Football Daily - UCL Debrief: Liverpool knocked out, Atleti down Barcelona

Episode Date: April 14, 2026

Did Arne Slot let Liverpool down as the Premier League champions were knocked out by PSG at Anfield? Or did the Reds show positive signs for the future with a much more energetic and competitive performance than in last week’s first leg in Paris?Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock, ex-Premier League winger Andros Townsend and French football journalist Julien Laurens join Ian Dennis and Kelly Cates to dissect a thrilling night of Champions League action.As well as Liverpool’s 2-0 defeat to PSG (4-0 on aggregate), Atletico Madrid progressed with a memorable victory over Barcelona, 3-2 on aggregate.Atleti will now play the winner of Arsenal v Sporting, with the panel previewing Wednesday night’s game alongside commentator John Murray.And we hear reaction from England Lionesses’ 1-0 victory over Spain.Timecodes: 02:20 Where has this Liverpool energy been all season? 03:20 Was this about PSG’s individual quality? 04:14 Julien Laurens calls Arne Slot’s line-up a “complete nonsense” — should Alexander Isak have started? 07:45 Are Liverpool carrying players in their team? How much has their recruitment been proven wrong? 15:00 Hugo Ekitike’s injury 16:00 How are Liverpool looking going into the Merseyside derby? 17:30 Should Isak be getting a run of games now? 18:45 Reaction from Liverpool manager Arne Slot 20:15 A thrilling win for Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona 21:20 How worried would Arsenal be to play Atleti? 23:00 How much of a difference did red cards make for Barcelona? 24:45 Mikel Arteta previews Arsenal v Sporting and asks for ‘fire, not fear' 26:10 Preview of Arsenal v Sporting with commentator John Murray 30:40 Keira Walsh reacts to her 100th England cap as the Lionesses beat Spain 31:40 Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman reacts

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. What was the point of the Artemis II mission round the moon? I'm Tristan Redmond, host of the Global Story podcast. The Artemis crew are back on solid ground after travelling further from Earth than any human has before. The mission was a success. All was it? Aside from getting great picks for socials, did we learn anything? For more, listen to the Global Story.

on BBC.com or wherever you listen. On the Football Daily podcast, Champions League debrief with Kelly Kate. A pulsating night of Champions League football on Five Live. Liverpool fought hard at O'Rourke Sandfield, but they couldn't overcome the European champions, Harry Sanjaman. They go through to the semi-finals as 4-0 aggregate winners,

2-0 on the night. In Madrid, Barcelona scored twice early on to level a tie with Athlete, But Diego Simeone's side got a goal back and they go through as three, two winners. They will play the winner of Arsenal against sporting. That's live on 5 Live on Wednesday night and we'll look ahead to that game a little bit later on. But of course we're going to start at Anfield where Liverpool found an energy that has rarely been witnessed this season to push PSG Hardy and Dennis.

They did indeed. What got to say, what a high quality match. And Liverpool gave it a real go, particularly in the second half, because there was a spell when the defending champions Paris, German were having to dig deep. After a first half where Debééé hooked a great chance over the bar in front of the cop, they were reliant on Marquinios to produce a goal-saving block with a combination on Van Dyck and also Verte.

And sometimes in these high-profile games such as this, it's about those fine margins. And there was certainly one in the second period where Liverpool were awarded a penalty. Pacho, judged to have challenged McAllister. The referee from Italy, Marizio Mariani, did award the penalty. However, he was instructed by his VAR, Marco de Bello, to look at the screen, and when he did, he then changed his mind, and that penalty was not awarded. But before that, Gravenberg had had a rising, whistling drive off target. Gomez has seen his head a go close,

and Gatpo, a half-time substitute, produced a stretching save from Saffanov, who also kept out a fine effort from Ungamoa. But the trouble is that they were always danger of what Paris-Sanchoman could do at the other end. And despite Liverpool's best efforts, Dembele's quality finish, 17 minutes from the end, really knocked the stuffing out of Liverpool. And Dembele at the double,

finish them off with a second goal in stoppage time. 2-0 in both legs and Paris Saint-Germann through 4-0 on aggregate. Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock is also with us. Stephen, where did that performance come from? They've been better in Europe than they have, by and large, in the Premier League this season, Liverpool.

But the energy, the drive, the pressing, everything that everybody's been crying out for this season was in this performance? Yeah, I think there was a real desire about the team to try and get a result tonight. They lifted the crowd. The crowd lifted them as well. They gave the crowd something to get off the seats about.

There was an energy about them. I don't know where it's been though, Kelly. I really don't because if they'd have played like that for most of the season, they'd have been competing for the title. However, they still fell short in terms of really creating anything major in terms of very, very clear. Yes, Paris Andaman defended well.

times but still think they're a little bit lacking some energy in wide areas players who are direct and I know they bought ingam over on but you could see his naibity at times when he came on but yeah they're missing something at the moment but a better performance ESPN's french football journalist Julien Laurent is also at Amfield a much closer game this one Jules very different from last week in Paris was this one about Paris Saint-Germann's individual quality players yeah I think there was a bit of that care certainly but also Also the Tim Spirre in that second half in Liverpool put pressure.

PSG were really struggling, I think, to get out of their own box, of their own half. They were not building, passing the ball like they did in the first half. They're playing long. It kept coming back by waves, like red raves after red waves. And I think they showed a lot of character.

I think this is a game that maybe three, four years ago, before Luce and Ricky arrived, they would have lost. You know, but now the experience of having won this competition last season, for example, having that kind of experience, Marquino's today, He hasn't always been great, you know, he's on his way out, really.

He's 32 years old now. But this kind of performance, I think, also came from last season and the confidence that you gained by winning this competition before, which they didn't have in previous seasons and all those kind of remontadas that we mentioned pretty much. And I thought it made the difference. But for me, again, and I don't want to blame on the slot again like we did last week. But that lineup to start was complete nonsense.

That second half should have been exactly how Liverpool should have started this game tonight to get the crowd going. It should not have been Isaac from the start. That was, I don't even understand, Warnie, where that came from. He said before the game, he can only play 45 minutes. Why are you starting in them? Unbelievable. I don't understand.

And he made errors in the first half, in the first leg, sorry, in his lineup, in the way I think they set up. And again, we said before the game, tonight he cannot get it wrong. Tonight is not the game to get it wrong. You can't change a half time and expect them to turn around this game. He had to get it right from the beginning. And for me, again, he let the team down and the club down and the fans down. Andros Townsend is with us too. Andrews, strong words from Jules on Arnestlott's team selection at the beginning.

Not necessarily the changes they made in the match. Certainly that second half performance was full of all the energy that Liverpool wanted. But should they have started that way? No, I understand his reasoning. He said Isaac can only play 40. five minutes. So if he brought him on at half time and there was a potential extra time, then it will exceed his limits. He'd have to make an extra change. Mo Salah played with an aggression and energy, a frustration, which we haven't seen in a while.

So if he had started, would he have had that same aggression, same energy from the start? Probably not. I think the changes at half time made the difference. Cody Gapos, especially with his link-up play in that second half, was crucial to everything Liverpool did. So I understand the frustration from the guys and the Liverpool fans, but I think he did the right thing. He tried to go for pace. He tried to go for direct conness. He tried to go for that pressing ability off the ball. But it just turns out there's only the second half. Once he made those changes, the Liverpool started to see the joy.

You could, I suppose, Stephen, make the argument for not including Isak from the beginning, based on how he played when he has made cameos coming back from injury. Based on the fact that he's not fit yet, he's certainly not matched fit, just five first half touches from him. I don't know what to say about him, Kelly. I watched him here against Fulham. He was awful. He was non-existent here tonight.

He didn't want to get any physical contact alongside Marquinos. He was just sort of wanting to bump into him. There was no pinning him, no wanting to build a platform for his team to get on the ball and help. Gapu did more. And I said it in commentary in five minutes than the Nesak did in the whole first half. He's not fit. He's nowhere near fit. And that's partly due to obviously the injury that he,

he sustained against Tottenham, but also sitting out preseason. I mean, he's not got one ounce of fitness in him this season, and it tells. And you're thinking that you can put him in against Paris and Jaman in the biggest game of your season against the best team in Europe and think you're going to get a performance in 45 minutes. You can't just switch it on and off. Andrews, that's what, Andrews, I'm sorry, I don't understand why you said this is the right lineup.

I really don't. I can't understand you saying that Eastside was right to start. I didn't say it was the right lineup. I understood Slot's reasoning that starting him for 45 minutes might have been better than bringing him on and potentially have to make another offensive change and bring him off if there was extra time. If he only had 45 minutes,

they have to be the first 45 minutes because you're not in control of the second. But then he made two passes and touched the ball five times. It's just like they played with 10 men in the first half. I don't even think he could play 45 minutes. 10 are best at the end if you're pushing and you won 11, maybe. But 45 men. in a million years and certainly not from this time.

Kelly, the interesting thing is when I watch Parasangaman tonight and said it to Jules at half time, they don't carry men. Liverpool carry players and it's incredible. They carry Verts, they carry Sala, they carry DeSack in the first half. Kirkers. But you can't carry players.

You watch Parasangamane. Carat Scali is in the right back position, the left back position, Duay's doing it, Barcola's doing it. Dembele ends up there and you're thinking that's a team, that's a team, that's a performance. Liverpool don't do that at the moment and that's a real concern. So are they carrying them, sorry Ian, just to pick up on that point with Stephen,

are they carrying them because the players aren't good enough or are they carrying them because the players aren't putting in enough effort? Are they carrying them because they're not being put in the right lineup by on a slot? What do you think? Well, there's a mixture of everything. But I think when you look at the way the players are performing at the moment, there's got to be more of a desire. the desire comes from within to go run back.

And to be fair, I thought Mohammed Sala, he gave the wall away three or four times. His work rate to get back in was decent tonight at times. But then he does cheat at other times where he stays up the field. But then Isak, he didn't close down. He didn't really cause any problems. He didn't do anything. Verts off the ball.

Does he have an impact on the game? Does he get back into positions? And really, I mean, you only have to look at Jua Nevers and Bettina, the size of them. They win the ballback. They know how to challenge. They know how to tackle. And that's a real difference at the moment.

I just think for what did it? What did Vert cost $110 million? I don't think he's having enough of an impact. I don't think at the moment we're seeing him. And I think that is also down to the personnel that he plays with. I think if you put him in the Paris Angerman team and you had two flying wingers running either side of him, I think he'd be, I think he'd flourish. I think if you had Lewis Diaz in this Liverpool team still, I think he'd flourish.

but at the moment he doesn't have players around him that are making runs off him, which are really telling. I think the problem is Stephen, and I don't know if you agree. I think Slot was probably expecting this season to have more possession, more domination, so you can get the players like Florian Verts

more into the game like PSG do. I don't think it's worked out that way in the way that he would have hoped and Verts is on the fringes. He's not, like you say, he's not pulling his way out of possession. But yeah, I think it's the fact that they're not as successful as dominant

as they were expecting coming into the season. Yeah, understand that but when you watch Parasangaman and know what you're saying they're brilliant on the ball but when they need to explode and they need to be dynamic oh are they dynamic Liverpool aren't dynamic

there's no dynamism in the team at all I look at them and just think where is it even in Gamowah when he came on tonight he tried to run Hakimi a couple of times and the lad's 17 it's a great lesson for him tonight and he will have to learn

from it but you've got to look at the other team and think that's the goal. That's where you aspire to be the level. And that's why you have to look, Kelly, again, at the recruitment in the summer. I'm sorry, I know we got all excited and really so, and if you're a Liverpool fan because Isaac and Vietz, a QTK all you want.

But the way this squad has been structured and built, there's some quite massive lags in what this squad should look like. In terms of options, different profiles, in different positions. Even you look at the midfield, I'm sorry, but McAllister this season, has been far too difficult but yet there's not really another option

at a similar level and then you can look in different positions the fullbacks of course again tonight Frimpong can only play 45 minutes because it's just not good enough Kirk is on the other side I'm not sure what Robertson is not playing a game like this I don't get it at all either

Kirkland is all over the place and you look at the money spent and I know it's not just about the money spent the net spend and all of that but this squad should have far more variation in profiles in a lot of key positions than they really have right now. What's interesting

about that is yes, the money spent and I know I'm really not giving you the net spend argument here but in terms of the quality of the players that left, obviously Trent Alexander Arnold leaving the team is a huge miss for Liverpool. Then Louis Diaz

leaving and going off where he's having a great season at Bayern. Even someone like Darwin Nunez when you're looking for for late goals in games. Obviously, we're looking at the case of Diogo Jota as well. The players that are missing for Liverpool, on top of that the players who are still there

and who haven't reached the levels that they did last season, like, for example, McAllister. All of that in the mix means that for a team that, I think I read a stat that Liverpool started the season with more changes to their starting 11 than any previous defending Premier League champions. So it's not just about spend and net spend. It's about the amount of players who are coming in,

the amount of players who are going out, and the personnel who are coming in and the quality of the players who are leaving. Yeah, you're right. And you know, we said last season on our Sunday show as well, on Five Live, Slot arrived with a squad that was already there. Nobody to integrate, nobody to accommodate. The squad was there.

He did a lot of really good things, and they won the title, and they were by far the best team in the country. But this, in a way, was easy for him when he arrived. for preseason the squad was there you had the leaders in that dressing room that were already identified it was this season was a proper challenge for him as a manager because like you said keels half of you starting a lineup lineup was new you had to integrate and incorporate an akitike and iSag and to go back to the point we've just made about how this squad has been built then you ended up with two number nines you wanted two world class number nines you have them but they're very similar

you end up with with words who is very good but where do we where does he play where is his best position, can you get him in the same environment that he had a buyer-levercousen? You look at Kirkkes and Frimpong, they're great, but they're two very attacking fullbacks. What's the balance there if they both play and both go forward at the same time? There's a problem, your team is on balance. And all of that, and you go again

and for Slot, he had to find the right formula and I'm sorry, he has struggled for most of the season. Jules, do you think that the Eka-TICA's early form disrupted that balance a lot? Because for me, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we go into the summer. Liverpool champions

inspired country, the best side in the country. And then you had Florian Verge. Then you had Isak, who was the best number nine last season in the Premier League. And you're thinking, like, okay,

back to back, Liverpool, going to do it again. Do you think Echiteke's early form and Isak's lack of fitness coming into season disrupted the balance, then he's got to play two of them.

He's got to play Isaac on the left. Isak's on the bench. And there's question mark. Salah's on the bench. Do you think that disrupted things a lot? Yeah, I agree. Andrews, I promise you. And I think, in a way,

the late, late signing of Isak derailed everything for me. You could have kept a Kiti K, not spend 150 or whatever it was on ESAC, keep Vietz, and maybe that 150 that you spend on ESAC spend somewhere else. Another centreback. We mentioned Gai,

we haven't mentioned Gaii, but how did Gai not end up here? It's ridiculous, really. Maybe another midfielder. Maybe one of those wingers, like Warnie was saying, with that kind of drive, with that kind of pace, with that kind of energy as well, to just add to Kiyazha or Sala or Gak

or even in Gumoa. And yet for me, that is like a rival. I know they really wanted him. I know, I know. But I'm not sure that was really necessary. But what really derailed Liverpool was the tragic loss of Jogo Jocos. Of course, of course. And I don't think we'll ever realize the ramifications and the impact that that had behind the scenes.

The other thing I was going to say before, Kelly, is about Eketika. We haven't touched upon it about the game. Exactly. About the injury. The injury after 31 minutes where Seller comes on to replace him. If Stephen with his BDI is right. and it is an Achilles injury. He'll be out for the season and he'll be out for the World Cup for France.

Damaging blow for both club and country. Absolutely. And next up for Liverpool, and we don't know yet what the prognosis is on Eki-Tike, but again, it could be really worrying. But next up for Liverpool, obviously without Ekekeke,

certainly for that game, is the Merseyside Derby at the weekend, Stephen. How long can Isak play for in that one? Do we know, yeah? How many touches would he get? I get TK injured. Isak not fit. Yeah.

Well, the big thing is, I do a podcast with my friend who's a former fitness coach, and we talked about it straight away when he came in and said he is not going to be fit for the rest of the season. Because he hasn't trained. He's trained individually, and it's not good enough. You cannot buy a player for $140 million and watch him sit there and not do a preseason for nine weeks and then bring him in and think, do you know what? We'll accelerate his preseason. It will never happen.

And that is a massive problem for him. And then obviously he's picked up his other injury. But the other side of it is, and I know going off a little bit here, but when you watched him for Newcastle, he played with two flying wingers. Well, where's the two flying wingers in this team? So there's a completely different match of what you're trying to achieve on the football pitch. Looking forward to Sunday, Kelly, I look at that forward line. I think, will he go with Ingamoa?

Will Ingamo's confidence of being hit a little bit tonight? because I thought he looked like it was getting drained out of him a bit by Hakeem. Because Hakemi defended him so well. Gapot, possibly through the middle. Sala will probably play on the right-hand side or maybe a two-up top. It's going to be fascinating because, I said it in commentary, they go into that game now as underdogs because Everton will fancy the chances against them. And it's not often we go into a Merseyside, Derby feeling that way.

Stephen, would you not say now with your four points clear of Chelsea and sixth, Obviously, Ekatike's picked, looks like he's picked up a serious injury. Would you not give Isak, like, now six games, you're the number nine for six, or maybe five of them. Go and show everyone what you can do. Go and get your fitness up so then you can go into the summer ready for next season to really get going. Yeah, the problem is, though, Andros, you know what it's like? When you haven't played and you've got an injury record like him,

the possibility is that you're going to pick up another one. He picks up so many calf injuries, hamstring injuries. He is quite brittle in a way when you look at him and he's got that record. But Liverpool, obviously, spent big money, thought that they could manage that and make sure that he was going to be ready for the season. That might just be the Evertonian saying that he wants her not fit Isat to start against Everton in the first Merseyside, Derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Look, that could be a huge game.

Like you said, Everton may well fancy their chances in that one. So Paris Saint-German are through. Let's hear what Anaslot had to say. I think we made a lot of progression compared to last week. I have to give a lot of credit. to the players how hard they work. I have to give a lot of credit to our fans. How they helped us tonight to execute our game plan.

And that means if we have a high press, it's so helpful if they're fans behind you to keep on pushing you, pushing you, pushing you. That's what they did. Unfortunately, it's one of the many examples of this season where we weren't able to score from the many chances we had. Again, we were so far underperforming in terms of XG. and that is just an ongoing thing with us throughout the whole season

and add to that as it seems to be a bad injury we don't know sure yet add to that another intervention of the VER which were not in our favor and that's also not for the first time this season then of course we are very disappointed because I think there were parts in the second half where you could just feel if we can score now this is going to become a special night and but but but The future looks very bright for this team, for this club, because we've shown that we can compete with the champions of Europe in our stadium. To be the dominant team, not many teams can be dominant against the Parisiansians and generate so many chances as we did.

But yeah, chances is one thing, scoring is a second. Liverpool's Premier League title defence faltered early on in the season. There will be no Champions League progress from this point onward for them. will face the winner of Bayern Munich against Real Madrid. They play on Wednesday night, and there'll be updates on 5 Live during commentary of Arsenal against sporting. The winner of that game will play Atlatico Madrid, who had another night to remember in the Champions League against Barcelona.

Connor McNamara. Yes, it finished on the evening, Atlatico 1, Barcelona 2, and that is good enough for a 3-2 progression on aggregate for Diego Cimioni's team. And as so often, these knockout ties proved to be pulsating in the latter stages of the Champions League. League. Barcelona, who were tuning up from the first leg. I said, let me go tune up for the first leg. You'll remember that Barcelona played with 10 men for more than half of that game at home.

Again tonight, Barcelona picking up another red card, this time for Eric Garcia. But all the same, it was a brave performance from the young Barcelona team. The youngest side Barsa had ever named for a Champions League knockout game. But as so often with Athletico, it was beauty against the beast. And they were able to dig in and they had the strength. and they are able to progress through to the semifinal. In terms of the game, Yemal scored after four minutes to give Barcelona a hope.

Ferent Torres equaled up the tire at 2-2 after just 24 minutes. It was a blistering start from Barcelona. But then the key goal, Adomola Lugman, scoring for Atlago Madrid, and that's the goal that sends them through. Andros, if Arsenal get through tomorrow night against sporting, this could be a tough draw for them in the semifinal. I mean, look, is the Champions League semifinals?

It's going to be difficult. but Adletti in particular with the way that they set up. Yeah, and I think now they've sort of evolved from the Simeone low block football. Even tonight, they were one goal ahead. We thought they were going to park the bus. They started really aggressive, really high line, playing out from the back. And they actually got caught on the first goal. I think Longley got dispossessed and the Basso got back into it.

But it's going to be a difficult, if Arsenal do get over the line tomorrow, it's going to be a very, very difficult game for them. But it's another massive European win, Jules, over. Barcelona for Diego Semione. He's done it three times now. Incredible, Kelly incredible. Really incredible. 29% of the ball at home.

I think they made 70% passing your curses. I mean, three times less passes than Barcelona in the whole game. And yet, they're there. The impact that Ademola Luchman has had on this football team since he joined in January. It's incredible.

We talked a lot here about Citi and Semino and Gehi and how much they've improved city. Luke Mann has had a very similar impact on Atletico and 2. Today, tonight, he was at the right time and the right place to score that goal and to change everything because Barsar had the momentum back then. And still, to be fair, Barza had many, many chances to go and score that third one. They probably should have at some point at Oroho right at the end as a header we were watching with Warnie just there on the little screen that Gary gave us. And he has to score at least hit the target instead of going over the bar.

So I think Barcelona over the two legs would have a lot of regrets. Yeah, and going down to 10 men, Connor, made a big difference. in both in both games I mean they played more than half of the match in the first match for 10 men at Legao Madrid winning that by two goals to nil in terms of the late pursuit of this one it was in the 79th minute

when Eric Garcia was dismissed originally the on-field decision was to show him a yellow card then there was a question as to whether he was the attacking player was offside so at one stage even the yellow card had been cancelled out but VAR looked at it all they decided that Sirlot was on side

so then it became a question was it denying obvious goal scoring opportunity and the referee having gone over to the monitor sent him up. So from that point, you sort of felt it was over from Barcelona. I still felt they look back in the game. They had so many chances. We know the genius that that Yamal is. They'll obviously come again, but for here and now, they'll be disappointed to be exiting the competition with such a group of talented youngsters.

Connor, thank you very much for joining us. Five live sports. So here's the first ball of this series. All the cricket unit are. Lips on BBC Sounds. Smash straight back down the ground, this girl. Here ball by ball coverage of the biggest competitions on the domestic and international circuits.

It's a fourth cricket and it's the huge one. Tess, horse. Settle down, it up for so great. Cricket on five live in every ball of this. Listen on BBC Sounds. What was the point of the Artemis 2 mission round the moon? I'm Tristan Redmond, host of the Global Story Podcast. The Artemis crew are back on solid ground after travelling further from Earth than any human has before.

The mission was a success. Or was it? Aside from getting great picks for socials, did we learn anything? For more, listen to the Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you listen. Football Daily Podcast, Champions League debrief. We mentioned that Arsenal will play Athlete if they can get past sporting on Wednesday night. The lead sporting 1-0 from the first leg, but it's been a tough month overall for Mikhail Arteta's side. The Arsenal boss has been reflecting on the weekends defeat by Bournemouth and how they can bounce back.

Well, obviously it was a big disappointment and I had one to take, especially losing at home when we have the opportunity to make that gap bigger and bring more certainty and get into this week in the best possible manner. But yeah, what we are trying to achieve is difficult, is challenging, it's bumpy at times, and it's supposed to be like this. So you have to confront it, so we value a lot where we are. We have the opportunity tomorrow to go to the semi-finals. We are competing to win the Premier League and we're in a really strong position after 22 years without doing it. So we know the difficulty of that, but the beauty of it is that is difficult, that is challenging. and that's we are so willing to do it. What do you want from the team tomorrow

in terms of performance and from the crowd because it feels like it was a little bit stressed on Saturday so there is so much at stake, there's some excitement, Champions League quarterfinal, what would you like to say to the crowd and the players really about what you want? No fear, pure fire. That's it. Me, the first one.

Pure fire. That's what I want to see on the players, on the people, on myself. That's it. Go for it because the opportunity is unbelievable. we are in April we have an incredible opportunity ahead of us let's confront it let's go for it in the by really putting absolutely everything into it that was Mikhail Artetta and our football correspondent John Murray will be at tomorrow's game

John do you think that sporting might think they've got a chance here because of their performance in the first leg and they will obviously be aware of Arsenal's recent form yeah I think so and I think they showed enough to us last week when we were in Lisbon to show us that They are a very good team and a very well coached side. And as we were saying last week, they have a brilliant home record.

Yes, they lost that match. But David Raya made some crucial saves during the course of the 90 minutes. And it was only that Kai Havert's goal at the end. Now, their away form is not as impressive. But they are still capable. You know, so far in the Champions League, they lost in Naples against Napoli. They drew in Chirin against Juventus. They lost in Munich against Bayern.

There's no shame in that. But they did win away against Athletic Bilbao, all of those matches in the league phase before they then lost on the artificial pitch, remember in Buda, in Norway, and then turned that tie around quite spectacularly. So they are not to be underestimated, but at the same time,

clearly Arsenal will be considered favourites, even though they have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions. But interesting hearing Mikhail Orteta today, And George Cummins, who we heard there asking Mikhail Arteta the question. You know, George speaks to Arteta a lot. He's been in a lot of press conferences. And George was telling me earlier that he thinks that's just about as passionate a Mikhail Arteta that he's seen in that scenario.

He said, you know, it had a touch of defiance to it, what he said today. And we heard him there talking about how there should be no fear, pure fire. I don't know whether you've seen it, Kelly, at one stage. Mikkel Artetta actually says, I'm on fire. He did, yes, which is a Bruce Springsteen, so. Andros Townsend is with us, as is Julian Laurent. Andros, this idea that Mikhail Ateta is issuing this rallying cry ahead of the game at the Emirates.

They kind of did this a little bit, Arsenal, for the game against Bournemouth at the weekend. They said they wanted all the fans to go there, bring everything to that match and ended up losing it. The fact that it's at the Emirates, the fact that Artetta is as intense as George was saying that he maybe has ever seen him. Is that what Arsenal need right now?

I think they probably do. They do need that fire from the manager. Stephen spoke before the game about Arnest Slot being the opposite and being very negative and being very downbeat, whereas Artetta is the opposite. Artis is full of energy, full of fire, trying to fire up the fans, trying to fire up the players because he knows how hard it is to be successful

to win a Premier League, to win a Champions League. He knows how tough it is. So he's trying to get everyone going. But I watched that game last week and Arsenal were the better side against sporting. If they had come away with a nil-nil, I'd probably go into this game tomorrow, fearing the worst for Arsenal.

But the fact they got on the goal in the last minute they're ahead going back to the Emirates. I think this game tomorrow night is the least of their worries. I think the Premier League now is a big, big fight on their hands. But this game tomorrow night, I think they'll be right at the Emirates. Jules, how important do you think this game is in terms of Arsenal's Premier League season.

As Andros said, that's the main aim. That is the focus for Arsenal this season. But does this game, do you think, given recent results, have an impact? Yeah, I think it's massive. I won't lie. I think when you go on Sunday to the 80s in what is or should be or will probably be the final of the season, the league final of the season, you need to get that confidence back a bear.

So the result, of course, and qualification. but if you lose 1-0 and qualify on penalties, for example, tomorrow, that won't have the feeling that if you play really well and your build-up phase is much better and your forwards, whoever they are, you know, Madweke, Domen, I don't think Saka would be back, but your care, has, Trosa, Martinelli, whoever plays and whoever comes off the bench has that kind of impact. Your style is better, the flow is better, the fluidity is better,

then you can take that to the AT-Had. If it's a narrow qualification, if it's again a bit tricky, if you're under pressure, if you make mistakes again, if you consider a bit too many shots or chances, then I think that will also have, can have an impact on that game at the ATR on Sunday because you won't be there in the best of conditions. Whereas City would have watched you playing on the sofa, by the way, tomorrow, having a good week of training and resting, and the approach to the game on Sunday would be very different. Ian, Stephen Jules and Andrew Simon will ask you one final question.

Arsenal 1-0 up against sporting Lisbon. They're going to the Emirates. Arsenal having, by their standards, a bit of a wobble so far at this stage of the season. Do Arsenal progress to face Athletico Madrid? Yes. Ian, thank you. Yeah, Joel.

Yes. I think they will be too strong for sporting. I will also say yes. Full house, Andros? Yeah, yeah, full house. Full house. So it will, according to the guys, be Arsenal against Athletica Madrid

in the Champions League semi-futable. finals. Thank you very much to all of you. Thank you very much to Ian Dennis, to Stephen Warnock, to Julian Lauren and to Andros Townsend. Earlier, England's women took top spot in their World Cup qualifiers group after a 1-0 win against Spain at Wembley. Lauren Hemp scored in the third minute and a repeat of the Euro 2025 final. A significant 100th cap for Kira Walsh then. Yeah, I mean, it was an unbelievable feeling. I was a little bit shy to be fair. I think obviously in front of that many people, yeah, I don't always like the attention on me. So, yeah, I was a little bit shy, but I think, obviously, for my family and the people who were watching at home, it was a nice moment for them.

And obviously, it was nice to share it with Serena because she's gave me a lot of those caps. And, yeah, I wouldn't be able to do it without her and my teammate. So, yeah, really grateful for that. And what perfect start to the game? Then you end up with the three points holding on to that one-nil lead. Your top of the qualifying table, I mean, would you describe it as a perfect night for you? Yeah, I think it was a good night. Obviously, trying not to get too carried away because we've got another game in this window.

obviously tonight was a very, very tough game. They're a great side. And I think we know that we can't go toe for possession because they've got some unbelievable players. But I think we executed our game plan really, really well. And obviously, there was some moments at the end that are a bit nail-biting. But I think that's what we've got those defenders there. And obviously, Hannah did an excellent job in goal as well.

So I think it was a really, really good team performance tonight. England manager Serena Vigman was pleased with her side's discipline. Of course, we really happy with the results. And I think we made it a fight. Of course, we know that Spain is so. good on the ball and we had to defend really well and stay really compact and trying to trying to take the tempo out of the game and their spaces and I think we did that really well and I think at moments when we had the ball yeah we did create some great chances of course

we scored a goal we would love to press them at moments a bit higher but that was hard and we also wanted to keep the ball sometimes a bit better that we took a little more time and then create the chances but overall of course I'm really happy because, yeah, we need to be very disciplined and very compact and together to get this across the line. And, yeah, as you saw too, of course, Spain is also very dangerous and got some chances too. That is it for this episode of the Football Daily. Thanks for listening, as always. Hello, I'm Tyler West.

And I'm Alfie Watts. And this is The Detour, the official companion podcast to race across the world. This is the post-episode checkpoint where you'll hear the latest chat around each episode from us and our race superfan special guests. Plus, I'll be joined each week by a resident travel expert, Alfie. That's you, ma'am. I'll be revealing my optimal way to travel through each leg, including visits to all of those unmissable detours along the way.

And we'll also have some not seen anywhere else exclusive content at the end of every episode. I cannot wait. The detour will land straight after each episode of Race Across the World. You can watch on EyePlayer or Listen on Sounds, where you'll also find extra bonus content. We'll see you then. What was the point of the art?

Artemis 2 mission round the moon. I'm Tristan Redmond, host of the Global Story podcast. The Artemis crew are back on solid ground after traveling further from Earth than any human has before. The mission was a success. Or was it? Aside from getting great picks for socials, did we learn anything?

For more, listen to the Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you listen.