Rashford Shines Again, King Jude & Griezmann Hits 200

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Rest Is Football – "Rashford Shines Again, King Jude & Griezmann Hits 200"

Date: November 4, 2025
Hosts: Gary Lineker & Alex Alger

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into a packed weekend in Spanish football, focusing on standout performances from Marcus Rashford at Barcelona, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé at Real Madrid, and Antoine Griezmann’s significant milestone for Atletico Madrid. With an eye on the Champions League and the looming Liverpool vs Real Madrid clash, hosts Gary Lineker and Alex Alger dissect key matches, address transfer narratives, and bring their trademark insight and banter to the biggest stories across La Liga.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Marcus Rashford's Form at Barcelona (Starts ~05:00)

• Match: Barcelona 3-1 Elche
• Rashford scores a spectacular goal, reinforcing his excellent start at Barcelona.
• Barcelona benefits from early goals by Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres, but Elche press bravely, even dominating possession at times.
• Alex Alger: "A superb goal, wasn’t it?...I think he’s surrounded by these world-class players and it’s really helped him." [08:19–11:56]
• Rashford’s confidence and productivity discussed—with an average goal involvement every 70 minutes.
• Lamine Yamal’s strong response to media criticism after El Clásico is highlighted, along with his maturity and attitude.

Notable Quote

"That's the way to answer all the critics. Don't need to do too much talking."
—Gary Lineker on Lamine Yamal’s goal (08:19)

2. Real Madrid’s Dominance: Mbappé & Bellingham in the Spotlight (13:35–24:00)

• Match: Real Madrid 4-0 Valencia
• Kylian Mbappé continues goal-scoring spree, including penalties and open play; adaptation to playing as a striker praised.
• Alex Alger: "Only one game he hasn't scored in La Liga...He just seems to score in every single game." [16:26]
• Support from teammates evident, with Vinicius Jr. entrusted with a penalty (missed).
• Jude Bellingham returns from injury and scores a rocket—Spanish press dub him "King Jude" and "Ray Jude."
• Carlo Ancelotti praises Bellingham’s professionalism and character in upcoming interview.

Notable Quotes

"He’s absolutely a model professional...great kid, incredibly talented, works really hard."
—Gary Lineker on Jude Bellingham, citing Carlo Ancelotti (21:38)

"It's good to see. Mbappé then lets Vinicius Jr take a penalty when they got another one, you know when you're on a hat trick, but they do those sort of things."
—Gary Lineker (19:51)

3. Liverpool vs Real Madrid: Returning Heroes and Emotional Narratives (24:00–28:57)

• Alex will attend the Champions League clash at Anfield.
• Discussion around Trent Alexander-Arnold’s possible return and expected reception at Liverpool after transferring to Real Madrid.
• Debate over player loyalty, contracts, and the difficulty of fans accepting high-profile exits.
• Trent’s commitment highlighted—including his rapid Spanish language learning.

Notable Quotes

"You get treated like you’re a piece of meat being flogged somewhere. He’s perfectly entitled to see out his contract...in any other walk of life, you’d be absolutely fine."
—Gary Lineker on Trent’s Liverpool exit (26:34)

"He was like, too basic. So it was perfect. Spanish, perfect. He does three hours a week, which is...which is a lot."
—Alex Alger on Trent’s Spanish skills (27:57)

4. Atletico Madrid, Griezmann’s 200th Goal, and Family Dynamics (30:39–34:00)

• Match: Atletico Madrid win over Sevilla
• Antoine Griezmann scores his 200th La Liga goal, coming off the bench.
• Discussion on manager Diego Simeone managing his son, Giuliano, who produced an impressive display—acknowledging the balance of fairness and perception.
• Atletico fans’ typical pessimism noted; form is improving with back-to-back strong performances.

Notable Quote

"No one in Spain is saying he’s in that team because of his dad. I think everyone truly rates him."
—Alex Alger on Giuliano Simeone (32:57)

5. Villarreal and Basque Derby Highlights (34:00–35:44)

• Villarreal: Bounce back impressively with a 4–0 win over Rayo Vallecano, Gerard Moreno on target again.
• Basque Derby: Late winner for Real Sociedad against Athletic Club; focus on Nico Williams’ struggles and the unique mixed-fan atmosphere in Basque derbies.
• Discussing the rarity of derby matches where fans from both sides sit together peacefully.

Notable Quote

"The interesting thing about the Basque Derby is that the fans sit together, which is probably surely one of the only derbies in world football where that happens."
—Alex Alger (35:44)

6. La Liga Round-Up (36:14–37:38)

• Rapid-fire summary of other results:
  • Real Betis 3-0 Mallorca: Antony (ex-Man United) stars.
  • Alaves 2-1 Espanyol; Getafe 2-1 Girona; Celta Vigo 2-1 Levante.
• Movement in the league table, with Betis and Villarreal climbing.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Young Superstars and Media Pressure:
  "He's a teenager and teenagers don't tend to listen to any advice from my experience."
  —Gary Lineker (09:19)

• On High-Profile Transfers:
  "As a player...if you're Mbappé...or you're Jude Bellingham, you want to go to Anfield and perform there because, you know, they're the magical nights."
  —Gary Lineker (25:50)

• On Footballer Maturity:
  "We expect so much of them, don’t we? But, you know, they're very young men and. And young men can be idiots."
  —Gary Lineker (13:07)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Barcelona’s win & Rashford’s Form: 05:00–13:21
• Lamine Yamal’s resilience: 08:19–10:42
• Real Madrid (Mbappé & Bellingham): 13:35–24:00
• Liverpool vs Real Madrid preview / Trent’s story: 24:00–28:57
• Atletico Madrid and Griezmann’s 200th: 30:39–34:00
• Villarreal & Basque Derby: 34:00–35:44
• Rapid La Liga round-up: 36:14–37:38

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Tone and Style

The episode features relaxed, insightful banter between Gary and Alex—mixing sharp tactical analysis with a touch of humor and plenty of reverence for both contemporary stars and the emotional narratives of football. They offer fan perspectives, dressing-room stories, and a blend of statistics with old-school footballing logic.

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This summary provides the core takeaways, standout lines, and structural highlights for any listener who missed the episode.

Transcript

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[Gary Lineker]

Coming up on today's show.

Marcus Rashford continues his great form for Barcelona with a lovely goal in their win against Elche.

Jude Bellingham scores a stunner as Real Madrid ease to another victory against Valencia. Antoine Griezmann scores his 200th La Liga goal as Atletico Madrid continued their great run with a win against Sevilla. And Villarreal are still unbeaten at home after thumping Rayo Vallecano. Stay tuned for all the action.

Hello and welcome to the Rest is Football La Liga with Alex Alger. Meet Gary Lineker. I presume you're back in the UK Alex, after your little Madrid trip.

[Alex Alger]

Yes, back in London, but off to Liverpool later for Liverpool. Real Madrid in the Champions League, which will be a brilliant game. Brilliant game later on.

[Gary Lineker]

Do you know you're interviewing yet.

[Alex Alger]

Not yet, because Real Madrid haven't announced which player it will be, but they have said it will be an English speaking player. So hopefully Jude Bellingham, who's on fire at the moment.

[Gary Lineker]

Well, he's going really well, isn't he? Yeah.

[Alex Alger]

What.

[Gary Lineker]

What was Trent's situation at the moment? Because obviously that would be the story, wouldn't it, going back to.

[Alex Alger]

So it's a tricky situation for Trent in that Dani Carvajal got injured, so he's out until January, which on paper is great news for Trent. But Fede Valverde has been playing at right back out of position. But he's very, very good at right back playing out of position. So the question is also where do they put Fedi if they move Fedy into the midfield, back into the midfield where he plays and then Trent comes in at right back. Who do they bench from the midfield? So it's a really tricky situation. I think they expected Trent to come off the bench and play some minutes against Valencia, but he. But he didn't come off the bench, didn't even warm up, which makes me think unlikely that he'll start against Liverpool, having been out for so long. But he'll want some minutes at Anfield. He will want to play a bit. We'll see. We'll see.

[Gary Lineker]

Oh, yeah, he won't start because he hasn't got any match time behind him at the moment. But I'm wondering if he'll get. I'll get some minutes.

[Alex Alger]

I was also in Bilbao interviewing Aymeric Laporte for the podcast. So that interview will come out ahead of Athletic Club's game against Newcastle. And Gary, I have to show you, they were amazing. Athletic Club, by the way. What a club. So friendly, so welcoming. And they've given me some gifts for you, for Alan. Oh, really, Micah. So this is yours, signed by Laporte.

[Gary Lineker]

Very nice too, Micah. And then those who can't see it, we've got our names on the back of a Bill Bow shirt.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yeah.

[Alex Alger]

And then they've been so thoughtful because they said Alan wouldn't wear a red shirt. So they've given him the navy kit.

[Gary Lineker]

Oh, the away kit. Very nice, too. Blimey. They know about these local rivalries in ag.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah, yeah. But they didn't give me one, so that's a shame you didn't get one. They didn't give me one, but I brought them back for you, so.

[Gary Lineker]

That's very, very kind of them.

[Alex Alger]

Very kind. No, it's a great interview as well. Really, really good. He says some interesting things, actually, so. So look forward to that one coming up.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yeah.

[Gary Lineker]

Shall we talk about some football?

[Alex Alger]

Yes.

[Gary Lineker]

Well, let's start with Barcelona because they were playing yesterday, recording this on Monday morning. They played on Sunday evening. It was fairly comfortable. Victory. And yet another goal for Marcus Rashford. Before we discuss it, here's how it all panned out.

[Match Commentator]

That's a poor pass. And Bald is able to nip in and pick it up and make good progress to find Laminal. Laminal has Barcelona in front inside 10 minutes.

El gave the ball away and they've been made to pay the ultimate price.

Fernand might just pick up the loose ball there. And Barcelona have numbers. It's Firmin Lopez for Ferran Torres. Two nil, Barcelona. And already this game is racing away from Elia. Flipped it on. Here is Ferran Torres. It's Torres. Pena makes the save and grasps it in at the second attempt.

Well, El suddenly have numbers here. They've not been able to get forward too much in this first half as Rafamir shoots. And Rafamir scores.

And from nowhere, Elche are back in this with a well taken opportunist goal.

Torres, good save. Pena.

Upsets Marcus Rashford. The hand goes up. They want offside. That's maybe more in hope than expectation. It's Marcus Rashford. Whistles Just wide.

Fer Lopez, Marcus Rashford.

It's Marcus Rashford fired in via the crossbar. But Marcus Rashford provides Barcelona with an emphatic third goal.

[Gary Lineker]

Well, nice to have a comfortable victory specifically, I think, in a Champions League week for Barcelona. And job well done.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah, job well done. But also credit to Elche. They really took the game to them. They started well. Really brave performance from Elche throughout. Had more of the ball than Barcelona as well. But then two mistakes. Barcelona scoring twice with Lamina Mal in the ninth minute. I think also credit to Lamina Mal, the way he's responded to. Not a great performance in El Clasico. Everyone's immediately talking about him in the media. But yeah, a brilliant goal, brilliant finish. And then it was Ferran Torres with a second, but Rafa Mir getting one back for Elche, hitting the post twice as well. They could have scored more. It was a really open game, I think, is what I'm trying to say. The scoreline maybe doesn't reflect the performance from Elche, who did really well. But Marcus Rashford again, really happy for him, really happy for him. And it was a superb goal, wasn't it?

[Gary Lineker]

It was. Let's start with Lamin's goal because that was tasty as well. And that's the way. That's the way to answer all the critics. Don't need to do too much talking, as they probably saying in Madrid, what was the reaction like in Spain? Because you were out there, weren't you? In Madrid, what was the reaction like towards you? Mal from the Spanish press and the media.

[Alex Alger]

So, so critical, so critical of him. And he's so young as well, but I think luckily he's one of these players that it's not going to affect him. But how damaging that could be for a player of his age. Everyone's speaking badly about him, but I think he just doesn't listen. And actually you'll hear it in the Aymeric Laporte interview later this week. But I asked him about it and I said, if you give Lamina, obviously they play together in the Spanish national team, one bit of advice, what would you give him? And he actually said, look, I could give him advice. I'd love to give him advice, but he wouldn't listen to me. He wouldn't take my advice, which, okay, maybe not a great thing that he's not going to take advice.

[Gary Lineker]

I think we have to remind ourselves at this point he's a teenager and teenagers don't tend to listen to any advice from my experience.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah, this is true, this is true. But I think it works both ways as well. Fine, yeah, maybe he won't take the advice because he thinks he's doing the right thing and he wants to do it his way. But also that probably the same applies to listening to the media and what the media have to say about him. I'm sure he. He doesn't care, basically. And it. And it shows on the pitch. You think you could have a performance like that in El Classico, your confidence is knocked and you have a really quiet game in the next game. But. But straight back at it on the score sheet. I think he's going to be all right. Lamina. Mel.

[Gary Lineker]

Well, he's got so much talent, so much ability. Let's. Let's hope he doesn't get too carried away. There are obviously. There are obviously lots of pitfalls and dangers for any young professional footballer, but I mean, he seemed very confident when he. It didn't seem to have affected him. And what superb finish, the way he cuts in and that finish he does. He. He actually put a bit more power on this one, but he usually just floats them in that far corner. But he whipped it in. Absolutely brilliant bit of play. They went up 2 up pretty quickly, but as you said, Elche came back quite well into the game and played some very good football. Beat Barca's high line once again, as you're going to do in. In games against Barcelona.

[Alex Alger]

So they were playing a similar way, Elche, though.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, they do. I mean, it was a bit of the battle of high lines and Elchis keep possession really well, don't they?

[Alex Alger]

Yep. Press with a lot of intensity. Hansi Flick full of praise for him after the game. They've had such a good season, such a good season and obviously certainly not expected to win against Barcelona, but plenty of positives for them to take from the game. Only three defeats from that opening 11 La Liga games for Elche. So onwards and upwards for Eder Sarabia's side.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, Marcus Rashford delivered a gain. He looks really sharp at the moment. Really confident, really sharp. Looks like he's enjoying his football, enjoying life in Barcelona. I saw a stat where he's been in. I think it's something like average goal involvement as they call it nowadays. Every 70 minutes or so since he, since he joined Barcelona, which is really productive.

[Alex Alger]

Only Kylian Mbappe and Julian Alvarez have more goal involvements than him this season. And I think the thing with Matlaka's Rashford is. I don't know whether you agree with me here, but he plays better when he's with better players.

[Gary Lineker]

Well, we all do. We all do. As long as you. As long as you're a decent player yourself.

[Alex Alger]

Yes, yes. So I think he's. The fact that he's surrounded by these world class players has really helped him. I think we saw at Manchester United as well, to a certain extent when he was playing with better players. The Manchester United fans are going to come for me now, won't they? But I just think he's been put into this brilliant Barcelona team. So versatile. And also the fact that he started so well and we've spoken about this on the podcast quite a lot, you know, a few times, like had he had a poor start to his Barcelona career, things could have gone very differently. But he hit the ground running. He's full of confidence and it's brilliant to see. It's really, really good to see.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, I'm really pleased for him because obviously he'd had a tough year or two at Manchester United and there were difficulties there and he lost his form a little bit and probably lost his confidence and you know, football's full of ups and downs. But I think Mark, with Marcus in particular, he seems to be either, you know, he's. When he's on fire, he's fantastic, but he can dip and form and hopefully that won't, won't happen at Barcelona. He's more mature now. You know, he just, I think he had his birthday last week. I saw, I saw on social media.

[Alex Alger]

Mature. Is that mature, Gary?

[Gary Lineker]

Football wise it's definitely mature in life itself. It's definitely not. And that's what you have to remember with footballers. And, you know, we expect so much of them, don't we? But, you know, they're very young men and. And young men can be idiots.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah. So can young women. It's not just the men.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, of course, of course. But yeah. Good win for. For Barcelona. On to Real Madrid. Let's see how that game transpired.

[Match Commentator]

Antuono to deliver this Real Madrid corner. It's Militao's header. Not far. Wide bodies tumbling everywhere. Bellingham's asking the question about a penalty. Var will check a number of things. Ed Mil thinks there was a hand ball in there as well.

Cesar to who's challenging him. It's Diego Lopez with his arms all over. Bellingham hits the hand.

He's very much down to the referee to make a decision, which isn't easy.

[Commercial Narrator]

And it is.

[Match Commentator]

And it's going to be a Real Madrid penalty.

Kilian Mbappe already has 16.

Real Madrid goals this season and has the perfect opportunity to add to that chunky tally.

Killian Mbappe scores again. Of course he does. And Real Madrid lead again at home.

Bellingham Ara sets off. It's Articula's ball in. It's Killian Mbappe. Killian Mbappe has two and half an hour. And Real Madrid are relentless at the moment.

Mbappe, this is Junior. Carries on. Agar Fabula got there. Oh, did Correa get there late though it is another penalty.

It was a foot race.

A different penalty taker. Kylian Mbappe replaced by Vinicius Jr.

Missed a good save by Agile. Gula can't turn in the rebound either.

He's not having the best time of it at the moment. Vinicius Jr. And that won't help.

That's one Joe Bellingham. That is glorious. And Jude Bellingham, who's missed a decent part of this season, is more than making up for lost time at the moment.

Oh, that is a rocket. What a fourth that is from Real Madrid.

[Gary Lineker]

I mean, it's only one place. Start again. I mean, he's absolutely on fire, isn't he? Two more goals.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah. There's just no stopping Kylian Mbappe right now. He received the Golden Boot for last season in his ceremony at the Bernabeu with all his teammates around him. You can see how popular as well he is in that dressing room. They all love him. They all wanted to be there for him, to celebrate him. And I really can't see any other player winning The Golden Boot this season, the way he's going, it's unbelievable. Only one game he hasn't scored in La Liga. That was against Mallorca this season. He just seems to score in every single game he does.

[Gary Lineker]

Obviously some of them are penalties and there's another one of those. Javi missed one in El Clasico. And then, you know, a clever finish on his left foot, which actually, it was trickier than it looked. That volley, because it was slightly behind him. So it was quite. It was quite easy to send those high, but he kept it down brilliantly. But yeah, his overall game, the way he's adapted to life as playing more as a nine rather than on the left side of a three, he's done really well because it's not necessarily that easy to change, but he's taken on board. He seems to be loving life and who wouldn't when you're banging goals in like that? He's been superb and you can see why he's so popular amongst his teammates, because he just seems like such a top fella as well.

[Alex Alger]

I think it was the same goalkeeper 11 months ago.

In goal when he missed the penalty, said he hit rock bottom. And now fast forward not even a year he scores against the same keeper. And the way he's turned things around at the club, he was being criticized that the Real Madrid fan base against him saying, we brought this player in to win titles, we're not winning titles. It was almost like all the blame was on Killian Mbappe. And now look at it, they're going to win titles. It looks like they're going to win titles and it's going to be because of Kylian Mbappe. So. So credit to him in the way he's. He's turned things around there.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, but it's not. It's not surprised me if, I mean, we've watched him for, I don't know, years and years now, and he's so consistently brilliant that I don't think one bad patch at the start and it wasn't that bad. Let's be honest. It wasn't that bad. I mean, rock bottom for him is. Is actually brilliant performances for most average players. So it was only a matter of time, really. I think that they had the whole thing, didn't they, about with him and. And Vinicius Jr. In the same position and it just. That just needed to work itself out. He improved last season and then he started to get prolific and we know he's also, you know, one on one great player when he Beats defenders, that stop start thing that he does. So I think it's probably the least surprising thing in football that Kylian Mbappe's turned it around at Real Madrid and this season he's absolutely electric. And I mean, it's mad, isn't it, the three strikes in Europe, along with Harry Kane, Bayern Munich, who's scoring, although he didn't get one at the weekend, but he was left out, came on, I think half an hour to go and obviously Erling Harland, who banged in another two this weekend. So those three in particular are just scoring. Like the number that's doing Ronaldo are Messi kind of numbers. So it's good to see. Mbappe then lets Vinicius Jr take a break. Penalty when they got another one, you know when you're on a hat trick, but they do those sort of things. And Vinicius Jr. Missed another one. He's missed a couple now, isn't he?

[Alex Alger]

Yeah. Vinnie Jr. Obviously an interesting situation, talking point at the moment, but I thought Xabi Alonso was really good in his pre match press conference, he just said calmly, coolly, as he does, look, it's been dealt with, it's done. We move on, we move forward. People like to talk, of course they do. Vinnie Jr.

[Gary Lineker]

Especially on podcast. Alex.

[Alex Alger]

True, true. But we're not, we're not here to. What's the word? Like speculate about what's going on there behind the scenes because I truly don't think there is anything going on behind the scenes. Junior and Jabi, we know what Xabi's like. He's not going to enter into all that tittle tattle and, and yeah, a shame he missed the penalty though. I think it would have been good for him to score that.

[Gary Lineker]

I imagine Killian gave it to him because of what happened the previous week and thought it'd be a nice thing. Nice opportunity, actually. He probably has the reverse effect in a way because he missed it. But it doesn't matter if, if you're going miss a penalty, miss it when you win. 4 nil.

[Alex Alger]

Yes, exactly. Yeah, exactly. And another brilliant performance from Jude Bellingham as well. What a goal in the pods. He's on the front page of Marker this morning. It says King Jude. Ray Jude.

[Gary Lineker]

Ray Jude. I like that.

[Alex Alger]

Ray Jude. Oh, Ray Jude. Oh, yeah, okay.

[Gary Lineker]

It's a pun, Alex. It's a pun. It's a dad joke. Sorry, you're not old enough yet to get those kind of nonsensical jokes.

[Alex Alger]

Okay, I got it. Anyway, it says Real Madrid are enjoying. They're saying the rebirth of Bellingham. But they're saying, I think because he had that shoulder injury for so long.

[Gary Lineker]

Which, yeah, the injury was out for a while.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah, but it must have been, I think he was playing with it for a long time as well, strapped up. That must have been really hard for him. How could he have been at his best level when he was playing through such a bad injury? Obviously had the operation and came back quicker than he was supposed to and he's been absolutely superb.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, I, I mentioned on the rest is football that went out on Monday morning. I think I talked a bit about my interview with Carlo Ancelotti I did for us, which amazing will probably go out next week. And Carlo was really good on all sorts and, and he was talking about, I asked him about Jude Bellingham because, you know, these, these rumors that, and because Tuku left him out and presumably probably because he's only just coming back from his shoulder injury. And I was saying, you know, I asked Carlo about, you know, there's a lot of rumors that he can be difficult and this and you know, I said, I'm sure it's not true. And he said he's absolutely a model professional. He said he's great kid, incredibly talented, works really hard. So. And I expect he would probably answer something along those lines, but it doesn't surprise me. It's very easy to get, you know, immersed into a world of made up headlines when people kind of make two and two add up to seven. So I think Jude looks absolutely back to his best and when you're injury free, it makes a real difference.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah, absolutely. You can, you can see it when you, when you speak to him as well. You get, you get it, you understand what this guy is all about. I interviewed him last year for the first time and I was blown away by how mature he was, the way he spoke, like a veteran, like, like a player coming to the end of his career wise and all the knowledge and it was just, it was absolutely brilliant. So, so really happy for Jude that he's back to his best. And Alvaro Carreras also worth a mention. The fourth goal. A Rocket. A Rocket.

[Gary Lineker]

What a hit that was from that angle.

[Alex Alger]

So good. Apparently he's the best at paddle in the squad as well. So he's not only been a brilliant addition for Real Madrid this season, but wonderful goal. His, his first goal for Real Madrid and to round off a four nil. Really comfortable, really comfortable win ahead of a tricky trip to Merseyside.

[Gary Lineker]

I know, I know there'll be A lot of talk in Madrid about that one as well. Because that would be perceived as a really big game. Liverpool winning at the weekend as well. Sort of stopping the rot a little bit for them. Which was.

[Alex Alger]

I think was.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, well, yeah. Sort of crisis. Footballing crisis.

[Alex Alger]

Exactly.

[Gary Lineker]

Things into perspective. But I think that that's going to be a really interesting game. You must be looking forward to being there for that one because that will be jumping.

[Alex Alger]

I'm really looking forward to it. Really, really looking forward to it. I'm gonna be wearing blue at Anfield later on. I'm not sure how well that will go down.

[Gary Lineker]

That's true. Evertonian blue as well, I think.

[Match Commentator]

Oh, oh.

[Alex Alger]

I won't be letting it the stadium. But no, really looking forward to that one. I actually think it's hard to predict that one.

[Gary Lineker]

I think they'll cause Liverpool real problems on the. Because they've struggled. Although he did go back on his slot on the weekend to pretty much the formation and the midfield trio that performed so brilliantly last season. So I expect to go with them again and that. So therefore it becomes. They become slightly different proposition, I think because they're tr. They were trying to find a feat with some of the new players but. But only Ekitike played up top and obviously Isak's injured which. So it didn't really change the system from last season. They look more comfortable within that framework. So I think that. But I think Real Madrid probably go into the game as favorites given their, you know, brilliant start under Xabi Alonso this season. They seem to be improving along the way as well. Some of the early performances from Real Madrid weren't necessarily particularly scintillating, but they. They got the job done. But yeah, it's a tough one to call obviously because there's. There's something Matt Anfield on European nights as. I mean, it's a bit of a cliche, but it's. It's also. It's also true. But you know, big players like these Real Madrid players, they're used to playing at places where. Or playing games that are tough. Atmosphere, big atmospheres. And that's what you love as a player. If you. If you're a Mbappe and you're in Billy Jr. And you're Jude Bellingham, you want to go to Anfield and perform there because, you know, they're the magical knights or they can be.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah. Speaking of atmosphere, I interviewed Trent Alexander Arnold this week as well.

[Gary Lineker]

Did you again? How is his fitness? Is he back?

[Alex Alger]

Yeah, he's back. He's Fit. He's fit.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, he is fit.

[Alex Alger]

Of course he wants to play. But I asked him what kind of reception he expects because he said it's going to be a very, very difficult game. And I said in what way? Are we talking about the football or are we talking about how it's going to be for you on your return? He said a bit of both, but probably mostly the football. And then at the end I said to him if you do get a good reception, which I said the reception, you deserve a good one. Will that be closure in a way for you? And I don't think there's a few Liverpool fans that aren't overly happy that I said he deserves a good reception. But I truly believe he does.

[Gary Lineker]

Trent, given so much to Liverpool, you know, one of the key players in all the success they've had over the recent years won absolutely everything. They didn't like that that he left at the end of his contract because they didn't think that they should lose him without any money. But you know that's, that's the thought on football, isn't it? You get treated like you're a piece of meat being flogged somewhere. He's perfectly entitled to see out his contract. I think that's actually the more the decent thing to do is to do that rather than go in middle of contract. So if you see out your contract in any other walk of life, you'd be absolutely fine. I understand fans care and they don't necessarily see things in from a neutral perspective at all. But he's given everything to, to Liverpool. He's won everything with Liverpool. How can you turn down that kind of challenge?

[Alex Alger]

A new challenge, exactly.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah. But it's not just a new challenge, is it? It's the biggest of challenges on the, you know, they are the. Yeah, I will always favor Barcelona but in, in, in reality real Madrid is, is the world monster and you can't not go there. So.

[Alex Alger]

And it's incredible.

[Gary Lineker]

I think most Liverpool fans understanding of that but you're always going to get some hardcore that you know, you, you so tribal in football that you can't see that you can't see beyond your own club sometimes.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah, and I get that they just wish he was still a Liverpool player as we've seen that they are missing him this season. But it was great to talk to him. We did the first bit of the interview all in Spanish. I said to him, I said let's start in Spanish and I was expecting him to say no way, no way. Okay, I said, I'll ask you some stuff like, how are you? And things like this. He went, nah. I went, that's way too basic. I was like, okay, all right. Yeah. He was like, too basic. So it was perfect. Spanish, perfect. He does three hours a week, which is. Which is. Which is a lot. But no, really good.

[Gary Lineker]

Well done, Trent, for that. That's brilliant. It will help him. It'll help him in the dressroom. He'll get respect from the supporters for doing it. It's a shame he got injured early on, but again, you can go back to Mbappe last year, and I'm not saying, you know, they're different, obviously different personalities, but, you know, within a few months, if Trent finds his game and we know he's got a hell of a lot of game, they'll start loving him in Madrid.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

[Gary Lineker]

Let's take a break. Let's take a break, and then when we come back, we'll talk about a couple of other entertaining games in La Liga this weekend.

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[Gary Lineker]

This episode is brought to you by McAfee.

[Alex Alger]

Yes, playoff tickets.

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Just need to click here and wait. What fake site. Good thing McAfee threw the red flag.

[Alex Alger]

That would have been 400 bucks gone.

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[Alex Alger]

About.

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[Gary Lineker]

Welcome back to the Rest Is Football with Alex Aler and me, Gary Lier. Alex, I need an update of Athletico Update. Another comfortable victory from your friend and your taxi driver friend.

[Alex Alger]

Haven't been speaking to my taxi driver friend, but I am speaking to my other friend. As always, on a Monday morning here's his reply. I said, are you feeling happier about Atletico? And he said, painful first 45 minutes. Our best players were Sevilla's centre backs.

[Gary Lineker]

He's given up on Simeone. He's given up on him.

[Alex Alger]

I wish we can play them every weekend.

[Gary Lineker]

That's my description of fans there that I did just before the break. They. They get one thing.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah.

[Gary Lineker]

And you know, grass is always greener on the other side as well.

[Alex Alger]

Exactly.

[Gary Lineker]

Be careful of that. But I find it interesting. I've caught the highlights of, Of. Of that game and. And Alvarez. They actually call Julian, don't they, over there?

[Alex Alger]

Yep, yep. The Spider. They also call him La Rania. That's his name. Yeah, that's his nickname.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah. I like that. He's a player, though.

[Alex Alger]

What a player. What a player.

[Gary Lineker]

Really good.

[Alex Alger]

Thought that Giuliano Simeone had a really, really good game.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah. Son of Diego, of course.

[Alex Alger]

Yes, Son of Diego. And Diego came out full of praise for him post match. We have spoken about it, haven't we? But it must be a hard situation. You asked about your son in a post match interview. You obviously want to be. It's tricky. You have to just speak the truth, don't you? I guess he had a brilliant game. He's doing really well.

[Gary Lineker]

Both parts. I think it's tricky as a. In both ways. As a manager, you're probably thinking, I can't favor him at all within the, you know, within the squad, which actually might be difficult if you are a son, because you probably feel you end up being treated unfairly or, or you could be seen as being favored, which is probably even worse for a player because. Or you don't want the rest of the team going, oh, he's, you know, his dad's favorite and all this. He's only playing because of his dad, but. So you've got to probably do a little bit more than. Than other players do, I would say so. He certainly had a. He's been very good and he's brilliant, particularly for the. The second goal.

[Alex Alger]

Yes, yes. It was some brilliant work from him. And I think no one in Spain is saying he's in that team because of his dad. I think everyone truly rates him and thinks he's a top, top player, which he is.

[Gary Lineker]

And different sort of player from his dad, that's for sure.

[Alex Alger]

Yes, yes. Very different. Very different. Big milestone for Antoine Griezmann in that game as well, scoring his 200th La Liga goal.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, he missed a really good chance to do it before that, didn't he? And then managed to do it right at the death.

[Alex Alger]

Yep, yep. Coming off the bench to score, which seems like that will be his role throughout the season, but he's obviously still got it. And a big win for Atletico. Convincing performance after what's been a really tricky start to the season, bar that Madrid derby win. But they. They beat Betis in the Monday Night Football convincingly. And then another great performance in the top four now. So I think, yeah, crisis over. Despite negativity coming from certain members of the family.

Glass half empty for him. But no, I think, yeah, it's looking good for Atletico.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, Villarreal as well.

[Alex Alger]

Yeah, another convincing win for. For Villarreal, who also in the top four. I watched them play at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this season and they were pretty dreadful. I was thinking, God, this isn't the Villarreal that we know. But things have 4, 0 win against Rayo Vallecano, who had also been having a decent season. So three straight wins for Rayo Vallecano going into this. Yeah, really good performance from Villareal too. But Gerard Moreno, his second goal in two games, looks like he could be really key for. For Villarreal.

[Gary Lineker]

Well, let's finish with Athletic Club. Another defeat. It's the Derby that, isn't it? Rail Sociedad vs Derby. Yeah, because San Sebastian rail Sothiedad and then down the coast a little bit is Bill Bao where Athletic obviously play. And a late, late winner.

[Alex Alger]

Yep, a late, late winner. And interesting situation with a Nico Williams as well. Because he was on the bench at the beginning of the season. Everyone was blaming Athletic Club's poor form on the fact that he was out injured. But now he's actually. He's fit again. But he was on the bench, came off the bench, didn't really have much of an impact. He hasn't played that well. And Athletic Club seem to be in trouble.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, they are struggling.

[Alex Alger]

Yep. A massive result though, for real Sociedad and Sergio Francisco, who's been under pressure. But this result could buy him some time. It was a really, really good game, though. It was a. Yeah, a really entertaining game, that one, as it always is. And the interesting thing about the Bass Derby is that the fans sit together, which is probably surely one of the only derbies in world football where that happens.

[Gary Lineker]

Yeah, it used to be the case with Everton and Liverpool. You know, I don't. I'm not sure it is now, but it probably is in a great. Because, you know, because families were so mixed because they're from the same city. But it's with Bill Bell and. And San Sebastian. They're not the same cities obviously, so it is. You're not likely to get mixture of families as much as say, in Liverpool. But. But that is interesting. But it. Football fans should be able to get on, shouldn't they?

[Alex Alger]

But in a big derby like that, emotions, tensions. Yeah, but. But credit to them. Credit to them. And yeah, it was a really enjoyable game, I thought. A big win for Real Sociedad. Before we go, let's have a quick roundup of the other games that took place in La Liga over the weekend. Real Betis beat Mallorca 30 at home. Former Manchester United player Antony starred for Real Betis as they cruised to victory against Mallorca. The Brazilian winger scored twice and assisted the other goal as Betis bounced back from defeat last week and moved up to fifth. Espanyol lost two one away at Alaves. Dennis Suarez and Lucas Boyer with the goals for Alaves in their impressive victory. Espanyol dropped to sixth and lose ground on the top four. Getafe won 2:1 at home against Girona. Mario Martine and Borja Mayral with the goals for Getafe, which moves them up to seventh. Christian Suani's injury time penalty wasn't enough for Girona who stay rooted to the foot of the table. Levante lost 21 at home to Celta Vigo. Miguel Roman scores a 91st minute winner for Celta. Vigorous to make sure they don't draw one all once again. Unai Vencedor was sent off for Levante in the opening 30 minutes and the 10 men ultimately couldn't hold out until the very end. Celta Vigo now have two wins in two after failing to win in their first nine games.

[Gary Lineker]

Okay, Alex. Well, enjoy Anfield. I'm sure you will.

[Alex Alger]

Thank you.

[Gary Lineker]

It's a big one. Another kind of Premier League versus La Liga clash. That will give us something to talk about next week. But for now, goodbye from me.

[Alex Alger]

Goodbye for me.