Fasten your seatbelts for the biggest showdown in club football!
May 25, 2018
The Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool promises to be an enthralling affair for fans and neutrals alike.
Now that all the European leagues are wrapped up – Barcelona claiming La Liga, Manchester City conquering the Premier League, Juventus ruling Series A for an unprecedented seventh consecutive time and Bayern Munich clinching the Bundesliga – we turn our attention to the big one; the Champions League.
Real Madrid are the kings of Europe, boasting 12 European Cups in the trophy cabinet. Never had a team successfully defended the modern Champions League until Los Blancos achieved this feat last season. Now, they have a unique opportunity to win for the third consecutive year and write their names in the annals of club football.
It took Madrid twelve years to claim La Decima, their tenth European Cup, and only two to claim their twelfth.
Tomorrow, at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex in Kyiv, Ukraine, they are the favorites to lift their thirteenth and increase the gap on AC Milan, who are next on the list in terms of trophy hauls, with seven cups.
Zinedine Zidane aims to become the first manager to win it for the third consecutive year. This effectively means that he has never tasted defeat in any knockout match in the Champions League ever since the player took the reins at the Spanish giants — a remarkable feat indeed.
While Los Blancos are the heavy favourites going in to the Final, their opponents are no less illustrious albeit with a forgettable recent past.
Liverpool are no strangers to European nights. They are third in the list of most European cups with five trophies in their cabinet. Jurgen Klopp has transformed them into the swashbuckling, goal-scoring side that we have come to love. With the likes of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino terrorizing defenses all season long, it will be a treat to watch for the neutral.
For a team that had to win in their last league match in the previous season to ensure qualification for the Champions League, Liverpool have come a long way to be playing in Kyiv tomorrow. Since Real Madrid is traditionally an attack-minded side, Liverpool will fancy their chances and Real’s style might play into their hands.
Real Madrid have a full squad to choose from and with Gareth Bale showing his class and form in the closing stages of the season, it has given Zidane a selection headache for the final. It will undoubtedly be tough on the Frenchman to decide his final 11.
But no matter who plays, Ronaldo and Ramos are the two big game players that fans of Los Blancos will be looking towards, to turn this tide into their favor.
On the other hand, Klopp must have a clear idea of who his best 11 would be. He is likely to stick with Salah, Mane and Firmino as the front three, with Arnold at right back arguably the weakest link in the team — an aspect Marcelo would undoubtedly love to exploit.
It is the biggest night football has to offer and come tomorrow night, we will find out who will be crowned the next European king. Will it be the current European giants or the illustrious Reds of the past? The table is set!
