IPJ on Barça-Dortmund, and Madrid’s Wake-Up Call

There’s a reason Ian Paul Joy doesn’t do soft takes. On back-to-back Golazo Network segments, IPJ sized up two giants of European football—and only one of them lived up to the shirt. “This Barcelona side has scored four goals in a single game 12 times in calendar year 2025,” he said. “They’re unbeaten in 23 games.” With the Blaugrana smashing Dortmund 4–0, IPJ wasn’t surprised. “There’s no way Borussia Dortmund are going to score four goals anywhere close to that against this Barcelona side.”

He was just as clear-eyed about Hansi Flick’s role in the turnaround. “It’s absolutely ridiculous what he’s doing,” he said. “To have 25 victories in 29 matches… he’s the special one.” As for Dortmund? “I give them 1% chance of going through. Now I give them no percent chance.” From personnel to tactics, IPJ didn’t sugarcoat the reality of a team he says “doesn’t have that leadership” anymore.

Over in Madrid, he didn’t pull punches either. “Real Madrid have been so far away from their top quality this season,” he said. “They had 13 touches in Arsenal’s box in the whole game.” He called the performance “embarrassing” and “nowhere near good enough,” framing it as part of a larger pattern across multiple competitions. You can watch both full segments here—and decide for yourself whether IPJ is just calling it like it is, or a few weeks ahead of the rest of us.

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