{"id":409214,"date":"2026-01-13T00:24:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T00:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/409214\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T00:24:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T00:24:13","slug":"barcelona-win-supercopa-de-espana-man-united-exit-fa-cup-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/409214\/","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona win Supercopa de Espa\u00f1a; Man United exit FA Cup; more"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The European soccer weekend is over, but it&#8217;s left us A LOT to talk about and unpack on Monday! For a start, the Supercopa de Espa\u00f1a concluded in Riyadh on Sunday with <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"58f7c4a9-c991-4ed4-fe5c-1f833cba75b8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=83\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Barcelona<\/a> &#8212; led by the incandescent attacking stylings of <a data-player-guid=\"3ab5000b-e423-c068-dd0a-a563ca5ddf90\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/318284\/raphinha\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Raphinha<\/a> &#8212; defeating Cl\u00e1sico rivals <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"66434654-a8ba-a04c-98e5-6bbd0dbbb780\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=86\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Real Madrid<\/a> 3-2 to claim the crown. Xabi Alonso did try to play more conservatively despite his tactical tendencies, and it still didn&#8217;t work, so &#8230; what will they do next?<\/p>\n<p>In <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"217dee4e-6974-a197-49a2-afda6e1788c9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=448\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">England<\/a>, it was the weekend of the FA Cup third round and we got plenty of shocks to unpack, from nonleague Macclesfield FC dumping defending champions <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"e8703d92-a160-9bbf-cb81-1be6f3fd7969\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=384\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Crystal Palace<\/a> out of the competition &#8212; the biggest upset in tournament history &#8212; to <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"6ebc2fd0-35d3-733b-5666-b75035a3bce9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=360\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Manchester United<\/a>, still with an interim manager in Darren Fletcher, losing to Brighton in one of the few ties to pit <a data-league-guid=\"6949f3af-300c-35f1-beab-b95669eedd38\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/league\/_\/name\/ENG.1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Premier League<\/a> teams against one another.<\/p>\n<p>Then, in <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"e5383473-2c2c-672e-5c37-253cfce49818\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=162\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Italy<\/a>, we had a top-of-the-table clash &#8212; and classic Antonio Conte meltdown &#8212; when Inter met <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"20179aab-ac9f-93cf-f139-404e49a3f3cb\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=114\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Napoli<\/a>, plus talking points galore around Tottenham (more pressure on Thomas Frank), <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"25b5e432-d3d2-939f-f73b-6e531a6fbd91\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=132\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bayern Munich<\/a> (who won 8-1), the <a data-league-guid=\"bb156ba1-46ad-7892-2b1c-afb73035e08f\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/league\/_\/name\/CAF.NATIONS\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Africa Cup of Nations<\/a> (as <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"8b6c1248-d870-2ae5-c24c-930c0a144b4f\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=657\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nigeria<\/a> and <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"1326a2f9-1a26-1d6d-67b2-bb34d1c726ce\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=2620\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Egypt<\/a> both booked semifinal places), <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"a47fbcec-c948-cf4c-9e41-3dfa37588c9c\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=364\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Liverpool<\/a> (who face a defensive crisis), <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"c43a00b9-2826-72b3-77a0-62730abc936e\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=363\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chelsea<\/a> (who welcomed new boss Liam Rosenior to the touchline), Milan, and much, much more.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s Monday morning, so what better time for some musings? Let&#8217;s get into it.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/story\/_\/id\/47587899\/from-wrexham-macclesfield-fa-cup-why-love-football\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ogden: FA Cup reminds us why we love soccer<\/a><br \/>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/story\/_\/id\/47571969\/clock-ticking-thomas-frank-spurs-fa-cup-loss-aston-villa\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Olley: The clock is ticking for Thomas Frank at Tottenham<\/a><br \/>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/story\/_\/id\/47583706\/raphinha-shines-lead-barcelona-thrilling-win-real-madrid-spanish-supercopa\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Marsden, Kirkland: Raphinha shines in Barca&#8217;s Supercopa win<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Barcelona logo\" class=\"floatleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/83.png&#038;w=126&#038;site=espnfc.png\" width=\"50\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Real Madrid logo\" class=\"floatleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/86.png&#038;w=126&#038;site=espnfc.png\" width=\"50\"\/>Too much Barcelona, too much Raphinha even for a &#8216;safety first&#8217; Real Madrid in Supercopa<\/p>\n<p>Some might say it&#8217;s not really &#8220;safety first&#8221; when, with <a data-player-guid=\"61edbcca-c316-afde-575f-d9dd69176cc4\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/318284\/kylian-mbappe\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kylian Mbapp\u00e9<\/a> not yet fit enough to start, you still line up with three forwards (Vin\u00edcius Jr., <a data-player-guid=\"913dce62-de6b-3d64-93cd-0e85fb3713b0\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/318284\/rodrygo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rodrygo<\/a> and <a data-player-guid=\"30d53081-885b-c42e-2fe6-050a4c9a8aa8\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/303821\/gonzalo-garcia\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gonzalo Garc\u00eda<\/a>) plus <a data-player-guid=\"5cb69fa5-1b68-f9a2-6a44-ad2447aa4337\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/318284\/jude-bellingham\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jude Bellingham<\/a>. But it&#8217;s not just about the names; it&#8217;s about what they&#8217;re asked to do.<\/p>\n<p>Bellingham held his position, adding density to the midfield. Garcia and Rodrygo doubled back to disrupt (or try anyway) the <a data-player-guid=\"3b2df297-82ac-bac8-4727-6551202a0e40\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/225607\/pedri\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pedri<\/a>&#8211;<a data-player-guid=\"a78ad4b1-e5b8-8b30-6e71-9f7294c42bb6\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/303821\/frenkie-de-jong\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Frenkie de Jong<\/a> creative access. Fede Valverde was essentially a wingback and, of course, there was no <a data-player-guid=\"5a8c6503-7351-3f24-87d6-a4304220e6bb\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/318284\/arda-guler\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Arda G\u00fcler<\/a> in the starting XI, with some suggesting it was part of cloak-and-dagger shenanigans.<\/p>\n<p>The Turkish playmaker was in the lineup announced prior to kickoff only to disappear 20 minutes later, with Real Madrid citing &#8220;human error.&#8221; Was it that, or was it come sort of &#8220;curveball&#8221; to confuse Barcelona? We might never know, but given Hansi Flick rarely reacts to the opposition and generally always plays the same way, you want to give Madrid the benefit of the doubt.<\/p>\n<p>The upshot was Bar\u00e7a with a whopping 76% possession in the first half and, to be fair, the plan might have worked if Gonzalo or Vini had taken their chances in the first half hour. But they didn&#8217;t, Raphinha did and Real Madrid were down. Then, because Bar\u00e7a are Bar\u00e7a(even <a data-player-guid=\"f0ebdbb5-289a-5971-6ce2-99bcf1f56dd3\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/102053\/jules-kounde\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jules Kound\u00e9<\/a>) and Vini can go beast mode at any time, Real Madrid equalized in a wild injury period at the end of the first half, which saw three goals in five minutes: Vini&#8217;s solo run, Pedri setting up Lewandowski to make it 2-1 and then Garcia&#8217;s equalizer after the penalty box pinball.<\/p>\n<p>All of ESPN. All in one place.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/plus.espn.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"imageLoaded\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/r1531432_1296x729_16-9.jpg\" width=\"100%\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Watch your favorite events in the newly enhanced ESPN App. Learn more about what plan is right for you. <a href=\"https:\/\/plus.espn.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Sign Up Now<\/a><\/p>\n<p>At halftime it was 2-2, but the script was familiar. Bar\u00e7a scored through movement and patterns of play, Real Madrid relied on individual brilliance and set piece chaos. The latter is simply not a sustainable formula for a big club, but in Jeddah they played with the humility of a small club taking on a more gifted opponent.<\/p>\n<p>And so, it came to pass that if <a data-player-guid=\"af692d6d-f76a-3e38-b135-58ffb3529101\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/225607\/raul-asencio\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ra\u00fal Asencio<\/a> or <a data-player-guid=\"c4e8bf17-4f25-369d-b325-aff27e7a7e17\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/286831\/alvaro-carreras\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u00c1lvaro Carreras<\/a> had taken their late chances &#8212; after Raphinha&#8217;s winner to make it 3-2 &#8212; we would have had a draw, then penalties, and then maybe a different narrative. But fundamentally the substance wouldn&#8217;t have changed.<\/p>\n<p>The game was entertaining and there were positives, like Vini reminding us what he can do or the fact that some of Xabi&#8217;s superstars showed they can be humble, work hard and follow instructions. But this is a reactive Real Madrid, not a proactive one. This is Xabi Alonso cosplaying as Jose Mourinho or Carlo Ancelotti. You can justify it, perhaps, in a one-off game like this one; week in, week out, he&#8217;ll have to change or the club will change him with another manager.<\/p>\n<p>As for Barcelona, Raphinha obviously stands out thanks to the two goals &#8212; the winner was scored while falling over, which takes some doing &#8212; but overall they simply looked more like a team. A flawed team, perhaps, and we can second-guess Flick until the cows come home (from the defensive line to the substitutions), but they have a very clear identity and that matters. He&#8217;s making his 12-month head start over Xabi count.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Man United logo\" class=\"floatleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/360.png&#038;w=126&#038;site=espnfc.png\" width=\"50\"\/>Manchester United bounced out of FA Cup, but at least they&#8217;re close to appointing a manager<img class=\" lazyload lazyload\"\/>play<\/p>\n<p>1:25<\/p>\n<p>Is the Manchester United job &#8216;attractive&#8217; for Amorim&#8217;s successor?<\/p>\n<p class=\"contentItem__subhead\">Ale Moreno questions whether the &#8220;reality&#8221; at Manchester United could hinder their manager search despite competing for a top four spot in the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p>OK, that&#8217;s a bit of a &#8220;troll&#8221; from me. It wasn&#8217;t the only silver lining to another disappointing weekend for the club: The 2-1 home defeat marks only the third time in 41 years that they exit the competition at this stage.<\/p>\n<p>The players Darren Fletcher sent out showed pride and even production &#8212; they had more shots and a higher xG than the opposition. Sure, it was a largely second-string Brighton side &#8212; no <a data-player-guid=\"25915a25-3933-6769-b4f4-052d205af5b1\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/303821\/bart-verbruggen\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bart Verbruggen<\/a>, no Jan Van Hecke, no <a data-player-guid=\"2ed71d65-dcb6-83d8-c95c-cdb86c2c52ea\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/293236\/lewis-dunk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lewis Dunk<\/a>, no <a data-player-guid=\"3b8a62e7-45e9-352b-a58e-19fd7a90816c\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/348787\/yankuba-minteh\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Yankuba Minteh<\/a>, no <a data-player-guid=\"cdad008c-c17f-354a-b167-364b939decd7\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/318284\/yasin-ayari\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Yasin Ayari<\/a>, no <a data-player-guid=\"dd13beab-09e1-37ab-9357-4cebe8d30fd1\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/346636\/carlos-baleba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Carlos Baleba<\/a>, no <a data-player-guid=\"df87fd7e-1cbb-dc5f-e43e-207290c639a8\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/282186\/mats-wieffer\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mats Wieffer<\/a>, no <a data-player-guid=\"9e61f2a8-7240-32e0-95c9-28466722e014\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/102053\/maxim-de-cuyper\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Maxim De Cuyper<\/a>, no <a data-player-guid=\"b45c0b93-2d8a-9632-9695-8faf5ce4200a\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/76762\/kaoru-mitoma\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kaoru Mitoma<\/a> &#8212; but still, it was a reminder there is talent in the team.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that United feel like they&#8217;re in a holding pattern, and that won&#8217;t change until they get a manager. Monday morning was full of rumors that the appointment of Michael Carrick as interim boss &#8212; I guess Fletcher is the &#8220;interim interim boss&#8221; &#8212; through the end of the season was imminent. Carrick is liked and respected, though lest we forget he finished 8th and 10th in his last two full seasons at Middlesbrough, eventually getting sacked last June.<\/p>\n<p>If they do get a new boss, a couple things seem logical.<\/p>\n<p>Their next game is the Manchester derby. Maybe making it his debut &#8212; when there&#8217;s a risk of a heavy defeat at Old Trafford and further negativity &#8212; isn&#8217;t the greatest idea. Be clear, too, about what the club goals are: Champions League football (they&#8217;re one point out of fifth place, lest we forget) and finding someone to take the club forward next season.<\/p>\n<p>And please remember your own history, and what happened the last time you brought in a club legend to take you through the summer on an interim basis (Ole Gunnar Solskjaer): No matter how well he does, stick to the original plan and bring in a permanent boss in the summer. No matter how much Carrick&#8217;s old teammates in the commentariat tell you that you should just stick with him.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Inter Milan logo\" class=\"floatleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/110.png&#038;w=126&#038;site=espnfc.png\" width=\"50\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Napoli logo\" class=\"floatleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/114.png&#038;w=126&#038;site=espnfc.png\" width=\"50\"\/>Antonio Conte goes ballistic over VAR penalty as Inter and Napoli draw<img class=\" lazyload lazyload\"\/>play<\/p>\n<p>1:19<\/p>\n<p>Are Inter favourites in the Serie A title race?<\/p>\n<p class=\"contentItem__subhead\">Gab Marcotti reacts to Inter&#8217;s 2-2 draw vs. Napoli following Scott McTominay&#8217;s brace against the league leaders.<\/p>\n<p>It was one of those classic cases where the letter of the law leaves match officials no real option. Step on an opponent&#8217;s foot, and it&#8217;s a foul: That&#8217;s what the directives for referees say. So when <a data-player-guid=\"7b89aa6a-fc6e-3cae-21b5-5476f6635604\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/225607\/henrikh-mkhitaryan\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Henrikh Mkhitaryan<\/a> got to the ball a split-second before <a data-player-guid=\"e3484f91-375d-05c8-7788-0d2ca4f11132\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/286831\/amir-rrahmani\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Amir Rrahmani<\/a> and the latter came down on his foot, technically it should be a penalty.<\/p>\n<p>In real life, for anyone who has played the game at any level, it doesn&#8217;t seem right. Referee Daniele Doveri waved play on, but VAR called him to the screen (reportedly because he didn&#8217;t have a clear view) and at that stage, he had to give it. That&#8217;s when Conte lost his cool, got in everyone&#8217;s faces and got himself sent off.<\/p>\n<p>It was unprofessional, but relatable, if not understandable. However, those are the protocols, and unless we all grow up and accept errors, then we need to have protocols. Even if they&#8217;re somewhat inflexible.<\/p>\n<p>You can see why Conte was angry. After conceding an early goal, Napoli actually played very well, equalizing via <a data-player-guid=\"cd7958fd-470d-a7a7-96fe-40f9b0a27022\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/303821\/scott-mctominay\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Scott McTominay<\/a>, and at that point of the game (20-ish minutes to go), they appeared to have the upper hand. After Hakan Calhanoglu converted from the spot, Napoli got their deserved 2-2 scoreline thanks to McTominay, making the draw a fair result. (Inter did also hit the woodwork late, too.)<\/p>\n<p>So what did we learn? Inter reminded you that they are the best team in <a data-league-guid=\"9c1e0753-2757-3b78-a6ed-1b595caf8191\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/league\/_\/name\/ITA.1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Serie A<\/a> even on a day when their big guns don&#8217;t really fire (<a data-player-guid=\"f2d92beb-5b82-65be-f72a-6f6efd6b0560\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/174980\/lautaro-martinez\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lautaro Mart\u00ednez<\/a> was uncharacteristically anonymous). Napoli showed that when Conte gets them purring, they can punch well above their weight and challenge anyone. Even when, as McTominay pointed out postgame they are missing key players (<a data-player-guid=\"b7f7737c-1e5a-7165-d26a-413acf8ced3d\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/293236\/romelu-lukaku\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Romelu Lukaku<\/a>, <a data-player-guid=\"370c960f-ccce-3e2e-8098-19d594f0bf06\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/304216\/andre\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Andr\u00e9<\/a>-Frank Zambo-Anguissa, <a data-player-guid=\"f8da61ed-4ec6-4281-bf66-3fb1765de6b7\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/353951\/david-neres\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">David Neres<\/a>, <a data-player-guid=\"c2bc0ee8-46fa-2189-ca21-014bc1c0e7e2\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/318284\/kevin-de-bruyne\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kevin De Bruyne<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to see how they would have fared against us if they had been missing the guys we were missing,&#8221; McTominay said. He&#8217;s right. Then again, Napoli have one of the better coaches around (when he&#8217;s not getting sent off), and Inter are coached by a guy who had half a season of top flight experience until last August.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tottenham logo\" class=\"floatleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/367.png&#038;w=126&#038;site=espnfc.png\" width=\"50\"\/>Vibes matter, and they go from bad to worse for Tottenham following <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"610557ff-e870-ea0e-a3b2-8244df325d22\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=362\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Aston Villa<\/a> defeat<img class=\" lazyload lazyload\"\/>play<\/p>\n<p>2:18<\/p>\n<p>How long does Thomas Frank have left at Tottenham?<\/p>\n<p class=\"contentItem__subhead\">ESPN&#8217;s Steve Nicol and Julien Laurens react to Tottenham&#8217;s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup.<\/p>\n<p>If there&#8217;s a damning indictment of Thomas Frank&#8217;s tenure as Tottenham manager, it&#8217;s that they&#8217;ve won just six of 15 home games since he took over. Three of those were in the Champions League against <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"6ec6dc2a-bfbf-3153-b180-ad67f340916b\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=494\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Slavia Prague<\/a>, <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"642df16f-cb20-2f25-6e9c-27935022df2e\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=102\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Villarreal<\/a> and Copenhagen &#8212; the former two almost certain to exist in the group stage, the Danes possibly &#8212; while the other three were against <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"0446e7fd-7655-f17a-d282-8c401b808d1f\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=337\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Brentford<\/a>, <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"0e306f49-0f1d-27a2-4259-0643dce9c676\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=379\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Burnley<\/a> and Doncaster Rovers. That&#8217;s Frank&#8217;s previous team, the second-bottom side in the Premier League and a club in the League One relegation zone.<\/p>\n<p>I realize a win away is worth (points-wise) just as much as one at home. The difference is the vibe, the crowd and the mood. If your fans only see you beat no-names and generally see you play poorly, it has a multiplying effect of negativity. Frank is like Pig-Pen from Peanuts, the kid with the cloud following him everywhere, and he can&#8217;t shake it.<\/p>\n<p>Tottenham weren&#8217;t terrible against Aston Villa in the 2-1 defeat that knocked them out of the FA Cup at the third-round stage, and they did show fight. They just weren&#8217;t particularly good and, worryingly, showed little clarity. Frank&#8217;s football is almost mechanical (and not in the good, &#8220;patterns of play,&#8221; way either) and against a better coach like Unai Emery, he gets outfoxed pretty quickly. Throw in the fact that many of his players are a bundle of nerves (even when <a data-player-guid=\"fad21314-b671-1f35-3c4c-1cb3dff354ad\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/303745\/cristian-romero\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cristian Romero<\/a> isn&#8217;t there) and it&#8217;s not a good recipe.<\/p>\n<p>Quick hits<img class=\" lazyload lazyload\"\/>play<\/p>\n<p>1:39<\/p>\n<p>Colin Udoh: This is the best Nigeria team I&#8217;ve seen!<\/p>\n<p class=\"contentItem__subhead\">Colin Udoh reacts to Nigerian&#8217;s excellent display vs. Algeria in the quarterfinals of AFCON.<\/p>\n<p>10. <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"8b6c1248-d870-2ae5-c24c-930c0a144b4f\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=657\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nigeria<\/a> storm past <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"5a9aa911-bb70-d5d4-2c03-166d0fe0dc3c\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=624\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Algeria<\/a>, and we&#8217;re going to miss them this summer: I get it. It&#8217;s how World Cup qualifying works, and Nigeria were really poor in CAF qualifiers. They failed to win their first four games, they failed to beat <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"aabd26db-b3ad-3837-920b-276ed1929abf\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=4214\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zimbabwe<\/a> at home and they lost their playoff final to Congo on penalties. That&#8217;s why they won&#8217;t be at the World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>That said, it&#8217;s hard to argue they&#8217;re not in the top 20 &#8212; let alone top 48 &#8212; in the world right now. At this <a data-league-guid=\"bb156ba1-46ad-7892-2b1c-afb73035e08f\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/league\/_\/name\/CAF.NATIONS\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Africa Cup of Nations<\/a>, Nigeria have five wins in five games, 14 goals scored and a resounding quarterfinal victory Saturday over Algeria, who were undefeated in their last 22 competitive games. They won 2-0, though it could have been five or six (their xG was 3.36).<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a ton of focus on the sparkly front three of <a data-player-guid=\"ada556b6-fd9c-8e05-12da-814a9c1c7bba\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/346636\/ademola-lookman\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ademola Lookman<\/a>, <a data-player-guid=\"40108f02-4404-6b6c-83b5-0601221178c5\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/281119\/akor-adams\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Akor Adams<\/a> and <a data-player-guid=\"bc44ea02-16c9-072a-8715-54722d58eab4\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/102053\/victor-osimhen\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Victor Osimhen<\/a>, but the back line has been getting stronger as the tournament has progressed &#8212; Algeria were held to three shots for a combined xG of 0.13 &#8212; which is a testament to the job coach Eric Chelle has done.<\/p>\n<p>If you can, watch their toughest test yet in Wednesday&#8217;s semifinal against hosts <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"a6945df8-27b1-9615-af13-7379154954b9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=2869\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Morocco<\/a>. And be sad you won&#8217;t get to see him at the World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>9. The biggest upset in FA Cup history? Technically, yes: Macclesfield&#8217;s 2-1 win over FA Cup holders Crystal Palace was just that. There are 117 places between the National League North side and Oliver Glasner&#8217;s crew, and that&#8217;s a far greater gap than any other &#8220;giant killing&#8221; in the history of the cup. Of course, if you want to be a buzzkill, you can point out that Palace were without most of their first choice XI, that Macclesfield are a &#8220;phoenix club&#8221; (born out of the ashes of Macclesfield Town, who went bust in 2021) with far more resources than their peers in their division, and that Palace have other priorities right now.<\/p>\n<p>But that wouldn&#8217;t change the substance: This was a seismic feat and Palace&#8217;s XI, you&#8217;d imagine, would probably walk the National League North undefeated. And yet on Saturday, they were comprehensively beaten. This wasn&#8217;t some kind of smash-and-grab: Macclesfield had more shots, more goals and a higher xG. Not to mention, of course, they had far more drive and desire.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\" lazyload lazyload\"\/>play<\/p>\n<p>2:26<\/p>\n<p>Is Macclesfield beating Crystal Palace the biggest upset in FA Cup history?<\/p>\n<p class=\"contentItem__subhead\">ESPN&#8217;s Steve Nicol and Julien Laurens react to Macclesfield FC beating Crystal Palace 2-1  in the third round of the FA Cup.<\/p>\n<p>8. Bayern Munich pick up where they left off: It was their first game in three weeks, they had a young untested midfield (<a data-player-guid=\"63fa5225-c63f-3bea-99a7-6a38c17a9d09\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/258917\/aleksandar-pavlovic\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Aleksandar Pavlovic<\/a> and <a data-player-guid=\"56ccdd40-56fc-329c-b865-20aa0ac75f1b\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/76762\/tom-bischof\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tom Bischof<\/a>), no <a data-player-guid=\"146a82b6-8066-3575-2972-c98d0d77d1ee\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/176203\/joshua-kimmich\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joshua Kimmich<\/a> &#8230; you wondered if ring rust might get to Bayern for the visit of Wolfsburg. You can argue that to some degree, it did just that in a somewhat contested first half in which they took just four shots, but that served only to unleash the hounds of hell after the break.<\/p>\n<p>It was a 45-minute blast that saw them score six goals (it could have been more) while racking up 71% possession (no, they don&#8217;t take their foot off the gas and play on the counter when they&#8217;re out of sight) en route to an 8-1 win. We saw <a data-player-guid=\"66b16016-7a3a-434f-ae82-e767fc5fac88\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/225607\/harry-kane\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Harry Kane<\/a> score a worldie, <a data-player-guid=\"ba2fd99c-bc86-9ef0-80b9-16b2a77cb1be\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/286831\/michael-olise\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Olise<\/a> show (again) that he&#8217;s the most important creative force on the team (at least until <a data-player-guid=\"ce6194aa-f9f8-303c-8d25-b9551d6734e2\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/303821\/jamal-musiala\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jamal Musiala<\/a> returns), and the sort of collective hunger coaches crave. The Champions League is on notice.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\" lazyload lazyload\"\/>play<\/p>\n<p>1:45<\/p>\n<p>Moreno: Musiala &amp; Karl &#8216;difference makers&#8217; for Bayern&#8217;s Champions League hopes<\/p>\n<p class=\"contentItem__subhead\">Ale Moreno assesses Bayern Munich&#8217;s Champions League chances after extending their lead at the top of the Bundesliga table.<\/p>\n<p>7. <a data-player-guid=\"a84e514e-cbe8-9e47-26c9-9a5e3bc5ee00\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/269844\/gabriel-martinelli\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gabriel Martinelli<\/a> doesn&#8217;t want to be <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"feb44e87-58fa-9597-2691-b3c32768ebe4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=359\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Arsenal<\/a>&#8216;s odd man out: Big squads like Arsenal&#8217;s are a wonderful thing until one of two things happens. Either the bean counters insist on cutting costs, or players realize that while winning is great, playing is even greater. Because, fundamentally, you can&#8217;t rotate all the time and there is always a hierarchy.<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel Martinelli&#8217;s hat-trick (he should have scored four) in the 4-1 FA Cup win at Portsmouth is a reminder of just what he can do. Yet with <a data-player-guid=\"acf2b736-1278-de16-5c0d-f9d771d5d850\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/174980\/leandro-trossard\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Leandro Trossard<\/a> sticking round and the additions of <a data-player-guid=\"d5a7a22a-84b8-0c73-91a5-ec1567746a6e\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/251400\/eberechi-eze\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Eberechi Eze<\/a> and <a data-player-guid=\"e8393d3a-a2e5-b262-f720-eccb7252e525\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/293236\/noni-madueke\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Noni Madueke<\/a>, it&#8217;s pretty evident he&#8217;s not top of the pecking order. He has started just six league this season and, if someone out of that group is expendable, on paper it&#8217;s him. At 24, he&#8217;s the youngest, he&#8217;s been there the longest, and his deal is up in 2027 (2028, if the club pick up his extra one-year option), which means he could still fetch a sizable transfer fee. It would be a shame, because he brings something different and likely has no desire to leave, but with a squad this size, coaches have to make tough decisions.<\/p>\n<p>6. Free from commitment, could Villarreal actually do something in LaLiga? They are pretty much out of the Champions League, where they&#8217;ve been atrocious (one point in six games, same as <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"4cc1771d-89d8-cd9f-7feb-9fa47749958a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=2528\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kairat Almaty<\/a>, I kid you not) and they were knocked out of the <a data-league-guid=\"50d361ea-f945-3d56-9d20-63497bd2cac2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/league\/_\/name\/ESP.COPA_DEL_REY\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Copa del Rey<\/a> a month ago. LaLiga is all they have and if the old trope about making lemonade with lemons holds, they owe it to themselves and their fans to do something really special, because who knows when they&#8217;ll have another chance like this?<\/p>\n<p>Well, Saturday&#8217;s 3-1 win over Alaves means they&#8217;re third, with a game in hand. Win that (it&#8217;s second-bottom <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"be2c6909-0dc7-4b81-9f73-0eab434d732f\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=1538\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Levante<\/a> away, so it&#8217;s doable) and they&#8217;ll be one point behind Real Madrid and five behind Barcelona, who are second and first respectively. Just finishing third would be a feat &#8212; only once in the past 17 years has someone other than Bar\u00e7a, Real or Atletico Madrid finished in the top three &#8212; but they have a genuine shot at aiming higher. No football other than LaLiga means fewer injuries, a full week to prepare and the ability to play with higher intensity. And anyone who has watched Barcelona and Real this season can point out plenty of flaws and weaknesses in both teams. Marcelino has a pretty unique opportunity here.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\" lazyload lazyload\"\/>play<\/p>\n<p>1:06<\/p>\n<p>Will Man City&#8217;s 10-1 victory vs. Exeter give them confidence?<\/p>\n<p class=\"contentItem__subhead\">ESPN&#8217;s &#8216;FC TV&#8217; crew react to Manchester City&#8217;s 10-1 thrashing of Exeter City in the third round of the FA Cup.<\/p>\n<p>5. <a data-player-guid=\"ed520531-3344-157f-7be2-dec0351d41db\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/273292\/antoine-semenyo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Antoine Semenyo<\/a> is a &#8220;teachable moment&#8221;: The winger scored on his debut for Manchester City (a 10-1 FA Cup trouncing of third-flight Exeter City) and some are debating whether the \u00a364 million ($85M) fee to sign him from Bournemouth represents &#8220;good business.&#8221; My take, TLDR version? Probably not given he just turned 26, but if you&#8217;re City and Pep Guardiola, the last step to put you over the top is often the priciest.<\/p>\n<p>More interesting, I think are two Semenyo-related factors. One is that it&#8217;s probably not so much about what he can contribute offensively &#8212; City already have the most goals, the highest xG and more guys who can score than anyone else in the Premier League &#8212; but rather what he does off the ball. Semenyo comes from a hardcore pressing system at Bournemouth and has the athleticism, mindset and intelligence to work his backside off out of possession more than any other City forward or winger. That&#8217;s particularly important if Guardiola is going to continue playing midfielders at fullback and leave them solo to defend in space.<\/p>\n<p>The other is that Semenyo (if we accept the \u00a364M fee) represents a collective failure of the football and talent ID system. He was born and raised in London, which is teeming with scouts, he failed a trial at 15 with Crystal Palace, and he was generally unattached for a couple years before signing with Bristol City at 17. Given the number of professional clubs in the capital and their armies of scouts, did nobody realise his potential? He didn&#8217;t make his Premier League debut until he was 23 and, before that, he was in and out at Bristol City in the championship. Again, did he get a lot better all of a sudden or did 99% of the Talent ID system take a collective nap? There&#8217;s a lesson there&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>4. Liam Rosenior&#8217;s Chelsea looking a lot like that of his predecessors: At least when it comes to systems and rotation and at least in his first outing, a 5-1 FA cup win at Charlton, that is. And that&#8217;s entirely normal and understandable. Not just because he&#8217;s had hardly had any time to work, but also because Enzo Maresca left because of deteriorating relationships, not issues with tactics or personnel deployment.<\/p>\n<p>And so we saw a very familiar 4-2-3-1 formation with a fullback (<a data-player-guid=\"1acd89d7-dd2b-337c-a2db-66ece7c80c7c\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/353951\/jorrel-hato\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jorrel Hato<\/a>, in this case) stepping into midfield in possession with a midfielder moving into the hole, creating a de facto 3-2-2-3. Guys like Hato, Filip Jorgensen, <a data-player-guid=\"1761041a-8a75-3cd3-b99d-f4bf1eaf8134\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/318284\/facundo-buonanotte\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facundo Buonanotte<\/a> and <a data-player-guid=\"5645bf26-3904-382a-a17b-61fb8b0a2d21\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/363038\/marc-guiu\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Marc Guiu<\/a> got the start just as they would have under Maresca and the football, for better or worse, was Maresca-like. If Rosenior succeeds, it won&#8217;t be because he fiddles with the way Chelsea play: It will be because he does a better job getting some guys to live up to their transfer fees, and because he does a better job managing up.<\/p>\n<p>GAB &amp; JULS PODCAST<\/p>\n<p>Gabriele Marcotti and Julien Laurens dive into the latest news and gossip, analyze matches with special guests, and give their perspective on the world of football. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/espnradio\/podcast\/archive\/_\/id\/30162867\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stream now<\/a><\/p>\n<p>3. <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"1326a2f9-1a26-1d6d-67b2-bb34d1c726ce\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=2620\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Egypt<\/a> down <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"6fcf839e-eb1a-be06-675f-a22ee120dcdb\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=4789\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ivory Coast<\/a> to follow the script (sort of): They had won 10 of 11 games against the Elephants and like many of their previous wins, this was about guile and mental fortitude. Egypt took the lead when <a data-player-guid=\"33062d91-ea24-3261-b931-757219b741a0\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/303745\/omar-marmoush\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Omar Marmoush<\/a> punished Odilon Kossounou&#8217;s error, went 2-0 up on a set piece and managed the game en route to a 3-2 win that sets up a semifinal against <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"3d969454-cda7-bf55-21fb-33a8c2ca21ee\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=654\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Senegal<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Where it deviated somewhat was that the Ivorians showed a ton of fight and reopened the game at 2-1, before <a data-player-guid=\"49438d5e-de32-9f1b-9aab-5f6ae53f14d0\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/173896\/mohamed-salah\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mohamed Salah<\/a> (who else?) on the counter made it 3-1. Still the Ivorians fought, clawing another one back with <a data-player-guid=\"9ee0df9b-fcb6-30da-b3a8-194a36d9b621\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/346636\/guela-doue\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Guela Dou\u00e9<\/a> (you might be familiar with his little brother, Desire) and setting up a tight finale. This could easily have gone the other way, and it&#8217;s a reminder of how much the Ivorians have grown. Egypt can&#8217;t coast on their big names or their innate ability to punish opposing mistakes against Senegal. They need to raise it another notch.<\/p>\n<p>2. Liverpool needed defensive help before, now even more so: You feel for <a data-player-guid=\"cabe833a-2edb-3691-bc6d-aa9033efeb27\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/250183\/conor-bradley\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Conor Bradley<\/a>, whose season ended on Thursday night in the 0-0 draw at Arsenal, when he went down injured. And you feel for Northern Ireland fans, as he&#8217;ll miss the World Cup playoffs. The difference, of course, is that Liverpool can sign a replacement, whereas Northern Ireland can&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve pointed out the club&#8217;s lack of defensive depth all season long, but that was at centerback &#8212; now there&#8217;s a gaping hole at right back too. Can you play whack-a-mole with some combination of <a data-player-guid=\"4a6a0213-6efc-b040-549c-09b6634ab5ce\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/281119\/jeremie-frimpong\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jeremie Frimpong<\/a> (who is coming off an injury and more of a wingback), <a data-player-guid=\"fab1b006-532b-8133-de47-647e95a46877\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/257206\/dominik-szoboszlai\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dominik Szoboszlai<\/a> (who is an attacking midfielder), Andy Robertson (who is a left back) and <a data-player-guid=\"0d029e41-3ff8-5297-93d6-228603fce1bf\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/102053\/joe-gomez\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joe Gomez<\/a> (who is injury-prone and more of a center back)? Sure you can. But you shouldn&#8217;t, not unless you want to be the guy who drops half a million on a Ferrari but refuses to get insurance, figuring he can always get spare parts from his old, rusty Ford Fiesta. Logic dictated one center back signing this window. Now, after injuries to Bradley and <a data-player-guid=\"d29363ad-0204-25cf-7611-8aff328308b1\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/235662\/alexander-isak\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alexander Isak<\/a> and whatever is going on with Mohamed Salah, they probably need three (but might have to do with one).<\/p>\n<p>1. Wasteful Milan drop points again (and it could have been worse): Sometimes you do the right thing, possibly for the wrong reasons, and it boomerangs and bites you in the backside. Away to relegation threatened <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"b83bf35a-2c4b-c57b-1eb6-70e5046c8461\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=109\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fiorentina<\/a> and with a trip to <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"3f2c043b-2747-1851-c74a-4e05fd6e614b\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/football\/team?id=2572\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Como<\/a> coming up midweek, Milan manager Max Allegri opted to give a number of regulars &#8212; <a data-player-guid=\"e5847128-4b2e-c0cc-18a0-f892204e7221\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/258917\/rafael-leao\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rafael Le\u00e3o<\/a>, <a data-player-guid=\"41364de3-fdf9-3484-b690-58aaab670f97\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/76762\/luka-modric\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Luka Modric<\/a>, <a data-player-guid=\"beb50f69-6158-14ce-6a7a-a35e01b4a841\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/176203\/adrien-rabiot\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Adrien Rabiot<\/a>, <a data-player-guid=\"f8bf2da1-f985-cc28-07b3-679e7e18191f\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/277307\/youssouf-fofana\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Youssouf Fofana<\/a>, <a data-player-guid=\"4eb4fc6d-5812-3df7-8e36-1b58bc75e00a\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/345637\/davide-bartesaghi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Davide Bartesaghi<\/a> &#8212; a breather. It worked in the sense that Milan looked bright and created plenty in the first half, with <a data-player-guid=\"4e537717-24b3-a77d-8d12-9cde8792bed6\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/225607\/christian-pulisic\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Christian Pulisic<\/a> fluffing a couple of chances. It didn&#8217;t work in the sense that Milan didn&#8217;t score and got markedly worse after the break. They went a goal down and only equalized in the final minutes, and it could have been worse: &#8220;Magic&#8221; <a data-player-guid=\"3266a4c5-2370-d4a1-f0ef-bf1af7d14b29\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.com\/soccer\/player\/_\/id\/189026\/mike-maignan\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mike Maignan<\/a> had to make a key save in injury time, and Fiorentina somehow hit the woodwork.<\/p>\n<p>Allegri is by nature conservative, but he made a bold choice here. It worked in terms of performance &#8212; ironically &#8212; until he sent on the big guns with half an hour to go. But because they dropped points (again) he&#8217;s going to get slaughtered in the media and likely become even more conservative next time out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The European soccer weekend is over, but it&#8217;s left us A LOT to talk about and unpack on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-409214","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}