 Liwapu came into the match, pushed themselves to the limit, but then Barcelona and Messi showed them what the true limits are. Yeah. Well, George, from your point of view watching Lionel Messi, there was a video that has been trending all over the Internet where Lionel Messi promises the Barcelona fans that this time round we will not be able to give you the Champions League, we manage the Copa del Arre and the La Liga but we promise you we are going to give you the Champions League. Is this the time that now people are seeing the ultimate how good Messi is in football? Well, Messi has been good. We can't tell you about that. He has been good and consistent all along. But I think what pained them was losing to Roma in the last eight last season after taking a commanding for one lead. So they lost in the quarters. So he was saying that they are bringing back the trophy to New Camp. He knew what he was talking about and again he was agitated by being ranked fifth in the Ballon d'Or. Knowing so well that he won the La Liga and the Copa del Arre. So coming to this season, he has shown the world what he is made of. So far he is reminded the world what he is made of. He is so far the top scorer in Europe and they are doing good so far, they are headed for a treble which means he is keeping his promise. What a big match there for Barkha and Liverpool. What are you going to say? Certainly, you go to congratulate Messi for the effort he put in really. He came out very, very strongly and just stood out and gave Barkha some comfortable leads and goals going back to Anfield in the coming week. But you also go to congratulate the entire Barcelona team. If you look at how the entire defence stood up against Liverpool fast attack line I think that's something that's worth commendable because you probably would have thought that the fast attacking Liverpool force would go against Barcelona but then the defensive pair in the centre box were very good including Piki outstanding on the night and also one of probably the best goalkeeper now in the world to Stegen was also very outstanding. Even for Liverpool if you go beyond the Liverpool role there's Stegen who's behind it and is doing phenomenal so I think the entire Barkha team was phenomenal on the night and they deserve to win. The dominance of Barcelona from that night it gives them an upper chance to go ahead and win this trophy come May after when they are metropolitan. Sure, definitely because first of all by putting three but the second most expensive keeper and the most expensive defender who has been lauded aspect the best to find the EPL in fact winning the play of the season it's a big statement and now that they have reached the same they have one foot in the finals I don't think they are going to bottle it like they did in the quarter finals last season so going into the finals which I expect them to go through I don't think neither Ajax nor Spas stand any chance of meeting Barcelona in the finals do you see any chance of Liverpool getting a comeback we have seen Roma did it against this Barcelona side last season in the quarter finals do you see a Liverpool side that is actually capable of scoring against Barcelona? Well Alisson Barkha was part of the team that pulled an upset against Barcelona in the past season and I think they will draw some inspiration from that contest but then this one is a whole different ball game 3 nil going back to Anfield Liverpool need to score 4 past Amese Barcelona and it's not possible they don't have any chance to get Barcelona in this one I think that's done and dusted I believe they can put 3 past Barkha but considering that Barkha will be chasing an away goal it will make it quite difficult for them so it means if anything they have to calculate like 5 goals and above so go to Folt Jaggen Klub because he made some costly and unnecessary tactical mistakes by putting out Trent Alexander-Harnold out of this and also Bobby Fominio I think that cost them Well the question I'm struggling with with Liverpool is will this side go down as one of the best teams not to win a trophy because it has been 4 years now since Jürgen Klub took over at Liverpool proving season in, season out but we are not seeing that result at the end of the day we are not seeing that trophy Can it be a scenario like that? Well it's just too early to speak because the season has too much to go they have really some great chance to win the Premier League and you can see Klub has put in the work he's like brought in the players he needs he's instilled the tactical and the philosophy that he needs into that team Well it's just too early to speak to be honest because we have like too much it's too crunch ties too crunch ties that are going down in the next two weeks and it's just too early to speak in my opinion but he's done some work to be honest and you go to give him credit for that If there's one team that you'll talk about it putting some work on coming up has got to be the Ajax boys because for the first time since 1996 it's actually appearing in the knockout stages of Europe's elite competition and they defeated Tottenham away from home by one goal to nil as they head on to the second leg next week How good was Ajax, Amsterdam, George? Well this side is quite good Right now there's no doubt about it they beat our defending champions Ray Madrid in fact three time defending champions Ray Madrid at the Banabu they again beat Ronaldo's Juventus at Turin which means they are not here for circus they know what they want they are not here for rehearsals so they are the guts of going all the way to the finals but the question is if they meet either Bakar or Liverpool can they hold it because they don't have experience they are so good they can run for 90 minutes they can take on big players but the question is will they make it past then go ahead and beat the giants in Liverpool or Barcelona probably it's a 50-50 affair depending on how they show up in the finals because the final has no rehearsal it's only 90 minutes or 120 so depending on how they wake up on that day if they meet the finals then we may see them winning the title for the first time since 1995-96 Roni this team was the team that was in the Europa League with Manchester United in 2017 and Manchester 1-1 in that final and people right now they have brought Manchester United off but Ajax have gone been improving and improving and improving it's now 12 matches in the Champions League actually and they haven't lost anyone from your side when you see an Ajax team what improvements did they do that makes them a good team that they are so far well to be honest Ajax in a way are upstarts and it's a big surprise for them to get this far in the competition the side they played in the semifinals Tottenham Ajax has just a third the budget is a third of Spas budget so it's just insane but I think they really have got it right right from the recruitment right from the technical department because they have really right guys in the technical department I think that's working correctly for them getting in like young players and very very talented stars has worked for them for me that makes the difference Fuma players coming in to help their team and work on perfectly how do you think Kedwin Van Dasa's impact has been to the Ajax boys because he was there he was the last man to in that Champions League left went to Manchester United and won another Champions League with Manchester but he was back he's the CEO he's the one running Ajax is it the best brain for Ajax at the moment sure probably because with such brains and experience behind the scenes it shows that they have groomed the kids into what they want let the philosophy that they've always had they groom good players then make them champions then probably sell them like as I'm speaking right now 8 of them are in the market from Dijon to Dilit their guys are probably on their way out in fact Dijon has already signed a pre-contact with Barcelona Dilit is believed to be on his way to one of the giants Eda Bakar, Madrid or even Bayern Munich so going by what has happened so far they have groomed a very young side that is capable of winning the championship and maybe conquering Europe these are the back of losing in the Europa finals against Manchester just like Rumi has pointed out so if fate falls on their side and they win the title actually it will be an overachievement because so far they've achieved so far by reaching the semi-finals it's an achievement so by winning the title will at least bring back the glory days at Ajax which is known to produce one of the some of the best players from Canon, Wanko, Cdorf named them, Cliverd I want to disagree with George he's given Ajax some proper pledges but then I think for them this might just be it they carry the advantage against Tottenham from the first leg but I think they've really overachieved they've done well and I think that's just it I really have my reservations if they're really going to get past Tottenham in the second leg looking at it in the first leg Ajax had a perfect chance to go for the Jaguila but they went for the win Tottenham lacked so many of their key players and even the injury that affected them the Ian Van Togen injury so they had to bring in Sisoka and Ryogana is a bit I think that affected them but for me Ajax messed up a chance to kill the game totally and that will haunt them in the second leg you are saying it might be a Barcelona Tottenham final looks like it there's every chance that Barcelona are going to meet Tottenham and again for Spass it will be a big achievement Barcelona have an an advantage bearing any natural calamity they are into the final and Ajax in the second leg we are more likely going to see son coming back into the team and maybe Van Togen I don't know how bad the injury is and you could tell that once Spass made the substitution bringing in Musa Sisoko and playing for in the midfield because they started with three at the back then they had to bring in Sisoko and play for in the midfield it changed the entire game and Spass had some real chances to also like punish Ajax so for me I'm sure Spass and Mauritia Pochettino have learnt some lessons from that and they are going to hurt Ajax he may have a point yes Spass can easily go through but going by what these young kids have done sorry to Real Madrid and Juve they are road to where they are at the moment they have the advantage because so far they have an away goal they are going home just chasing there to cushion up on that but talking of son coming back and maybe Ken is also on his way to recovery he may show up but Spass are perennial disappointing another point we are learning is that the Dutch football federation had to postpone the marches of Ajax to go on a rest so that they could prepare for Tottenham it was actually a good move for them what do you think of that yeah it was and they do it for them an advantage yes it did because there is so much pressure coming into this young boys it's a young team to be honest with the exception of a few experienced or older players like Klazian Huntela so it was a good thing for the federation and one of the talking points this week has been the Dutch football federation has done quite a lot in helping the Netherlands football or the Dutch soccer move forward because you can see like how much they are helping Ajax and also after that down when Dutch football went down at some point they went back and started doing it all again they moved away from the likes of the former Man United coach instead Van Gaal now developed a whole new system of football that we are now seeing so for sure you can see the fruits of what the federation is doing there and just not at club level but also at international level Holland will be one of the teams to watch Morizo Zari also came in to say actually England FA also need to come up with such a mechanism to help this team play in the Europa League do you think it affected them playing Frankfurt and drawing 1-1 away in Germany because for them they are not in any rest category you play the Europa League the premier back to the Europa League sure he has a point but the Dutch federation didn't only help Ajax they postponed all the matches so it was like it was it Ajax alone it was all the matches they rescheduled their timetable which basically favours the Ajax so the English side if they dare do that you know these are sides that always play back to back matches they are used to it so I don't know why they should temper their tradition because we've seen United win the treble in 1999 and we've seen the likes of Kina Chelsea win the EPL and go ahead and win the Champions League in the same season same to Manchester United so I don't think it's very much necessary because these are seasoned players who are capable of playing after every 48 hours like FIFA rules speculate but if they gave that chance of maybe resting it may be an advantage but the Ajax resting doesn't necessarily give them an upper hand because players despite the fact that you may be fresh and maybe you've rested the players who has played just the previous match can easily come up and go past you and even beat you let's give an example of Gormaya again as Barkani the top players reached on the same day and played immediately hours after landing so we've seen teams get permit like 7-1 and they are rested so depending on how you show up on the match day it was what matters it's not all about resting or maybe having an advantage it's all about how you show up on the match day even the winter break that the EPL is planning to introduce might not help that much it may but it's always a 50-50 affair because even the Germans have the winter break but look at how Manuwe were dealt with by Liverpool it's all about how you show up on the big day that matters tactically strength and maybe how you come up with the substitutions and the whole team set up big one that is happening there in Europe and everything that is happening Asano also managed to win by 3 goals to one against Valencia actually coming back from one goal to another to win that on running it looks it might be a Europa affair where it is an English affair in the Europa League In the Europa League to be honest both ties are away from getting done Chelsea again 1-1 it's a very open match open for either side Asano you could feel the sigh of relief when Pierre Amerik Obama scored the third goal the Emirates there was every sign that probably there was a fourth defeat looming for the Ganas especially after going 3 for 3 straight losses in the domestic league so for me very very tight on again for Asano going to Spain to be honest if you look at that Asano team it's a bit of shambles at the moment Obamayang and Lacazeta the only shining lights in a very dark and gloomy Asano side as the Valencia team coach put it after the matches the two made the difference in the night and when you have that calibre of players that's Obamayang and Lacazeta they are able to hurt you anytime so I think it's really far away from getting done Valencia know they have a chance in this one Asano defensive shambles and the team doesn't really look strong they just might need a dose of luck to sneak it through What do you think George in their return leg because it will be in Valencia Asano will have an upper hand like they have one leg in their finals but going by their record in Spain they still have a lot to do Obamayang and Lacazeta may be in good form but going by how they bought in their matches previously let's go back to last season they lost to Atletico Madrid in the Europa League was it in the semifinals so the record in Spain will haunt them unless they show up and kill off the match but by maybe getting on a way goal they'll be safe but again we have to point out that this is Emre Una's side it's not Vengas side it's a side that maybe has something new or has something to prove to the world because Asano has been known to be perennial bottlers when it comes to big matches away from reaching the Champions League finals in 2006 they are yet to reach there again so this is a very big chance for them but again the record again is the Spanish side will haunt them even remember what Sevilla did to live up in the finals coming back from behind to beat them so they have to show up maybe just get on a way goal and they are safe although Obama Young pointed after the contests that look we are humans and coming into this match on the back over three match defeats we are bound to be nervous well at the start of the match you could see Asano was showing the nerves and they considered a very early goal from Valencia it just also depends on how well the older players in the team are able to just put the axe together and count the nerves I know losing three straight matches is not easy and with all this pressure pressure for top four pressure for the Europa League pressure to qualify for Europe then you really have to get your top players to just count the nerves and just do their thing but it's also commendable that well they say the best form of defense is attack Asano tried that out against Valencia probably going to the next matches that's what they might do just go out and attack and see what happens well still hanging out here with Roni Aloyo and Jojo Mondi to discuss everything that was the reaction from the European leagues on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will be still having those matches as Liverpool will be travelling no the first match will be actually Ajax welcoming Tottenham and then Liverpool to play against Parker at Anfield and then we'll be having Valencia versus Asano and then Chelsea will be playing Frankfurt at the Stamford Bridge we'll choose switch gears now to the English Premier League we'll be having many matches this afternoon but yesterday it was a two nil win at Masaside for Everton on Friday night football our early kickoff match today will be FC Bournemouth versus Tottenham Hotspur and then we'll be having much so Mihoen is the one who has scored many goals against FC Bournemouth then at five we'll be having two matches Western United will be welcoming Southampton in London then Wolfampton Wanderers will be playing already relegated side Fulham as Cardiff City also welcomes Crystal Palace at 7.30 at a quarter to 10pm which will be a big match and that will be Newcastle FC versus Liverpool how will that match go those are the major matches that we'll be having on the English Premier League here today I don't know where to start off this one but I'm going to start with Everton two nil win against Burnley Marco Silva and Everton it seems that he has brought some kind of strength to an Everton side that he has told them you guys are actually good to go and play in Europe and that's what they are chasing at the moment yeah sure that's true but for me Everton has not really lived up to the potential or the billing that they were touted to at the start of the season they looked very promising they brought in very good players right from the defence all the way to the attack where they have Rich Allison they have a couple of like Gary Mina who's not really played for the better part of the season so for me Everton they've been blowing hot and cold and that's the problem with them they are a very good side to be honest Marco Silva is a very good coach but they've showed some inconsistency although really later the season they really showing some some energy some promising play but they probably might just qualify for the Europa League it just depends on how they perform in the final two matches Everton winning yesterday by two girls Sunil again Barnley the first month that is going to start off the day will be FC Bournemouth vs Tottenham it seems that Eddie Howe cannot beat Mauricio Pochettino that's what everyone is saying but remember Spas are chasing the top four yeah and I don't see how they are going to they are going to let this one go because if they lose the chasing park is on their neck finishing on the top four may help them maybe rebuild next season because going by what's happening in the Champions League their chances are slim right now but if they slip okay they can still afford to lose one match and still make it in the top four going by how the other three sides have been playing like no one wants the top four it's either you are losing, drawing like Arsenal lost the last three matches in a row United lost two and drew then Chelsea come up winning one and maybe drawing two it's like a ping pong that may we may have to go at the end of the season to see who is going to take the top four positions well that game is currently underway 15 minutes into that game and it is still nil nil in that match between FC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hot Spots Western vs Southampton we are going to ask in the Tottenham setup at the moment Mauricio Pochettino has got experience has got good players but it doesn't seem to hack it when it matters most yeah like what they did against Western United at home using their first match in the new stadium that is quite a blunder and they now opened it up for other teams to now probably look at their chances of finishing top three or top four so for me Tottenham got lit when it matters most however for this one I think Bournemouth are safe into the season and I think Tottenham will win this one for sure well Western vs Southampton they will be coming at 5pm then we will be having Wolves vs Fulham Fulham is already relegated Wolves is playing to cement their place in the top 8 actually in the top 8 of the table at the moment for Wolves this season the recruitment well at the start of the season there was discussion around how Amanda's involvement in the team you could see what he did he brought in very experienced players well the manager is very good Nuna Spiritosanto very good manager brought in a couple of good players from Portugal like the goalkeeper the Portuguese goalkeeper so for me the recruitment was done they brought in a good number of players and they've had a very good run in the season and kudos to Wolves for the run they've had so far well a big match there will be coming also Cardiff vs Crystal Palace at 9.30pm but the biggest match of the day will be at quarter to 10pm and that is Newcastle FC vs Liverpool and Benitez has come out to say he's not going to do Liverpool any favors do you think this is the match that might determine Liverpool season or not definitely because Rafa may have some bitterness because the man in which he was he was released by Liverpool so with him he's playing for his made table position as usual so there's no way he can maybe put up a second string side to do Liverpool any favor he's in business he's also here to defend his job going by the other fixture that may easily determine this league it's City vs Leicester on Monday Leicester also have Brandon Rogers a former Liverpool coach who has said that he's going to play his part in the title challenge which probably means he's looking for to hold in City to a draw or beating them we all know that Leicester beat City in the first leg but do you think Liverpool will sit back and maybe watch them play around not definitely I'm sure Pep has a game plan and as it stands right now whoever wins they both need to win their matches but if Liverpool wins both and City wins both of their matches we may end up having a situation whereby Liverpool are ending up with 91 points the highest tile ever for a team to finish second the last time United came in close with 89 points in 2012-2011 season but didn't win the title so it's all about winning your matches whoever draws any draw or any slip you are done and then that one is Liverpool have lost to Barcelona they are supposed to play Barcelona next week and they are meeting a crunch match against Newcastle that may determine how the league goes for them what kind of priorities will Klopp have for this match well that's now the beauty of football that it comes to now taking moments it's interesting that the last two managers to come to a whisker to ending Liverpool's title drought are now having a direct impact on what the title will look like or rather who wins the title it's very interesting Brandon Rogers we can see how close he came with the Chelsea match Steven Jurad slip Rafa Benitez as well but now well pundits have it that Rafa Benitez will want one over his his former side and well both contests are honestly going to go down to the wire but in my honest opinion Liverpool also won this so badly they might just sacrifice this for the Champions League looks like it after falling out from the Champions League also won this so bad but then that's football it's won by millimetres it's won by very tiny margins and I think that tiny margin is the Aguero gold last weekend well it's going to be a determining factor in those matches on Sunday we'll be having three matches on the cards at 4pm will be Chelsea versus Watford and then Huddersfield Town versus Manchester United and then at 6.30 Arsenal versus Brighton Half looking at the Sunday matches Chelsea Man United Arsenal I'm inclined to say that a lot has changed in England at the moment because at the top level is Man City, Liverpool Tottenham fighting for that one Chelsea Man United Arsenal and now back into the peking order what went wrong for this side because they were the traditional rivals and now they are not in the top 4 well for Chelsea I think it's about the managerial changes at some point it didn't work for them for Arsenal that transition Una Emery is trying to rebuild a team that was in Shambles when Asin Vengas era ended for Man United everything is completely wrong with that team right from the management to the players the managers now in the technical team don't know they just can't put the team together they are not the right people for the job the playing unit the most expensive player is not playing one of the most expensive midfielders Paul Pogba is not helping the team so for Man United it's worse than we thought it could be looking at how the season might end I think Chelsea might end in the top 4 Arsenal and United might not get into the top 4 Well Big one for Manchester United and Arsenal plus Chelsea as they are going to play in the tail end of this premiership Manchester City versus Leicester will be playing on Monday and will be giving new results on the sports pages and other events that are happening here on Y254 let's switch gears a bit to the Africa Cup of Nations where two critical players who play in England will be missing out for Guinea and then Manchester United will be missing out Eric Bailey How bad will it be for Guinea missing Naby Keita also the African continent missing those boys because they have been watching them in England Well it's a big blow Naby Keita has been sensational for Liverpool since coming to the side this season going back even at the semifinals against Barcelona the moment he was he limped off the match changed completely he has got his groove back he has gotten his groove he is scoring goals in terms and he is good in creativity going up front so Guinea are going to miss him big Guinea is a good side that has always reached the quarter final same is blowing hot and cold they may not have the best during their days like the Kamaras but Keita missing on the other hand Sergio Ray missing Ivor Kosa it's also another major blow at the right back he is always too doubt but they tell me you are playing for PSG and then you signed for Tottenham it means you are a big player so they are going to miss him big but we always know the West Africans always have a replacement for each and every player as much as they may miss him they still have someone who will feel in his space but it won't be the same so at the end of the day Africa will miss their sons but football has to be played yes we will let it be missed in Ivor Kosa he sure will be missed he has also not had a spectacular season at United he is one of the players who reportedly want out so called Spanish legend alongside the hair so I think it's a big blow in terms of the player but then Ivor Kosa will certainly find a replacement going into the African that's just about a month away my only problem is there's not enough hype you can't feel the energy you can't feel the vibe going on to the Africa couple of nations that's the biggest football tournament in the continent and there's just not enough buzz and vibe around it is this us who are making the mistake you are not telling people what's actually happening probably a collection of different factors maybe the federations maybe we the sports writers in general and probably marketing because it's all about marketing I don't think they are doing enough they have new sponsorship in total they should be hyping everything right now but we all know that all African matches come after the Europe everything in Europe right now we are looking at the tail end which is all the leagues and maybe the champions league and the Europa League once we are done with that we will go back to Afgan that's what Nyama inspire confidence for you when we are going to Afgan because the first leg against Barcelona against Ajax actually when they played people like when Nyama has really turned the heat on second leg he was a bit not there doesn't inspire confidence well he got some bashing this past week but we will be low power performance against Ajax but then I don't think he does honestly he is more like Pogba a good player but turns up when he wants to turn up but then when he doesn't want to turn up then we are messed up he is like the main man in our team he has got the experience he has got the personality I just hope he does turn up on the day because then everyone in that national team everyone in this country is looking up to him but on a good day he is surely a very good player but then when he just doesn't want to turn up Pogba style then he doesn't turn up well big matches that we are going to have we appreciate you are going you have heard the last word here for the title and according to Nyamasam also KPL match that will be happening this afternoon will be Vhiga united versus Chemelil as they try to get into the bottom half of the table we will also have FC Leopards versus Madari tomorrow Posta versus Bandari Karubangi Sharks Kakamega homeboys western steamer versus Gorume big big matches in the Kenya Premier League that will be happening Zou versus Sony Shuga Taska versus Sofa Pakaten KCB versus Mount Kenya and then to finish up much that much they will be holding the stars versus Zouia Shuga English Premier League 25 minutes gone between FC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur that match is still currently underway and we'll be seeing how the results will be coming and you can get the results on our Facebook and Twitter social media pages thanks a lot judge for coming here on Y254 thanks a lot Ronia Loyal we really appreciate everything that we have done that's all for us here on the touchline here on Y254 Maxola Sigak will not make it we have done it and we have enjoyed it for everyone who made this production come to this Thailand Tunasema Asante San and good afternoon