The world will be served the most sumptuous football tonight when Liverpool takes on Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final at the magnificent Stade des France in Paris.
Both teams deserve to be in the final this season, having proven themselves good enough. However, of the two sides, Real, have been more eye-catching with their performances in the season so far. The Los Merengues won their 35th Laliga title last month without contention, as Barcelona and defending champions, Atletico Madrid had one of their worst campaigns in recent seasons.
As witnessed in the Champions League this campaign, Karim Benzema and Vinicious Jr are the most feared tag-team frontline. They also terrorized the opposition’s defense in the Spanish league this just-concluded season, with Benzema finishing on 27 goals to emerge as the highest goal scorer.
They caused sleepless nights to Real’s enemies in the UCL and still do textbook stuff in the real game. The Frenchman has been like a rampaging lion in Europe’s elite club competition this campaign. The 34-year-old has scored 15 goals in 11 games and is the top scorer in this campaign. Of the 15 goals, 10 were against top clubs; Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Manchester City in the knockout stage. Benzema has shown that he can hurt big clubs, a fact Liverpool must be wary of if at all he reminds them of 2018 final in Kiev with Loris Karius in goal.
Brazilian Vinicious Jr has been a crucial chapter in the Spanish champions’ fairytale run in the competition, as well as in Laliga this season. He is not much of a scorer, but this term was made for him to stand out. He netted 17 times in the Spanish top flight and assisted on 13 occasions. The 21-year-old scored three times in the UCL and assisted seven times.
His pace particularly, and the ability to run behind the opposition’s defence line have been a great asset. Again, both of them will be a handful for Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip.
Mohamed Salah has spoken about his revenge mission against Real since Liverpool qualified for the final at the expense of Villarreal. Though the Egyptian shared the Golden Boot with Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min in the 2021/22 season, the 29-year-old has not sparkled in the UCL this season. But eyeing Real’s scalp in France to do just that may change everything. He has only scored eight goals in 12 matches this campaign and is Liverpool’s highest scorer this term.
The former Chelsea star is still being hunted by Sergio Ramos’ rugby-style tackle in the final four years ago in the early part of the game, in which his side lost 3-1 after Liverpool was forced to replace him.
Although Sadio Mane is equally very important for The Reds, manager Jurgen Klopp has been about to build a team in such a manner that he relies on no player. The dependable Senegalese forward scored Liverpool’s consolation in the defeat to Real the last time, and his five goals in this season’s competition mean he is as deadly.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations winner has shown that he is a big game player on many occasions. Diogo Jota and new boy, Luis Diaz, are equally venomous upfront for the Klopp side, unlike Real, who would look up to Benzema and Vinicius to deliver the goals. The game in Paris is a one-leg affair and Real may not get a chance for any other comeback effort, as they have done in most matches from the Round of 16.
In the defense, Real appears to be very vulnerable. How they conceded in the knockout phase would give any opponent hope. Though they have only conceded 14 goals, one more than Liverpool in the competition, it’s still a sign of weakness. Liverpool has scored 30 goals and Real 28 this season, giving credence to the English side recording 724 attacks as against Real’s 634.
The Premier League runners-up have also made 413 passes into key areas in this season’s competition as against the Spanish club’s 205. Real Have lost four matches in the competition this term, while the Merseysiders have lost just one game.
Carlo Ancelotti and Klopp may be representing the old and new generation of coaches, they are both technically grounded in their jobs. They have both won the competition, but Ancelotti has won it three times, as against Klopp’s once. The Italian’s magical touch in the 2021/22 competition is a reminder of his days at AC Milan. Klopp won it with Liverpool in 2019, a year after his second defeat in the competition’s final.
Both managers have met 10 times in previous matches and the Real coach has a slight edge of four against three in the winning ratio. They drew three matches each and lost four games facing each other.
Liverpool is chasing their eighth title in the Champions League and achieving that would mean they have usurped AC Milan as the team with the highest titles next to Real who is looking for their record 14th. Every aspect of the game will technically determine the winner of the game tonight. We may not see the outcome yet, but it will be a battle with breathtaking moments.
The world will be served the most sumptuous football tonight when Liverpool takes on Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final at the magnificent Stade des France in Paris.
Both teams deserve to be in the final this season, having proven themselves good enough. However, of the two sides, Real, have been more eye-catching with their performances in the season so far. The Los Merengues won their 35th Laliga title last month without contention, as Barcelona and defending champions, Atletico Madrid had one of their worst campaigns in recent seasons.
As witnessed in the Champions League this campaign, Karim Benzema and Vinicious Jr are the most feared tag-team frontline. They also terrorized the opposition’s defense in the Spanish league this just-concluded season, with Benzema finishing on 27 goals to emerge as the highest goal scorer.
They caused sleepless nights to Real’s enemies in the UCL and still do textbook stuff in the real game. The Frenchman has been like a rampaging lion in Europe’s elite club competition this campaign. The 34-year-old has scored 15 goals in 11 games and is the top scorer in this campaign. Of the 15 goals, 10 were against top clubs; Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Manchester City in the knockout stage. Benzema has shown that he can hurt big clubs, a fact Liverpool must be wary of if at all he reminds them of 2018 final in Kiev with Loris Karius in goal.
Brazilian Vinicious Jr has been a crucial chapter in the Spanish champions’ fairytale run in the competition, as well as in Laliga this season. He is not much of a scorer, but this term was made for him to stand out. He netted 17 times in the Spanish top flight and assisted on 13 occasions. The 21-year-old scored three times in the UCL and assisted seven times.
His pace particularly, and the ability to run behind the opposition’s defence line have been a great asset. Again, both of them will be a handful for Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip.
Mohamed Salah has spoken about his revenge mission against Real since Liverpool qualified for the final at the expense of Villarreal. Though the Egyptian shared the Golden Boot with Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min in the 2021/22 season, the 29-year-old has not sparkled in the UCL this season. But eyeing Real’s scalp in France to do just that may change everything. He has only scored eight goals in 12 matches this campaign and is Liverpool’s highest scorer this term.
The former Chelsea star is still being hunted by Sergio Ramos’ rugby-style tackle in the final four years ago in the early part of the game, in which his side lost 3-1 after Liverpool was forced to replace him.
Although Sadio Mane is equally very important for The Reds, manager Jurgen Klopp has been about to build a team in such a manner that he relies on no player. The dependable Senegalese forward scored Liverpool’s consolation in the defeat to Real the last time, and his five goals in this season’s competition mean he is as deadly.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations winner has shown that he is a big game player on many occasions. Diogo Jota and new boy, Luis Diaz, are equally venomous upfront for the Klopp side, unlike Real, who would look up to Benzema and Vinicius to deliver the goals. The game in Paris is a one-leg affair and Real may not get a chance for any other comeback effort, as they have done in most matches from the Round of 16.
In the defense, Real appears to be very vulnerable. How they conceded in the knockout phase would give any opponent hope. Though they have only conceded 14 goals, one more than Liverpool in the competition, it’s still a sign of weakness. Liverpool has scored 30 goals and Real 28 this season, giving credence to the English side recording 724 attacks as against Real’s 634.
The Premier League runners-up have also made 413 passes into key areas in this season’s competition as against the Spanish club’s 205. Real Have lost four matches in the competition this term, while the Merseysiders have lost just one game.
Carlo Ancelotti and Klopp may be representing the old and new generation of coaches, they are both technically grounded in their jobs. They have both won the competition, but Ancelotti has won it three times, as against Klopp’s once. The Italian’s magical touch in the 2021/22 competition is a reminder of his days at AC Milan. Klopp won it with Liverpool in 2019, a year after his second defeat in the competition’s final.
Both managers have met 10 times in previous matches and the Real coach has a slight edge of four against three in the winning ratio. They drew three matches each and lost four games facing each other.
Liverpool is chasing their eighth title in the Champions League and achieving that would mean they have usurped AC Milan as the team with the highest titles next to Real who is looking for their record 14th. Every aspect of the game will technically determine the winner of the game tonight. We may not see the outcome yet, but it will be a battle with breathtaking moments.
