but this team gives its defenders the confidence and freedom to do so
- Kvaratskhelia's ACL injury is a major blow to Paris Saint-Germain — He will be absent for nearly a year and cannot be replaced, despite the club having several talented alternatives
- Paris are likely to seek another winger in the January transfer window — The long-term absence of Kvaratskhelia removes a proven alternative, while the current depth is reduced further by the risk of injuries elsewhere
- Paris' attacking problems extend beyond Kvaratskhelia because Dembele is injury-prone — Dembele had to leave the match, and Barcola and Ferran Torres cannot fully cover the gap, while Akliouche's characteristics are not an exact fit
- Fernandes' public criticism of the tactical approach is worse than Lisandro Martinez's comments about the board — As captain and a participant in pre-match discussions, Fernandes should have challenged the plan internally rather than throwing the staff under the bus
- Coma proves that attacking football can also be defensively stable — The team defend seriously and can win with a few chances, although their model depends on financial stability, a clear direction and a talented coach, so it is not directly transferable to mid-market clubs
- Coma's key strength is precise recruitment tailored to the team's needs rather than style alone — The club finds affordable players suited to specific roles and can adapt proven midfielders to provide stability, structure and passing quality
- United's problem is not their formation but their attitude, mobility, creativity and professionalism — Formations can always change, yet the club has repeatedly failed to get the best from its players, suggesting deeper structural problems
- Only a small group of leading clubs realistically have a chance of winning the Champions League — Coma and Real Madrid are not ready, and beyond Paris, Bayern, Barcelona and perhaps Manchester City, there are at most three to five credible contenders
- Real Madrid remain one of the three to five clubs with a genuine chance — Despite defensive and midfield shortcomings, their history and attack full of match-winners such as Mbappe, Bellingham, Vinicius and Diane keep them in the race
- The best team will usually win the Champions League, and Manchester City need more from Haaland — Borussia Dortmund, Atletico and Inter have reached the final as underdogs, but the title race should still come down to those three or four leading clubs
- Neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona proved they are ready for El Clásico, although Barcelona's defeat provided useful evidence — Madrid still showed defensive and midfield vulnerabilities, while Barcelona finally exposed weaknesses in collective pressing and losing possession in dangerous areas
- Barcelona should win El Clásico — They are the stronger team, can control the game and exploit Real Madrid's defensive shortcomings; Madrid may counter effectively or score from distance, but Barcelona should remain favourites
Today on ESPN FC, the panel discuss… 0:00 FC Bayern vs. Arsenal 12:39 Real Madrid vs. RB Leipzig 20:05 Como vs. Man United 36:11 Kvaratskhelia’s injury 40:11 Extra Time ✔️ Subscribe to ESPN Unlimited: https://plus.espn.com/ ESPN ESPNFC
Transcript
Nice stuff. Nice game. 2-2 it would finish between these two sides as we welcome in the rest of our panel tonight here on ESPNFC FC. Frank Lebuff Stuart Robson and of course our favorite Jurgen Jurgen Klinsman. So let's start with you if we can Jurgen. What did you make of tonight's game? >> Well, we talked about it yesterday and and we were looking forward to that uh big match and it was I think it was a big match. was very interesting to see how both teams approached it. Um it took um them a while to get a rhythm. I think Bayern Munich kind of after 20 25 minutes got a little bit uh on the front foot and in a moment where you thought okay they're getting closer to to a first goal possibly there came this beautiful ball from what they got into and it was 1-0il Arsenal with obviously a beautiful finish there. um question a little bit the backline of Bayern Munich in that moment as Alejandro said uh when we saw the images um then I think Bayern Bayern came back um beautiful ball from from Harry Kane into Alonso Davis and I think this is a bit the story from a Bayern Munich perspective is that we see Alonso Davis back in the team we see him going up and down the side and when he's when he's in a good physical condition then he he's a differencemaker and the way he scored that goal was was fantastic. Um sec second half was open. Both sides had their chances. Then came the penalty for for Harry Kane. He got his uh um goal against his favorite opponent with Arsenal and then obviously you know Declan Rice was able to to equalize it. I think it was interesting from a coaching perspective to see a bit the midfield battle uh because Bayern Munich they lost Joshua Kimish prior to the game. Um and uh and I I think that's where they had Arsenal where they had in the upper hand, you know, with Declan Rice, with Odigard. Um they made they made Tom Bishov and and uh and Pablo suffer a bit more. Um it was um fairly even. I think the 2-2 is a is is a good result, but um it helps a bit more Arsenal. I think you know Bayern after they gave away already two points last week. you know, you want to get your points in early because you want to climb into these top eight in the in that Champions League format and uh I think that's uh it damages more Bayern Munich than Arsenal. >> Uh Kimick and not in the game because there was a death in the family and we send our best wishes to Kimik that's why he didn't feature tonight. For the Arsenal side of things, what did you make of it, Robbo? Well, I was interested to see how Arsenal approached the game because much of the game, uh, David Ryer went from back to front out to the right wing. Uh, in the first couple of minutes, Sacker almost got in behind the fullback, Stannis, uh, and didn't quite do so. He obviously went off went off after seven minutes, but whoever was playing out on that right hand side, that was the ball they kept on trying to hit and they continued to do it and continue to do it and then try to pick up the bits and pieces. So it made the game very spread because Arsenal's back players were looking to get it off the goalkeeper and the front players were looking for it to go along. So the game became spread. It became a game of knockdowns. And uh when Bayern Munich started to win the knockdowns, that's when they started to dominate the game. But it was that last 20 minutes when you thought that Bayern Munich might go on and win with Luis Diaz coming on and Carl coming on, that's when Arsenal changed their game plan slightly. Yes, they did go long on occasions, but they started to play football. Bayern Munich went deeper and deeper. they started to play round them and that's how Declan Rice got his goal. So there was a lots of different things from Arsenal uh went long for much of the game but also when they had chance to play they played and of course a great ball from Eurard for the goal. >> I suppose a positive point for Bayern is who they were able to do it without tonight some of the big names and that we've mentioned obviously Kimik Alise Diaz came on later on Mousiala and they still got this 22 result. Yeah. And I and I think structurally the absence of Joshua Kimick is a big deal for Bayern Munich. And the personality of Joshua Kimick and his absence is also a a big miss for Bayern Munich. And I think Arsenal to um to Jurgens's point took advantage of that. And Declan Rise and Martin Ogard started dominating the midfield. And uh to Stewie's points, this happened later in the game than I thought it would have because you look at the names and you look at the numbers in the midfield and you think, well, this is where Arsenal is going to have an advantage. And they didn't really make it count. They they dominated the possession for long periods of time, but they didn't really make that count into real goalcoring opportunities or into chances or into sort of giving themselves a a chance to go and create opportunities in the final third until late in the match. and they did so consistently. That's where the gold comes from and Steuie touched upon that. In order to make up for the absence of Joshua Kimik, who do you call on if you're Bayern Munich? Uh Tom Bishop? Nah. Alexander Pardovich nine. Harry Kane. Harry Kane. I have no idea what position Harry Kane plays. I have no earthly idea by definition in terms of what is his role for this team. I have no idea what he plays because he's taking goal kicks, because he's taking balls from center backs, because he's distributing play from deeper positions, because he is providing an assist, and because he is scoring a goal. So, by definition, all the things that I just told you, they actually factually happen on the game. I'm not making this up. This is not me hyping up his performance or misrepresenting the truth of what happened in the game. All the things that I just told you he did, he did on this game. He is everywhere for Bayern Munich. Now, I suppose that works today. But when we picture what Bayern Munich can be in this competition, it's going to be necessary that you find Harry Kane not just in playmaking positions, but that you find them inside the 18 yard box because that's where he is most effective. But the fact that he's willing to do what he's doing and it's a it's it's like redefining the liberal role. He is he's playing center back. He's playing in center midfielder. He's playing attacking midfielder. He's playing forward with the freedom to do as he pleases. I don't know that Bayern Munich can depend on this happening all the time, certainly in this competition. But today it was a really impressive performance from Harry Kane. >> Yeah. Frank's gonna tell me off now because there's no surprises for guessing what he was asked about after the game after a performance like that Frank and that was the upcoming Ballon door. >> Oh boy. >> I'm sorry Frank but it falls there because we're talking about Harry Kane. What are your thoughts on it? >> Well the guy is a genius. He knows how to play. He's exactly knows what he has to do. Even goal kicks is perfect for that. I guess he can also play goalkeeper maybe. Well, you know. Yeah. I don't know who's going to be the bond door and I maybe for the for the O carrier and for the season that he had last season maybe hurricane Ken deserves it but allow me to to add also Martin Ogard in that game where I think I saw two players who exactly know what to do with the ball who know what they have to do even before they receive the ball. So, I really enjoyed that game and I enjoyed the fact Arsenal played. Last yesterday we were uh four out of five that in the in the show only Craig is not here where we were wondering if Arsenal will play or will be only defensive like they've done since uh they came back from that loss against Brighton. Uh and I said, you know, that I thought that they would be able to play like they did from the beginning of the season and they did today. they played and uh and he played because Martin of the guard was spot on and I think they are he has a good influence and a big influence so he has to make sure that he can be that guy for the rest of the season al otherwise Arsenal will will struggle. I enjoyed that game differently than Paris and jame yesterday against Barcelona. But I was very organized, very thoughtful. Even the two coaches changed the tactic. That that was a that was a very good game. I just want to go against Ali on the fact that he doesn't like French people and especially because he criticized him defensively and offensively today. But I want to say that for people who didn't watch the game, Mikano was pretty big today again. And you can witness that to me with me. >> Okay. All right. Okay. First of all, I do not hate French people. Let me let me make that very clear. I may hate Frank, but that's a different conversation. He doesn't speak for all French people. >> Well, that's what I mean. >> Uh my point about is that in the first goal, initially, he makes the correct decision that he's going to he's running diagonally. He has the angle on essay. doesn't mean that he's going to go and get there in time to block the shot, but his presence takes an angle away from Essie. And the fact that you got this big old physical presence as up full speed, if you're an attacking player, you're seeing it out of the corner of your eye. You're seeing this guy coming and it makes you rush. It makes you, if you think about Essay and the picture that he's looking at, well, there's no pressure coming from over here. So, I'm gonna allow the ball to bounce once, bounce twice. I look up. Oh, that's the angle I want. That's the far post. Let me find that over there. He had all that time to think as to what he wanted to do and he allowed the ball to bounce perfectly so that now he could hit it cleanly. If you have coming, I think he influences how that chance is finished by Ev. Speaking of finishing, it'd be nice if Frank would just let me finish rather than jumping in. But there you go. >> French. Oh, no. I want to jump in because I know you're going to talk about the offensive action, but I just want to say that if I can agree with what you say because that's a decision that you make and that was a wrong decision, but I think he thinks that Lyr has a time to go on EZ because he think that if he goes on EZ is going to cross to I don't know who was there, maybe hurricane or somebody else. >> Calafury. Thank you. So, it's why is between two and he say okay I want to cover Calif Califury. Maybe Lymer has a time to go, which which was a mistake. I agree with you. It was just a joke. >> Ah, chill out. >> Oh, I see. >> Well, it was Frank did try to bring Jurgen into this. So, let's see where Jurgen stands on this whole upo thing. >> No, I think overall upo had had a good game. But in that instant, I think yeah, I I think Ali is right. in a split second there the decision has to come from him to go out and and try to block a just in that specific situation. It was a bit curious to see that you know um company took off Kim J at Halime and brought in Ta. Um so we don't know if he was injured or what was the reason for that. Um when I look at Bayern Munich um as of today you know how they presented themselves today. Obviously, we know that Joshua Kim uh couldn't play because of what happened to his dad and uh it's very sad, but uh um I I'm kind of missing leave aside obviously this phenomenal Harry Kane that does everything there. Um but I I I miss some sort of leadership uh at the moment and there are a couple of question marks that maybe go into the next few weeks for this team is is where is Miala standing? Where's the development of Leonard Khal in in that moment? Is he just kind of calm at the moment? It's just not the same way that we saw him explode last season. Um so who's taking things into into the hands if it's not Harry Kane? Um so there there are many question marks coming out of that game against a very strong Arsenal side and I have to give them a lot of respect actually to take the game to Bayern Munich especially in the second half then uh was was impressive. It was a impressive performance by Arsenal. Um but I'm very curious to see what happens at Bayern Munich the next few weeks. >> Do you have questions about Bayern Stuart? >> Uh the with the team they had out today with no Alisa obviously with no Lewis Diaz without Musala Carl was on the bench and didn't come on and do particularly much without Kimick. Uh I think it's a fair result for them because I expect them to be dominated by Arsenal. When I saw the team that by an ad out I was think where's the creativity going to come from? Well, it obviously came from Harry Kane from a deeper role, but I thought overall they did quite well. And I think the reason that they changed Kim for Tar was because so many of Arsenal's goal kicks and balls from Rya were going into that sort of leftsided center half area and Kim didn't deal with them particularly well and I think that's why he bought on Tar just to cope with the aerial bombardment that Rail was trying to give to the leftsided center half and the left back. >> Positive performance for Real Madrid ahead of the big game this weekend. 4-1 it would finish against Leipzig but of course next up it's the camp now it's Barcelona it's Eláico in La Liga. How did they look tonight for you Stuart heading into that game? >> Well when the games look chaotic and when it becomes open that's when Real Madrid are at their most dangerous because they didn't defend well again as we've seen many times this season. Uh RB Leipzik had their chances. Cortis made a couple of good saves. They were easy to play against Real Madrid, but when they win the ball, they've got better players in the attacking areas than the opposition. And obviously, Mbappé's got the pace to go past people. Vinnie Junior had one or two good moments. Bellingham racing forward. Ardu Gouler was outstanding playing on the right hand side alongside Valver who played at right back yet again and their combination was very good. They had quite a good midfield in terms of on the ball, but their midfield didn't defend particularly well. So, it was a it was a game where there was lots of chances for both sides, but the better quality is in the top third of the field for Real Madrid. And I would say against Barcelona, they want the game to be quite open. They don't want it to be too compact. They don't want it to be too much of a tactical battle. They want it to be open because that's when they're at their most dangerous. And that's what happened tonight. >> For Real Madrid, I up until the Mbappe goal that was followed by LFC and then Mande. But up until that moment, I had mentioned to you as we were watching the game, this wasn't a particularly good or impressive performance from Real Madrid. Uh, in that they had to depend on Corttois making saves. And to Stewie's point, while their strength is that the game gets open so that a guy like Mbappe can run and Bellingham can run and Aragüer can find space, which he did against David Rome time and time again and he was driving him crazy and Dande can run and Vinnie when he's on the field, he can run as well. That part benefits Real Madrid. But in them getting open, in the game getting stretched, now they have to defend. And what they have proven time and time again is that they don't depend so much on Dean Hen doing the defending or Antonio Rudiger doing the defending. They're depending on Tio Cortto making the saves which then tells you that defensively they're not very solid. They don't have a lot of structure through the midfield. Kamovinga and Bernardo Silva I think both of them are too disorganized defensively. Bernardo Silva wants to get on the ball everywhere, but he leaves the middle. And Kamovinga, he's just simply not good enough or clean enough on the ball and sometimes makes turnovers in bad areas. And so therefore, Livic gets on the counter, they get in transition, they find chances. It wasn't an impressive performance from Real Madrid. But when they get themselves in attacking positions and Kib Mbappe is doing the things that he did or Daniel Mande is doing the things that he did, then you kind of go, well, problem resolved, issue solved. No issue here. Nothing to see here. You go on and win the game seemingly comfortably. I don't think that was the case. >> Ad Gouler, however, does continue to make a strong case for himself. I'm wondering, Jurgen, what you think of a player like Gul? Are you a big fan? >> Yeah, I'm a big fan. I I love him. I love his creativity. I love his uh kind of uh Yeah, he's he's reading the game ahead. He knows what what comes up. He He knows where to position himself and where to put the ball. No, I I really enjoy watching him, but I would like to add a little point to the to the game because I feel a bit sad for Abby Leipzik. I feel sad because they had two three absolute uh good chances to to go into the lead to score the first goal and this would have been a fantastic opportunity to really cause massive problems to Real Madrid. If they score the first goal, they can go backwards, they can kind of drop and play counterbreak football, which they are extremely extremely good in. And I think if Deceales that game, he will say that was a missed absolute missed opportunity today. There was a chance actually to to hurt Real Madrid in their own stadium and get something out of it. Get at least a tie out of it. Now obviously the moment then when the goals rolled in then there's nothing you can do anymore. But uh they were on on the upper front in the first half in my opinion and they missed that opportunity. >> A missed opportunity. What was your take on it Frank today? Well, you know what? Uh, it's always good to have a win, you know, before a big classicalico. And it's going to be a big classical for Real Madrid for sure. And, uh, what I like is I see that when they had the opportunity to score, they did, and it was clear, but again, again, and again, they're so happy. They must be so happy to have a goalkeeper like that because, as everybody can agree, without Corttois, it would have been a different story. And in many occasions in the uh late well lately uh um Real Madrid era they are so fortunate to have to have Cotto in their in their goal because he's for sure and from far the best goalkeeper in the world. >> Yeah. Let's talk a little bit about Yande finding his form if we can Robo because that's important for Real Madrid. This is a very expensive player. They've brought him in to do important things for Real Madrid. What are you making of his performances so far? Is he growing into his role? >> Yes, I don't think he's dominated games. He hasn't had the perfect game. He's made a lot of mistakes, but he's also done some very good things. He scored his goal today. I think he's better when he's playing on the left hand side, which he probably will do at the weekend, I would think, rather than playing on the right hand side where he made his debut. But he's a player that can go past people. I think he's growing in confidence. If he can score more goals, that'll be great. He's got to have an end product. But overall, I think he's had a good a decent start. not an outstanding start, but a decent start to his Real Madrid career and I'm sure he'll get better and better and he's going to be given more chances with Vinnie Junior out. >> You think of some of the vulnerabilities of Barcelona and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Barcelona commits so many numbers forward that outside backs are usually not in a position where they can defend and so then that forces Kuwaiti and Jerard Martin into areas in which perhaps they don't want to defend. They become exposed and Barcelona becomes vulnerable. That means that a guy like Yandandy Mande if he's able to dominate the game and to impact the game in the manner in which to is mentioning then Real