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so without question it is one of the most awaited most anticipated days on the football calendar so many teams so
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many will go forward to achieve those ambitions that is the nature of our
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fascinatingly competitive game and the mood is boisterous it is a
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perfect ambiance for the central characters who are ready now to
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perform we have already started
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here well of course brazil produced their fair share of outstanding round players and roberto is a many times he
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is indeed amongst the very best players to come out of brazil for me and in my
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view a perfect fit for teams that like to play a fluid system based on whether or not they have possession so expand on
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that well it means he can play like a fullback in a in a back four move up into midfield in a back three or or take
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up a central midfield position that's where i think he's absolutely best although he is capable of going further
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forward still venicius
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junior out of play for a
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throw hernandez and the assistant referee rightly gives him
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offside and that has left him in a heat
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marinos well timed excellent interception lucas
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vasquez now it's lucas vasquez oh that's fabulous he's got the shot away
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sony bhiktas have created a real intensity from the start and there's no sign of any
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belling messi messi will not want to lose out here not against this opponent
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i wonder what you've seen jim over the early moments of the game well i think both teams probably feel it's it's too
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early for either to start taking real risks so they're still very much in a phase of great
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hits and the assistant referee has his flag raised for
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offside bellingham now it's venicious junior and here's mbappé and he was
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quick to react modric if you have just joined us well
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you've missed no goals well the idea was a good one the
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execution and the finish and kept out by the most elastic
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of saves really anticipated that well didn't he
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basiktas with their first corner the first in the game for either side actually
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kundai is there and he can get that clear and now a sudden chance to
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counter davids spots it and intercepts t roberto over to the left
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now it's sane kundai gets a foot in here
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oh that's a key interception marinos
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hernandez now it's venicious junior that's good play from him and here's
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mbappé and here's maradona he's pulled him up for that challenge there could be trouble here
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but for now the referee is keeping his cards in his pocket yeah well they were exposed and and vulnerable and he knew
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he had to do something to prevent a goal then messi ready to try
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messi that's a half decent try a more than decent attempt peter
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the shikash clearly are trying to establish themselves as a team that likes to retain the ball peter and it's
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a good watch jim isn't it well it is and it's always a pleasure for me to see a
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team move the ball in silky fashion like this but you know what's coming next peter it has to be with a mean cutting
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edge venicious junior he is through here
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that was always going to be the keepers
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sane well that is not the best ball and he offers an apologetic look well that's
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down to a simple miscalculation no more no he's had a hit
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well he should have done better and he knows it that is a really good chance miss peter certainly the way he's been
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have beautifully policed that midfield the opposition have been handcuffed goalkeeper's
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ball bellingham a mixture of good defending and
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indecisive passing no progress pops him off it and wins back the
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ball looking to go deep tries to get it clear has a look
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and has a go and the goalkeeper watches it past well it was an ambitious attempt but
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it'll keep the defense on its toes at least marinos is there and he can pick it up
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and it's marinos played back in that is a
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brilliant interception bellingham venicious junior now it's
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venicious junior lucas vasquez does really well to win the ball
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there messi two added minutes has been indicated he's going to be disappointed with that decent hit goal
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that couldn't have been a more potent injection of belief for this team top man top drawer
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and he stuck it away as if laserg guided no other outcome there that was bang in
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the corner unstoppable so the first goal of the
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game listen when it comes to goals peter in this team he's always the number one contender and he's done it
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again there's the whistle for halime so there we are halime both teams head into their respective dressing room and while
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there was a genuine flow about the game most importantly there has been just one telling moment still very tight here the
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game still up for grabs and the halime score 1 n i thought that was a decent 45
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minutes of football plenty of signs that both managers can take a lot of encouragement from i would say the mood
8:54
is neither overly negative nor positive you still have to approach this like it's it's nil nil leading one n at the
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break and we are underway
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again a solitary goal that has been the crucial
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difference oh that's a fine interception
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pedri mbappé that is good
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modric now it's messi it's a loose
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ball neuer gets it away
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kundai now it's mbappé well that's well spotted well quality clearly deserted
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him at the crucial moment yeah the idea
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oh that was nice but not quite the end product required it's easy to say it but
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difficult to stop it when runs in behind are being made like
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that and there's green grass ahead of him it's neymar
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well the finish certainly didn't match the buildup neymar deserves a lot of credit for his willingness to make those
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runs the passers will always have an option with him well it didn't look good for a while but
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that was brave defending and they got away with it neymar he
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scores they have granted themselves an equalizer oh listen the writing was on the wall it
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looked like this was going to happen and it has well we've seen the hunger to win it
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back and the focus to make it count a very tasty combination
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that has certainly made things interesting yeah it's a very good contest with two very good sides and
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with such great individual talent on show it could go either way the attendance for this match was 71,800
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enjoy this time and he has slightly undercooked that one uh that was just poor decision making
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and a weak execution real chance
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z roberto with the clearance modric that is ended up in no man's
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land and that pass is somewhat less than ideal bashikash clearly should have gone
11:42
for the easier pass now they'll have to quickly regroup and he's gone back with
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pedri and that is certainly not what he had in
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mind belling oh well played well sorted out
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now it's venicious junior
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davitz it's pedri nice interception his positioning
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was spot on deafly done and no that was never going to make it
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well it's a move of great promise but will it really prove productive shapes to shoot goal
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bas it was coming they have their reward
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well there's always a chance of being caught like that when you surrender the football
13:16
substitution on the field number 20 venius jun we have got changes here from
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both sides in fact messias get themselves into the lead
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it's so often the case with goal scorers little influence and all of a sudden bang
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looking for options for movement that was lovely that he's shifting through the gears here no he's not getting past
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him there well the movement is slick the speed is
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slippery able to hold on this time number 17 joshua kim maradona
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frustrating right now he just cannot get away they're just trying to negate his influence and it looks like whatever it
14:06
takes dong pedri now there's a fine ball he's
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had a shot and that would have won it mbappé
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really did let them off the hook they could have wrapped it all up
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messi with the short one can he finish it's loose and there's a ra and again
14:30
big relief it just needed better contact oh look i don't want to sound too dismissive but from here that looked the
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do and here's neymar he's got away can he get it
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through time is running out here all they need is one big chance and it may
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do the trick now it's mbappé now
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it's z roberto wins the jewel this time i thought it was going to happen then
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how many more chances can they realistically expect now
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neymar well he was given the time and room initially to hold on to the ball but eventually he was squeezed that bit
15:39
harder and the task became too much i think he's got to be a little quicker in his distribution then and get others
15:45
into the match that's been intercepted now it's neymar
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now it's mbappé shoots to shoot no poor contact
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nothing on the shot and the number on the board is
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three to roberto rüiger cuts it
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out and that's it well what a game unpredictable to the very end momentum
16:24
shifting this way and that the kind of match as neutral as we all love to come and see so what do you take away from it
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all jim well the game plan for me just looked a little confused and the crowd seemed to pick up on this early on and
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it just created a kind of negative fight around the whole stadium and i think this
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so the wait is over we can finally get going welcome to everybody who has joined us for this unmissable game
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hugely anticipated hugely hyped undoubtedly the place to be at this
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moment in time it really is a sight to behold here as spotify capu opens its
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arms to the barcelona nation 100,000 plus in unison
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mahrez well the ball's come loose here and here's rafinho
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umbbappé well that is one way to stop him neymar now it's
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mahrez rafinho he rises
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he will be livid with himself oh no that was a chance what a
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chance rafinho this is actually quite a courageous move and i'll add ambitious
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and adventurous too and here's messi now the finish
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and the whistle's gone presumably for offside
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and he cuts out the supply oh it's a nice idea but the
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execution was lacking bellingham gets across to intercept
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that and it's mahrez
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neymar reaching three figures in terms of his appearances for the club yeah something that i mentioned to him in
22:24
person before the match peter and the finish goal
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barcelona barcelona are in front
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it's the stuff you work on the training ground time and time again and it came
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off so the game's first significant moment and it's come earlier than perhaps we anticipated oh good read
23:03
that's great positioning so good from him now this could be a chance great
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chance and it's in and once more we are all square you score we score yeah they
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say that fortune favors the brave and we've just seen an example this team has real personality and
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character that was easy almost too and messi goal
23:35
barcelona into the lead once more how very smart he just got it right
23:42
well he makes finishing look like a matter of fact why take extra
23:48
touches and he's done it again he's got his
23:54
second barcelona get themselves into the lead that is a great pick out he's found
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the way through umbbappé they've scored a quite incredible spell they are
24:11
flying gorgeous just gorgeous just to have the audacity to do it yeah the keeper was
24:18
thinking about his angles and loft just took him out of the equation elementary
24:25
barcelona take a twogoal lead and are looking header it's a goal a century of appearances and
24:34
a goal so richly deserved what a great header got plenty on that
24:40
so well played peter did a great job keeping sight of the ball made a classic move and meed
24:49
perfectly this is threatening to become a really good game listen goals change
24:54
games and that has changed the whole complexion of this one they have the momentum now
25:00
kundai battling down that right flank messi is flagged
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offside oh no he's got that wrong and no that is pretty much the end
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of that pass is coming off in quick succession here
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bit of a communication breakdown there it seems he's going to be disappointed with
25:36
that rafinho pedri now it's
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messi bellingham hernandez he's cut it out
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it's pedri mahrez messi
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this is the time you need that pace rafinho well played that has snuffed out
26:02
the danger some excellent tackling here and that one a perfect
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example he's picked his way through skillfully cut out he is so at ease on
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the ball umbbappé shifted it to the
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flank and here's mbappé oh well played
26:28
rodri bellingham maradona and the counter is
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on oh the movement is slick the speed is slippery the defense though able to hold
26:46
on this time ah he's had it taken off him oh he's enjoyed that he evidently
27:10
foden and they've got a
27:18
throw alexander arnold mbappé is on to it in a flash
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and it's messi oh he's on to
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this and that'll be the final action of the first half no well the pickings certainly have
27:38
been rich in this first
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half so off we go once more well i think in these circumstances it's
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all about how to adjust the balance of your team i mean you want to get back in it as soon as possible but without
28:01
leaving yourself too
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open bellingham hernandez and the pass is
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intercepted mahrez whatever he had in mind that was not it
28:22
there's some great running on show here but ultimately there was no way through oh what a
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mistake and it's messi pedri makes the
28:46
interception but it is clear to see that he is not at all happy with that the movement was good but the pass lacked
28:53
authority uh a cause of mild frustration alexander arnold passing is
29:02
crisp and sharp mahrez oh that's wonderful
29:11
alertness still they trail and time is ticking away now it's
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marinos oh he's managed to get himself
29:28
offside shinto shin bicep to bicep and he wins out and it's
29:35
maradona look at the space here there's the hit
29:44
pedri squeeze it through
29:53
so jim is that the manager telling the forwards that they must stay forward for now well i think he just is
29:59
concentrating on the shape that could spell trouble
30:07
bellingham and that's the end of that it all started well
30:12
enough foden oh now here's an interesting matchup belling kambiaso cuts it
30:21
out great work on the overlap kambiaso just like so many of
30:27
his contemporaries is proving very good at driving
30:32
forward well that's beautifully weighted and he's managed to get free oh he's got
30:37
a side of go it's neymar well it's good stuff this is better well
30:44
they're looking a whole lot more urgent now you know the interest value in this game might just take off from
30:59
rafinho rafinho big header good delivery but no joy well this is
31:06
simple the supply is to be admired the defending is to be admonished
31:57
so time for changes on both sides
32:16
bakola riberi it's all a little bit desperate
32:22
but it's got the job done a super tackle they were outnumbered and under the kosh
32:28
that had to be spot on and it was well there's plenty to like about
32:35
this approach get your head down keep battling away and eventually things might change for
32:45
you riy venicious junior venicious junior
32:52
will not want to lose out here not against this opponent oh that is a good ball to fight
32:59
can he finish it's in it's level again
33:04
what a match we have i could watch this every week peter talk about strength of
33:10
character wonderful and that will surely go down as one of the easiest goals he could ever score
33:18
kane really can't believe his look he was allowed so much room when he should have been boxed in
33:25
well it's an inspired substitution terrific move by the boss big chance
33:31
sterling and that's a real chance missed sterling
33:36
has delivered a really costly miss it could have been their last chance to win it
33:46
sterling barcelona have themselves a corner i think yes they do desperate
33:52
defending required here
33:59
alexander arnold goes short that's a throw
34:11
chooses to go back chance and that's caused a worry or two
34:17
his reputation is better than what we've just seen he's been really sharp that's a great interception
34:28
riiber barakola well both sides might have to
34:34
settle for a draw here although there's still a chance for one last
34:44
fling oh that's incredible and that has raised the roof
34:52
a the invitation was received with such a clever run and he had that defense in in utter confusion
35:00
barcelona take what and that is it the referee has seen enough well that was
35:07
intense an enjoyable contest that either could easily have won