World Cup News

Jimbo’s got Pol Ballús, Seb Stafford-Bloor, Julien Laurens and Rory Smith alongside him as the Champions League Knockout Round Play-offs get underway. We start with a look at some of the big ties across Tuesday and Wednesday including the small matter of Manchester City v Real Madrid - for the fourth season in a row in Europe! Elsewhere, there’s the all-French affair between Brest and PSG, Celtic host Bayern Munich and Feyenoord v Milan just got a bit more interesting following the dismissal of Brian Priske… Domestically, in Spain the La Liga title race is the gift that keeps on giving with just two points separating Real, Atleti and Barcelona at the top of the table. That’s after Carlo Ancelotti’s side were held in a 1-1 draw by their Madrid rivals, allowing Barca to close the gap with a 4-1 victory over Sevilla. Over in Italy, it was a big Monday night in Milan as the Champions closed the gap to leaders Napoli to just one point after a 2-1 win over Fiorentina… just four nights after they’d played in Bergamot and la Viola had won 3-0 in a match that was rescheduled after the collapse of midfielder Edoardo Bove back in December. Napoli’s lead at the top stands at one point as they were held by Udinese. In France, PSG continued their imperious Ligue 1 form with a 4-1 victory over Monaco, which included a first goal for the club for a certain Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Distant chasers Marseille and Nice both registered wins of their own to keep up their Champions League charge in what’s a very competitive chase for a top three spot. And in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich prepared for their trip to Glasgow with a 3-0 win over Werder Bremen, stretching their lead at the top of the table to eight points. That’s because closest rivals Leverkusen let complacency creep in again as they were held to a goalless draw by Wolfsburg. Meanwhile, Dortmund have gone five home games without a win in the league - their worst run since 2006 - after their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Stuttgart. Produced by Lucy Oliva. RUNNING ORDER: • PART 1: Moments of the weekend (00.45) • PART 2: Champions League teases (06.15) • PART 3: La Liga review - Title race gets even tighter, plus is Antony actually good in Spain?! (10.35) • PART 4: Serie A review - Miixed fortunes in Inter v Fiorentina double-header as Napoli slip up again (21.20) • PART 5: Ligue 1 review - Kvara bags his first PSG goal as chasing pack bunches up (41.35) • PART 6: Bundesliga review - Bayern extend their lead while Dortmund’s troubles continue (49.25) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manchester City is on the brink of elimination while the likes of Brest and Lille are through. So with the final week of the group stage upon us, it is time to ask the question....is the new Champions League format actually really good?? Rog and Rory debate the ups, downs, and in-betweens of UEFA's grand experiment. Then, Rog and Rory revisit last year's Europa League champs, Atalanta, as they fight for both a Serie A title and a deep run into the Champions League behind the man, the myth, the dad jean legend...Gian Piero Gasperini. What makes Gasperini every manager's favorite manager? And is he secretly the best coach in Europe? All of this and more on the latest European Nights.... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini and Philippe Auclair discuss big wins for Liverpool and Villa, while Brest’s dream continues. Plus, David Squires joins to chat about his new book. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/footballweeklypod. Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast

Jimbo, James Horncastle, Raphael Honigstein, Julien Laurens and Alvaro Romeo are back with your continental catch-up on all the weekend’s football. Alvaro Morata inspires Atleti to a derby win over Real Madrid. But it’s Barcelona and Girona that sit top of La Liga. Hear why the Gironistes are like a Spanish Brighton. PSG don’t even need Kylian Mbappe to beat up a Marseille side in turmoil. But Luis Enrique’s side are below Brest and Nice in the table. Inter make it 6 wins out of 6 in Serie A while Juventus suffer their first defeat of the season in shambolic circumstances at Sassuolo. The Bundesliga is the home of the striker with Kane, Boniface and Guirassy all in red-hot form. Plus Michiel Jongsma gives us the latest from Ajax after Der Klassieker is abandoned. Plus the panel are freaked out by Count Cancelo Produced by Charlie Jones. RUNNING ORDER: • PART 1: Moment of the weekend (01.45) • PART 2: Barca and Girona top the table after Real derby defeat (08.45) • PART 3: PSG thrash Marseille while but Brest and Nice are the top two (25.00) • PART 4: Chaos at Der Klassieker with Michiel Jongsma (37.00) • PART 5: Kane, Boniface and Guirassy firing in the Bundesliga (43.00) • PART 6: Juve’s comedy of errors (52.00) SIGN UP TO THE ATHLETIC TODAY FOR £1 A MONTH FOR 12 MONTHS • theathletic.com/totally *** • Go to shopify.com/totally to take your business to the next level today • Go to Indochino.com and use code TOTALLY to get 10% off any purchase of $399 or more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kris, Jez and Phil round up a confusing weekend of results, with Monaco coming from 2-0 down to beat PSG, Brest adding to Saint-Etienne's woes, a goalfest at Mosson, and Lille looking good. Round 4 of the European competitions is coming up and Rennes and Marseille are probably looking for Europa League places after Christmas.