Episode 134 - Is This Liverpool's Best Lineup? + Why Real Madrid Will BEAT Barcelona

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTransferFlow On this episode, Patrick and Neel break down the Champions League week. Arsenal dominate Atletico Madrid as Arteta’s fullbacks take center stage, while Diego Simeone’s side looks completely out of ideas. PSG smash Leverkusen, but Kaspar Hjulmand has already brought structure and clarity to a chaotic team. Liverpool roll over Frankfurt with an outrageous lineup, but can any of Slot’s new ideas translate to the Premier League? Finally, the guys preview El Clásico and discuss why both Barcelona and Real Madrid still look far from perfect. Enjoy! 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 00:38 – Arsenal 4–0 Atletico Madrid 01:15 – Arteta’s fullback experiment 02:10 – Gyökeres finally scores and finds his role 03:50 – Arsenal’s rotation patterns and pressing 05:45 – Why Atleti’s approach no longer works 07:05 – Simeone out? What’s next for Atletico 08:10 – Arsenal’s control vs. Atleti’s confusion 09:25 – Atleti’s defensive numbers are misleading 10:44 – Why Simeone’s system no longer fits the squad 11:30 – Time for a new direction at Atleti 12:05 – PSG 7–2 Leverkusen 12:50 – PSG’s structure and fullback overloads 13:38 – Leverkusen’s decent first half before the red cards 14:55 – What Hulmand changed immediately 15:30 – Direct play and transitions define their style 16:20 – Stabilizing the defense after Ten Hag’s chaos 17:05 – Hulmand’s Denmark influence and club adaptation 18:10 – Building a flexible 3–4–3 shape 19:10 – Leverkusen’s rebuild and young forwards 20:25 – Early signs of balance under Hulmand 21:20 – Frankfurt vs. Liverpool 22:05 – Liverpool’s wild lineup and domination 23:00 – Slot’s tweaks in attack and spacing 23:45 – Frimpong at right back and attacking overloads 24:30 – What Slot might carry into the league 25:40 – Isaac and Ekitiké together up front 26:40 – Why Kerkes still doesn’t fit the system 27:25 – Could a 4–2–2–2 actually work for Liverpool 28:15 – Squad issues and January fixes 29:10 – Transfer targets that make sense 30:20 – Frankfurt’s chaotic defending 31:00 – Liverpool’s tactical ceiling under Slot 31:45 – El Clásico preview 32:30 – Barcelona’s defense looks fragile 33:10 – Real Madrid’s movement and Mbappé’s new timing 34:00 – How Madrid can exploit Barca’s press 35:20 – Barca’s missing outlets and counter problems 36:10 – Real’s press could decide the match 37:00 – Barcelona’s shape and lack of defensive wingers 38:10 – Why Real’s structure gives them the edge 39:10 – Mbappé and Vinícius’ threat in transition 40:10 – Key matchups and tactical questions 40:50 – Outro and Patreon announcement 42:25 - Patreon Teaser