N. Kesminas: public criticism of the team by A. Tapinas could be a well-considered matter.

2026-09-22 13:37

The club football season in Europe is gaining momentum, while in Lithuania it is rapidly approaching the finish line. Legendary football commentator Nerijus Kesminas and former football player and commentator Ervinas Kvitkauskas discussed the highlights of the prominent leagues and updates from their home turf, as well as the disruptive national team window, in the new episode of "7 Added Minutes".

The most notable match in the Lithuanian championship took place in the capital, where Vilnius and Kaunas faced off with their "Žalgiris" teams. A stadium that accommodates 5,067 fans saw a whopping 6,480 spectators flock in, witnessing a dramatic victory for the hosts with a score of 3:2.

"We might be stretching it a bit by calling it a ‘derby’, but the atmosphere was definitely derby-like, the match was very good,” Kvitkauskas rejoiced. "After the match, we discussed with colleagues that it might be one of the most impressive games in the history of the Lithuanian football championship.”

Kesminas assessed the quality of the match even more harshly.

"Not even football of the Lithuanian championship level. You watch and think: is this really the Lithuanian league? You don’t expect such quality of football,” the commentator stated.

The match was distinguished not only by the football on display. The high interest in the match meant that some people watched from the stadium outskirts – from stairs, fences, scaffolding, and so on.

Ervinas likened this to the influx created by Cristiano Ronaldo, but he also saw a concerning aspect in this situation.

"During the long break, I walked around, seeing – people even climbing on a hill somewhere, sharing impressions,” Kvitkauskas recounted. "It’s a similar situation to the match against Portugal when Cristiano Ronaldo came. Somewhere on the hill, people climbed on stairs, fences, scaffolding.”

"All is well that ends well. We know that the conditions, if something were to happen, are not impressive when it comes to emergency exits and such,”

However, the cheerful mood in the Vilnius club camp was short-lived. Just a few days later, "Žalgiris" suffered a crushing defeat – they lost 0:3 away to Vilnius district's team "TransINVEST".

The victory against the Kaunas team had allowed the Vilnius team to cling tighter to the fight for top positions, but the next match once again highlighted the main problem of the team's season.

"With everything around the stadium, "Žalgiris" takes care of it very nicely. But the games showed a few days later that "Žalgiris" simply cannot maintain a consistent line throughout the season,” Kvitkauskas said. "After the match with the Kaunas team, "Žalgiris" was somewhat back in the fight for the championship title, but just like Homer’s dad in the "Simpsons” movie – he goes into a bar, puts down his hat, takes it back and leaves again.”

After the defeat, Andrius Tapinas’ criticism echoed in the public space – he called the result an absolute disgrace and stated that some players should no longer wear the "Žalgiris" jersey.

In Kesminas’ opinion, such criticism and decisions should primarily be communicated internally within the club. Nevertheless, the commentator did not dismiss that sharp public communication could have another objective.

"I believe this should be an internal matter,” Nerijus said. "If someone is not worthy of the jersey – then don’t give it to them. If a player is not worth playing, Andrius Skerla can exclude him from the protocol. It’s that simple.”

But I think there might be well-considered reasons – for "Žalgiris" to be talked about, for "Žalgiris" to be visible. A very normal club PR, a desire to keep the club in the spotlight.

Marijampolė's "Sūduva" also failed to seize important points, drawing 1:1 away against Kaunas district's "Hegelmann".

The Suvalkija club let the victory slip from their hands when in the final moments of the match they committed a foul in the penalty area and conceded a penalty in the 95th minute.

After this match, the Kaunas club returned to the top of the points table with 51 points. The Marijampolė team is second with 50 points, "TRANSInvest" is third with 45, and the Vilnius team is fourth with 44.

"That penalty for "Sūduva" against "Hegelmann" could cost them dearly. I wonder if we will remember exactly this conceded goal in a place where it should not have been allowed,” Kesminas posed the question.

One of the most surprising results of the "Premier" league round was recorded in Brighton, where the hosts triumphed 3:0 over London’s "Arsenal".

The "Brighton" club, which is demonstrating impressive form and stands third in the "Premier" league, will host Kaunas’ "Žalgiris" at home on October 15 in the first round of the UEFA Conference League.

"Commenting on these matches, I said that the players of Kaunas’ "Žalgiris" better not watch this match,” Kesminas smiled. "It was frightening as it is, and now they come in and crush the champions of England... And you can’t say they got lucky. The game itself, the team pressure... It’s beautiful to watch.”

From the perspective of the London club, the commentator downplayed one painful defeat.

"I think it’s not worth dramatizing. When there are three such matches out of four, then yes. When it’s just one slip after five rounds... Of course, you need to draw conclusions, it shouldn’t be like that, but we should not dramatize. Analyze, set your accents, and that’s it,” Nerijus stated.

Meanwhile, "Manchester City" showcased its offensive potential in a thrilling eight-goal showdown, defeating "Sunderland" 5:3 at home.

Kvitkauskas is impressed by the current Manchester team, although he is hesitant to directly compare it with the previous period under Pep Guardiola.

"I really like it so far; of course, you can't compare it to Pep's team. It’s somewhat different; the idea and the same players are somewhat different,” Kvitkauskas said.

"It seems that they don’t need an adaptation period,” Kesminas added. "Before the season, I said there was a 90 percent chance that "Arsenal" would win, but looking at the current "Man City", it seems that there are going to be issues. My opinion has slightly changed.”

A significantly gloomier mood prevails in the "Chelsea" camp. Xabi Alonso's team was no match for "Brentford", losing 0:3 in the London derby.

"So far, Chelsea's defense is very poor; you can see some disappointment with Xabi Alonso, but I wouldn’t blame the coach entirely,” Kvitkauskas said. "Sometimes it seems that some players, especially in defense, should read the basic football alphabet again.”

It’s a fact that many things must change in "Chelsea". I don't think that can happen in a short period. The question is whether these club owners will endure with the coach because so far they haven’t proven that.”

However, in the most complicated position remains "Tottenham". The North London club fell behind 0:3 in a match against "Aston Villa" and, although they later narrowed the score, lost 2:3.

"Tottenham" approaches the national team break with just two points and sitting in the last place of the "Premier" league.

"When you play at home and are losing 0:3, it’s something terrible... I don’t know what else to say about Roberto De Zerbi,” Ervinas admitted, running out of words. "Probably, he shouldn’t be the only one to be blamed, but the payout if the strategist were to be fired is discussed as 50 million, which likely protects his coaching seat to some extent.”

Kesminas spoke even more harshly about the London team.

"Everything is very bad there,” he declared. "You look at the names, it shouldn’t be like this. If they were in 10th, like Chelsea, or 12th, like Manchester United, you could say it’s not half bad. When a team scores their first goals in the fifth round, and they’re still not creating anything, that is a tragedy.”

"Manchester United" also did not taste victory, drawing 1:1 with "Fulham". Kvitkauskas did not retract his earlier predictions about Michael Carrick's future.

"Man Utd” also continues to look tragic, as I mentioned – Michael Carrick will soon be fired, count the days,” Kvitkauskas confidently stated.

In Spain, the central match of the round was the Madrid derby. "Atletico" defeated "Real" 2:1 at home, but after the match, a lot of attention was drawn to the referee's decisions.

Jose Mourinho brought to the press conference two printed episodes on paper, in which he argued that "Atletico" players should have received red cards. However, the only red card was shown to "Real" defender Dean Huijsen.

Kesminas acknowledged that the quality of officiating provided grounds for discussion, but in his eyes, it should not overshadow the good performance of "Atletico".

"Really a very good derby; we can say that the referee did not meet the standards. That’s probably true, but I liked the match itself,” Kesminas said. ""Atletico" impressed me with its organization, its work ethic. They took their chances and scored goals. Again, we can discuss the referee, but I found the hosts’ play more sympathetic than "Real's" team.”

Kvitkauskas also emphasized the striking difference in the teams' motivation and highlighted several referee decisions.

"Yes, "Atletico" came out like it was a derby, ready to fight, while "Real" came out like it was a walk in the park, thinking they would win with their talent,” Ervinas compared. "Of course, there was a huge mistake when referee Lee did not show even a yellow card when a red could be discussed. For Huijsen, it was certainly a red card; I agree, it’s the player’s foolishness.”

Very poor performance again from Vinicius. It feels like he didn’t participate in those matches. Signed a new contract and disappeared.

After experiencing their second defeat, "Real" finds itself in competition with its main rival, "Barcelona", which continues to play like it’s on wings. After 7 rounds – 31 goals scored and 21 points out of the same number possible.

Kvitkauskas raised the question in the show: has "Real" already let the Catalans go in the title race?

"Anyone would let go of such a "Barcelona," Kesminas stated. "This is a subjective opinion, but try to argue with it – "Barcelona" is currently playing at a cosmic level and is absolutely the best team in the world. What Raphinha and Yamal are doing there... Not just them; the whole team is fantastic.”

Of course, in a long championship, 3-4 weeks are enough for everything to turn upside down. Both in the table and in the players’ minds. You can fall from Olympus to the mud very quickly.

In Italy's "Serie A," the central match became the clash between "Roma" and Milan's "Inter," ending in a 2:2 draw.

For the Milan team, it was yet another match in which they had to climb out from a 0:2 hole. Not long ago, "Inter" escaped from a 0:2 situation against "Napoli" as well. At that time, they managed to secure a victory 3:2.

"Inter” is now a team that does not start playing until it has conceded two goals,” Kesminas smiled.

"In Italy, I would see an intrigue, as we have now in Lithuania, that at the end of the season, there will be intrigue with 3-4 teams competing for the title,” Nerijus said seriously. "Of course, that’s how it looks now, but it’s unclear how it will be over the long distance. "Inter" will be in the running; there’s no doubt about that, but questions remain for "Roma", "Lazio", and maybe "Juventus" or "AC Milan" have their own ambitions, although their start hasn’t been that great. This could be one of the more interesting championships in terms of intrigue.”

Currently, "Inter", "Roma", and "Lazio" each have 13 points, "AC Milan" has 11, and "Juventus" has 10.

The show's hosts concluded the marathon of club football topics with a look at the Lithuanian national team, which is about to face Liechtenstein and Azerbaijan in the UEFA Nations League Division D.

"It will be interesting, of course. But I think that if not against these opponents, then who else can we win against?” Kvitkauskas rhetorically asked. "Of course, we know that it’s not easy for Lithuanians when they need to play as the first number and opponents tighten up in the penalty area.”

However, Kesminas was not sure that the upcoming opponents would necessarily choose only deep defense.

"I believe we got a group where such squeezing might not be the case. Azerbaijan certainly will not play like San Marino. Liechtenstein has also shown that it is possible to form some kind of team there,” Kesminas stated.

Predictions

The duo traditionally wrapped up the show by selecting five intriguing matches and presenting their predictions for them.