On this episode, Patrick and Hayden break down the midweek Champions League action, from Chelsea’s statement win over Barcelona to Manchester City’s worrying dependence on Erling Haaland. Are the new league-phase games actually giving us useful information, or are red cards and rotation killing the stakes? Then we turn to Liverpool, whose defensive issues are starting to pile up. With Van Dijk aging, Konaté out of form and out of contract soon, and fullbacks rotating every week, what should they actually do in January? Patrick and Hayden each bring a centre-back target Liverpool should consider. Neel’s Man City Article: https://www.thetransferflow.com/p/manchester-city-s-over-reliance-on-erling-haaland-is-crazier-than-you-think Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTransferFlow Subscribe to our FREE newsletter: https://www.thetransferflow.com/subscribe Join Variance Betting: https://www.thetransferflow.com/upgrade Follow us on our Socials: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe1WTKOt7byrELQcGRSzu1Q X: https://x.com/TheTransferFlow Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thetransferflow.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetransferflow/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@transferflowpodcast Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:38 How red cards ruin these league-phase games 03:16 What the points cutoffs actually look like 04:02 Marseille’s comeback & Newcastle’s European profile 05:07 Chelsea’s first half performance vs Barcelona 06:12 The red card + Estevao’s brilliant goal 07:51 Cucurella’s evolution 09:38 City vs Leverkusen: the Haaland dependency problem 10:37 What City did and didn’t learn from this loss 12:08 Ajax–Benfica & the Mourinho control template 13:20 Rayane Bounida and Promise David 14:21 Malik Tillman’s development 15:19 City’s possession and pressing questions 16:24 Tillman’s large role for the USMNT 17:55 Phil Foden + City missing KDB 19:04 What Cherki needs to become 19:56 Liverpool’s defensive mess + Guehi links 22:26 Fullback additions 23:02 The expiring contracts problem 24:09 Why Liverpool still need a CB despite signing Leono 24:48 The profile Liverpool should target 26:45 Hayden’s list of options 28:58 Hayden’s pick: Mario Gila 30:27 Liverpool can be flexible on age here 33:00 FBRef comparisons 34:16 Why expiring in 2027 matters 36:05 The challenge Liverpool are facing with squad building #liverpool #chelsea #championsleague #vandijk #arneslot #konate #premierleague #barcelona #newcastle #marseille #mancity #leverkusen #ucl #lfc #marcguehi #guehi #football #soccer #fyp #foryou