The distance measured in points between Inter Milan and AC Milan may not be looking that big, but when you see how both teams present themselves in the games, I think there is clearly a huge difference in performance and consistency to be noticed. Inter Milan is playing in their own league. I wouldn't assert that it is a totally different league, but to some degree they are playing better than any other team for the time being. I am yet to see Inter Milan struggle hard for a few subsequent games.

Well done by Mourinho wants again. I think he would be leading the table by far if the red card for coaches existed for the last two decades already. It's a difference I think to sent a coach off without showing him any cards and now when they have these cards, it probably feels easier to first show a yellow and all the people in the stadium can understand what a referee is doing and then when a coach goes nuts again, the referee has an easier time to show the red card. Mou will always stay the same.

But I don't think that the impact is as significant as some believe when the coach is sent off for a game or two. It isn't helpful of course, but in terms of the required instructions and adjustments, I think that there can still be enough coaching done by the assistants and via the mobile phone.

But it could be different when we were talking about a Champions League semifinal or something similar. That's when I believe the coach is needed desperately for several reasons.

It was great to have this game Arsenal against Liverpool as it was really a highlight I was looking forward to. But obviously everyone knew that after the game we will have one top team end up as the loser and being out of the FA Cup. That was the bad thing about this draw. But it doesn't matter which team lost this game, discussions would have arisen either way. But I think if Liverpool would have gotten defeated, maybe people would be lenient because they had an excuse that Salah was out of the game. But well, now the competition goes on without Arsenal and it will still be fun to follow it.

This pretty much completely describes the issues they have. It is all about lost momentum although the word could be misleading as it contains the word "moment". But we are not witnessing a moment of weakness here anymore. We are witnessing years of weakness. That's the craziest part about Chelsea, a title winner in the Champions League not too long ago equipped with an infinite source of money (apparently, so far) and yet they are more fighting against getting dragged into the last 10 in the table than they are fighting for getting into the upper part of the table. That's one of the most failed investments I have seen so far. PSG does at least win the domestic league with their billions in investments, but what the heck is Chelsea doing?

Ye but there is always a little bit of risk if there is too much rotation. There were already a few surprises this season when big clubs tried to rotate a lot in less important games against inferior teams and then the favorites got smashed because of their rotation. Depending on the competition we are talking about, I think getting eliminated from a competition only because rotation was too much is not a good result of an experiment. If there is a lot of rotation, you still want the team to win and have an experience of success. I think that is what creates the maximum benefit for everyone.

I would not say it was a warm-up match for him. I know that you didn't mean in that way, but some people could understand it that way. The pressure has been building massively and Ancelotti made the right decision to slowly help him to get accustomed with that pressure and this game was a good opportunity to do that. But Ancelotti decided to rotate a lot of players, which I think can be both positive and negative when you are trying to integrate young talents into the team.

It's wrong to look at how Chelsea is ranked in the table and then to say that it all isn't that bad. I think the starting point to develop an assessment of their rank is to consider their goals and what they have put into the club to compete for the top positions. We are talking about 10 figure investments and the former Champions League winner from 2021. If you consider these facts, do you still think that Chelsea is not doing that bad?

You could take another club. When Liverpool was struggling last season and they were about to miss the Europa League, everybody was in shock.  Manchester City would be the same. Imagine they were in Chelsea's position now. It would be horrible for them.

Interesting, interesting... I tried to google this, but I couldn't find anything about it yet. However, I think you might be onto something here because what you said could makes sense. But these transfers have been under scrutiny for a while now because people started wondering why players are shifted back and forth, sometimes below market value, between some clubs from Europe and the Saudi Pro League. But now that you mentioned this I think there could be some truth to that. Maybe we will soon see new owners for Fulham.

The rumor seems to be true at least in so far that there are ongoing discussions between Fulham and Firmino, but they call it a shock return and I think that hits the nail on the head. I don't understand why someone would leave for an incredible amount of money to play in Saudi Arabia to then decide after a few months to leave that country again and go back to the Premier League. But why would Al-Ahli let him go to Fulham in the winter transfer window? I don't fully understand the back and forth here and what the benefit for Al-Ahli would be in all of this.

I agree and Lukaku hasn't only been doing well recently for Roma, but he was also the best striker in the European Championship qualifiders, wasn't he? In that case I think he is still a very viable option for a lot of teams, but he wouldn't be the perfect fit for a team like Manchester City for example. It is just not his system. But now when Roma needs someone to keep the ball in the front of the pitch and then use his body to gain time and to bring himself into a great position, that's what he can do very well.

I guess I disagree with you regarding Lukaku and the category he falls into. Since Lukaku's game isn't primarily based on pace, I think he could be a valuable striker until he has reached a higher age. His game isn't as burdensome physically in terms of pace as is the game of Mbappe for instance. If Mbappe loses speed, his game will deteriorate one day. Lukaku could still be a player that is well needed in certain periods of a game, depending on the situation and the circumstances.

But I was rather pointing out that it is time for Lukaku to settle with a club he gets along with and Roma seems to be that place. There is no point in taking another risk and ending up on the bench again. But I guess he will go wherever he is paid the most.

Yes but the timing is that they are playing against Real Madrid for the rest of the season and Real Madrid's clinicalness is striking at the moment. In almost every game they have some moments when it seems as if they might not be able to win it, but by now everyone understands that they are fully prepared for this one shot on target to convert the chance into a goal. That's what they do all the time and for as long as they are not dropping any points, obviously it will be a hard nut to crack for Girona to overtake Real Madrid in the table.

I think the part I underlined is important to mention here. It is not certain that Inter Milan and Juventus Turin will win all of their games and never fail to get the full 3 points, but even if they stumble once upon a time, it is not very likely that the teams behind them will win most of their games. Nobody is perfectly consistent, but Inter Milan is more consistent than any other team in Serie A and right behind them, very close to Inter Milan to be exact, is Juventus Turin. They have also established a very high level of consistency. But it is good to see these two teams giving each other a fierce fight as this makes the title race enjoayble.

I think it is the latter as they now realize that buying old players isn't the best solution and the effect they were hoping for in terms of global attention might also be lower than expected. For instance, was signing Benzema a good idea? They thought they would be signing a former world football player who is making the league better and get more people to follow and watch it and become SPL fans, but no it is not happening. The Benzema effect is probably zero. I think they will reconsider their approach and sign less controversial players who aren't too polarizing. But I think we will again see a wave of big transfers in the next summer transfer window at the lastest.

Are we talking about football players like someone has ever played football no matter in what league or are you guys talking about coaches that were unknown football players?

Because I was surprised when I read that you said Arsene Wenger was not a player, but he played over 280 professional games. He wasn't in the best leagues all the time, but it's called professional football in my opinion.

But I would tend to believe that it is easier to say who might win Serie A than it is to say who will be relegated into Serie B. Inter Milan is for many reasons the biggest favorite. A draw like against Genoa can happen once in a while, this is really nothing out of the ordinary. But the kind of way how Inter Milan is winning most of their games sets them apart from the rest. Juventus Turin is result-oriented and all that counts is the win, the 3 points. Which is ok and if they are successful, they are right. But Inter Milan wants to play awesome, fun to watch football and show their opponents who the real boss is. Their goal difference is telling the whole story here. I believe that Juventus Turin is closer to losing two games in a row than Inter Milan will ever be this season.

No team has ever won a title for beating Atletico Madrid or Barcelona. I can't remember that the La Liga trophy was handed over when a game ended for a team with a win against any of these two aforementioned teams.

If Girona wants to prove that they belong to the position they are now in, the proof they have to deliver is huge. The proof means to outcompete any team behind them over the next 19 games, 50% of the season still to go. If they are then still ahead of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, I agree that by then the time has come that nothing has to be proven anymore.

I doubt that Arsenal thinks that way about last season when they led the table for so long, as if they didn't have to prove anything anymore. They lost in the end. The same can happen to Girona.

I think he is a player who fits into very specific team profiles with the qualities he has. Age isn't the problem yet and I wouldn't generalize the thesis that he can't play well in the Premier League. I think he can, but he needs the right team around him that in turn needs what Lukaku has to offer. I don't see that as the Premier League is mostly about high speed and running up and down. He is a powerful striker who knows how to keep the ball closely to his body, how to keep the distance between him and his opponents and to gain time for other players to move up the pitch. He is also good at making quick moves in the box despite his massive body. But most clubs are looking for the Haalands and Mbappes and Vini Juniors. He isn't like that.

Yes but the idea to bring him back to the Premier League would be stupid. I don't know what Chelsea's plans look like because as far as I know it is about them right? He is still a loan player for AS Roma and if Lukaku now scores a lot of goals in this season for Roma, I see the worst case coming that Chelsea wants to try it again with him and he would waste another year with the Blues.

Real Madrid has a big advantage over other teams and that is the strategy, which implies that their defense beings with their offenders. This is why Bellingham is so key to their game. Their attack is their first defensive line, which is quite unusual when you look at many of the other teams where the strikers wait around the middle of the pitch to get the ball. But Bellingham is a beast, he must have lungs like an animal given how much he is going back and forth on the pitch. He is as good as a midfielder and defender as he is as a striker. This is exceptional and I haven't seen this ambivalence in a player before.