Champions League Takeaway: Rashford Downs Newcastle, City Cruise Past Napoli, Liverpool Leave it Late & Everything Else

Hello Rank Squad!We are back in business for the Champions League and there's plenty to discuss. We start with Thursday's action, where Marcus Rashford inspired Barcelona to a 2-1 win at St James' Park; before moving on to Manchester City's win over Napoli - which was fairly routine after Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off. We wrap up big wins for Eintracht and Sporting, before looking at Leverkusen coming twice from behind at Copenhagen and an incredible win for Club Brugge over Monaco. Then it's a look back at Wednesday, with Liverpool leaving it late yet again to win 3-2 against Atletico Madrid, Bayern sweeping Chelsea aside 3-1 thanks to a Harry Kane brace; as well as comfortable wins for last year's finalists PSG and Inter; a big first point for Pafos against Olympiacos; and honours even between Slavia Prague and Bodo/Glimt. 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? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad!The first day brought us 23 goals, and plenty of talking points, and Jack and Dean are here to discuss all of them with you after the first six games. We start with the game of the night - Juventus 4-4 Borussia Dortmund - where drama abounded in a goal-drenched second half; as well as looking at Arsenal's 2-0 win at San Mames, seeing off Athletic Club in what was a pretty much perfect start for Mikel Arteta's men, in a vociferous environment. In Part Two, we talk through Real Madrid's 2-1 win over Marseille that suggested that there's plenty to be excited about, and still plenty too to work on for Xabi Alonso; as well as Tottenham's opening night win over Villarreal thanks to some very strange goalkeeping - before wrapping up two big upsets - Qarabag stunning Benfica 3-2 in Lisbon and Union Saint-Gilloise seeing off PSV 3-1 in Eindhoven. And, finally, we take a look through some of the favourites to win the competition and a few dark horses to watch as well to round things off. We'll be back on Thursday to wrap up the action from the next two days of UCL action, so we'll see you very soon. 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? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's time for The Truth!Sam and Dougie are back in the studio to dive into the incredibly chaotic summer that occurred at Newcastle United - headlined by the saga that surrounded Alexander Isak's eventual move to Liverpool, but that also saw an incoming holdout in Yoane Wissa; multiple targets move elsewhere until it became an internet meme; one of the most unique players in world football in Nick Woltemade make a late move; a number of strong additions across the first-team squad; and plenty more besides. Take a breath, Magpies. We examine the ins and outs from St James' Park this summer, and discuss if the squad looks in a better place overall than last year, even perhaps without the stardust of Isak to sprinkle on top of it. There's a brief chat about international football as well to start things off, where Jack's brutal treatment at the hands of his own beloved Republic of Ireland is starting to feel a bit like sadomasochism. Have Newcastle United found themselves in a weaker position from a bargaining perspective? Or have they eventually managed to hand Eddie Howe a more rounded squad to work with? As ever, The Truth is somewhere in the middle... 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? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad!The window is shut, there's been a few games to see how teams look, and it's time to finalise our long-term predictions for this season, which can only mean one thing here on Ranks - it's time for 5x5! After a diverging night for Jack and Dean on the international stage, we settle back in on club matters to try and keep things in check. The concept is simple - we each pick how we think the top five in England, Germany, Italy, France and Spain are going to look when the curtain falls in May.First, we take a look at what happened last time out, before working through our selections, our thoughts on how a shedload of sides have started their campaigns, and some more questionable bold calls from Jack, as has become tradition on this episode. 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? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's time for The Truth!Sam and Dougie are back in business for the new campaign alongside Jack, and they begin the season with a look back at the transfer window, taking stock of the signings that could end up being the difference between success and failure for a multitude of different clubs. We start with a little chat about each of our clubs - Sunderland, Aston Villa and Fulham - catching up on what the summer has felt like for each of us from a transfer perspective, before moving onto the main topic. We try to find signings that will define the Premier League winners, the relegation battle, the overachievers, the underachievers, and the Champions League race. Will they be season-defining or is there major issues still to fix? As ever, The Truth is somewhere in the middle... 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? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad! With the chaos of the transfer window now safely in the rear-view mirror, we take a look back at an incredible wild Deadline Day and examine who came out of it looking stronger than they did at the weekend. Firstly, Dean takes a look back at how his Deadline Day unfolded, and compared it to a good many years of covering the busiest day in any transfer journalist's calendar; before we discuss the massive spends by clubs across the board this window. In the main segment, Jack works through five teams who had successful ends on Deadline Day, for a variety of reasons, from sheer desperation to well-executed late planning - Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, Fulham and Juventus; before we break down some of our favourite transfers from across the window in Part Three. 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? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad!As Deadline Day approaches, there's still a lot of business that feels like it needs to be done in the market - perhaps more so than ever before. We take a look through the biggest deals remaining in the Premier League ahead of the window slamming shut, working through club by club to hit the big stories. We start with Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester City - three teams that seem quite linked in the deals that they all are trying to make happen in these final days; before taking on three of the teams named United who desperately need reinforcements - West Ham United, Newcastle United, and Manchester United. Finally, in Part Three, we take a look at the slightly more luxury shopping elements going on at Chelsea and Liverpool to round things off. 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? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad! Whilst the Premier League previews dominated our thoughts last week, we haven't forgotten that there's plenty of excitement taking place elsewhere as well, and so this week we're turning our attention to Spain, where La Liga got underway this weekend. In Part One, Jack and Dean look through the big three of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, taking stock of their transfer business, where each team is ahead of the season, and the big questions that each have to face in a campaign where there is considerable pressure for all three to deliver on the silverware front. In Part Two, Jack is joined by Ruairidh Barlow, Editor of Football España, to discuss some of the other big storylines - who pushes for the final Champions League place, which big teams could struggle, the promoted sides and their chances of survival, and a couple of hot takes and predictions for the season ahead. Then, finally, in Part Three, Jack and Dean discuss the seemingly impending Liga game between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami, why it's happening, and our feelings about it - which are quite different, to say the least. 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? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad! Here's the second half of our Premier League preview, where we flip down the bottom of the table, examining the three newly promoted sides in the shape of Burnley, Sunderland and Leeds United - and whether any of them can defy the gravitational pull that has seen the last six teams who have come up from the Championship all go straight back down. We look at the teams who they'll be looking to reel in as well - Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Ham United, Brentford and Fulham, as well as Community Shield winners Crystal Palace, European-bound Nottingham Forest, newly upwardly mobile Everton and Andoni Iraola's tricky Bournemouth, who caused all sorts of problems for teams last season. Which of the mid-table pack will be dragged into the dogfight, and which will be looking skywards to try and challenge for Europe? It's all up for debate in the final part of this double-edged Premier League Preview, and it's Ranks! And, if you're interested in a new daily football news blitz every morning, have a listen to First Up Football  - Jack would be hugely appreciative!  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? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for the first half of our Premier League preview, where we take a look at the top of the table - can Liverpool go back to back as Champions for the first time in 40 years, or will the revolution at Anfield take more time to settle down than they might imagine? Is Arsenal's stability enough to take them over the line? Will Pep Guardiola embrace the chaos with Pep Lijnders as his right hand man? And could World Champions Chelsea have enough to put themselves in the conversation? We discuss all of that, before heading over to the conversation for the last Champions League place and beyond - where are Newcastle United after a difficult summer? Where are Aston Villa after effectively standing still for most of the summer? Are we expecting Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur to rally hard enough to bother Europe? And are Brighton genuinely contenders at this point?It's all up for debate in the first part of this double-edged Premier League Preview, and it's Ranks! And, if you're interested in a new daily football news blitz every morning, have a listen to First Up Football  - Jack would be hugely appreciative!  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? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.