How Cesc Fabregas & Como found success in HUGE win over Man United 👏 | ESPN FC Extra Time
ESPN FC panel on Man United dysfunction, Como's success, Champions League contenders and El Clasico
The panel answers viewer questions on the worse kind of criticism at Man United, Cesc Fabregas and Como's success, and whether United's players or formation are to blame. They narrow the Champions League field to a few elite clubs while giving Real Madrid and Manchester City limited chances, then assess how midweek results shape El Clasico, with Barcelona favored and their loss to PSG seen as useful for Flick.
- Bruno Fernandes publicly questioning his manager's tactics is worse than Lisandro Martinez's criticism of the board — As captain he should have raised concerns before the game instead of throwing the manager and staff under the bus, and his own performance was poor with half-hearted pressing, arm-waving and sulking.
- Como are not a mid-market club and should not be treated as a simple mid-market template — They have financial stability and a clear sense of direction, plus a talented coach, so their style is worth learning from but their resources make the comparison misleading.
- Como's success is mainly down to elite talent identification and smart recruitment — They buy the right players for specific roles at the right price instead of overpaying, do their homework and make signings that give the manager midfield stability, structure and passing quality.
- Manchester United's problem is not the formation but the whole club from top to bottom — The players' attitude, mobility and creativity are lacking, the coach is not getting the best out of them, and changing shape will not fix systemic issues.
- Only PSG, Bayern, Arsenal and Barcelona are real Champions League contenders, with Manchester City at most a marginal extra — The contenders are too strong, Real Madrid are not ready and Liverpool or others cannot compete; even City showed difficulties in the first half against PSG.
- Real Madrid should be given an outsider's chance because of their Champions League history and attacking difference-makers — Their history cannot be ignored and they have enough players who can solve games in attack, even though the genuine winning group is only three, four or maybe five teams and there is no dark horse.
- The winner will normally come from the top three or four, though a surprise finalist is possible and Manchester City could have a fighter's chance — History shows teams like Dortmund, Atletico and Inter can reach finals, but the best team usually wins; City could threaten if they hit form and Haaland scores and gets more involved.
- Barcelona's loss to PSG may be a useful defeat for Hansi Flick before El Clasico — It exposed their vulnerabilities when they do not press together or lose the ball in bad areas, giving Flick evidence to use in training and the video room.
- He favours Barcelona to win El Clasico — Barcelona should control play and have enough movement to break down Real Madrid, whose defence is vulnerable and who will rely on counterattacks and individual quality; his heart warns him about Madrid's fight and luck, but Barcelona are the better team.
On ESPN FC Extra Time, Kay Murray is joined by Ale Moreno, Frank Leboeuf and Stewart Robson to answer your questions... 0:00 Golden Goal! 0:22 Which situation is worse? 1:10 Giving props to Cesc Fabregas and Como 5:02 Man United's players or formation? 6:05 Champions League contenders 8:43 El Clasico predictions unchanged? ✔️ Subscribe to ESPN Unlimited: https://plus.espn.com/ ESPN ESPNFC fcextratime espnfcextratime
Transcript
Welcome into the latest edition of Extra Time. Ali Moreno here in the studio and Frank Lebof and Stuart Robson joining us as well to answer your questions. >> Uh Frank Leof, the start of Golden Goal. >> Golden Goal. >> Oh yeah, >> where it all began in his illustrious acting career. That's one to go and watch. Okay. Which is worse, Lisandro Martinez's comments about um attacking the Manchester United board and technical directors or Bruno Fernandez openly criticizing his manager's tactical decisions. Robo, >> uh it's worse challenging the manager and the and his tactical decisions because he's the captain as well, Bruno Fernandez, and he must have been involved in what they were talking about before the game. And if he didn't like what they were talking about before the game, he should put his hand up and sort of said, "Hang on, we need to press the ball a bit more." And he's really thrown his manager and staff under the bus. So, and as Alli said in the show, if he was a player that ran around and chased and got tackles in and was good defensively, he might want to say to one or two other people, "Come on, come on, press with me." But all he did throughout the game was go and half press, throw his arms up in the air, have a sulk. Not good. >> Frank, enough talk about United. Can we talk about the incredible job Fabregas has done with KOMO? It feels like this style of play is the answer for mid-market teams trying to compete at higher levels. Well, it's a great example. Is it the um the the exception to the rule? I don't know. But uh there is you can see football in different ways. You know, I still believe that you can be and played differently that Ko who want to be offensive, who want to be entertaining, but I believe that it's possible also to be strong defensively, be wires and and maybe count on maybe two or three chances to score to score goals. So um it's it's an example to follow for sure especially with a with a talented coach that they have who knows the football who know how to uh evolve in that in that matter uh to be forced I think it was the season before and six the season after it it's great because uh it's KO but KO is not an average team it's not a average club it's a club with finances stabilities they know how to where they want to go. They know exactly what they want to do. So, it's not uh what do you say? Um >> midmarket. >> What do you say the style of play with? Yeah. Mid market. It's not a mid-market club for sure. I can tell you the finances are there and they they they very again they know what where they go. So, um it's not an example for mid-market uh table club. >> That's fair. But they're great to watch. >> Yeah. and and as with any team that is not expected to compete and yet they've been able to put this project together and now they are in the position in which they are and they have this impressive performance as they did against Manchester United for all of us to see. Uh the thing that that has in common with other times that this has happened, talent identification, being able to get the right players for the right price where others are overpaying for players that are unable to deliver KOMO while they may have the finances, they're not just throwing it around everywhere. let me just invest in players that have a specific role for what my manager wants and we can get the very best out of that guy. And I give you an example. If you follow Het over the years, uh, and and you think of their style of play, you wouldn't think Ko. No, you wouldn't. And yet, who's running the midfield of Ko from a defensive position? Who's who's gluing all of that together? Ri Miga who was doing that for Hafe. And so you have to identify and this is when says Fàregas I imagine plays a role but just the the club as a whole and identifying and say that guy who has played at a team that what they're known for is kicking the backside of other teams and being difficult to play against. He can be a guy for us that will give us stability in the midfield, structure in the midfield, but al also quality of a passing game. You have to be able to identify that and project that that's going to work for you. That is work. That is talent identification. And that's what Ko has been able to do. Not only with Luis Mia, but Yanoto is another one. Another example that works really well for them. Didn't really work all that well. Say for example at Gorus Dorman did work. It did work when he was at Jirona. So you're thinking you have to be able to do your homework. They've done their homework and they executed the purchases of players and the player transfer in a manner in which now makes them as competitive as they are. >> Yep. Absolutely. For Stuart, last season Amarim and his back three formation was blamed for United's struggles given that the players are playing in their favorite four formation and still struggling. Is it time for people to admit that the players are the problem and not the formation? Yeah, the formation is never the problem because you can always have you can always change formation and all that sort of stuff. I know Amarin didn't, but the the formation is never the main problem. It's the in at Manchester United at the moment, it's the whole club's a problem from the top to the bottom. The attitude of the players, the lack of sometimes mobility of the players, the lack of uh sort of creativity of the players, not doing the jobs they should do. It has to go. I'm sure the coach isn't quite getting the best out of him. He might not get the his tactics absolutely right, but at the moment there's something going on at Manchester United that over the recent years they're not getting the best out the players and the players aren't getting the best out themselves and that's something that has to change and it must be something to do with the fabric of the club from top to bottom. >> Frank, outside of PSG, Bayern, Arsenal and Barcelona, does any other team have a chance of winning the Champions League this season? No, no, I don't see anybody. Uh um even if we talk very nicely about Ko, I don't think they're going to go that far. I don't think Real Madrid are ready. Um might you can have maybe you know give a chance maybe to Manchester City but with what I saw against Parisman the first 45 minutes it tells me that's going to be hard and uh but let's give a chance. Yeah maybe yeah maybe I can add Manchester City but that's it that's it. I don't believe that Real Madrid, Liverpool or anybody else can be in that uh in that race because because the others are too strong and uh especially for me Barcelona and Paris and German. I I think you give Real Madrid a pointer chance simply because the history of Real Madrid in this competition and that cannot be overlooked or or ignored. And you can also not ignore the fact that in the attacking half they have a lot of players that can problem solve for you in games that that that potentially could go one way or another. They have enough difference makers. So I I'll say Real Madrid maybe. But the question itself on a yearly basis, how many teams actually do have a chance of winning Champions League? It's three or four, maybe five. And that's where we are now. Three or four, maybe five. Beyond that, we're speculating. Beyond that, we're just making up story lines. Uh there there is no reason to believe from what we have seen that beyond the teams that I just mentioned that there is somebody that could come from somewhere in the dark and say we're going to win this thing. I don't think it happens. As it is every year it's a group of four or five that have an anal opportunity. The other ones are just adding flavor to the competition. >> Rabo, >> I agree. I mean those top four teams you were talking about, they're got to be the ones that are going to win it. You might get a surprise who of a team that gets to the final. We saw Barussia Dortmund get to the final against Real Madrid not so long ago. We've seen Atleti get to the final when they weren't always a great side. We've seen lots Inter Milan got to the final when they weren't the best team in the in the Champions League by any means. But usually the best team wins it and that's going to be one of those three or four clubs that we mentioned. And I agree with Frank. If Man City start to have a really good run and Harland's scoring goals and he gets more involved in games, they've got a fighters chance. >> Okay. Ali and Robo. I'll start with you Alli. Do the performances by Madrid and Barca this midweek change anything about each team's mindset heading into Eláico? >> I don't believe so. I don't think I saw enough from Real Madrid today to say oo ah now now they've got it now they got to figure it out. Um I I actually saw things that you have to be concerned about. Uh and while it it is good to get productivity from Kila Mbappe which you expect you're also getting productivity from Yandom Mande that is also something that could be useful to them but beyond that I don't see anything that was overly amazing or exciting about Real Madrid as Barcelona while you never want to lose and it would be silly for me to say oh it's it's great to lose nobody likes to lose nobody wants to lose it does give Hansy Flick something to work with something to throw at the players. Hey, when we don't close the ball down, when we don't press together, when we lose the ball in bad areas, when lamin when you lose the ball in bad areas, this can happen to us. And now you have evidence that you can show your players. You couldn't do that before because before this match against PSG, every match was Barcelona 5, the other team, whatever, didn't matter. This was a game in which some of their vulnerabilities were exposed. And now if you're Hansy Flleick, you can use that to take that into the training ground into the video room and say these are some of the things that we have to clean up ahead of classical. So it may be a useful loss for Hansify and Barcelona >> Stuart. >> Well, as I said in the show that Real Madrid would like the game to be open in most games because they can't defend at the moment, but what they can do is counterattack and they got the likes of Gilbam, Vinnie Jr. Diamande. But against Barcelona, my head just says that Barcelona will control the play. They'll find enough movement to break down uh Real Madrid, and Real Madrid won't have enough to to cope with it. So, I can only see a Barcelona win with my with my head, with my heart. You always think that somehow Real Madrid will have a fight and a scrap and get a bit of luck in killing Mbappe, a score a goal from 30 yards, but Barcelona are the better team. There's no question about that. You think you think Stewie has a loving heart or is that heart just >> filled with anger? >> I think he has a soft beat. It beats very slowly. But you said surely you but you said he has a soft center. >> I think he's got a >> I think we've broken through that heart. I think we have. >> I think he's allowed us into his heart. >> Yes. Oh, that's my guy. >> Yeah. All right. Thank you guys. Thanks so much for sending in your questions. There'll be a lot of Classico talk coming up in the coming days and no doubt a lot of questions right here on Extra Time as well. We'll be back tomorrow to do this all over again.