OK, welcome to Into the Channel podcast primarily about the UEFA Women's Champions League.

I'm your host the Suspense and as always, I'm joined by my Co host Mr.

Grant Angle.

What is up man?

I'm feeling fantastic, buddy.

It's back the tournament, our favorite tournament.

It's back the UEFA Women's Champions League and I am excited to preview match week five with you.

I'm start, I'm starting to get that that feeling, man, starting to let's just try to get that little pain.

You know, as we we hit the end of the league phase, two big weeks obviously left to go.

I love that they're back-to-back and I love that we're going to start to see, I mean, unfortunately we're going to start to see some teams get eliminated.

Mathematically, we're going to start to see some teams clinch this week, probably at least the top 12 perhaps.

I'm not sure if anybody could clinch top 4.

It's possible.

But either way, we're going to start to see some moving and shaking.

I think we're going to say goodbye to some teams.

But either way, 9 big time matches.

I'm excited to kind of like, you know, meet a little light touch on each of the 9 just to kind of get everybody primed, get our get ourselves excited, get ourselves reoriented.

You know, in a lot of ways, your boys still shaking off some of those NWSL cobwebs.

You know, we had the world sevens going on.

I mean, your heads spinning a little bit.

But I think it's time to settle back into the Champions League, get ready, knock to these matches, Mr.

Grant, Angle where you want to get started.

Let's get started with a beverage as I also shake off some of the rust.

As I called it match Week 5.

I'm thinking about the league season.

It's match day 5, even though it's two days.

It's all a little confusing.

It's all right.

We'll get through this together.

That we will.

Cheers to you.

Cheers.

To you.

Cheers to the football.

Cheers to the football.

So, you know, in typical sports podcast style, you have you have a conceit, you have an idea of how we should speak about these matches.

What are you thinking, my good man?

Apologies for springing this on you, you know, in the 11th hour here.

But you know, I I know that you're, you're a chronological guy, You know, you like to keep things, you know, even keel straight, straightforward in a very literal sense.

And I like to shake things up a little bit.

So minutes before, maybe seconds before we recorded, I propose that we do a little draft and like, let's just kind of draft the the matches that we're most hyped about.

You know, no offense to anybody who comes in at the bottom.

We're just going to look at the 9:00 and just say, this is the one that really kind of has me amped.

And I love that.

That's going to give us a chance to kind of spend a little time with the teams that, you know, we have some feelings for.

OK, I can do that now.

You know, I'm always down for a draft that that totally works for me.

Let's let's pick which matches we're interested in.

I got him up on the second screen.

I got the big board ready, you know, chronological order be damned.

Let let's just talk about what what peaks our interest.

All right, I'll.

I'll.

You want to go first?

You want me to go first?

Yeah, go ahead.

You do the honors, my good man.

All right, I like it and shout out to you for doing a little bit of prep.

I did.

I didn't do any prep other than come come in with the idea here.

All right, let's see, Scrolly, scrolly, scrolly.

Who do I like?

Who do I like?

I think I'm going to have to go Manchester United, Lyon, this one going down Wednesday, 12 PMI mean, these are two top five teams if you think about, you know, where the league phase is sitting.

And I think when you think about Manchester United, obviously shot out of the shot out of a cannon to start the season WSL wise, super hot start Champions League phase.

They win the first three matches.

You look a little closer.

They went all three by a single goal.

And you know, not quite a murderous row.

Valarenga Athleti and PSG for those big, you know, those three big wins, it's tough to beat anybody.

So shout out to United for getting those three.

But then they give the all the gold differential back against Wolfsburg.

They they fall 5 to 2 in that one.

So now they're sitting on an even goal differential.

They're in 5th and Lyon, you know, a little bit of AI, don't know.

How would you categorize that, that performance versus Juventus?

I'm very curious.

Well, I chuckled at first because this was top of my big board as well.

I think this is obviously very important.

Manchester United holding on to that fourth spot.

The Lyon result was weird.

I think that's the first way I would categorize it.

They go down 3 nil at halftime.

To who vet this?

I'm sure anybody watching this program is well aware of it.

When Tabitha Chewinga got that goal, I immediately looked up at the clock and what it was at.

Like it was like at the hour mark, I want to say somewhere right in there and I just kind of sat there and said they could win.

They can win this match.

They can they can get three more before the time expires.

Now, they didn't quite get there, but obviously they draw the the obvious penalty on the handball inside the 18.

Wendy Renar seals the seals the draw and you can just see the air deflated from Juventus.

I just think it was a weird one for for Lyon.

They, they couldn't get a lot done, you know, in terms of in terms of getting like good looks and finishing those looks.

But the the way they they came back, I think it they still managed to salvage some momentum.

Yeah, and I mean, no doubt.

I mean, zooming out, I think the the competition has been on another level this year.

You know, I think I, I just feel like Leon Juventus 2 years ago is a total walk, kind of like a maybe catch this one.

But this was a competitive match, man.

I mean, Juventus caught Leon slip in in the first half a few different times and they were able to defend, you know, and just kind of make it difficult for Leon.

They weren't just they didn't give away anything easy as the as the match kind of wears on, they kind of like lose their steam a little bit and Leon's able to find some some openings.

But I think parity wise things feel a lot more balanced.

I'm very excited to kind of get into it.

We got eight more to cover.

So I want to kind of keep it moving.

Well, do you have do you have a quick prediction for this?

And apologies.

I I said Manchester was fifth.

You are right, they're in fourth.

They've got a slightly better goal differential than Byron.

So this is actually the second best second ranked team facing the 4th ranked team.

So that brings up you you're on the clock.

Who do you got further your second matchup?

Yeah.

And let me let me just say, I mean that goal differential is going to come into play here.

Like do I think Leon is is miles better than United?

Probably not miles better, but they're better, right?

They have, they do have more talent than United.

And we've seen Leon in in past iterations.

I don't know if his time is completely up yet.

Sometimes they get one on you in the 1st 7 minutes and you're reeling and then they smell blood and then they start piling in goals.

And that would be very bad for the Red Devils, real, real, you know, sharp analysis there.

So that's one thing I'm looking out for is does Leon get on the board early and then do they get on the board off?

Yeah.

And I think a quick just to tack, tack, tack something on to that.

It's going to be interesting to see how United bounces back versus that big loss versus Wolfsburg.

That was that was your first big all right, kind of, you know, smacking like welcome to the tournament kind of moment.

I bet they're glad they got that performance out of their system before Leon comes to town because I agree with you.

Leon's more talented, miles more experience, especially in this competition.

But on a good day, I think United could get them.

You know, I think this could end in a draw, no doubt.

I mean, you look at, you know, the talent.

You know, United is not without talent either.

So while you you probably give Leon the nod, I think this will be competitive.

It's it was my number one match for a reason.

But yeah, I'll kick it.

Kick it back to you.

I'm excited to hear who you had second on your big board.

All right, I'm going to take Atletico Madrid versus Bayern Munich.

Love it.

Big result from Atletico Madrid playing in the Netherlands.

It was a comprehensive 4 nil victory over Twente.

You know, they pounced on Twente's mistakes and Twente made some some pretty egregious errors there.

But then you also had the wonder strike by Julio Bartel from outside the 18 on the quali, just to absolute fire.

I meant to go.

I meant to go back and check the the you know, you know, how UEFA puts together like all the goals from the from the match days.

I wanted to go back just because that Bartell goal, I was like, I think that's I think that's the goal from the from the whole league phase.

But I need to go back into Fact Check this.

Didn't get a chance to do it.

But yeah, I mean, it's got to be in the running.

What if?

Absolute banger.

It was phenomenal.

And Joe Shannon, in the running for my favorite commentator of this tournament so far, said the same thing.

Probably the goal of the league phase.

I think you're right.

I think we should do a comprehensive review, but it was just an absolute laser.

But I think what's going to have to happen now is that like, Madrid was playing a lot of that match, Atleti was playing a lot of that match on their terms versus Twente.

And now I think they're probably even playing at home.

They'll probably have to shift into a little bit of underdog mode against Bayern, considering the talent on on that side.

You know, Bayern, their last match against PSG, they concede to a great shot by Sakina Karshawi and immediately equalized through Dolman.

And so, you know, Bayern Munich, they, they have recovered nicely from when they got trounced by Barcelona.

And you know, I think Atleti's going to certainly have their hands full, but I think they'll be up for the challenge.

Tons of intrigue in this match.

I mean, to say Byron's recovered nicely, a bit of an understatement, you know, so in front of Boudisiga, they, they've they've hung five goals on opponents 2 straight, you know, match days, five, one win over Hoffenheim on the road.

And then today, yeah, this morning, A5 nil win over 4th place Eintrek Frankfurt in an environment that was a little hellish, like it looked like it looked like the, the crowd was into it.

It looked cold, it looked nasty.

And Byron just went in there and didn't blink, you know, So I think they're absolutely cooking.

I'd let that.

You mentioned big win obviously in the Champions League match day 4, but two straight, you know, they they they lose in league after 10 at Efe before the break and then a two 2 draw at home to Sevilla yesterday, Saturday.

So you know, tough to know who what which athlete he's going to show up.

And I think Bayern, you know, if Bayern shows up, it's it's going to be a long day.

I think for athlete, you know, but again, but a lot a lot like the United Leon matchup, This one could absolutely be competitive too, But I feel like there's a slightly bigger gap between these two, these two sides.

And I just think Bayern consistently has just been on it and they feel like they're improving.

You know, like we've been waiting for a Moko Tanakawa to kind of like take that leap.

Feels like it's happening.

You know, you we've waited for some of those players to kind of like join the part, you know, Linda Dahlman, a perfect example.

You know, that that that quick comeback goal, you know, against BSG was was a great example of that just kind of getting everybody involved.

And if they're going to play like that, we might finally get the Byron that we've been, you know, sort of feeling could have been, you know, like lingering just outside the door.

I think I think we're we might be there.

So I'm very, very intrigued by this match up too.

Yeah, no doubt.

And this, these two matches, the first two that we've talked about, Manchester United versus Lyon and Atleti versus Bayern, they're happening at the same time, noon Pacific Time on Wednesday.

And there's like you talked about, like Manchester United is ahead.

They're level on points with Bayern, but just ahead on two goals, goal differential.

So we could see the swing happen in real time.

If if United gets gets, you know, pounced on by Leon and Bayern's able to take care of business, you can see start to see that drop by United and we'll already oh, and and Chelsea's going to be playing at the same time there.

So there's like guaranteed table

movement at that 12:00 window on Wednesday.

Love it.

Yeah.

And I think only one more match day after this.

So it's like now everybody's scoreboard watching, goal differential watching, you know, trying to play that game as well, trying to get some of the math nerds and data scientists come just come sit in on some of these strategy meetings.

I'm sure, of course.

But let's go to head.

I want to talk about the third match up on my big board.

This one's, this one's got some intrigue for some different reasons.

Give me Barcelona hosting

Benfica Wednesday, 9:45 AM Pacific in the early slot.

What I'm interested about this one, and it's a sad 1 is this isn't the same Barcelona side, you know, obviously, unfortunately, you know, they they've been hit really, really hard with injuries.

Obviously we know about battery a Tanipomatis.

I'm a Patiuello recently on a Battier joins that list on Twitter.

Where had it?

Yeah, at Barsa Femme on Twitter 2 days ago, mentioned on about a out for around 3 weeks due to a Myo fibrillar injury in the right Soleus muscle, of course.

So yeah, three weeks, that could really hurt.

But what I'm going to be watching for and not to kind of like downplay Benfica, but they're they're in a position where if they lose, they're one of four teams where if they lose, they're out.

And I believe that they don't win their I think I think they might actually need to win to stay in.

So Benfica, it's been a great run, but we'll stick to kind of Barcelona for the moment.

I feel like Barcelona might be at that point where one more injury, one more, you know, player that that is unavailable in a big spot.

It could be it.

We could be there because, you know, they they they squeak by Tenedife this weekend, a team that they smashed 5 one last year at home 2 nil and they didn't really get on the score sheet until like the 84th minute.

Pyre scores and then Alexia scored a few minutes later to make it 2 nil.

But that one was absolutely in the balance.

Barcelona only seven shots in the first half and a total push and pull.

And you know that that that not quite full strength.

Barcelona didn't didn't look like a side that looks like a slam dunk Champions League winner, if I can say that.

Yeah, and I mean, when you're suffering injuries from from all those players and players of that caliber that you're talking about, yeah, they probably shouldn't look like Champions League winners at this moment.

I I want to think about it from the perspective of imagine that you're a 17 year old midfielder and you're playing on a team that has Aitana Bone Mati, Alexia Poteas and Patri.

You probably don't go into the season thinking, Yep, going to get a bunch of starts, going to get a bunch of Champions League starts.

And here we are for Clara, Sarah Jordi Diaz.

You know, bottom line is there's there's immense talent still all over the pitch, but we're going to have to see what, you know, how Sarah Jordi plays in these in these minutes, what the rotation looks like, how they're going to kind of how they're going to kind of work through this.

You know, I'll be I'll be very interested to see.

I don't I don't know what a right Soleus muscle is.

I don't know if I have a soleus.

I am not 100% sure if I'm familiar with it at all, but I'm really interested to see, you know, what Bhatia looks like when she gets back.

And, you know, kind of, I know, I know she's not like one of like the main, main, you know, threats.

But like you said, like as the injuries start to stack up, you're like, we need these glue players especially.

So I'm interested to see how they're looking.

I, I still, I, you know, I they're going to finish top 4.

They're going to go far in the tournament.

But you know what?

How does the ceiling adjust it as some of these superstars sit out?

Yeah.

And a little pushback on Bhati, I think she's she's at that level of if she's not on the pitch, it's like that's a real, you know, that's a real.

I don't want I don't even want to call it downgrade because Aisha Kamara, 18 years old, came in and played really well.

I think got the the assist on the winner to payor.

If not was like heavily involved in the build up, but played really well, played a ton of minutes and does not look like an 18 year old.

But you know, as the like as the lights get brighter and then the teams get trickier, the stakes get higher.

You know, it's it's tougher for young players to kind of like keep up.

Sydney shirt and Lib also have been in appearance against sanity.

But I'm just going to be curious to see what Barcelona looks like versus Benfica.

Like do they, do they, even if they're short staffed, do they look like Death Starlight or do they look like got to figure some shit out here?

I think, I think we, I think both of those outcomes are on the table.

And if they're in the figure it out stage, how good do they look while they're figuring it out?

And are they capable of pushing Benfica around while figuring it out?

I always kind of think about that of like, oh, OK, well, if they're in just the experimental phase, you know, how do they how do they look there?

And you mentioned it.

Just a couple quick notes on Benfica.

Obviously we we enjoy all our pals from Portugal being in a now or never like shout out Vespa, always the legend being in a now or never situation for your tournament life never good versus Barcelona no matter who's on the field.

Usually just like anybody they find to put in those Barcelona shirts are probably pretty awesome.

And this is a common theme for for teams at the bottom of the table like Benfic is right now.

If you only manage two goals in four matches, you're probably having a pretty rough goal of it.

So it's, you know, it's not the tournament that they've hoped for, but like you said it, they they are kind of still in those in those growing phases.

And I, I look forward to seeing like what they're able to capitalize on, even if I don't have super high hopes for them.

Yeah, no doubt.

I think they're going to play tough and you know, they're they're they're kind of growing slash reloading, you know, so I mean, it's just not the year for them and and a tough schedule break.

But that's our third, that's our third pick.

I think we've gone on Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday so far a lot of Wednesdays at the top of draft.

But who's 4th on your big board?

Or actually, who, who, who?

Who's next on your big board?

Next on my big board is a Tuesday match so look at that in that noon window on Tuesday, your Real Madrid versus Wolfsburg.

Real Madrid currently sitting on 7th in the table, Wolfsburg currently on 3rd Real Madrid entered match day 4 on 7 points and after the conclusion of their loss to also your Arsenal, they watched Bayern, Chelsea and Wolfsburg jump them on the table.

You know, I, I think this is going to be a big one here, like not to, not to over, not to overstate it, but if you, if you lose this one out right now, you're kind of looking at it like, OK, is it, is this a tumble?

Is this the, the, the, the, you know, the, the last Champions League experience where like one thing goes wrong and then we're all kind of look at each other.

We try to dig ourselves out of it and more stuff goes goes wrong.

You know, it's really tough because you look at their they're their last three in the Champions League.

They get the two one win at PSG before we knew PSG was crap.

The 11 draw versus pre FC kind of pre FCS like last stand a little bit, but obviously you you hope for more Real Madrid at home and then Real Madrid didn't play terrible versus Arsenal.

Arsenal didn't really play great either at home.

It was like 2 teams getting nowhere near their potential for most of the match.

Sadly, I think Madrid's going to be fine.

You know, like they, they're, they're sort of like in that they're in the process of going from like second tier European team to like borderline first tier European team.

You know, and I think we're just going to, we're just going to see some results like that.

Now.

I feel like all bets are off versus Wolfsburg because Wolfsburg is kind of like Fran, Bundesliga, Real Madrid, you know, like big name, you know, can, can show up and blow the doors off you and can show up and also get absolutely hammered mostly when they're playing as Bayern Munich.

But Wolfsburg, you know, they, they have the, the, the capability to kind of also go Jekyll and Hyde.

So for that reason, these two teams, I'm really not sure which Real Madrid is going to show up and I'm not sure which Wolfsburg is going to show up.

But I do know that these two teams are, you know, sort of swimming in the same pond, You know, in, in terms of like where they're at in the league phase and and maybe where they're trying to get to as a club.

I think both of them are knocking on the door of absolute top tier, you know, maybe within the next year or two, like with with the right with the right set of circumstances and moves.

But I, I really love this matchup.

I think on the pitch, there's a lot to love to a lot of talent top to bottom.

What are you going to be looking for from these two?

Well, you mentioned, you know Wolfsburg getting mashed by by Lyon.

Since then they've won four on the spin in All in all competitions.

And their goal differential across those four is 14 goals, four or five conceded.

But it is worth pointing out that they have conceded at least one in all four of those matches that they've won.

So their defense can be had.

And I think that's what I'm looking for.

And if there is one thing that we that for whatever reason, always takes me a couple weeks into the group phase or now the league phase to remember is the last performance by a Champions League team Doesn't really doesn't necessarily indicate what the next one's going to look look like.

So I think you're right.

Real Madrid super live, obviously, it's not like I would act like they're drawing, drawing dead.

They're they're at home for this match.

And Wolfsburg is a good even though Wolfsburg is a good team.

So yeah, I'm going to look to see, you know, what Madrid's attack looks like.

Caroline Weir continues to just hit volleys and just be awesome all the time.

And so if she's able to, to get something done and, you know, we'll see, see how Kaiseido looks, but, you know, they were in a little bit, Madrid was in a little bit of a dog fight.

They're playing a Real Sociedad on Saturday.

I, I watched the, I watched that match on the zone in Spanish.

I didn't quite catch everything the commentator was saying, but I'm doing my best.

And you know, Madrid, they needed a great save by Misa Rodriguez at the end and a sliding block from Maya Lacrar just to preserve that win.

So, you know, I, I think that that all that just added to the intrigue for Tuesday's match for me.

Yeah, it, it, it should be really compelling.

I think just just from where these these teams are at in the table, because also top four, top 4 is available to be either of these teams.

You know, I think if either, if, if you either get the three points, it's so funny too, because if you either get the three points, top four, absolutely on the table.

But then you look at Real Madrid, they're on 7 points.

Valarenga currently sitting in 13th is on four points.

So can at least catch them on points and possibly on on goal differential.

They're in the neighborhood.

Ballaranga is heading, I'm sorry, is hosting Puri FC.

So that just gives you the the how close things are from 7th place where Real Madrid is and 13th place where Ballaranga is and just how much we're going to see shake out this weekend.

Incredibly exciting.

Yeah, no doubt.

I think this feels like, I mean, obviously it's the first match I'm taking from the Tuesday slate.

It's definitely the one I'm I'm most.

It seems like the main event of

Tuesday in that 12:00 window, but I don't know.

There are a couple other good matches in there too.

So it'll be it'll be hard to lose.

It may if this one ends up being more of a blowout than we expect or something like that.

You know there there should be other viewing options available.

No doubt.

All right.

Am I up?

That's you I am going to take.

I'm not going to do that yet.

Hold on to that one.

Put that, put that one in my back pocket.

I think that'll be there once we come back around the other way.

OK, Give me give me Chelsea AS

Roma, Wednesday, 12:00 PM Roma, another team that needs needs a bunch of stuff to happen.

Let me just double check this.

They need to win to survive, so right now they're on the outside looking and going to Chelsea.

Probably a big ask, fair to say, but Chelsea obviously coming off a good performance versus Barcelona.

Follow that up with A1 nil loss to Everton today in the WSL.

Sure.

Little tricky.

I think I counted Chelsea hitting the post 5I counted 5 for sure.

So it's at least five.

It could have been 7:00 or 8:00.

You know, they were peppering the goal, peppering the, the, you know, the, the post and the crossbar all day long and just whizzing shots past Everton's goal.

But you know, they, they don't get the win.

They're in a little bit of trouble in the WSL.

They're not quite in a place where it's Champions League or bust, but not out of the cards, right?

I mean, the city's got a, a nice, a nice lead 10 matches in.

And then, you know, I don't know what we'll we'll see what, what kind of bounce back they get because for the first time this season, I went to the thought exercise.

What if Chelsea gets blanked this year?

What if this is the year where it's just nothing breaks their way?

They they, they walk away empty handed.

What do you do at that point?

You know, like, like where do you start to look at?

I don't want to get into myself, but I did go through that thought experiment.

Yeah, I mean, so Sonia Bone Pastor, she's a legend.

She's the only person walking the face of the earth who has won the UEFA Women's Champions League as a player and a manager.

If they get blanked, she is sacked, more fired than maybe anybody has ever been fired.

Like you can't that if that happens, buddy.

She is.

Her head is spinning.

She's shown the door so quickly there, there's no chance they would keep her.

I don't think that's going to happen.

I I get where you're coming from though.

It's, it's weird.

It's a weird result for them for sure.

Well, right now you you got to say they're they're not the betting favorites to win the WSL or, or I can't imagine they'd be with, with the the the gap that they're currently sitting at and they can't be the betting favorites to win the Champions League.

So we'll need some Sonia magic, I think to to kind of like maybe salvage the season.

But you know, we'll, we'll we'll see what happens.

I think, you know, you got to expect a big result here from Chelsea, you know, just to kind of a get right game for sure.

But Roma, you know, like I said, they're playing a little bit with house money because it's it's pretty much a wrap at this point.

I mean, I don't I don't think they're going to expect to beat Chelsea.

And even if they did, they're at the very, very, very bottom of the table.

But this is a team that that played Uvay to a draw this weekend, You know, 11.

They're they're they're sitting at or near the top of the the serial table.

A lot of young players, but I think they're going to come out and and and play.

They're going to play hard for sure.

And Chelsea, you know, like it.

It's I mean, what's what is your read on Chelsea?

Like I'm, I'm completely kind of baffled.

I'm like, I on one hand, I can't believe how many good players they have and I can't believe how like, you know, how do I want to say this?

You brought up the Chelsea Americans a few weeks ago and apologies if I butchered the, the, the, the name that you, you labeled them with.

Leanne on her show talked about the same thing about some of these players looking at Barcelona not being intimidated.

Yami Gurmelis, Thompson, Ellie Carp, you know, Ellie Carpenter, whoever want to throw in there.

But then they follow that up with with that performance today.

And I'm just not really sure what to make of it.

Very curious on your read on Chelsea so far this season based on what we've seen in WSL and Champs Eke.

It just seems like they're still kind of trying to find their way with Bon Pastora.

Like, how do we want to play?

Do we want to sit back and, you know, absorb some possession and hit you on the counter like that kind of boom pastor style we would see a lot at Lyon.

Even when you have an All Star team like I don't, we don't necessarily have to dominate the ball kind of that the defensive minded style.

I think they're still, you know, trying to find their way and you talk about them in the Champions League.

So now they have two draws in the Champions League and one of those draws is against Barcelona.

So that's pretty, it's pretty awesome.

But they have two draws with a with a + 10 gold differentials.

And so that's a that's a funny quirk to kind of like where it puts them on the table.

But I'll tell you it's it ceases to be a funny quirk if that somehow keeps you out of the top 4.

But I'll, I'll tell you all signs.

I mean, not really, even though all the even though all the signs don't point to them defending Stamford Bridge and and crushing Roma, I just refuse to be surprised if that's how it turns out.

I mean, we've already seen Roma get absolutely battered by Madrid and then Barcelona.

Ellie Carpenter is just a menace right now.

Like she is scoring that goal she scored against Barcelona was an absolute laser.

I don't think Roma's going to have any real chance at, at coping with her.

And then then you have, like you pointed out, like 8 other players that they, that they really have to worry about.

I, I want to make, I want to make sure I got the name right.

The, the commentator for that, that Chelsea, Barcelona match, Jonathan Pierce in the running for one of my favorite commentators in this tournament, described it as a scorcher, which I thought was great.

It absolutely was a scorcher and I just cannot tell you how much I love Ellie Carpenter as a right midfielder, right wing type of player in front of Lucy Bronze.

I think that's an awesome look.

Ellie Carpenter is the pride of Kaura, New South Wales, Australia.

It's about a four hour drive from Kaura to Sydney, but at Ellie Carpenter's speed I think she could get there in about 3 hours and 15 minutes.

I can tell you right now, I don't know where that is, but that's not a drive I ever want to make.

Can't imagine what kind of wildlife you'll see on that drive.

See.

Some sights.

Oh, my goodness.

All right.

So we'll, I'm, I'm excited about that, for sure.

Was that mine?

That was my pick, right?

Did they were?

Yeah.

Yes, it was.

You're up my turn.

All right, I guess we're going to do it.

I don't know if this is who you're bouncing around in your head, but on the big board, I live and die by the big board, my good man.

I'm going Tuesday in that noon window as well.

Your Arsenal versus FC Twente.

Not who I had.

But real fascinated, OK, all right, real fascinated to kind of see where this one goes.

And this is the fun part about the draft is that we have all the matches all over the place, and now I just need to get to my notes.

And so I'm going to filibuster clumsily by talking about my notes, which I'm very excited I'm.

I'm sure impeccable, very well organized.

I'm sure.

All right, let's see Arsenal.

Arsenal continues to look super choppy reports this week about, you know, maybe some some static in the locker room.

Hate to see that.

You know, and there's just been a lot of talk about, you know, maybe not not quite constructing this team in a way where, you know, you bring in like Olivia Smith and not really sure what you know, how to construct the the attack.

You know, like around her and you you you talked about the same thing very, very early in the season.

It's like what what's the plan exactly?

I think we're still kind of waiting on the plan.

I tell you the reason I had this one very low on my list.

This Twente matchup has got me a little bit nervous.

I'll say I think Twente didn't quite not not not the performance.

I think, you know, they they would have won him, obviously, you know, but this is a team that that still has two draws, you know, like drew Chelsea, Drew Benfica, they've got two points.

You know, like they've been in this tournament in around this tournament quite a bit.

They lost a a heartbreaker at Louvin.

You know that and can't blame them for that, you know, going into that cauldron and you know, at least they kept a close shout out to them.

But this this match has, you know, is there a Renee Slagers issue post match written all over it?

I'm not predicting that.

But Twente is not the kind of team that you want to see when you're at that still sorting stuff out kind of situation.

Arsenal's just not as good.

They're they're not good enough, even though they're the defending champions in this tournament to sort of play their way into the tournament.

You know, I mean, they're sitting in 10th after four games.

You know, they they have yet to kind of like really leave the smack down in a way that lets everybody know this team can win the title again, can repeat.

So, you know, just not not really good enough, you know, to kind of like not be playing at a specific level when you get when you get to match day 4 match day 5 doesn't mean they can't turn it around.

But if this team kind of comes out and lays a negative against Twente A11 or God forbid, a loss or you know, just kind of like a flat one nil or two, you know, like something, something flat.

I think, I think the the chatter, I think the volume of the chatter is going to start to get cranked up a little bit higher.

A loss would be a catastrophe like you cannot, they cannot allow that to happen.

I don't think they will, I I thought.

I don't think so either.

But it's not, you know, it's like it's not impossible, right?

But that's why, that's why it kind of was like, if it's a shitty performance, I think we it could be just as bad, Yeah.

I, I think this is and it is tricky.

I love where your head's at on like Twente bouncing back from the the the bad four nil loss at home and then kind of finding their medal.

I'll tell you man, going to London to play the holders might be a a tough spot to kind of find that.

But it, you know, I while Arsenal didn't look, didn't look like the Champs versus Real Madrid.

I'm encouraged by the Alessia Russo brace, her getting into space, you know, in the 18 being able to, you know, she had that nice looping header.

I think the looping header was the opener.

If I remember it happened 2 weeks ago.

Who even knows what happened 2 weeks ago at this point.

I just know the result happened and I watched it, but you know, top 8, they had to Arsenal had to come into this tournament, you know, playing their way into shape.

Not well, you know, however we want to look at it, top eight had to be the absolute floor for them coming in.

And so even a draw here would feel pretty gross for your Gunners.

So I think they'll take care of business.

I I think this it probably ends up being like A2 nil or maybe like a three to 1 and Arsenal kind of pushes it out late like with the result never being totally in doubt, you know, but we'll see that.

That's why they play the games.

A draw here would keep them way out of the top 8.

And then they've got that nightmare match up looming, match day six at Louvin.

Don't want any part of that.

And now it looks like of course Arsenal's going to have some stakes side to that.

I would hate that.

And yeah, it's just it's just a real hodgepodge at the bottom of the of the standings here.

And Arsenal's, I think they're going to get the win, you know, like zooming out, you know, just kind of let me shake off all my, you know, my, my bad vibes.

I think they're going to get the win, but they're going to have to work for it.

They're absolutely going to have to work for it.

Twente is not it's Twente is not the kind of team from what we've seen of them that just gets their ass kicked two weeks in a row, like or, or two matches in a row.

It's like you just that that four nil loss was shocking enough, you know, So I think like, you know, we hadn't seen any any of that leading up to it.

So we'll we'll see.

But am I?

Yeah.

You took Arsenal Puente.

So I'm up.

Who else is up?

OK, that leaves where I was going to go where it might have gone last round.

Give me Paris Saint Germain versus.

There we go.

OH, Lubin, Lubin coming off a you know, a a tricky 2 nil loss to Club Brugge before the before the Thanksgiving break in the Belgian Super League, PSG two wins in a row in the Premier League Premier.

I never know how to pronounce it, but the French Premier League, he's just where the women.

In Premier League, you use the Premier League.

I can't, but I can't say the Premier League, the for the for the French Premier League.

You guys know what I'm talking about anyway.

PSG four, they beat St.

Etienne 4 to one.

They beat Marseille this weekend 5 to 1.

Not sure what to take from it.

Good to see them knocking balls in, but they still, they still have a little bit of a bumper car feel to their offense and their attack and just kind of generally how they do business.

They brought Yaya over from Brazil.

That was exciting.

Great to see.

Great to see Yaya kind of getting introduced.

But they've they, I mean, they've got their hands full this week against Louvin.

Louvin obviously, we've been hyped about them since, since the preview.

It's a preview show for whatever reason, I think we, we just got excited about this team and now they're to a point where it's they're not, they're less cute than they were before.

Now it's just like, oh shit, PSG are, are, are they just going to get, is it just going to be straight?

Is it going to be 6 L's for PSG?

I think we're, we're, we're swimming around in those waters.

But I think Louvin's going to give him a game.

I think Louvin really wants a result.

Can absolutely get a result, can get a big result.

Things go their way.

But PSG, you know they have it within them to put out a performance.

So with all that said, what are you going to be?

Expecting this is where the weirdness of the tournament and maybe like there is some level of weirdness, but we can maybe kind of predict some of that weirdness if that makes sense.

You point you.

You rightfully mention PSG is pointless.

Right now you can maybe make that argument about some of their attacking style.

Pointless is funny.

But I, but I, but I mean it in the sense of they have 0 points in, in this tournament and going into it, you know, I didn't expect a ton from him.

I had said like, Hey, I'm not high on the other on the French squads outside of Lyon.

And you know, that's, that's proven.

That looks like, you know, like I was fairly prescient, but it would be outrageous if they don't at least come away with something in this stage like 6L's would be disastrous.

And we know like, and, and our, and our good pal CL2 Filey has, has talked to us about, you know, PSG is not really as committed as they should be to their women's program.

They need to figure that out immediately because there's obviously huge growth available there and they and they have good players and they should be able to do it.

But like this feels like one of those weird ones where yes, on balance, Louvin has been been playing better than PSG all league phase.

So of course, in in a weird setting like this, why wouldn't PSG finally find their footing and get a home win Like it?

It just kind of feels like one of those weird ones.

And I'm totally with you.

Louvin can win this game outright.

They can travel to to Paris and get it done.

But I don't know, there's a little bit of and it's not scientific and it's kind of dumb.

You know, I'm not I will never shy away from that.

Is this when is this when AT when the bill comes due?

Like, is PSG just due to finally put in a performance in this in this Champions League?

No, and it's because they're playing.

Probably not.

They're playing those big dogs from Belgium.

No, I mean, you look at Lewin like they've scored in every in three of the four, three of the four Champions League matchups.

Like as debutantes.

You know, the last couple years we've been watching this tournament, you know, the the bottom rung teams put forth bottom rung score lines, you know, 3 nil, 4 nil, 51.

OK, I was excited we got on board OK, hot, big high fives all around.

But this Lufman's guy scored in three of the four matchups.

We joked about that visit to Barcelona.

They held Barcelona to three in at Barcelona like a basically a team that was like just didn't exist on the radar, you know, globally, you know, six months ago.

But here we are and PSG just has put forth not I mean, they haven't put forward to anything in this tournament.

You know, like if you look at their season in totality, there's there's a little bit more there to chew on.

But you know, if I'm putting on my betting hat, I mean, there, there's got to be a ton of value on Louvin heading to PSG, you know, just just with the the brand name disparity.

But I think on the pitch, this one's going to be an absolute banger too.

I think fun, you know, fun matchups.

Louvin is tenacious, you know, super opportunistic.

Like they'll they'll they'll just carve you up in terms of like when and how they use like those opportunistic runs and then PSG ton of skill, ton of athleticism, ton of creativity.

So I think style, you know, if styles make fights, this this one, Matt, I mean, stacks up to be like a real just I don't like one of those like not quite the pay-per-view match, but like the the the lead into the main event that ends up, you know, maybe out shining some of those other, you know, marquee matchups.

I think it's definitely possible.

I mean, we talked about, you know, PSG and my, my principle that I adopt from collegiate American football of they ain't played nobody.

You know, PSG, they tend to beat up on those teams.

In the Premier League on September 27th, they lost 61 to Leon.

We saw them get smashed 4 nil by Wolfsburg in the Champions League.

But then they did play, they played Real Madrid tough, they played Manchester United pretty tough.

So they got it.

They got the performance in them somewhere.

It's just, yeah, I, I, I think you're right.

I'm surprised this one lasted so long in the draft because there there's going to be a lot said either way of OK, well, PSG, they figured it out.

But is Louvin, you know, is the clock starting to strike midnight a little bit on this kind of little bit of a Cinderella story?

Or, you know, did PSG cough one up again and then they still can't beat good teams?

And it turns out this Belgian side we didn't expect is a really good team.

Can't I can't wait, can't wait.

This is the match that I almost took last round.

So I, I, I really deliberated.

So you know, I'm, I'm glad it was still there for me when we came back around, but I think you're up.

We got two more matchups.

All right, let's go with the first match kicking off Tuesday,

9:45 AM Pacific Time, the Lord's time zone on December 9th, St.

Polton versus Juventus.

Juventus coming off that kind of soul crushing draw versus Leon.

But usually you would be happy with a with a draw versus Leon, but not when you're up three nil at halftime in your home stadium and then you lose those two points basically at the final whistle.

They I think they should hang their hat on that draw a little bit.

You you scored three goals against Ayonitan Heraldez, coach Leon side I this this feels like the definition of a get right game.

And for all of our European pals, I'm not sure what they call them over in Europe, but you know, the get right game is exactly what it sounds.

It's your opportunity to play an inferior opponent and and, you know, kind of shake off the cobwebs.

I think things are probably trending that way now.

St.

Polton though, they were able to, they showed a lot of resilience.

They clawed back and got a got a draw VS Valeringa for their first points of this tournament.

St.

Polton has one more point than Paris on Javon.

So they should be pretty happy about that.

And you know, as as we see with STP these these past couple years, if they're any indicator, we'll see you again in this tournament next year and hopefully the results fare a little better for you.

Yeah, no doubt.

I I actually think that they might be, they might be under some heat in their local league.

I'll I'll double check it, but I don't think you.

Could tell me that a couple weeks ago.

Yeah, I think, yeah, we'll see.

I wanted to ask you this because when we ranked our teams a few weeks back, very kind of, and I think we made predictions on who we thought would be top 12 and who we thought wouldn't.

Not famously, but, you know, to some fanfare.

You know, I think I had Atletico Madrid outside my top 12 and I think you had Juventus outside your top 12.

That was one of our big points of contention, that somehow in the moment we couldn't figure out, or I could.

I'm not going to put you in that.

I couldn't figure out who had what and where.

You.

Know sleepy boys, you already know.

I wanted to ask you how's your opinion because I've been higher on this Juventus side for short, you know, all season champions of Syria.

I kind of thought they're a bullshit team last year and they didn't really play that well last year, but there were some flashes.

But this year I think they've they've kind of grown up a little bit, kind of leveled up a little bit.

I'm curious, as you've watched this event aside, have they since that since you had them outside the top 12, have they done anything to kind of change your perspective?

Have you have you picked up anything you noticed anything?

You're like, maybe I, you know, I didn't really kind of like walk into this, but I, I kind of like this, this part of their game.

Yeah, totally.

I think, I think one of my one of the things I had mentioned, like going in, I was like, I don't know, you know, born and say as old, older, sorry, no disrespect there.

She's a great player, still playing well.

But I had mentioned, like Bonancia is later in her career, Jarelli is later in their in their career.

How are they going to be able to play?

And you know what, Grant pretty well still turns out they are they are good and they're able to score and they're able to move the ball around the field and and you know, they they play with a level of toughness.

They play that defensive Italian style and spots, but they're able they they have players who can be dangerous in the final third.

So they they've absolutely changed my mind.

I was too low on them going into the tournament.

Absolutely.

I'll wear that one coach.

I'll raise my hand there.

Yeah, I mean, I was, I was with you on that Lady, too.

I mean, when I saw that, that's where I was like, get that one wrong.

All right, we've got one more match to hit.

I'm not going to draft it just because I mean, this is the 9th pick in in a in a 222 player draft, A2 team draft.

So I think we're getting we're both going to go ahead and pick this one just to round it out.

Wednesday, 9:45 AM Fourteenth ranked Falaranga, 12th ranked pre FC.

Some real stakes for this one.

Obviously when, when that 12th, when that 12th place matters as much as it does 12 versus 14, a lot to talk about here.

Yeah, it's just an embarrassment of riches in this in this in this tournament.

I mean, once Paris Barry FC scratched out that one, one draw versus Real Madrid, like they knew they were, they had created for themselves A2 match stretch to punch their ticket into the knockout stage.

And also, again, Speaking of things I may have been wrong about or that I was definitely wrong about Juventus, Barry FC could send a personal message of Shut Up Grant to me when I talked about how low I was on on the 2 French sides outside of Lyon.

So they took it, you know, they needed to take advantage of A10 player Benfica and they did when Benfica made those those critical errors in that match.

So now here they are.

And this is the first match of the two match stretch.

Can Perry FC make a little bit make a cool run like they have in in Champions League's past?

Yeah, I mean, credit to them for getting it together because I mean, the the start that they put forward was, you know, not, not, not kind of what, what you'd want to see.

I mean, well, actually we're widely back.

Wasn't it just like a draw to Louvin?

Yeah, 22 to Louvin and then they lose 4 nil at Chelsea.

And I think at that point we're like, all right, this team's got to stink on them.

But to your .11 versus Real Madrid, 2 nil win versus Benfica and that two week stretch you're talking about, you know this at Valeriega is Week 2 of that two week stretch because week match say 6 they host Barcelona and you know who knows that there might not.

Be sorry, this is week two of the stretch.

Yeah, yeah.

No, there, there might not be stakes to that Barcelona match up.

That's an extra kind of, you know, forkball that could, you know, could make things really interesting.

But this volume that you got to get this one.

But I mean, I've been really impressed with pre FC five points at you know, from 4 after that start they're they're they're playing pretty solid, you know, domestically in the Premier League, they're getting more production, you know, from players other than Clara Mateo, you know, so I don't want to say they're dangerous.

They're certainly tracking towards top 12, but on the flip side, you look at Valarenga, just one spot outside that mix and what what have we been talking about?

Karina Savic, Ola Tuten, When are they going to score?

You know, we know what they've done in top series.

They they lit that lead on fire last season and we just hadn't seen it, you know, and and I think we got a little bit of that, you know, against St.

Bolton, which was great, but are they going to be able to carry that forward?

They can and pre FC an opponent that will give them opportunities.

So I mean, it's weird that this was like our 9th, our 9th matchup because like, as I'm talking about, I'm like, fuck, I really want to see this one.

No, you're totally right on this.

I was just thinking the same thing because, you know, you're so spot on.

I think it was like 3 or 4 weeks ago.

We're just like, yeah, you know, we got to see it in this tournament from Taventin and and Shavik.

And then they get those two, they jump out two ahead and frankly, they squander the lead.

And not not Shavik and Taventin specifically, but the the team squanders the lead.

You end in A22 draw versus STPA team that you just you had to go in there thinking that you could beat.

And when you're up two nil, you know, then you, you, you cough that lead up and you know, now, now you're looking at a a scrappy Perry FC team.

You're like, OK, well, yeah, at least we have it at home.

Let's see if we can we can grab all three points here.

But I just got to think they're probably in a little bit of a weird headspace, and that's probably going to make for an interesting match.

I agree with you and and Valeringa, they're out of season, right?

Yeah.

So they only have Champions League matches left in the calendar, you know, so we've seen that go both ways.

You know, we've seen like, I kind of feel like at the front end of it, like right after top serial ends, there's a little bit of an advantage because you're sharp, you're conditioned, you've been playing, you know, like you're down the stretch and and you get a little bit extra rest, right.

But as like it, it goes further and further.

It's, you know, it's really tough to like be like, all right, we're we have one match this month, you know, two matches this month and we're two months out of season.

So I think we're still at that, at that point where the season is still fresh enough where Valaranga is still going to be riding a little bit of a you know, just some of the that that muscle memory from last season combined with it with the chance to get a little bit healthier.

So I I think Valaranga is super duper live in this match up at home.

And actually, you know, I'm going to say right now Valaranga has got at Bayern Munich match day 6.

I'm not going to flat out close the door on that on that result either.

The two 2 draw to Zen Bolton, obviously huge disappointment, but there's something about this team, obviously champions, professionals, mid career, late career, a lot of like senior ish experienced type players.

I think this team still has something to say in this tournament and I think this pre FC match is going to be a great platform to do a little bit of that.

It's going to be happening at the same time on Wednesday as the Barcelona Benfica match.

If if that Barcelona Benfica match gets out of hand, it's an easy switch over to volaring a Perry FC.

So yeah, I you know, it goes it goes last in our draft.

I think, you know, it's maybe St.

probably a better watch than STP Juventus.

But I mean, who knows?

Like we've talked about how Juventus has been good this this year too.

So, you know, you can't lose in any of these matches.

Plenty of intrigue to go around.

Again, I know I say it about everyone.

I'm just looking forward to watching the football and then being like, oh, wow, totally wrong about this thing.

But then also with us.

Yeah, I think more often than not.

Obviously, you guys could attest to this as pals of the show.

Exactly.

Right on.

Plenty of stuff too.

Yeah, I don't know, man.

STP coming off A22 draw.

They beat Nulenbach 4 nil.

They beat RB Salzburg 6/1.

It could be could be a moment for STP.

I'm not I'm not really sure.

I think I think they they they belong right in that eighth spot playing some decent football and career Schluter.

You already know must see TV every every time out.

You already know what time it is.

Quick, quick, quick episode calendar.

Obviously this has been your Champions League match day 5 preview.

We'll have a match day 5 recap coming very soon, end of this week, I'm sure.

And then they'll be, I don't know if we're going to do a match Day 6 preview or we'll lump those into the same episode.

Either way, we'll sort it out.

And there will absolutely be a match day six recap.

So at least two more Champions League episodes coming your way before the end of the year.

We'll also squeeze in a 2025 best 11 before we get out of here.

So definitely make sure you're subscribed.

Follow your boys on the socials.

Much appreciated in advance.

All right, man, I think we did it.

Anything else we had before we got here.

Yeah, I mean, we talked about top Syrian and I know we've just kind of been avoiding the topic here.

So if there's going to be one last last that I talked about, all right, let's do it for our for our pals in beautiful Bergen, Norway, which I hope to visit at some point here in the future.

20 year old Norwegian international scenic outset from the wonderful club.

SK Braun, based in beautiful Bergen, Norway, has agreed to terms with the contract to join Tottenham Hotspur.

This news happened all the way back on November 21st.

And I just want to be honest with you.

I don't want to talk about it.

I didn't want to mention it, I didn't like it.

She reunites with coach Martin Hoe.

That part's kind of cool.

Coach SK Braun, that part is, yeah, that's kind of cool.

She she reunites with Martin Hoe, who obviously coached SK Braun in their awesome Champions League run two seasons ago.

Real bummer to see or leave Braun, but it's a part of the development.

And I think I I saw some interesting conversation on Blue Sky that kind of was bouncing around in my head a little bit too.

Is is the idea of sometimes you have these amazing star talent level players, which senior Gallop said absolutely is announced herself.

We, your boys had it early by the way everybody in Bergen knew, and your boys here in in good old US of a maybe not so good old, but in the United States of America we knew it too in.

Old US of A.

Yes, in old US of a circling the drain USA, some people might think, but we we we saw it a while ago and but she made her star turn during the EUR and it's cool.

It's interesting to see her go to a mid level club like Tottenham Hotspur, and I'm sure that brings you great joy as an Arsenal fan for me to refer to Tottenham as as a mid level club, but instead of her being like thrust into like Leon Barcelona, you know what I mean?

It was just like dropped into like one of the superstar teams.

Now she kind of gets a little bit more of like a step up, a build up.

She's going to play elite competition still.

So senior Gobsett the Lynx, as she is so nicknamed in Norway.

I'm excited to see the continued upward trajectory of her of her career.

But real bummer for all our Palsenberg and so so our condolences the friends.

Yeah, I mean, excited for Gobsett for sure.

You know, tell them what do you do?

I mean, other place you could land it, but talk about that later.

But I mean, I love your point about landing in a great next step, next step for Gobset because that same 23 Champions League where we discovered.

So you Gobset, go back and check the tapes if you want.

We had to have been the first English speaking show to talk about.

So you Gobset on the planet, I'll say.

But Kika was a was a key player in that tournament too.

And to your point goes to Barcelona a little bit buried some injuries at Wilson.

I mean, an interesting point in time now for Barcelona to see if Kika can get get back into the mix.

But great call by you.

First of all, celebrating.

So you got to one of the patron states of the ITC for sure.

But a good landing spot.

I like the landing spot.

And you know, it's a friendly coach, a friendly situation, and I'm excited to see her play.

I'm excited to see her playing in WSL.

Absolutely.

She's got a game built to wreck the WSL.

So fucking excited.

I really think she.

Does, man, Yeah, it's.

Going to be so cool.

And if the, and if the WSL is going to be anything like, you know, the, the English Premier League, then I just, I do not look forward to Manchester City being at the top of the table and playing well.

And then somehow, inexplicably, every time we play Tottenham, they turned into 2009 Barcelona.

For some reason.

I just cannot understand why we can't consistently beat Tottenham, but I digress.

We'll, we'll, we'll, you know, we'll see how it goes there.

Yep, we'll.

We'll keep track of it in the meantime.

A lot of Champions League action to track for sure.

It's been an episode of Instant Channel.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for watching, listening, hanging out.

If you join the show, we do this every single week, sometimes twice a week.

This week will be a twice a week show for sure.

YouTube, Spotify, podcasts.

Check us out wherever you'd like to watch or listen.

Make sure you're following us, liking us, subscribing, commenting, leaving us a review, telling your friends about it or telling a friend about it.

You just tell a bunch of friends.

That was always one of the quirks that I used to bother me when I used to talk to me about marketing people be back.

I have a great product.

If, if one person will just tell 10 people, we'll be cool.

I'm like, bro, like how many people you think you know?

10 People are going to tell them what to do, and now they're going to go do something.

I want to know 10.

People I don't want.

To know 10 people, I definitely want to know that I want to know unless they, they, they rock with us and then leave us in their comments.

We have a probably like 50 people in their comments that I I definitely, definitely want to know more of and about.

None.

That is fair.

But don't tell 10 friends 10/1.

Tell one friend, but really tell them.

Let them know what time it is out here.

And if you want to continue to support the show, patreon.com/interest channel great way to do that.

Into the channel Merch, even greater way to do that.

Links to all the above and much, much more in the show notes of this episode.

And a big thank in my coast as well.

Mr.

Grant Engel 4 just I mean, champion of champions down the stretch, mid tournament, pre tournament, post tournament previews, recaps.

It doesn't really matter what I throw at this guy.

Draft chronological.

He's just, I mean, he's just swinging and knocking shit out of the park left and right.

He's the Barry Bonds of this podcast.

I appreciate you bro.

Likewise, buddy, thank you for that.

And you know, we're we are the Champions of champions.

I mean, look, you're wearing your Arsenal beanie.

They are the defending reigning Women's Champions League title holders.

I'm wearing the the Florida Panthers at the two time defending Stanley Cup winners.

Sometimes every once in a while, our teams are able to come out here and lift some trophies and there's nobody we would rather lift trophies with than all of you.

Thank you for the support.

Thank you for always dropping knowledge of the comments.

We always appreciate it very much and we will see you all next time.