Thoughts and Highlights From the All-New Champions League

Musa and Ryan are back and begin with the news that Thomas Tuchel will be the new England men’s manager, which is an appointment they obviously love, despite the debate surrounding it (02:24). They then touch on Sir Alex Ferguson no longer being a global Manchester United ambassador (18:05), Jürgen Klopp becoming head of global soccer at Red Bull (24:25), the Premier League’s APT case findings that were announced last week (26:30) and more. Hosts: Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga Producer: Ryan Hunn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before getting into a weekend of varying results in the Premier League, Musa and Ryan begin with possibly the two wildest penalties awarded in a single game (03:52). They then head to England, beginning with some shout-outs for Leicester’s first win of the season (05:17), West Ham’s 4-1 win over Ipswich, Liverpool staying top and Brentford’s goalfest against Wolves (09:26). Brighton came from two goals down against Spurs to win 3-2 at the Amex, following a wonderful second-half performance (15:15). Arsenal also came from behind to beat Southampton (19:18), and Manchester City did the same in their 3-2 over Fulham (22:54). Plus, the rest of the weekend’s games. There’s also a quick Bundesliga roundup (34:03), including a six-goal thriller between Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern, plus Union’s win over Dortmund, La Liga (40:53), a quick Serie A shout (44:16) and more. Hosts: Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga Producer: Ryan Hunn Additional Production: Jonathan Fisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Champions League match day two, Musa and Ryan recap some highlights from the week (3:52), shouting out some key results and performances, including defeats for both Atlético and Real Madrid, wins for Liverpool and Leverkusen, a thriller between Leipzig and Juventus and Dortmund putting seven past Celtic. They shoutout Arsenal’s win over PSG and more, before turning their attention to Aston Villa’s 1-0 win over Bayern at Villa Park, in a repeat of the 1982 final (20:40). Hosts: Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga Producer: Ryan Hunn Additional Production: Jonathan Fisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Musa and Ryan begin with the Madrid derby (02.50), where Atleti salvaged a late draw against Real in a disrupted match at the Metropolitano. Meanwhile, Barcelona lost to a brilliant Osasuna side (17:39) and Mallorca climbed to fifth in La Liga. Honours were also even in the big match in the Bundesliga, despite Bayern’s dominance of Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena (24:48), where there were two brilliant goals. Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, St. Pauli secured a first win of the season, Dortmund came from behind to beat Bochum and Heidenheim continue to impress. Finally, they head to the Premier League, where Cole Palmer became the first player to score four goals in the first half of a match (36:45) and Spurs impressed at Old Trafford, winning 3-0 to heap more pressure on Erik ten Hag. Hosts: Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga Producer: Ryan Hunn Additional Production: Jonathan Fisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Musa and Ryan start with some quick Carabao Cup and Women’s Champions League chat before moving on to some Europa League highlights from the week (06:05) and then turning their attention to Manchester United (13:46), who let a lead slip to FC Twente, ending in a disappointing draw at Old Trafford. There’s a bit of chat about other midweek fixtures, the increasing discussion around the congested schedule and the impending Everton takeover (36:52). Hosts: Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga Producer: Ryan Hunn Additional Production: Jonathan Fisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was another week for the discourse in the Premier League, so Musa and Ryan begin at the Etihad, where Manchester City secured a last-gasp equaliser against Arsenal, who played the entirety of the second half with 10 players following Leandro Trossard’s send-off before halftime (03:55). There’s some chat about the rest of the Premier League (21:58), including praise for Chelsea, Aston Villa, Spurs, Fulham, Liverpool and more. They head to Serie A for the Derby della Madonnina (30:34) and Torino going top, Ligue 1 (34:43), La Liga and the Bundesliga (40:42), where there were wins for Bayern and Leverkusen, who left it late, plus Stuttgart’s thrashing of Dortmund. Finally, Ryan was in Hamburg to see St. Pauli get their first point of the season after a brilliant performance against RB Leipzig at the Millerntor (48:45). Also, we've been nominated for Best Podcast at the Football Content Awards, under the subcategory Best Organization. To vote for us, please head here! Hosts: Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga Producer: Ryan Hunn Additional Production: Jonathan Fisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The brand-new Champions League format began this week, and—in addition to the other fixtures—that meant there was sooooo much football! Musa and Ryan pick out some highlights from the opening Champions League match day (03:22), including a historic win for Celtic, Aston Villa’s victory over Young Boys, wonder goals in Lisbon, Madrid and elsewhere, wonder saves in Bergamo and a big result for Bayern. They then chat about the first match day in general and how the new format felt compared to its previous iteration (31:21). Hosts: Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga Producer: Ryan Hunn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Musa and Ryan begin with a quick Premier League roundup (03:18), including shout-outs for the bangers from Jhon Duran for Aston Villa and Harvey Barnes, Nottingham Forest’s first win at Anfield in 55 years, and wins for Newcastle, Manchester City, and Manchester United. They then move on to Arsenal’s third straight North London Derby away win, thanks to Gabriel’s header (18:20), before heading to La Liga (30:46), where Barcelona continue to impress, the Bundesliga (37:40), and Serie A (40:44). Also, as the expanded Champions League format debuts, there’s a very quick and silly idea for what a Stadio league would look like! Hosts: Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga Producer: Ryan Hunn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's chat about some results (01:44), and then Ryan and Musa move on to the main topic, the men's Champions League—as well as the Europa and Conference Leagues—reforming for this season (06:46). They run through the new league formats, their initial thoughts about the changes and what it might mean going forward, with huge numbers of games and reports of player fatigue ahead of a season that will also see the new Club World Cup take place next summer. They ask (yet again) whether there is too much football, whether this is what fans actually want and whether there is another way to balance commercial and sporting interests—or whether even more football is the new normal. Hosts: Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga Producer: Ryan Hunn Additional Production: Jonathan Fisher and Alex Adey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Musa and Ryan begin at Old Trafford (04:30), where Arne Slot made history and Liverpool put three past Manchester United to send Erik ten Hag into the first international break already facing pressure. They then round up the rest of the Premier League, where there was another hat trick for Erling Haaland in Manchester City’s 3-1 win at West Ham (17:20), Newcastle beating Spurs 2-1, Bournemouth heaping more misery on Everton, and more. Finally, they recap some stuff around Europe (30:28), including Tammy Abraham making his Milan debut, Heidenheim topping the Bundesliga, where Leipzig ended Leverkusen’s run, and Kylian Mbappé scoring his first Real Madrid goal at the Bernabéu (39:34). Hosts: Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga Producer: Ryan Hunn Additional Production: Jonathan Fisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices