Champions League Takeaway: Dortmund Stun PSG & Madrid Held in Munich

Hello Rank Squad!The domestic club season is drawing to a close. The continental league titles have mostly already been lifted, the Premier League title will be decided this weekend, and whilst there are still some important bits to figure out - the European continental competitions, the domestic cup finals, the fights for survival and the locking in of next season's European places - the season feels like mostly it's all over bar the shouting. So we've turned our attention to the upcoming transfer window, which is going to be punctuated by international competitions in both Europe and South America, delving into which narratives are going to dominate and drive the discourse and write the headlines over the summer. Dean puts his Transfer Guru hat on and explores five topics - Manchester United's centre-back search, the future of Victor Osimhen, the race for wingers with the X-Factor that top teams will be after, the domino effect on goalkeepers that might be set off by the departure of Aaron Ramsdale from Arsenal, and whether or not Newcastle United can keep hold of their two star players - Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes. Before that, we take a look at the appointment of Jesse Marsch as the new head coach of the Canada Men's National Team, and the interesting rivalry it sets up with both the USMNT and Gregg Berhalter himself, as well as why this feels like a big moment in the American's coaching career; and in Part Three Dean gives some recent personal Guru Wisdom on why you should always fight to the end, and never give up. It's Ranks!  And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?

Hello Rank Squad! Champions League Takeaway is back to take a look at the second legs of the UCL semi-finals, where we saw Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich 2-1 and Borussia Dortmund win 1-0 in Paris to set up a clash of Yellow and White in London next month! We start with Wednesday’s action, with Real Madrid's late, late show yet again to beat out Bayern and send the Bernabeu wild. Dean waxes lyrical about the never-say-die spirit of both the fanbase and this team, whilst Jack pours out some love for Joselu and questions some weird substitutions from Thomas Tuchel that seemed to put his team on the back foot in the closing stages. Then in Part Two, we take a look at Tuesday – where Borussia Dortmund booked their place in the final with a backs-to-the-wall 1-0 win over PSG in Paris. Dean questions whether PSG will ever win this competition, given the roster of stars that have rotated through the French capital and failed, and Jack is impressed with the way that Borussia Dortmund earned their luck, and also a little bit disappointed with how Luis Enrique managed the game from a PSG perspective in the closing stages. We finish with a little discussion about Kylian Mbappé and how his impending departure might have affected the club as a whole this season, as well as what the future might look like without him in Paris. It’s Ranks! And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?

Hello Rank Squad! It's time to go Continental for this week's episode, building a European Team of the Season from the big six leagues on the European mainland. There were a few more teams, players and contenders to analyse compared to last week's Premier League edition, so it's a dig into the depths for Jack to try and build something special from this season's standout stars. We take a look across the Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, La Liga, Eredivisie & Primeira Liga to bring you the best 11 we can build based on the performances across the season, trying not to lean too heavily on any one particular team - and there's plenty of discussion and debate as we go. Before that there's an ode to The Bag™️ which has survived its fourth season intact after correctly calling the winners of seven leagues again, and an interesting anecdote on why the Club Brugge-Fiorentina game in the Europa Conference League has been moved to Wednesday; and at the end, Dean asks Jack to help him stop feeling old and explain the basics behind the Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef which has dominated the discourse over the weekend. It's Ranks!  And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?

Hello Rank Squad!Champions League Takeaway is back to take a look at the first legs of the UCL semi-finals, where we saw Borussia Dortmund 1-0 PSG & Bayern Munich 2-2 Real Madrid. We start with Wednesday’s action, with Dortmund's win. Dean showers some love on Jadon Sancho, who dazzled down the right hand side for Borussia Dortmund - this is the man we loved the last time he was in the Bundesliga; whilst Jack lavishes some praise on Marcel Sabitzer, and discusses the dissection of PSG's midfield, who weren't able to gain any control over proceedings in Germany - as well as giving our thoughts on who progresses next week. Then in Part Two, we take a look at Tuesday – where Real Madrid didn't play brilliantly, and yet came away from Munich with a credible 2-2 draw. Dean puts some more respect on the name of Vinicius Jr., and we discuss whether next season it could be him, rather than Kylian Mbappé, playing in the No. 9 role for Los Blancos. Jack has some nice things to say about Bayern's maestro Jamal Musiala, as well as some thoughts on a good night for Thomas Tuchel and his tactical tinkering - before we discuss who comes out on top in the second leg at the Bernabeu. It’s Ranks! And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?

Hello Rank Squad!You've seen the debates raging on Twitter, so we thought it was worth putting our two pennies worth into the mix. Here is our attempt at creating our Premier League Team of the Season, examining the best players across the course of this campaign and working them into a formation (and a unit) that would actually function. We start between the sticks and work our way through to our Number 9 - with Dean and Jack each picking a team and working together to come up with the Official Ranks FC selection together. Before that, Jack waxes lyrical about his trip to Naples to see Napoli, and the overwhelming awe that he found himself in at the city's insatiable appetite for football and it's team, and in Guru Wisdom, we share a new song that was sent in by one of our Patrons for our Friday show - and the plans for Ranks FC over the summer with the European competitions coming up. It's Ranks!  And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?

Hello Rank Squad! Just four teams remain in each of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, and so we thought we'd get our competition ranking caps on to discuss which teams are favourites to lift those trophies in their respective competitions at the end of May and the start of June. We start with the Champions League, with Dean examining Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund as contenders to lift the most coveted prize of all amongst the European elite. Are Real Madrid unstoppable? Could Tuchel go out with a bang at Bayern? Will Lucho inspire PSG to overcome their nearly-men tag? Or could BVB spring the ultimate surprise in this pack?Then it's over to the Europa Twins, and Jack takes the reigns, discussing Atalanta BC, Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma and Olympique Marseille as candidates to lift the Europa League this season; before turning attentions to the wild baby brother - the Conference League, Europe's newest competition, and looking at Aston Villa, AC Fiorentina, Club Brugge and Olympiacos' chances of winning the prize this year. And finally, Dean take Guru Wisdom control to bring you his latest fitness tips ahead of his move to San Diego this summer, which is a bit of a mind-boggler. It's Ranks!  And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?

Hello Rank Squad!Champions League Takeaway is back to take a look at the second legs of the UCL Quarter Finals, which took place across both Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  We start with Wednesday’s action, looking at Real Madrid's defeat of Manchester City on penalties - discussing how City fans shouldn't be too disheartened with what was a dominant performance, how Jude Bellingham has a perfect understanding of Real Madrid's off-the-cuff nature already, and why Los Blancos are now favourites to win this whole things again; as well as Bayern's 1-0 win over Arsenal - talking how the Champions League allows Bayern to play in a style that arguably suits them more, why Arsenal weren't able to force the issue enough to overcome their opponents, and how Thomas Tuchel defied the critics with an impressive display tactically. Then in Part Two, we take a look at Tuesday – looking at Borussia Dortmund's impressive 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid through the lens of Marcel Sabitzer's impact on this game as a whole, why Angel Correa needs more praise for the effect he had on the game off the bench, and why Borussia Dortmund have helped themselves out in more ways than one; before finishing with a discussion of PSG's 4-1 win in Barcelona - via talk of PSG's individual talent starting to shine through in a more cohesive whole, how Barcelona let the emotion and the occasion get to them, and why the brilliance of Luis Enrique could be the key to PSG breaking their Champions League curse.  It’s Ranks! And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?

Hello Rank Squad! After Cole Palmer's star turn on Monday night against Everton, we got thinking about the players who have used this season as a platform to thrust themselves into the spotlight, and become some of the star names in their respective leagues. We start in the Premier League, where Dean has a ranking of his three breakout stars - a flying fullback at Liverpool, Manchester United's midfield metronome, and the aforementioned Chelsea sensation now joint-top of the scoring charts. Then it's off to Europe for Part Two, where Jack guides us on a quickstop tour of La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Eredivisie and Primeira Liga - picking one player from each who has made this season their own. Then finally, Dean discusses some of the football related purchases for the boys this week - including some exciting bits ahead of his move to San Diego in time for the Copa America this summer. It's Ranks!  And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?

Hello Rank Squad!Champions League Takeaway is back to take a look at the first legs of the UCL Quarter Finals, which took place across both Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  We start with Wednesday’s action, looking at Barcelona's topsy-turvy win over PSG - discussing how both managers were able to influence the game with their substitutions, the strange nature of PSG's struggle at defending set pieces, and Barça's excellent mix of youth and experience starting to shine; as well as Atletico Madrid's 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund - talking Atleti's early intensity and how they rattled their visitors, the defensive mistakes that allowed the hosts to launch themselves into the lead, and how both Antoine Griezmann and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens impacted the game. Then in Part Two, we take a look at Tuesday – looking at Arsenal and Bayern's 2-2 draw at the Emirates through the lens of the two penalty shouts, Leroy Sane's impact in a counter-attacking team, and the experience of this Bayern unit allowing them to play in different ways at this stage of the competition; before finishing with a discussion of Real Madrid and Manchester's City's latest bout - a 3-3 classic at the Santiago Bernabeu - via talk of Rodrygo shining on the left hand side of this Real Madrid attack, Rodri's ridiculous run of games unbeaten in a City shirt, and why games like this are just how it should be.  It’s Ranks! And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?

Hello Rank Squad! The talk of the football world right now seems to be the fact that Liverpool are reportedly closing in on their next manager - Rúben Amorim of Sporting CP, who became the leading candidate once Xabi Alonso made it clear that he planned on remaining at Bayer Leverkusen for at least one more season. Amorim is a young coach with a high pedigree, and someone we talked about a little bit on our recent episode ranking young up-and-coming managers, but we wanted to go into a little bit more depth this time round. In Part One, Dean discusses the situation as it stands right now, and a little bit on which journalists you should be following for the on-the-minute exclusive news surrounding Liverpool's pursuit of the Portuguese. In Part Two, Jack dissects three questions Amorim would need to answer should he start next season in the Anfield dugout, and three strengths of his that should mesh nicely with the Liverpool squad as it stands, as well as the ethos of the club. And in Part Three, Dean's Guru Wisdom is tested as he tries to give Reds fans a helping hand on their way to find an appropriate chant for their potential next boss. It's Ranks!  And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?