Kylian Mbappé

On this episode of The Cooligans, the boys debate whether winning at all costs is hurting the beauty of Arsenal’s football despite their results, and whether title contenders should be held to a higher stylistic standard. Manchester United fan Matty FC joins to discuss the club’s recent bounce under Michael Carrick and whether it’s the start of a real turnaround or just a temporary lift. Plus, we predict which young striker could be the next superstar in Europe alongside Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé, and break down why Brazil may be heading into the 2026 World Cup with more questions than answers—even with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm.

Steve Crossman and the panel react to an action packed couple of nights in the Champions League. Julien Laurens, Mina Rzouki &, Guillem Ballagué give their reaction to a busy week for Italian clubs including Juventus’ near comeback, Atalanta’s late win over Borussia Dortmund and, Inter Milan’s shock defeat to Bodø/Glimt. In Spain, Real Madrid survived an early scare against Benfica to progress to the next round. Benfica had a plethora of chances. This doesn’t feel like a particularly strong Real Madrid side like the ones of old. Atletico Madrid are through to an eighth Champions League Round of 16 stage under Diego Simeone, but will it be his last? Had they gone out could it have been a different story for the Argentine. TIME CODES 00:00 Intro 01:00 Inter Milan fall to Bodø/Glimt 12:30 Juventus knocked out 14:00 Is there an Italian football crisis? 24:30 Atalanta’s late drama to go through 31:02 Real Madrid scrape past Benfica 34:35 The Kylian Mbappe situation 43:33 Atletico Madrid & Diego Simeone’s future 5 Live / BBC Sounds commentaries: Sat 1500 Liverpool v West Ham, Sat 1500 Newcastle v Everton on Sports Extra, Sat 1730 Leeds v Man City, Sun 1200 Rangers v Celtic, Sun 1400 Man Utd v Crystal Palace, Sun 1400 Fulham v Tottenham on Sports Extra, Sun 1400 Brighton & Hove v Nottingham Forest on Sports Extra 2, Sun 1630 Arsenal v Chelsea.

Barcelona continue to lead the way at the top of La Liga with a dominant performance in the 3-0 over Mallorca, which featured yet another screamer from Lamine Yamal and an impressive showing from Marcus Rashford. Gary and Alex look at the England forward’s form and his chances of securing a starting berth at the world cup. Real Madrid are just about keeping pace in 2nd place, with a Kylian Mbappe stoppage time goal sealing the points away at troubled Valencia. A game in which the opener was scored by a recent Preston North End midfielder… Atletico Madrid went from the sublime to the ridiculous, losing 1-0 at home to Real Betis just a few days after beating them 5-0 in the Copa Del Rey. How much pressure is Diego Simeone really under? Join The Players Lounge: The official fantasy football club of The Rest Is Football. It’s time to take on Gary, Alan and Micah for the chance to win monthly prizes and shoutouts on the pod. It’s FREE to join and as a member, you’ll get access to exclusive tips from Fantasy Football Hub including AI-powered team ratings, transfer tips, and expert team reveals to help you climb the table - plus access to our private Slack community. Sign up today at therestisfootball.com https://therestisfootball.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=episode_description&utm_content=link_cta For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Real Madrid kept up their pursuit of league leaders Barcelona but only just, needing a 100th minute penalty from Kylian Mbappe to spare their blushes at home to Rayo Vallecano, in a match which saw Vinicius Jr booed despite scoring a worldie and Jude Bellingham leaving the pitch in tears clutching his hamstring. Gary and Alex look at why the atmosphere continues to be so fractious at the Bernabeu. Barcelona kept themselves ahead of the rest with a 3-1 away at Elche in a game in which they spurned plenty of chances to make the scoreline even greater, goals from Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford were enough for the three points. With the league being so tight and the knock-out stages of the Champions League upon us who do Gary and Alex think has the squad capable of winning it all this season? There’s also been more grumbling at Atletico Madrid as they struggled to a 0-0 draw at Levante, leaving Diego Simeone calling for reinforcements in the transfer window, but after fifteen years in charge have the fans decided it’s time for a change? Join The Players Lounge: The official fantasy football club of The Rest Is Football. It’s time to take on Gary, Alan and Micah for the chance to win monthly prizes and shoutouts on the pod. It’s FREE to join and as a member, you’ll get access to exclusive tips from Fantasy Football Hub including AI-powered team ratings, transfer tips, and expert team reveals to help you climb the table - plus access to our private Slack community. Sign up today at therestisfootball.com https://therestisfootball.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=episode_description&utm_content=link_cta For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Drama in UCL as Benfica Took Madrid to Playoffs, Napoli Out The UEFA Champions League league phase played its final round on Tuesday, and there were some dramatic results, notably the game in Lisbon. Benfica secured a sport to the playoffs phase while dragging their opponent, Real Madrid, following a 4-2 victory. Benfica Secured Playoff […] The post Drama in UCL as Benfica Took Madrid to Playoffs, Napoli Out appeared first on 1000Goals.com: Football Betting, Highlights, and More - Your Ultimate Destination for Exciting Football Action.

It’s neck and neck at the top of La Liga as Real Madrid kept up the pressure on leaders Barcelona with a 2-0 win away at third placed Villarreal while Barca put last week’s slip up behind them with a 3-0 win over Real Oviedo at the Camp Nou. Gary and Alex look at another two goals for the rampant Kylian Mbappe, including a panenka penalty he awkwardly dedicated to teammate Brahim Diaz, and there’s an absolute stunner from Lamine Yamal to enjoy too. It’s transfer season and rumours have begun to swirl over Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future at Real Madrid, with some reports suggesting he could be on the way out in the summer. Gary and Alex look at the England international’s difficult first six months in Madrid and assess his chances of turning his fortunes around as we approach the world cup. There’s more transfer talk on the other half of Madrid with Atletico’s Julian Alvarez linked with a return to the Premier League in what would be a sensational January move to Arsenal. Diego Simeone has publicly backed the underperforming former Man City man but could the move be the thing that would finally get the Gunners over the line in their quest to win the Premier League title? Join The Players Lounge: The official fantasy football club of The Rest Is Football. It’s time to take on Gary, Alan and Micah for the chance to win monthly prizes and shoutouts on the pod. It’s FREE to join and as a member, you’ll get access to exclusive tips from Fantasy Football Hub including AI-powered team ratings, transfer tips, and expert team reveals to help you climb the table - plus access to our private Slack community. Sign up today at therestisfootball.com https://therestisfootball.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=episode_description&utm_content=link_cta For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Man City Stumble Again, Madrid Win Big in UCL Manchester City suffered their second consecutive defeat in 2026 after suffering a shocking 3-1 loss against Bodo/Glimt. Meanwhile, Real Madrid seem to rediscover their winning ways as they hammered Monaco 6-0 in the Champions League’s Tuesday fixtures. Man City Stunned by Bodo/Glimt Following a disappointing derby […] The post Man City Stumble Again, Madrid Win Big in UCL appeared first on 1000Goals.com: Football Betting, Highlights, and More - Your Ultimate Destination for Exciting Football Action.

Real Madrid academy graduate Gonzalo García steals the headlines with a perfect hat-trick as Madrid dismantle Real Betis. With García in red-hot form, can Xabi Alonso find a system that fits both him and Kylian Mbappé into the starting XI, and what does that mean for the increasingly out-of-favour Vinícius Jr? Over in Catalonia, Barcelona make it nine straight La Liga wins thanks to a stunning strike from Dani Olmo. Is anyone capable of stopping Barça’s charge to the title? Plus, Gary & Alex break down the sacking of Rúben Amorim, and debate whether his post-match comments at the weekend suggested he was already looking for the exit. Join The Players Lounge: The official fantasy football club of The Rest Is Football. It’s time to take on Gary, Alan and Micah for the chance to win monthly prizes and shoutouts on the pod. It’s FREE to join and as a member, you’ll get access to exclusive tips from Fantasy Football Hub including AI-powered team ratings, transfer tips, and expert team reveals to help you climb the table - plus access to our private Slack community. Sign up today at therestisfootball.com https://therestisfootball.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=episode_description&utm_content=link_cta For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kylian Mbappé marked his birthday in style, matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s best-ever goal tally for Real Madrid in a calendar year. With over 200 more goal involvements than Ronaldo had at the same age, does Mbappé already have a case for being the better player at 27? Gary and Alex also break down Barcelona’s dominant form after their eighth straight win against Villarreal, is there anyone who can actually stop Barça right now? Join The Players Lounge: The official fantasy football club of The Rest Is Football. It’s time to take on Gary, Alan and Micah for the chance to win monthly prizes and shoutouts on the pod. It’s FREE to join and as a member, you’ll get access to exclusive tips from Fantasy Football Hub including AI-powered team ratings, transfer tips, and expert team reveals to help you climb the table - plus access to our private Slack community. Sign up today at therestisfootball.com https://therestisfootball.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=episode_description&utm_content=link_cta For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AFCON kicked off in Rabat, as Morocco opened with a 2-0 over Comoros in a game that featured an incredible overhead from Ayoub El Kaabi. Musa and Ryan begin there, before chatting about Kylian Mbappé, who equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid record for goals in a calendar year (05:28), as well as how impressive his time at the Bernabéu has been, despite getting off to a tricky start. Next up, it’s Leeds’ turn to get the props (18:32), after another great result, this time to Crystal Palace, that sees a great run from Daniel Farke’s side continue. There’s chat about the rest of the Premier League, including Aston Villa’s win over Manchester United (24:07), wins for the top two, Liverpool’s win at Spurs (33:37) and much more! For more podcasts, ad-free and in full, plus access to the Stadio Social Club and much more, you can become a Stadio member by signing up at patreon.com/stadio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.