Football Daily - Euro Leagues: Inter’s old men and pulsating PSG – but are Barca fragile?

Episode Date: May 8, 2025

John Bennett is joined by Guillem Balague, Julien Laurens and Mina Rzouki. After another memorable week in the Champions League, the team unpick all the big talking points. Do Barcelona need to tweak their style of play? And with a Classico on Sunday, could their season quickly unravel after the defeat in Milan? The team discuss Yann Sommer and Francesco Acerbi after Inter Milan reached their second final in three years – and cast an early eye ahead to the final after PSG knocked out Arsenal. Julien reveals he is already turning into Father Christmas as requests for tickets come his way – but is starting to feel nervous about the big match in Munich. With Paris FC winning promotion to Ligue 1, Julien explains why it will be a friendly – and very, very local - derby when they play PSG next season, and Mina discusses the super tight race for a Champions League spot in Italy. TIMECODES….. 0 mins: Intro, with John Bennett back in the chair after the show had no presenter last week. 2 mins: The team discuss Inter v Barca – a Champions League classic. But did Barca mess it up? 8 mins: Could Barcelona’s season start to unravel after their defeat in Italy? 12 mins: Inter’s collective effort and the brilliance of keeper Yann Sommer. 16 mins: The great story of Inter goalscorer Francesco Acerbi. 22 mins: The brilliance of PSG – and why they deserve to be in the final – despite what Mikel Arteta said. 26 mins: The team look ahead to the final in Munich on 29 May. 31 mins: Paris FC – promotion to the top flight and a friendly derby. 35 min: The race for Champions League places in Serie A.Thursday 8th May EUROPA LEAGUE: Bodo Glimt v Spurs – LIVE ON 5 LIVE - Alistair Bruce-Ball and Paul Robinson. EUROPA LEAGUE: Manchester United v Athletic Club - LIVE ON SPORTS EXTRA - Ian Dennis and Izzy Christiansen. Saturday 10th May WOMENS SUPER LEAGUE: Chelsea v Liverpool 1230 KO – LIVE ON SPORTS EXTRA - Eilidh Barbour and Tanya Oxtoby PREMIER LEAGUE: Southampton v Manchester City 1500 KO - LIVE ON 5 LIVE - Ian Dennis and Rob Green. PREMIER LEAGUE: Bournemouth v Aston Villa 1730 KO - LIVE ON 5 LIVE - Alistair Bruce-Ball and Francis Benali. Sunday 11th May PREMIER LEAGUE: Nottingham Forest v Leicester 1415 KO - LIVE ON 5 LIVE - Vicki Sparks and Clinton Morrison. PREMIER LEAGUE: Manchester United v West Ham 1415 KO – LIVE ON SPORTS EXTRA -Chris Coles and Michael Brown PREMIER LEAGUE: Spurs v Crystal Palace 1415 KO – LIVE ON BBC SPORT WEBSITE - Paul Scott and Daniel Gabbidon PREMIER LEAGUE: Liverpool v Arsenal 1630 KO - LIVE ON 5 LIVE - John Murray and Stephen Warnock.

BBC Sounds music radio podcasts. On the Football Daily Podcast, the EuroLeagues with John Bennett. Listen on BBC Sounds. Hello and welcome to EuroLeagues, your weekly dose of European football. And what a week we've had. Inter and Barcelona, we thank you. More on them very shortly. One hundred and eighty eight matches in the Champions League this season only one more left Inter against Paris Saint-Germain. So joining us this week Guillaume Balaguey who was

pitch side for Inter against Barca just about recovered from the excitement. No, no, no not recovered yet takes a while. Julian Lerons who was there to witness his team Paris Saint-Germain beating Arsenal to get back to the Champions League final. Congrats, Jules. Big smile on your face. Yeah, thank you very much. Special night. Amina Rizuki, who is in Naples with Napoli top of Serie A right now. What's the atmosphere like in Naples today? It's always what it is. It's not yet there, it's not yet there. Still a few more games,

but there is certainly some excitement. Although now they're scared they're going to lose Antonio Conte. Oh, we might get to that a bit later on. So this week, I'm under pressure. I feel like a player returning from injury, fighting for my place, because I know that last week Steve Crossman was away, I was away, and Euro your leagues didn't have a presenter. It was just you guys freestyle. I'd better be on my game. Yeah what you're gonna notice or you may not notice if we're clever enough we're not gonna help you but nobody will notice it will be you just thinking. The equivalent of a player hitting a pass really really strongly towards me.

You're gonna have to earn your place place. You have to control it. We will see. The pressure's on. This week we're going to discuss those two fascinating semi-final second legs in the Champions League. We'll have a very early look ahead to the final in Munich and there'll be a top flight derby in French football next season in Paris after promotion for Paris FC. So is Jules worried about Paris FC? But first Tuesday night gave us

episode 2 of a tie that will go down as a Champions League classic. Barcelona minutes seconds away from going through in Milan against Inter before 37 year old Francesco Acerbi scored his first ever goal in the Champions League to take the title extra time. Then Dav League to take the tie to extra time. Then David A. Frattese scored an extra time winner, inter winning 4-3 on the night, 7-6 on aggregate. So the joint highest scoring semi-final tie in Champions League history after Liverpool 7-6 against Roma 2017-2018. Guillaume, you were there in the pouring rain, iconic photo, isn't there,

of Simone Nzaghi drenched in his suit. So what was it like watching that classic pitch side? I think we all prepared for it. The fans prepared for it. They were there three hours before the game. You know that when you work on the day, you get there when in theory there's nobody ready yet. They were all with their flags and the chanting.

I was prepared, I had my three hour siesta, so I was fresh because I knew that I had to have all my senses sharpened. Because I knew something was gonna happen. Yeah, it is a preparation. You have to go through all that. And then you will see La Minia Mal walking in, chewing gum, and looking around, and being whistled.

And him thinking, yeah, this is my stage. I'm about to do something that's going to be special. And special things happen, including, if we stay with him for a second, the confirmation of his leadership. He is in charge of that team. That 17-year-old is in charge of that team. And even though in the first half he dropped too deep, wanted to get involved too much in the second half, that was adjusted. And what we saw was an extraordinary accumulation of twists and turns

and a noise that I'll never forget. But Barcelona messed it up, didn't they Jules? How on earth when you're in injury time are you not dropping deeper? I know that they have their philosophy but surely you're in injury time, just drop five yards, just take the ball to the corner, how can they mess that up in injury time? Yeah it's a great question, I mean you can talk about all the great stuff that Sommer made to deny them more goals and that's true. We can discuss maybe bringing in Lewandowski, did that really had an impact on the game? But for me, you're right, JB, this is where it all went wrong. And it's not even so much the high line because yeah, okay, the high

line is their biggest strength. And you know what, one of the biggest strengths is their weakness too, I get that. But even if you look, there's even not a line. The defenders are just all over the place. They are six v six all over the place. Like my middle sons and the 12 team would have a better line than that. That's what I thought. That's what I thought. Even a kid's team would know. Oh, stop it. Would know what to do. Stop it. You two stop it. Stop it. No, no, I don't stop. Stop it you two, stop it.

No, no, I don't stop. But it's a true game isn't it? You taught that from very early on. I'll tell you another story. Lamin Yamal hits the post 39 seconds before a cherubi's goal. That's 4-2. But should he take it to the corner? What would that have to do with the defensive shape they have?

So we like that youthful kind of innocent approach to the football or we don't because I'm not sure you can go and say... No, I understand game management absolutely but you cannot have a perfect defensive line because the way they approach the game is one in which the full backs have to attack but also for when they lose the ball they'll be there to recover it so it's easier for them to attack and it's easier for them to score six goals against a team that had conceded five goals so it cannot be both you cannot expect the back four to be in perfect shape all the time because you know

what they do they do 1v1 at the back and 1v1 at the back means no line forget the line they have to the attackers have to beat that defender and yes Inter Milan did it seven times. I disagree with the defensive line. I completely agree with moments. They hit the post, it goes in. It's a different story. Araujo defends better.

The two goals, different story. Referee decides that instead of going into away goes another Barcelona away. Different story. We were just in little margins so I wouldn't take big conclusions of what was going on apart from game management. Absolutely. I agree with that. Yeah, it can be both, can't it Mina? You can drop back, can't you? Pico and Puro, what would they have done in injury time? In this mud fight between Joles and Guillaume, I am siding with Joles in this. I do think you can do both. I can understand what Guillaume. I am siding with draws in this. I do think you can do both. I can understand what

Guillaume is saying in the sense that this is the way that they play and you can't expect them to be so brilliantly attacking and then also know how to keep everything. But you need to know how to manage the game, especially in the final moments. I think that when you are scoring a goal on the 87th minute, then it is especially important at that point on to just try to keep the ball and make sure that you hold on to it and manage the game. We're not asking you to manage the game or play a defensive or pragmatic approach for most of the time. I understand that it's actually their style of play that has gotten so far.

Defend with the ball. They had to defend with the ball and they didn't. That is game management. We all agree on that. It's also the age thing, right? As in that's another thing. They were complaining about the 50-50s. They were saying, oh, they were all going. The referee was all going into side. No, it's the veteran experience of Inter that knows how to make those 50-50s go in their fever. And I think that that's the difference that you had between these two sides. I mean,

you get the best and the worst when you have an older side, right? Because you could see intercollapse in the second half because they were exhausted, because this is an older side, because they had given every last drop of them. And then they were now suffering the waves of attack from Barcelona, who had now started to really show what they could do in the second half, perhaps not in the same way in the first. And you could see an inter how they were trying to block everything in the first half. I thought it was a brilliant game from them in the first half, how they were shutting down Inter, but they just couldn't keep doing that. But to be honest with you, I thought Inter's defense was rather awful as well. And their midfield was wide open

to be totally going through. I didn't see a very good performance from Shannon Oglu. I didn't see a very good performance from Barela. There was a lot of times when Barela was going forward and he left the gaping hole in midfield and you thought to yourself, this is the chance that Barcelona could get another goal. And so there were lots of mistakes from Inter too. This wasn't a very good defensive team versus a very attacking team. This was actually quite a lot of chaos. And in chaos, I think, you know, it does become more about the moments. So how will Barcelona view this season? They've won the Copa del Rey, they're

probably going to win the league, but this is a massive missed opportunity. You say they're probably going to win the league, they're playing Real Madrid on Sunday. We know that Real Madrid can turn on the day, even though this is a fractured change in boom. These are players that are not at the best. They sense there is an opportunity, they're four points separating them, so we will see. But yes, you have to say they destroyed Remedy three times already this season, probably will beat them at Montjuic. And it is honestly, for the first 24 hours after the game, it was all about the referee

and they tried to change history by telling a different story of what happened on the game by saying both The Laporta the chairman and his spokesman both saying it was just a referee. That's the reason why not in Munich He had a decent game. He had a good game, but it's true that Those situations that could have gone either way went into way. That's what hurt them. But they were good decisions. In any case, it was bad defending from Araujo in the last two goals. It was a Barcelona that was far too open. We know, we're discussing why. And they weren't lucky. And you need to have that as well. The post of Lameen,

you know, that the save, some of the saves of summer were absolutely outstanding, didn't go their way. But the conclusion is, do you know what? This is the beginning of our challenge for winning the Champions League next. It's very, very positive. Jules, what impact do you think it will have on El Clasico? How difficult will it be to lift the players going into that game? Yeah, I think it's a great question because of course they'll be at home, they've got the advantage even psychologically on Real Madrid because they've beaten them already like Guillaume said three times. I just don't know, this must hurt so much because you were so close, you were

seconds away from qualifying for the final, you saw yourself there and I think this will hurt a lot and I just don't know how you pick yourself up. I'm the professional, this is what you win, you lose, you can't win all the time. But yeah, I don't think it will be easy. And you played 120 minutes, that probably would feel like 300 minutes because of the weather, because of all the energy, all the intensity, even emotionally, I think is draining a game like this. And you also know if you call on Cialotti and the Roman players, you've seen that, not that you can reproduce what Inter Milan did because you're a different team, but you saw that the two fullbacks are not there and that's a big problem. You also saw that Lewandowski came on with very little impact, will he start on Sunday? That's a big call to make for

Flake. So there's a lot of things, if you run Madrid, that can make you a bit positive, I guess, now between now and the classical. This is still a young side, right? And it doesn't almost matter what happens now. I know there's gonna be a lot of hurt going forward, but you know that this is a team that can win for the next four years.

This is the start of something really special. But for Inter, this might have just been their last chance because they are getting older, because there's not enough to give. And at this point, Eterbi is now 434 years old and there's not only so much that this player continues to do. So I think that for that sake, for a team that has done so much and built so well in the last four or five years, I think for them, it's just deserved. Let's focus on Inter then. Brilliant collective effort from them hanging on in there, despite being on the ropes for most of the second half.

29% possession on Tuesday, but they did create chances. I want to pick out a few big players to discuss. You mentioned him, Guillaume. Jan Sommer, underrated surely. Surely, Mina, underrated. We don't talk about Jan Sommer, do we, as one of the best in the world? Or do we? Am I missing that chat? It's not even that big. I was standing next to him. I'm a bit taller than him. It's just a tiny one, isn't it? But it was made a giant in San Siro the other day.

183 centimeters. And do you know how much focus this gets in the Italian media that he is 183 centimeters, that he was bought in for what, five million euros, roughly? Six million. Five million, yeah. And they sold a Nana for 50 million. And so I take this because I push this narrative so much because I think that people don't realize how well run a club is.

It matters more than anything. Matters more than your coach and your philosophy and whatever it is. But I do, for me, having Beppe Marotta, who knows how to make these moves, who knows how to identify the right mentality, who works and collaborates with the squad and with the team and the coach so well to bring in these.

He knows, he was like, there isn't a player that I want to go for. This guy is I think is excellent. He's cheap. And right now we need to preserve our money to spend it elsewhere. This is a team that has lost a lot of some of their best players going going forward and at the back, including the likes of Hakimi and Romelu Lukaku and and yet everyone they brought in

has done a tremendous job for them. And I think that has to do with the fact that Beppe Marotta, who is now the CEO of the club, has now built this project and helped to take them to two finals in three years in the same way that he did for Juventus, in the same way that he built that Juventus and bringing in a young Morata and a Tevez that was going through all this kind of problems at Manchester City. And again, he knew how to identify the right mentality to create the right squad and the right harmony. And Sommer is just perfect for that.

And he is, I mean, that save that he makes on Léminy Amal with using his, what, his middle finger and his index finger and stretching it as far as possible to stop Léminyumal, who had opened his left foot into the far post. You thought this was definitely gonna be a goal, but Sommer's reactions and reactivity is so underrated. I think you can only go that far when you have a great goalkeeper. And I think it's, I don't want to pick on Chesney

because I like Chesney and the guy was on the beach in September smoking and then he never thought that this could happen to him. And it's not him, but when you concede seven goals of nine shots on target with an expected goals of 3.2, this is not, it's not good enough. And I'm not saying that Zomer or Donnarumma or somebody else would have saved more shots than Chesney did. I'm saying seven goals out of nine shots on target is It's not possible. At this level, it makes a massive difference. And the difference is there, really. It's just there. You had Zomey on one hand, and on the other hand, Chesney, that was maybe not all to him, but certainly him, his defense, the organization, what we talked about, the absence of Reyes defence, everything else, more struggling. But Zomer, like Donnarumma, really qualified their teams to the final, you know, where that Raja or Cezny didn't do, could not do. It makes a massive difference.

On the chance of Lamine, Zomer was fascinating telling the story that they had obviously realised that Lamine cuts inside and shoots early more or less to that angle, but you never know where he's going to go until the ball gets there. So he had to gamble. So the moment he makes his jump, he doesn't know where he's going to go, but he assumes that that's where he's going to go. So it gives him that extra quarter of a second that you need to actually reach with the top of your fingertips that ball. So this is video work they've done in the lead up to the game. I knew that he shoots early, so I've got to go early. Yeah. Yeah. So that was, that was, yeah, that's the, that's a championship final that is in there.

That's the attention to detail. Jormo's a great chef, by the way. Great cook. Really? Have you experienced it? Amazing cook. Yeah, I know people who know him well, but when I say amazing, like really amazing cook. Wow. That's it. It's a fun fact. Need to do a feature on Jan Sommer, cooking New Year's Eve team. Michelin star meal. Let's talk Francesco Acerbi. How old did you say he was, Mina? 400 years old? Did you have him back? It seems like that. Sure, he was described as just flesh and bones because he's lost all his muscle because he's so old.

The second oldest scorer in a Champions League semi-final since Ryan Giggs in 2010-2011. He was a professional footballer before Léminya Malle was born. But he has got a great story, hasn't he? So he's told this story of how he's bounced back and recovered from so many problems. He struggled after his father died. He started drinking, but he refound his focus when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2013.

Got a quote from him here. After my father died, when I was playing for Milan, I hit rock bottom. It was as if I'd forgotten how to play or why I was playing. I started drinking and believe me, I hit rock bottom. It was as if I'd forgotten how to play or why I was playing. I started drinking and believe me, I drink anything. It might seem like a terrible paradox, but the cancer saved me.

I had something new to fight against, a limit to overcome. It was as if I got to start life all over again and saw the world in a way I'd completely forgotten. That's an incredible quote, Mina. Yeah, it's incredible. I mean, he always credits cancer for the reason that he started to live again. And it's such an interesting journey for Francesco Eccerbi, because I think what we've all talked about the fact that he is somewhat of a journeyman, that he went through a really tough time with cancer. But he was also a staunch Milan ultra.

He was part of the ultra group called Fossa de Leoni. Fossa de Leoni would make San Siro tremble because of their impact, because of their noise, because of how much they would lift Milan in these Champions League matches that made Milan who they were. And he was one of the most important members of that. And to see him scoring the goal for Inter is incredible.

But yes, I mean, it was a hard time for him when he was with Milan. And then obviously he went to Sasuolo where he started to really find himself again. After he had surgery, he removed that. Then obviously had realized that they had irregular hormone levels and symptoms of cancer returned once again, underwent chemotherapy between January and March 2014 and then came

after that and really became an icon for Sasuolo supporters and he won admirers across the country. He was brilliant for Lazio. They didn't think he was gonna play such a pivotal role. He was born in for 4 million. They brought him in because of what he had done under Simone and Zagin, because they had worked together and because he's such a great man, Marco,

and always gives every last bit of him because of what he's suffered. And here he is now, the first goal that he's ever scored in champions league. What a finish, what a suffered. And here he is now, the first goal that he's ever scored in champions league. What a finish! What a finish! What a finish! Exactly that! It's exactly that. And it's the cross from Dumfries. And it was interesting

because the debate was, would Inter have been able to, had it been the other way around, and Barcelona had that opportunity, and there was their own Ecerbi, would he had scored that goal or would their defensive held up? And so it was all these questions about Araujo and about Dumfries being able to deliver the cross. But yes, it was interesting because I did think the semi-final was going to be about Barela and Caneloglu, but it ended up being about Sommer and Ecerbi. We haven't said the age, it's 37. You're talking about him as if he was 50, by the way. 37 today is not that much. Because he's described like that by Italian media.

He's described as flesh and bones without muscle left. That's a bit exaggerated. But yeah, the great thing is, what was he doing there? He's the centre back, right? But how he used his body, like a centre forward would have done to him in the other box to actually leave Araujo badly placed and Araujo could not react. So it was just an example of what a centre forward has to do. So Beppe Bergomi, who was the legendary defender, when this was happening and he was the pundit

for Italian media and the commentator, he was saying, go back, why are you so far forward? Go back. And he was losing his mind because obviously, that's not where he's supposed to be. And it shows you the difference between the football that Bergami played and the football that's being played under Inzaghi right now and the evolution of football

to the extent that this is what Inzaghi likes. He likes his center backs to take take these positions maybe he was too far forward but that you have to take your opportunities there and then afterwards obviously he gets that goal and you just see Bergami like he just starts crying and you can hear his voice breaking because of that moment because of what that means for his team and yeah yeah, that was a really special thing because it just shows you exactly the difference in how much he was trying to get a chair

to be back in his position. And actually him being out of position is what got them there. The commentators view on the football daily. I'm Alistair Bruce Ball. I'm John Murray. And I'm Ian Dennis. And Friday's On the Football Daily means one thing.

It's time for the Commentators' View episode. Join us every Friday as we look ahead to the weekend's football action with a few untold stories along the way. A wasp flew into my mouth while I was talking and I panicked. The commentator's view. Only on the Football Daily. Listen on BBC Sounds. On the Football Daily podcast, the EuroLeagues.

Listen on BBC Sounds. Right, Jules has waited long enough. Let's get on to Paris Saint-Germain, back in the final. So they've yet to win the Champions League. The nearest that they got was back in 2020. They reached that final that was played behind closed doors during that season heavily impacted by Covid. Before we get to some quotes from Michel Arteta, which everybody's talking about Jules, just tell us what it was like, the atmosphere, the celebrations afterwards. You were right there and amongst it.

Yeah, I mean, the atmosphere which we expected really was just something else. The ULTRA did an incredible job pretty much with the T4s and everything. Like on the T4 you could see some of the greatest moments in the club history, whether it was in the league, their first league title for example, or when Rye was there, when they beat Real Madrid in 1993. Still my favourite Paris Saint-Germain team by the way, that 90s team. I mean the Combo are a goal and it was just a wonderful era to the early 90s for the club. So I think that set the tone nicely and then Arsenal were brilliant for the first 20 minutes, the better team by far and this PS team is not perfect for sure but you learn quickly to start

with and two you have to be very strong and very efficient to break it really and Arsenal were maybe just lacking a little bit of that clinical side in them but then if you don't punish them, they will punish you and that's exactly what they did. And then the atmosphere, obviously, after the Fabian Ruiz goal, I thought literally the ground was shaking. And then even after the penalty miss, the second goal, the Hikimi goal in front of the ultra, too, in front of the Viraj Hotei was incredible. And I felt a little bit of arsenal because they would have regrets, of course, like Barcelona will have regrets, as we just explained for whatever reason and I think you think long time after if I done this or if I did this and which is normal

but for this PSG team to turn the way they did and clicked finally at the turn of the year to now have reached another final in five years and I think they deserve it. So what about what Mikel Arteta had to say after the game Jules? So he said that Paris Saint-Germain's bench, someone on there told him that the best team lost. Luis Enrique afterwards denied that. But also Michel Arteta said, Jules, there's no better team in the competition than Arsenal. Yeah, and listen, I think he has to be positive, really. I can understand his point of view, his communication to pick up the play. They've got a big game on Sunday at Liverpool, for example, in the Premier League.

I get that. If you look at the stats and we are all fans of stats, expected goals, etc. They've won the XG battle home and away. In the two legs, they have a higher XG than PSG. They had 20 shots at the Paris-Departure on Wednesday night. No team has come this season to the Paris-Departure with 20 shots. team has come this season to the Paris-Denis with 20 shots. Nobody has rattled PSG like Arsenal did for the first 20 minutes of the game on Wednesday night. So that is right. This is true.

Overall, I still think that PSG deserves to win. I don't think there was much between the two teams. It's fine margin, which is true. But again, we know this is the case. There was nowhere PSG or Arsenal would walk this semifinal. There was nowhere Barca or Inter Milan would walk the semi-final either. The teams are too good, the stakes are too high. It's not as simple.

So I can see his point of view and maybe he felt that's something he had to say, but I do think PSG make a really nice finalist too. In fact, the argument that Luis Enrique was putting across was that we were better in both boxes which is something that Arteta will admit but as Jules says the stats prove that the performance of Arsenal deserved more. Donnarumma made the difference. And Donnarumma was man of the match in both games. In both games exactly. So there is a good argument why Arteta said that but I think he was really in the room and he in his head or, you know, he probably sensed that the near man, another year without

trophies failure was coming to get them and he was just defending his side. Lewis Enrique in top form, a question in the press conference asking if he was proud to have knocked out the two top sides in the Premier League this season. He laughed and he said, the League of Farmers, no, we are the League of Fathers. I absolutely love that. Good omen for you, Jules. The previous Munich finals, 1979, 1993, 1997 and 2012,

they all crowned first time winners. It's gonna happen. How nervous are you? I don't know. I'm starting to get nervous already. I've got people texting me for tickets all over the place. Like if I was Father Christmas and sometimes I was about to do that. I was about to take you for a ticket. Yeah. I mean, I can try for you, JB. Always, always. It's also in Munich that Marseille won the only Champions League that a French club has ever won against a Milan team too.

I forgot that was in Munich. Yeah. Yeah, of course. Today is Lucien Ricci's birthday, by the way, it's 55. So it's a pretty cool birthday present to have made it to the final. And 10 years ago, he won the treble with Barcelona, including obviously the Champions League. So you're right, there's a lot of those little signs. I don't really believe in the little signs because in the end it's two saves by Zomer, a set piece by Inter where they're very good at. They are the best team on set pieces this season. They win everything in the air, which is not PSG's fault at all, defensively or offensively.

So the final could, as often we see, just be decided on one set piece. And by the way, Marseille won against AC Milan on a corner and headed by Basil Bolli in 1993 in Munich. So it would be tough. But I'm happy for Luis Enrique and for this team because at times even us on the show, when things were not really working out for him, not clicking yet, we said, you know, he needs to fix it, he needs to get it right. And it was a process like it often is with those kind of managers who are, like Akimi said last night, he's an absolute genius. And I think that's how the players see him.

And he's not perfect, of course he's not perfect. But I think the way he's taken this team on the second season, in the post-Embape era, era if you want is incredible, really incredible when we look back at where they were earlier in this competition, when they were beaten by Atletico Madrid in the last kick of the game, could not beat PSV at home despite chances and everything. There's something very interesting just to finish what Luis Enrique said yesterday in his press conference, he said that when things were not really great earlier in the season, he had a meeting with the players and he said, listen, it's not about if we miss chances, it's not about really what we create, it's all about the mentality because if we get the

mentality right, we will go far. And the mentality for him is pretty simple and I know it's easy to say, it's much harder to do. If we all attack together and all defend together, if we have this kind of unity together at all times, and I'm not just saying 10 are defending and one is not defending or 10 are attacking and one is not attacking, that kind of stuff, then we will go far. And he really just wanted more than all the tactical things and all the patterns of playing everything. I guess the main thing for him was to get that mentality right. The club, my club, hasn't had for a very long time. And now you could see it, they have it,

and that's one of the reasons as well, why they've gone to the final. I can't believe some people criticised them in the league stage, mainly me, mainly me. I can't believe some of the things I said back in the league stage. It's all been white from the recordings. Mina, this matchup in the final then,

do you think Inter are perfectly set up the way they play to stop Paris Saint-Germain's threats? What sort of final are you expecting? To be honest with you, I think PSG has been the best team in this tournament. I think that the variety of their tactics, their ability to win matches in different manners, they are so good in the counter-attack, they are so good in possession. They have a midfield that may not be physical. So they are up against a very physical side in Inter.

And yet they navigated that very well against Arsenal and that they use their technique to get past physicality. They are strong and balanced. And I think that the tactical variety of their game and having the likes of Fabian Ruiz, a strong defense, an attack that doesn't really have reference point, three brilliant dribblers and they can score goals even without Dembele who's been on a ridiculous goal scoring run and that worries me for Inter especially because I do think

Inter who have now played what 54 games this season are somewhat like really on their last legs. I am a little bit worried about Inter and I do, and I have so much admiration for what Luis Enrique has done with this side. The thing is, Inter don't need to play well or better than the rivals to win. They could have beaten Manchester City in the final. They had two clear chances.

They would have turned the tide and that was it. And then at the end you would have said, oh, but Manchester City dominated, dah, dah, dah, dah. Inter don't need that. And they understand that. That is the tide and that was it. And then at the end of you would have said, oh, but Manchester City dominated, da da da da. Inter don't need that. And they understand that. That is the clever thing about Inter Milan. They know the limitations. And Inter have got the know-how as well.

And they wanna finish this era with a title, which I think is quite powerful. And it brings less fear than winning it for the first time. So perhaps even the mental battle is won by Inter. I don't know. They got a very good chance of winning it again. We cannot wait and of course full commentary of the Champions League final on 5Live Sports. So we're going to move away from the Champions League but stay talking about Paris because it's the time of year isn't it for promotions, for relegations.

Last week Jules told us about Lorient. And this week, Jules, you bring news of a new top flight derby in Paris. I love this. Paris FC are up. The very close neighbors to Paris Saint-Germain. Yeah. And you know, on Wednesday night at the Paris de Paris for the Champions League semifinal, who was in the in the director's box with his PhD scarf singing all the songs with the ultras. It was Antoine Arnaud, the Paris FC owner and president. The owner is a Paris FC. The owner of Paris FC is a Paris FC. He's a season ticket holder. He's been

a season ticket holder all his life. They are the Arnaud family, which is one of the richest families in the world who own Louis Vuitton and plenty of other things. Our huge PSG fans, season ticket holders like I said, these so Antoine Arnaud, the son who is in charge of Paris FC, used to be an ultra. He used to sit or sit stand in the Virage d'Autoil. So it's maybe the friendliest derby ever and rivalry ever for now. Certainly, he might get a bit more toxic and a bit more tense later. But for now it is. But also what makes it even more special, I guess, maybe, is that the two stadiums are literally 10 meters away from each other. Because Paris FC next season, they were not this season, they were at the Stade de Charlotte. But next season we'll play in the Stade de Jambin, which is literally opposite the Paris-Departure. There's just the roads, there's a PSG shop in the Stade de la Jambouin right now and that's where Paris FC will play

in Ligue 1 next season. That's where the Paris rugby team is currently playing and yeah, it will be the shortest for teams who don't play in the same stadium obviously. But for other derbies, it would be the shortest, the closest derby in history. So do they rent the stadium and what's the big ambition for them? Yeah, they rent them. I believe, I mean, ideally they would want to build their own stadium where they were this season at the start of the Charlie T, which is not a football stadium. It's got like a athletic track and it's not really even to get there. It's not, it's not great. This stadium is much better for, for that, for that point of view.

But again, it's not theirs. I think there's a possibility that if PhD decide to change stadium and leave the Parisian province because they cannot buy it from the city of Paris, which is a very strong possibility and they will go and build their own stadium somewhere else. That Paris FC then say, hey, we're very happy to rent the Paris de Paris to you guys. We don't need to buy it, it's fine. And then they will be at the Paris de Paris. The last time we had a Paris derby was 1990 when when Racing Club de Paris was still in the top flight. And the last time Paris FC were in the top flight was 1979.

So it's a very long time as well. So I think a lot of people in Paris, even if it's a friendly rivalry, can't wait to see Paris FC and Paris SG in a way, facing each other next season. And they're there to stay, Jorzi. You mentioned the big backing, they have the financial backing. Will this be something sustainable over a number of years? You would hope so, I think. And really, you would think so too. I mean, Red Bull Group and Jürgen Klopp are also involved. They have 10% of the shares. They will be heavily

involved in the football policy there and the recruitment. And they want to also strengthen the academy. Paris FC have always been a great grassroots team in France and in Paris, especially a lot of players who are not professional. I've started at Paris FC like Ibrahim Akhenati, for example, in Liverpool before going to a bigger academy, a better academy, and then becoming pro. But if they can strengthen their grassroots team

into a very strong academy for their first team, because when I was growing up, their first team was not good enough really. So you would play there under 15, under 17, and then go to an academy of a much better club. If they can keep that as well, they have great resources, great coaches, plus the money that they have,

because as we said, the Arnaud family are super, super rich. They're richer than the Qatari owners at PSG, for example. So let's hope that they make the right decisions and don't get too many things wrong and then I think it will take a bit of time but they should build something special there. Before we go let's talk to Mina about Italian football because she's in Naples ready for an amazing title race so three points separating the top two three matches left but I want to talk to you very quickly Mina about the Champions League race. So Juve drew 1-1 with Bologna last weekend.

One point between Juve in fourth and Bologna in seventh. So, who do you make favorites to get into the Champions League next season? Roma are in fantastic form at the moment. Yeah, Roma are in fantastic form. In fact, only Napoli, since November till now, so since Ranini, Stake and Ove, only Napoli's managed one point more than them in the league. They've just been tremendous. And I wonder what would have happened had Ranieri actually

started as the coach from the beginning of the season and whether or not they could have actually made a challenge to win the Scudetto. And then you've got Lazio. I mean, this is the interesting thing. Lazio and Roma are actually level and you've entered so all level on points with 63 points. In January the 5th, when Roma and Lazio had their first derby, there was 15 points separating the two sides and now they're level on

points, which just goes to show you what Roma's done. But yes, obviously you have three teams as well as Bologna behind on 62, just one point less than all those three teams all gunning for it. I honestly have no idea. And they're all taking each other on. Milan are playing Bologna. Atalanta are also playing against Roma. So difficult matchups. Lazio are playing Juventus. So they're all playing each other.

So this is a very vital weekend to see what's gonna happen in that race. But it's so interesting. And I would say that Fiorentina also behind can also maybe have their say but my money would be on Roma. Enjoy it Mina, enjoy Naples, Jorz you off to get some sleep now after the celebrations? You've done very well, you sounded energetic but I can tell there's a lot of celebrating

going on. Yeah, there's a long time to go between now and the final so I have to pace myself. And you as well Guillaume. You're still recovering from... Yeah, I'm going to have to find some sleep at some point during the next three days, please. Thanks very much to all of you. Thanks to Tamina, to Guillaume, to Jules. There will be another Football Daily to download on BBC Sounds. Goodbye for now. The new series of Match of the Day Top 10 is out now, only available on BBC Sounds.

Join myself, Garel Inika, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and my dog as we dig into the Top 10 of the Champions League. We go through our favourite goalscorers, best moment and even our all-time 11s. Now that, gentlemen, is a list. Oh, well, Dee didn't get on the list. Correct. He didn't get on the reserve list. You can listen right now on BBC Sounds.