Hangover. Liverpool-Real Madrid is the best that could be wished for in a Champions League final, both from a technical point of view and from a history and tradition point of view. Paris will host a match between two of the teams with the greatest aptitude for the Cup, always accustomed to getting excited whenever the famous tune plays. But it is above all the football level that makes the challenge absolutely unmissable: Klopp on one side, Ancelotti on the other, twenty-two champions in between who are ready to do anything to climb to the top of Europe. For the Reds it would be the seventh time, for the Blancos even the fourteenth, all under the eyes of around 350 million spectators around the globe.
Liverpool-Real Madrid (21pm, Canale 5 and Sky Sport)
The Stade de France is therefore preparing to host a stupendous final, so leveled up as to make any forecast difficult. From a technical point of view the teams are equal, even if perhaps the balance leans slightly towards Liverpool, from a mental one as well, although here the purse is perhaps in favor of Real. Analyzing their respective paths, however, it emerges that it is the Blancos who have traveled the most difficult one, considering that, from the round of XNUMX onwards, they had to deal with PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City, all eliminated at the end of crazy bullfights in the magical Bernabeu basin .
The Reds were more fortunate in terms of the draw, even if they had started with an iron group with Atletico Madrid, Milan and Porto and a far from simple eighth against Inter: however, having overcome the Nerazzurri, they found Benfica and Villarreal, reaching the final without any particular problems. Tonight's face-to-face, moreover, has the flavor of the so-called "beautiful": the other two previous ones, in fact, saw one victory each, with the English victorious in 1981 and the Spanish answering in 2018, for what was the latest Champions by CR7.
For Klopp it would be the second victory in his career, against two defeats (one at the time of Borussia Dortmund, the other in the challenge just mentioned), for Ancelotti instead of the fourth, the second on the Blanca bench after the famous Decima of 2014 .
Here Liverpool – Klopp: “History says Real, but if we are at the top…”
"If you think about the history, the experience of the opponents, how Real Madrid came back from certain situations... I think they are the favorites – explained the German coach -. But if we are at the top it's really difficult to face us, I lost a lot of finals in my life, but the guys have grown enormously in the last three years. We are part of a very big club, we have the right players for the size of our squad and we come to this final in a very good moment."
Here Real Madrid – Ancelotti: "We know how to handle these challenges"
“Getting to the final is a great success for us, getting here was very important because the season has been very, very good, we're very close to getting the most out of it – thought Carlo -. The environment is calm, this team manages this type of competition very well, the older ones help the younger ones to hold the dressing room with confidence and excitement. We deserved to get here because we showed quality… Then in the history of this club, in times of difficulty, the team often found the strength to react”.
Liverpool-Real Madrid, the formations
After the declarations on the eve it's time to let the pitch talk, which will see two teams without too many training problems, even if Liverpool will have to deal with a bruised Thiago Alcantara and, above all, with the dross of a championship that has just ended (moreover without winning it), against a Madrid already champions of Spain for several weeks.
Klopp aims at the Salah-Mané-Diaz trident
Jurgen Klopp cradled the dream of the "quadruplete" for a long time, but then, after winning the League Cup and the FA Cup, he had to surrender to Manchester City, who graduated from England with a point advantage. However, the Champions League offers him a tempting chance for revenge, but also the risk of turning a potentially historic season into one full of regrets. The German coach will rely on a 4-3-3 with Alisson in goal, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk and Robertson in defence, Henderson, Fabinho and Keita in midfield, Salah, Mané and Luis Diaz in attack, with Firmino ready to take over from the bench.
Ancelotti relies on Benzema and Vinicius
Carlo Ancelotti has already won La Liga, but he knows well that the Champions League is the main dish, especially at Real. The Decima of 2014 has already made him enter the hearts of Madrid fans, repeating with the Quattordicesima however would make him truly immortal, especially after the comebacks of the previous rounds, which made the extremely demanding Bernabeu crowd go crazy with joy. Carletto wants to win at all costs and will try with a 4-3-3 with Courtois in goal, Carvajal, Militao, Alaba and Mendy in the back, Modric, Casemiro and Kroos in the midfield, Valverde, Benzema and Vinicius Junior in the trident offensive.
