A brilliant round of 1st leg fixtures takes us just one step from the Europa and Conference League finals!

The story of the day was the shocking 3-0 United decimation of Athletic club at the San Mamés. We discuss Ugarte and Bruno's big days and Athletic's uncharacteristic defensive lapses, plus we have a hard conversation about the use of VAR in the massive penalty/red card decision that may have decided the tie.

Then we move on to Spurs, who confidently dismissed Bødo/Glimt, but still have much work to do in Norway to put away everyone's favorite underdogs.

In the Conference, Betis and Fiorentina played a thrilling match, where Antony and Bakambu starred once again. We talk Betis playing to their strengths, how Fiorentina got back into it, and what to expect next week in Italy.

Plus, is Johnny Cardoso actually the best USMNT player right now?

All that and some begrudging Djurgarden-Chelsea on this week's pod!

Cheers Ruben Amorim!

Timecodes:

Athletic Club-Manchester United - 01:05 Tottenham Hotspur-Bødo/Glimt - 33:49 Real Betis-Fiorentina - 58:15 Djurgarden-Chelsea - 01:21:20

This is Part 2 of our preview of the Europa and Conference League semifinals!

Here, we get into the bread and butter, detailing everything you need to know about tactics, matchups, players, and storylines heading into the 1st legs.

We touch on Athletic Club's exceptional consistency at both ends of the pitch, Oihan Sancet's rise to stardom, problem areas for Spurs and United against more stable opponents, the reasons behind Betis' midseason turnaround, whether Djurgårdens has any shot to hang with Chelsea, and much, much more.

Cheers Jani Honkavaara!

Timecodes:

0:30 - Athletic Club-Manchester United 19:45 - Tottenham-Bodø/Glimt 33:25 - Fiorentina-Betis 43:10 - Djurgårdens-Chelsea

We've got a two-parter today folks!

That's right, we have so much Europa and Conference League semifinal content, we couldn't contain it in just one episode.

In Part 1, we play a game of Start, Bench, Loan, or Sell with starters at each position of the semifinal contestant starting 11s. We debate the player's strengths and weaknesses, the roles within their squads, and their value in the transfer market. Then we take stock of what our choices say about each club.

And don't forget to tune in to Part 2 as well, in which we discuss all the upcoming first legs in detail.

Cheers!

Timecodes:

0:46 - Intro 3:15 - Europa League players 44:50 - Conference League players

We officially have our 8 semifinalists across our two tournaments, and we had some doozies.

In the Europa, both Manchester United and Tottenham saved their seasons with victories - United dramatically so, scoring 3 late extra time goals to stun Lyon. Athletic Club moved one step closer to hosting the final in their own building, and the little club that could, Bodø/Glimt, survived a penalty shootout in Rome to advance further than any Norwegian side before them.

The historic Scandinavian supremacy continued in the Conference, where Djurgarden overcame 10-men Rapid in extra time. Elsewhere, Fiorentina did their normal schtick, squeaking past a wonderful Celje, and Chelsea and Betis advanced with varying degrees of ease.

We recap all the games and drama, debate the new favorites in each competition, and say goodbye to some of our favorite underdogs - Celje, Jagiellonia, and Legia included.

All that, plus a surprise cheers to Mr. Postecoglou! Against all the odds, we're still loving Big Ange instead.

The quarterfinal 1st legs are complete!

The Europa League exhilarated with a dramatic Lyon-United affair (on AND off the pitch), while Rangers dug deep for a clean sheet despite playing 80 minutes with ten men. Elsewhere, Bodo kicked the day off with a masterful beatdown of visiting Lazio, and Spurs showed some promise in a 1-1 final with Frankfurt. Goalkeepers were the stars of the show - including one for all the wrong reasons...

In the Conference, the big boys all got wins, though Fiorentina was fortunate against the still-mighty Celje. Chelsea all but sealed a semifinal birth, while Betis continue to establish themselves a true favorite for the title. And lest we forget, Rapid Wien got a massive 1-0 win in Sweden.

All this and a cheers to Rory McIlroy!

But seriously, cheers Kjetil Knutsen!

Our spring break is over, and the Quarterfinals upon us!

That's right, we're down to 8 teams apiece in our favorite competitions, and we're doing a check-in on each club ahead of Thursday's 1st legs.

Who's hot? Who's ice cold? Who do we feel good about (Betis)? Who do we feel bad about (Spurs)? We talk form, players to watch, tactics to watch for, and more - plus some predictions for good measure.

Cheers Manuel Pellegrini!

Our Europa and Conference Quarterfinals are set after the Round of 16 came to a close with a bang.

We had multiple extra times, some sensational performances from tournament big boys, and of course, one of the games of the year, Lugano v Celje.

The Slovenian side became the first to represent their country in a UEFA quarterfinal after a madcap game in Switzerland. Meanwhile, Athletic Club, Frankfurt and Lyon all staked their claim as Europa favorites, United and Spurs continue to advance with the bare minimum, Fiorentina once again finds a way, and some cracks appear in Chelsea's armor.

All that and more on this week's show.

Cheers Albert Riera!

An awesome slate of Round of 16 fixtures is halfway done, and we've got all the juicy gossip for you. Well, the juicy match recaps, anyway.

Join us as we break down all of last week's games and storylines, including late winners for both Rome and Lazio, Rangers' shock in Istanbul, AZ's continued mastery, and Bodo's main character energy in Europa. And over in the Conference, Vitoria and Jagiellonia impress, Celje Cinderellas, and Fiorentina frustrates once again.

All that and much more.

Cheers Barry Ferguson!