Man United Are Running Out Of Excuses After 4-1 LOSS To Como! PSG Still Favorites + Full CL Recap

Project 90 Soccer: I don't even know what to say anymore about Man United. I feel like we've said everything there is to say.

Marco: The excuses are are out the window. none of these guys out there on the pitch look like they were willing to fight for the team or put the team on their back and try to demonstrate anything. I think Michael Carrick is is done And if he's not, I'll be surprised.

Project 90 Soccer: There's no more excuses other than the players, in my opinion.

Marco: If I'm a if I'm

Project 90 Soccer: the biggest trophy they're gonna get, man, is like a fucking happy meal toy. Welcome to another episode of the Project 90 Soccer Podcast. My name is Antonio, and I'm here as always with the Borussia Dortman Yellow Jersey Man, Oakland Raider hat, headphones in, ready to go, ready to talk, football, Marco Antonio Munoz. Marco, before we get into this humiliation. For Man United, 'cause I have to call it that at this point, man, and go over some of these Champions League results. How you been, man?

Marco: Great. Despite today's efforts to sit down and enjoy a nice Champions League match watching United, I just couldn't enjoy it. So outside of that, Anto, I I got out of work early. I was like, I took myself to the movies to go watch Street Fighter. And you know what? That was my highlight of my day. Now my second highlight

Project 90 Soccer: Yep.

Marco: of the day is Project 90 Soccer to talk about these Champions League matches and what is going on with Man United.

Project 90 Soccer: That is really just the question of questions, Marco. Every week we see Man United, okay, we see them go into these games, whether it's the EPL, the whatever it is, doesn't even matter at this point. And we come out of the at the end of the game, there's just a horrendous result, terrible performance. They're not looking good. And I'm gonna be honest, man, I'm getting to the point where I'm just running out of I'm running out of things to even say. I don't even know what to say anymore about Man United. I feel like we've said everything there is to say. I I don't I don't even know what the problem is anymore. I don't know what this team needs to do, what the club needs to do, what the owners need to do, what the coach needs to do. I have no idea because it doesn't matter who they have on the field, what coach they have on the sideline, what it doesn't it just seems like they cannot, and it has been years and years and years of this. Going to Como today. And look, from the from the starting whistle, Como was just on them, dominating, speed of play. It looked like Man United was behind, just couldn't catch up to the speed of the game. And it started early. Nico Paz got a goal within like three minutes, you know, and and send and that from from there from that point on, it was like Man United was just trying to get into the game, it felt like. I mean, I know Como played a great game. They had a lot of possession. They were pinging the ball around. Their link up play was amazing up top. But Man United just never seemed to get a foot in the game. So I'm gonna I'm just gonna send it over to you. What do you think about this, man? I mean, i is this it for Michael Carrick, do you think? Do you think that the fact that Lissandro Martinez wasn't able to play or Luke Shaw and instead it was Delict and Harry my god, I'm blanking out Harry Maguire. I mean, they're all experienced players. I just don't see that being a good excuse anymore. Right. So w I mean, what do you think of today's game?

Marco: And don't want to take anything away from Como, right? they had a couple bumps on the road with a couple matches.

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: not only in the Champions League, right? But in the CDA, but there's a huge difference between Como and Man United. Como,

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: it looks like they're trying to fight for something. Anto, what I saw today, and again, not to take anything away from Como, sick five of the guys, they're doing a great job with the talent and the team that they have and everything they're building on, but they have something to build on. To your point, it sounds like you're watching Paramount Plus, that's we watched the game because all the pundits said the same exact thing.

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: The excuses are are out the window. How how Antho, me as a United fan, I can't go somewhere and properly defend this team. It's not

Project 90 Soccer: It's hard.

Marco: a it's it's not the owners, it's not the sporting directors. we can't say it's it's Michael Carrick. We can't say we didn't bring enough players, we can't say Lessandro Martinez, because he wasn't in the in the game because of his out outburst not long ago. Antho, none of these guys out there on the pitch look like they were willing to fight for the team or put the team on their back and try to demonstrate anything. There was there was no it seems like no chemistry. There's like you just put a bunch of guys out there and put the United Jersey and say, Hey, go win a match. Antho, there was no chemistry. There was they couldn't get two, three passes to get going. You try something different, you put Embumo at the top. I like Embumo a lot, but honestly, like it didn't work out. You get you keep me flopping your guys up top with Cunha and Bumo and then just trying to figure things out. And I don't blame Kerrick in that regard because he's trying to find a lineup that works. But

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: this game, I'm though, I'm gonna blame the freaking players.

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: Can you tell me that somebody stood out today?

Project 90 Soccer: No, nobody. And and again, like

Marco: Who

Project 90 Soccer: you're saying, the the lineup, they're stacked, man. They have good players on the team.

Marco: Who stood out for Como?

Project 90 Soccer: I mean you could you could go down a list. Nico paws obviously, right? Their striker, everybody. I mean, the whole team as a whole was organized. They they were playing

Marco: Antho, it's embarrassing. Like enough,

Project 90 Soccer: I just.

Marco: enough is enough. And I feel for Michael Carrick. Again, we talk about the past, we talk about the past, but I grew up watching Michael Perrick. I mean Michael Carrick and everything he did he did with the with the team from the moment they got him from Tottenham and the rest is history. I feel for him because this is probably gonna cost him his job. He

Project 90 Soccer: yeah.

Marco: he went out there and he had a press conference. He says, It was tough to watch this team play. Today it was tough. Like there was nothing that was working. And heads always have to roll. I wanted it to be a little longer because I because to me he wasn't to blame. Again, he's not the guy that everybody wanted, but who else wants the man united job? And thought nobody really wanted the man united job unless you're

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: a coach that's been out there waiting for a job, like a conte, right?

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: So I hate it. I hate it that it's probably gonna happen, but his head is gonna roll. I hate it. Unless they they're gonna add a little bit of patience, which I doubt, but I Unfortunately, I think Michael Carrick is is done with with Men United. And if he's not, I'll be surprised. I didn't see from when we watched the Man United versus Leeds that they can really build on anything. I didn't see

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: a lot of a lot of positives going into this midweek Champions League match. It's it's just it seems like it's survival mode, man. You can't you can't sustain going into the first half. You can't give me 10 minutes without getting scored on. Come

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: on.

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: That that that's that screams everything and anything that's going out, going wrong with Man United. If for all the people are gonna comment and say, no, you're you're you're saying this, you're not saying that. I don't care. This is what

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: I'm seeing, and what I'm seeing is this team is bottom of the barrel. They're they have no soul, they have no spine. I hate to say it. Like they have

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Marco: they have all these guys who can be great. And if they don't want to be great, at least show me that you're trying to go out there and make a difference and until today I didn't see it. As a

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: Man United fan, it hurts. I'm happy for Como for getting the for getting a dub at home. And Matt United, I don't know, man. I don't know what's next.

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah, Como man. Duvikas up top, Ramon, Bruno, Nico Pause, obviously. We keep saying his name, but the kid, I mean, he truly is number 10, right? Playmaker. Man United, though, like you're saying, man, the players that they have, you got to imagine Cunha, Mbumo, Fernandez, Di Diogo Dalo, they ha Xerxy, right? They have all these players that were brought into United because of what they were doing at their previous club. They were top players. Cunha was a beast. They brought him in for a reason, right? They bring these guys in because they're making differences at the clubs that they're coming from. And then they come to United. And it's like they it doesn't matter who's even on the field. They got Tielemans as well. I mean, they have big name players. There's no more excuses. There's no more excuses other than the players, in my opinion.

Marco: If I'm a if I'm a outsider looking in, not knowing what's going on, and I'm watching this match, I'm gonna say these guys don't look like they're having fun if it looks like they're playing under pressure. Under pressure because

Project 90 Soccer: It does.

Marco: they under pressure because they need results. Under pressure because their ass is on the line. Under pressure because guys are on like the last years of their contract. Guys who put like Bruno Fernandez, who last year anybody and anyone would want him after this season. I mean, unless like you really need him, who's Is it Barcelona calling for him? Is it Real Madrid calling for him? A PSG calling for him? Nah. If anything, like he needs to play his ass off the rest of the season. and finally, you know what? Bruno Fernandez, I like you, but I think it's time you move on. This the way this story is being written for you is just not gonna happen. And you're getting up there in age. And I don't think I don't think any trophies are in your future with with Manchester United.

Project 90 Soccer: I don't think nothing's coming, man. The most tro the biggest trophy they're gonna get, man, is like a fucking happy meal toy. You know what I mean? They're not getting nothing. The way they're playing, they're going to Como Leeds, they're going all over the place. They're they're failing to get results. They might scrap together a couple goals or a good play here and there. This is not, I mean, in terms of the elite clubs around the world, in terms of names and stature, Man United is, I would arguably say, maybe not even arguably, that they're probably the worst one at this point. Right. In terms of just elite level big name clubs that are just on the struggle bus. And every team we've seen them go through it for a period of time where they're not as dominant as they once were. Right. They're in that rebuilding phase. Man United, though, like we've said, it's been years. I mean, like six, seven, eight years of just bringing in players, getting rid of players, bringing in coaches, getting rid of coaches. seeing a good result. this is looking better. Then going on a string of terrible performances. And then it's the same conversation over and over and over again. I don't know what's gonna happen. I do see Michael Carrick. He's he's that's it. He's gonna be out. I don't see him. I don't see him making it to Christmas, like I said. I stand on that. And these types of performances don't help. I don't put all the blame on him, but You can e you it's a lot easier to get rid of your manager and bring a new one in than it is to get rid of all your players and bring in new players. You know what I mean? They gotta do something

Marco: I just I just

Project 90 Soccer: to sort of I guess to sort of show the fans that they're trying to change something. I think that's why they do it so often. But it's I I don't know what's really gonna change with Man United.

Marco: And if that's the case, I mean who are you gonna bring in? You're gonna have to get

Project 90 Soccer: I mean

Marco: you're you're gonna have to get an interim, at for the time being. Are you gonna bring in Darren Fletcher again? Right?

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: Are you gonna be bringing up a guy that's overseeing the U-21 squat? Right?

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: Are you gonna bring back an old name just to cover face? Are you gonna go call another X-Men United legend to tell him, Hey man, can you kind of oversee operations for now? And

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: even going that way, like it's just a band-aid and Once it's time to rip off the band-aid, here comes that wound again. That

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: that wound that never really fully healed. Right now, what they need to do is officially Men United should go into real rebuilding mode. Right?

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: Not not worry, not care about those top ten places, Champions League football, your your Europa League football. Because one, they don't have the the qualities or the staff to do it. And two, they just need to focus on getting a solid, solid team and progress and move through the progression of of having that team because they're they're they're rebuilding team route. They're like a middle of the bottom of the table type team right now. And I and I hate to say that.

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah. No, they are, man. It's like, I mean, just look at the Premier League table. Like it shows the results show. And I think I think the players themselves, when you go on a on a sh a losing streak or maybe not not not so dominant streak where you're not winning games, and you're at a club like Man United where the pressure's so high and the and the history is you know, is the history of Man United being this victorious club, and you you go on the sort of streak that they're on right now. It adds this pressure, right? Every single game. It's like, we need to win a game. And the fact that you go into it thinking we need to win, as opposed to like, we're gonna win. Like Como went into the game, like, we're gonna win this game. There was no like, well, I hope we can win this game. We need to start getting some wins. No. And I feel like that's the mentality they're in right now. They don't have the winning mentality. They have the let's go into this game and let's try to get a win. And it's like you don't want to try to get a win. You got to get to the point where you go into games knowing you're gonna win. You're dominating. You're that team. And they don't have that mentality. Throughout the club, the players, the manager, I don't even think Michael Carrett goes into games thinking that way. And it's just reflecting. It's really starting to show on the field. So I I don't I don't know. This season already is a wash, in my opinion. I don't see them flipping things around very very well. I think at best they maybe qualify for the conference league or Europa League at best. But like you said, man, this this is like needs to be a rebuilding phase. And not just a rebuilding phase, like this needs to be like a real one this time, right? They've said it in the past that they're, you know, rebuilding, they're gonna do something for the club, they're gonna make it better, but they really need to do it now because this is like it's getting to the point where nobody has explanations anymore or excuses. There's not there's nothing left to say. There's nothing left to say for Man United.

Marco: And the and the and the crappy part about it, Anto, is this is the type of team that does it doesn't have the luxury of be of going in rebuilding mode. Right?

Project 90 Soccer: Mm.

Marco: Just same thing I would say for Chelsea, same thing I would say for Man City, who unfortunately is probably gonna have to. Same thing I would say for

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah, they're yeah.

Marco: for for Liverpool, Arsenal, PSG, Real Madrid, Barcelona. They don't have the luxury to go into a rebuilding phase. It's win now and win all the time. So we'll we'll see, Anto. I mean, this was

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Marco: if This was if they didn't have gut checks already, this was definitely a gut check of the reality of what Mesh United is and what they are moving forward. And today's results showed it.

Project 90 Soccer: It showed it. It showed it. We'll have to see what happens as the season continues to unfold. Moving on, the next game that we really wanted to touch on here, probably the biggest game from this Champions League Tuesday and Wednesday we had this week. PSG versus Barcelona, man. Four to two. Good game, man. Thirty eighth minute. Desire duay getting the first goal. Barcelona tying it one to one. Then PSG going up two to one with Lucas Hernandez. Laminha Mall tying it two to two in the 79th, then the 81st and 86th, Vitina and Fabi Mariz. Four to two win for PSG. I think it's safe to say that PSG is definitely the real deal. They're the team to beat. I think they are not just talk anymore of them being the favorite. I think they are the favorite. And I see them being definitely a favorite to win, but also getting that treble that they're after, right? Three Champions Leagues in a row. for them to go and beat Barcelona. Obviously, Barcelona was a good game all around, but for them to come through win four to two, I think it really shows a PSG. You know, missing some some good players too, right? Vodasquilia's out. Dembele got hurt too

Marco: For the f for the for the rest of the season.

Project 90 Soccer: for the rest of the season, man. And then Dembele went off as well with a suspected hamstring injury. So they have depth. Yeah, Nuno

Marco: Nuno Mendes is out. Yep.

Project 90 Soccer: Mendez, exactly. The list goes on and on, but then the list of players who fill in those spots. is also very strong. So I think that's their strength. But what do you see from PSG? How do you feel about them going on to win a third champions league? Do you think it's highly likely? Do you think it's just hype right now? What do you think?

Marco: I mean, they're showing that it's highly likely, but also depends on them being fully healthy. Dembele is gonna, if it's a torn hamstring or whatever the case may be, it's what it sounds like it is. hopefully, I mean he can nurse that, right? And he can get back to let's say the quarterfinals or the last rounds of the Champions Leagues, because I anticipate them getting to that point.

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: I don't know how to say his name, I don't want to butcher it, but Kavica.

Project 90 Soccer: Vodasquilia.

Marco: that that V Varasquita, yeah, that's a huge, huge loss. I feel for the guy. He's really, really good player from his time at Napoli. He just can't kept getting better each year. Young guy,

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: 25, and with this this technology, I I see a speedy recovery. Definitely don't see him at the end of the season, but I see a speedy recovery going into training camp and and the and the and the preseasons. But yeah, man, it all depends on them being healthy and if they're gonna win win the championship because At the end of the day, Barcelona, yes, they lost, but Barcelona has Boku, Boku talent on their bench. And this is just one of them where they need to scratch off, and then potentially next time they play PSG, they can come out with a with the W. But Anto, last time I said PSG plays like there's no superstar. This game showed me they have a superstar, and that superstar is Desiree Duwe. This kid

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: can ball. We talk about about talk a lot about Lamina Maw. Let's start talking about this 21-year-old Desiree Dewey, Cupman off awesome World Cup, and he just continues to perform with PSG.

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: He continues to be that guy, not scoring just basic goals, scoring some bangers after banger after banger. This

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah, getting assists, everything.

Marco: is his team, and I don't think anyone's gonna have a problem with it.

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah, I don't think so, man. And again, like Due, you say Dembele, Due, Vodasquilia. I mean, the they have such a stacked team and they've been together now for a couple seasons already. They've already won together. They have the same coach, right? Which Man United could probably learn something from, right? Keeping the same coach, letting them build the team. PSG was chasing the Champions League man for for forever. For years, since like 2009, bro. They've been like on a mission to finally reach the top. There is that

Marco: And they just they just couldn't.

Project 90 Soccer: they couldn't do it, man. There's even that year when they they were highly favorites. I believe Una Emery was the coach. And that Barcelona, dude, this the the comeback, Sergei Roberto getting that late winner against them. And that was like you were thinking for a second there, like, man, this is it. Like PSG, they built up to this point, but they just can't do it. And then what did they do? They ended up getting better. They got better, they came up. Now they're one of the dominant teams in Europe. And yeah, like you said though, with Barcelona, you can't count them out. You're able to get away with a with a result like this so early on in the Champions League. But once the once the knockout stages come around, it's a different ballgame, right? Teams really turn it up. And I think you're right though, for both of them, not just PSG or Barcelona, both of those teams. I think what's really gonna determine sort of how well and far they go is injuries. Right, because Denny Olmo also came off. There's players

Marco: Yep.

Project 90 Soccer: that are key players for the team, and it's a long season. So I mean, if they can stay healthy, I think either one of them can be a favor. But as of right now, I'm going with PSG. despite the injury to Dembele and Vadaschelia being out. I still think PSG has a deeper squad, a little more experience possibly in the Champions League and the in the final stages and the finals as well. So I do give it to PSG, but You can't knock out some of these other teams and some of these other results, from like Real Madrid or even inter Milan. You never know what happens when you get into the knockouts, you know.

Marco: And r and and real quick, maybe Anto, what do you think? It was a turning of the page for PSG where they were always chasing that superstar. Neymar, right?

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: Messi. I mean they had Slatana at one point, always chasing that super

Project 90 Soccer: They had Mbappe too.

Marco: Yeah, Mbappe. Well, that's what I was getting at. Chasing

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: that superstar. They Mbappe early on from Monaco. So maybe it was that turning of the page, like, look, we're gonna stop chasing that superstar, we're gonna focus on what we have. And what

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: they had was a rising star in Mbappé, and then The more they won, I mean, they were one of the winningest teams in League U, they just started attracting talent. I mean, Dembele came back, didn't have the best spell at Barcelona. obviously, I mean, he was a lot younger, and you know, in Spain with those with Real Madrid and Barcelona, like if you don't have one good showing, you get

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: relegated to the bench. So shout out to PSG and going back to your original question, I can see them going back to back with a tough, tough race. with Barcelona as long as both teams stay healthy.

Project 90 Soccer: I agree. Okay, let's go over some of these results from today and yesterday. Real quick, quick fire. Fener Bache versus Slavia Prague, two to two draw. We have Borussia Dortman beating Sabah two to one. Roma getting a four-zero win versus Bratislava. PSB beating Porto 1-0. Liverpool victory 4-3 versus Villa Real. Man City doing what everyone thought they'd do against AUK Athens, 5-1 victory. Napoli squeezing by with a

Marco: Patrick for Foden.

Project 90 Soccer: Another yeah, that's a shocker, right? Foden

Marco: Yeah.

Project 90 Soccer: against a team like Athens. I mean, it's I wouldn't count it as much, to be honest. I I want to

Marco: Okay, okay.

Project 90 Soccer: see him be doing that. Like you were saying with Barkala, that breakout game against a big team. Foden doesn't do that against the big teams. It never happens. But hey, good for Foden. Napoli squeezing a win. Bodo glimped. They won four to three. Stuttgart Athletico Madrid

Marco: Close game, close game.

Project 90 Soccer: won. That was Tuesday's games. Wednesday today. Lille versus Galatasterai. Galatasterai four to two victory. Aston Villa beating Viking three to one. Club Bruges beating Lans from France 3-0. Bayern Munich Arsenal. I saw a snippets

Marco: Back to back wins.

Project 90 Soccer: of this game. It was a two-to-two draw. That was a good game. Very competitive match. Inter Milan winning one to zero versus Shakhtar Donetsk. They were able to hold on to the lead after getting a red card. Real Madrid beating Leipzig four to one. Want to touch on that real quick after this. Real Betis versus Feyenoord, Real Betis winning one to zero. And then LASK beating Sporting of Portugal three to two. Were you did you happen to see any highlights or Real Madrid?

Marco: Yep. Yep. Qu a quick critters real quick on the Bayern Arsenal. My biggest takeaways

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: is Buyako Saka, unfortunately, goes out injured, right? Hopefully

Project 90 Soccer: Yes.

Marco: it's I haven't seen the the paper clippings or any any breaking news, but hopefully it's nothing crazy because you need this guy, he's very important. And

Project 90 Soccer: Uh-huh.

Marco: huge, huge shout out to Harry Kane, man. This guy just keeps continues to age like fine wine and Antho. He was playing like a midfielder at times.

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: he had the a great, great assist that led to a goal coming from

Project 90 Soccer: Uh-huh.

Marco: the midfield, from the center of the midfield. So shout out to to Harry Kane, who is not only a number nine that's gonna wait for you to feed him, but he's also helping produce in the attack. So those are the two of my biggest takeaways. And

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: going going back to the Real Madrid game, yes, I watched that game. And Anto Mourinho playing Valverde as the right back. When you have Dumfries

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: and you have Trent Alexander Arnold, Anto I'm Chi Chi's

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah. Yeah, dude. I don't know what he's on.

Marco: Chi Chi's Christ. What is going on? You have Arta Guller

Project 90 Soccer: I don't know.

Marco: playing on the right side. And the second coming of Mourinho gave Kaminga Kavinga the second the second coming of him

Project 90 Soccer: Camavinga, yeah.

Marco: of his career with Armadrid, because he's been outstanding player since he came back and he's been able to get minutes. He was able to have a full preseason while the rest of the square French squad was at the World Cup. And a couple other highlights, right? Bruno, Bruno Silva gets his first goal with the team after not getting a whole lot of minutes, but he gets his first goal. And the Vinicius conversation still continuing to happen. He, although I thought he had a good game, Mourinho went out there and said he had a good game, is not the type of game that we expect from Vinicius. I mean, he had some opportunities in the first half. But Vini Vini

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: himself is accustomed to getting these goals. Vini himself is accustomed to winning these games on his own. Vini is accustomed to being the man of the match. And as of right now, it is not happening. And the

Project 90 Soccer: No.

Marco: subs that are coming in are working. Look at d look at Diomande. He came in, he had a that a banger of a goal against his against his old club. Yep.

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah. That was a banger. That was a banger, dude. Yan Diomonde. That was a banger. Shout out to the USL. Damn, dude. Yeah. That was a banger from Diomande. I wanted to touch on that because I think that might be the goal of this match day for the Champions League. He just absolutely sent it home, right? Vinny, though, man. Vinny, Vinny, Vinitius Jr., that guy. In my opinion, he's the guy, right? He's the winner. He wins the games. He's like the star player, the star man. He's not being that right now. He's not being that. They're still getting victories, but Vinny's not, he's just not that guy right now. I don't know why. I don't know if it's Mourinho making him telling him a different game plan, telling him to play more certain certain ways or not letting him have the freedom. I don't know what it is, but it's not.

Marco: Here's the thing though, he he is playing well. It's just he's not playing, he's not blowing our socks off like like

Project 90 Soccer: Right.

Marco: like out of this world, like we typically expect him to play. And it's bad that we're expecting it. Like this guy can't have

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: a day off, he can't have a couple days off. These guys go and start to cut you off, Anto, I know you're getting to a point, but these guys have like bad spells as well. Like, give these guys a couple weeks or a month

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: or so to get it going. Like this shit happens. This guy

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: had a good game today. But he just isn't scoring goals right now. Let's let's

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: let let's let it be for now because this is the type of pressure that we're talking about. Now, hey, Vinny, you're not scoring goals. You're not doing what you're supposed to be doing, so you're playing bad. Is he really though?

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah, that's the thing. A lot of a lot of pressure comes down to well, you're not scoring goals. But it's like, well, you gotta look at everything else as well. The team's still winning. Okay. It's not like everybody's on a goalless drought where the team can't seem to get a victory or score a goal. He's just in one of those phases where he's not he's just not doing it. He's not scoring the goals, but he's still contributing to the team play and to the to the team winning games. And the point I wanted to get to about Vinny was even if he does have maybe a spell where he he's not good, right? Or he's not Contributing or he's not playing at his highest level, you got you got a bench with some depth on it too. You have other players that can fill in these roles, right? Mourinho is throwing throwing Valverde right back. Then you bring Diamond on 126 million, I think it was for the guy.

Marco: Who has three goals in four games, Anto?

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah. So there are options. Okay. There are options, and it's a healthy competition to have for a guy like Vinny, I think. Because God forbid. Mourinho says, you know, in two or three games, no goals coming from Vinny, or maybe Diamond keeps getting subbed on and making a difference in 20, 30 minutes he's on and scoring goals. Maybe he starts to sit Vinny down and start Diamante. And if that happens, maybe it lights Vinny up a little bit, gets him going again, gets him to change his mentality, or who knows, right? That's the kind of competition you want to see. But at the end of the day, man, a four to one win, it's still not the strongest Real Madrid you've ever seen. It's still not the best. organized, you know, a dominant sort of feeling Real Madrid that we've ever seen. But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is just scoring goals and winning the game. Right. If they play

Marco: Look.

Project 90 Soccer: like this for the rest of the season, might not be the best. But if they make it to the Champions League final and win, at the end of the day it doesn't matter. They won. So

Marco: Look, look, Arta Goulair, I'll listen to his post game interview and he said it best. Right? 'Cause they're asking him like, Hey, you're playing on the right side, you're playing in the midfield, like what do you prefer? He's like, honestly, just whatever the the Mister is what they call them, the coach prefers.

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: If he wants me in the midfield holding down the fort, I'll do that. But if he wants me playing up top on the right, I'm there to assist and do the best I can, which this this kid was balling when when when he had the ball earlier on in the make making plays and trying to get make some assists happen. But he said it also himself. He's like, hey, there's a lot of talent on the bench. We have a a bench with full of capable players. And if it means that I have to sit because somebody else needs to go in, then I understand that that's what needs to happen. So

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: that that's a young mature kid already understanding his role in the team. So what do we say about Vini? He cries a lot. He gets in his head. So I just think he needs to take a step back and understand like hey right now I'm not Playing to what I'm accustomed to playing. But to your point, Anto, if Diomande keeps having these performances and now he starts a game versus coming in in the second half and he performs. I mean, if I'm Mourinho, if you were the coach, Anto, wouldn't you

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: give this wouldn't you give this young kid a shot and like say Vinny, hey, Vinny, you're gonna sit for now.

Project 90 Soccer: You have to. You have to. And then Vinny should understand that. As the manager though, that's your job. And Vinny at this point right now, what we're currently seeing, if that does happen, he needs to remember that it's Real Madrid first, not Vinnie first. That's that's the main concern I have with a guy like Vinny. I don't think he's got that kind of ego or attitude to him, but at the same time, he's kind of working his way towards losing a starting spot to Diamante, possibly. So We're gonna have to see what happens. If anyone's gonna do that, though, I do see Mourinho. Like the guy does not give a shit, right? He'll do it. He'll bench you. I mean, look at Endrick coming off the bench. You know what I mean? Endrick's another guy like Goulaire, like you're saying. Good attitude, right? He knows he's not the starter. He knows he's not the main guy up top. He goes in there, he just works his ass off. He tries to score goals. Gotta give it to him.

Marco: Let's not forget, Anto. Let's not forget when Vinny was going was going in his head, he was dealing with the unfortunate racism in

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: in La Liga, he was asking for his departure. So

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: if this continues to happen and he feels like, hey, I'm not being valued, who's to say he doesn't ask for his his departure? the only thing I would say to that is that it's not a guy that you're that can easily be replaced or easily

Project 90 Soccer: Yeah.

Marco: or easily sold unless you're Man City and you want to False some documents and yeah, you can probably buy this guy.

Project 90 Soccer: Well, I know a perfect team that could use a new number seven.

Marco: They're gonna have to he first of all, he's never going to r Manchester United.

Project 90 Soccer: He's come on, dude. He could. That might be what they need, bro, to kick it off. Spend some big some big buffs on a guy like Vinny Jr. still in his prime and you know, get the ball rolling. But he'd look good in a man United number seven shirt in the Premier League, don't you think? I mean, come on.

Marco: I for I forg I forgot what story I was listening to. it was a Galactico or wherever the case may be. He almost made the move to Man U. And then his agent calls him and says, hey, it's a lot warmer in Spain, and Spain has beaches. I don't know if that I don't know if this was Ronaldo or Nine. I just can't recall, but that's

Project 90 Soccer: I actually I do remember this story. I can't tell you who it was, though. You're right. I

Marco: Yeah.

Project 90 Soccer: would go to Spain too, though. You kidding me? Anyway, Marco, look, we did a little Champions League roundup match recap, match day recap. wanted to touch on Man United. The the the struggles continue. We're gonna have to see how it plays out. And in a future episode, we wanna we wanna touch not only on Man United, Champions League EPL. We might have a special episode coming out with the drama going on here with Landon Donovan, United States players.

Marco: Mm.

Project 90 Soccer: They're all taking shots at each other. So we might have an episode coming out for that. Until then though, Marco, do you have any last words for the Project Ninety family?

Marco: Shout out to Sacramento Republic playing their last match of the regular season this Saturday. Tune in, probably on ESPN 2 or ESPN Plus.

Project 90 Soccer: Mm-hmm.

Marco: But Sacramento Republic, they clinched, baby, and we're off to the playoffs. Anto, I don't know where you're gonna be on Saturday, but I'm

Project 90 Soccer: Mm.

Marco: gonna be at Heart Health Park watching my squad get another dub to close out the season.

Project 90 Soccer: Shout out Sach. Keep it local. NorCal baby. If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, leave a comment, turn on the notification bell here on YouTube. Go to Project90Soccer.com. You can find all of our all of our links to Spotify, to Apple for easy listening in the car. If you enjoyed this episode, man, just leave a comment. Tell us what you like, what you don't like. If you've been a subscriber,

Marco: Get us to a hundred.

Project 90 Soccer: get us to 100. We're at 99. We love all the support. And until the next episode, guys, this has been another beautiful, fantastic episode of Project 90. Peace.