Hello Rank Squad!

Champions League Takeaway returns for Matchweek Four of this season's League Stage, and we returned to plenty of stories and redemption tales on Tuesday. We open up by talking about Manchester United, out of nowhere, putting on a second half display full of character to come back from 2-0 down and beat Roma 3-2; as well as an astonishing performance from PSG at El Madrigal, where they broke records galore en route to smashing a self-destructing Villarreal 6-0.

In Part Two we discuss Barcelona returning to winning ways in the competition with a 3-0 win against Aston Villa, where Unai Emery's men dropped an early clanger and never truly recovered; whilst Bayern were incredibly impressive down the road in Madrid, keeping Atleti at arm's length as they won 2-0 even with a heavily depleted squad.

As ever in Part Three we round things up with everything else, including Inter's demolition of Feyenoord at De Kuip - inspired by the brilliance of Piotr Zielinski, a Galatasaray win over Stuttgart preceded by social media drama, Sporting edging Shakhtar in a really fun game at the Bridge, LASK hammering Slovan Bratislava (and giving them an unwanted record in the process) and a bitty 0-0 draw between Bodø/Glimt and Lille in the Arctic Circle.

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?

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Hello Rank Squad!

We're in the heart of an onslaught of Champions League weeks, but on the one breather we have, we decided it was time to bring back a Ranks classic, in the form of Sacking or Saving Europe's Under-Fire Managers, for the SIXTH time. Once a year, we sit down and analyse those managers currently on the hottest seats, and try to work out whether they need time or the chop.

Before we get into it though, we discuss Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in London, where Harry Kane defied the glitz and glamour to become the first English player to lift the trophy in 25 years. We hand out some well deserved flowers to a man who feels like a throwback in the modern era, as well as talk through a couple of other bits from the ceremony - Fabian Ruiz finishing 10th, a lovely redemption arc for La Reina, Alexia Putellas, and Joan Laporta just completely getting it wrong when at the podium to speak.

Then it's onto our list of managers on the hot seat, starting with the big one from the Premier League - the future of Michael Carrick at Manchester United, especially in the light of the club giving him a stay of execution for the time being. From there we also discuss Pierre Sage's situation at Crystal Palace, as well as Sunderland's Regis Le Bris, Fulham's Álvaro Arbeloa, and Coventry City's Frank Lampard.

Then we head xontinental, as Jack takes a look at who's under it in Europe - visiting three big hitters in Italy in the shape of Maurizio Sarri at Atalanta, Max Allegri at Napoli, and Luciano Spalletti at Juventus; as well as Rui Borges at Sporting CP and the seemingly doomed Manolo González at Espanyol (who might already be gone by the time this is out, but who was a brilliant story in his own right and we will miss!)

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?

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Hello Rank Squad!

Champions League Takeaway returns for Matchweek Three of this season's League Stage, to look back at all of Wednesday's action from across all nine games. We begin with the marquee matchup between Bayern Munich and Arsenal at the Allianz, where the spoils were shared 2-2 after a game that both teams will take plenty of positives from.

From there it's onto Real Madrid, who won 4-1 for the second time in four days, and who finally appear to have found some feel of balance ahead of El Clásico this weekend. This was another positive result and performance for Jose Mourinho, who might have just worked out how best to deploy his vast array of superstars.

In Part Two we discuss another chastening night for Michael Carrick and Manchester United, who were soundly beaten on the banks of Lake Como by the latest rising power of Italian football, spearheaded by Nico Paz and Martin Baturina, who were a delight - unless you're a United fan. Carrick remains firmly on the hot seat after a bleak night, summed up by Bruno Fernandes' pretty stark comments after the full time whistle. There's also a little bit of time to chat through Inter's 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk which provided relief but no answer to the questions that plague the Italian Champions.

As ever in Part Three we round things up with everything else, starting with two teams who remain perfect: Aston Villa - after their routine 3-1 win over Viking; and Real Betis - who beat Feyenoord 1-0 in an electric La Cartuja to continue their excellent start to this season. We round up with wins for Club Brugge over Lens, LASK over Sporting, and Galatasaray over Lille.

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.