Welcome to The Daily Football Briefing from The Athletic. It’s all the football news you need in ten minutes or less. Subscribe now and you’ll never miss anothe...
Drab Liverpool held by United (and what on earth is going on with Dani Olmo?)
Liverpool were supposed to give Manchester United the spanking of a lifetime, but they only escaped with a draw because a last gasp opportunity fell to Harry Maguire. What went wrong, we ask James Pearce, while pivoting skilfully to ask Laurie Whitwell what went right for United.
And seriously, what is the deal with Dani Olmo? Can he leave Barcelona for free now? We asked Pol Ballus who patiently explained…yes. Yes, he can.
We’ve got all the big scores and stories from around Europe, including a fine performance from Roma in the derby against Lazio and, as an avatar of our gently tweaked format, we ask Seb Stafford Bloor about this young goalkeeper that Spurs have just signed.
Listen now (or later, we’re not fussy, it’s your life) and remember to follow, subscribe, review, rhapsodise or simply enjoy on your own terms.
Presenter: Iain Macintosh
With: James Pearce, Laurie Whitwell, Pol Ballus and Seb Stafford Bloor
Producer: Si Watts
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16:35
A thriller Thursday in Tottenham as Spurs edge Man Utd
The night started slowly in north London, but those who exercised patience reaped the rewards. Tottenham were 3-0 up against Manchester United, all but set for the Carabao Cup semi finals, when Fraser Forster decided to make the game a little more interesting with two terrible errors. Jay Harris has the story of the rest of the night.
In Europe the Conference League league stage concluded. Chelsea were unsurprisingly top but there was still some fun to be had. Lucy Oliva was at Stamford Bridge to watch the Blues walk to their sixth victory of the campaign so far.
And Everton’s takeover by The Freidkin Group finally went through. There is a new hope on the horizon on Merseyside. Paddy Boyland has all the details.
Christmas reading here
Host: Abi Paterson
Producer: Tom Fuller
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9:42
Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle all make it to the final four
There were no surprise results in the League Cup, but there were some surprising moments. Crystal Palace led Arsenal for fifty minutes at The Emirates before succumbing to a Gabriel Jesus hat-trick, Southampton pushed Liverpool all the way in a closer-than-you-might-expect 2-1 defeat. But there was no surprise in Brentford losing away at Newcastle because for some reason Brentford seem to lose rather a lot of their away games.
We’ve got an update on the Marcus Rashford situation, we’ve got most of the scores from Europe (Spain started late and played havoc with our deadlines) and we’ve got the last of the WCL Group Stage, it’s all here on the penultimate show of 2024.
Presenter: Iain Macintosh
With: Jordan Campbell, Gregg Evans, Chris Waugh, Mark Critchley
Producer: Tom Fuller
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9:51
The European Super League is back, but this time it’s really stupid.
Yep, those A22 guys are back with a new idea for ruining football. And it’s really quite something. Ninety six teams in four divisions that are split into multiple splinter divisions, all attempting to reach some sort of knock out round. I’ll level with you, I’m not a fan.
There’s been a lot of news today. There’s the Mudryk banned substance story, there’s Marcus Rashford announcing that he’s ready for a new challenge, there’s the FIFA Best Awards, there’s Ronaldo running for President. No, not that one. The original one.
Plus, we’ve got the scores from the WCL and news of a rare not-draw for Juventus.
Presenter: Iain Macintosh
With: Si Watts, Max Matthews
Producer: Si Watts
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11:01
Bournemouth go SIXTH. What a world, eh?
Fifteen years ago, Bournemouth were in the fourth division, or League Two in the parlance of the youth. Now they’re sixth in the Premier League and we’re almost at the halfway stage. Out there somewhere is a kid who started supporting them in 2009 and that kid must think that life is always like this. I don’t know whether to envy him or pity him.
You can pity Lazio. They got done 6-0 at home by Internazionale. And you can pity Trabzonspor, who conceded a 98th minute winner to Galatasaray. Actually, Jose Mourinho will probably be more bothered by that one.
We’ve also got the latest on Wolves and Southampton as they seek to find new managers. And we check in with the boys from the Talk of the Devils podcast as they look ahead to a very big cup tie this week.
Presenter: Iain Macintosh
With: Jacob Tanswell, Laurie Whitwell, Ian Irving, Carl Anka and David Ornstein
Producer: Si Watts
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Welcome to The Daily Football Briefing from The Athletic. It’s all the football news you need in ten minutes or less. Subscribe now and you’ll never miss another story.
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