Huge news has recently come out of Madrid involving, arguably, the best soccer player in the world at the moment, Kylian Mbappé. The 23-year-old Frenchman was said to be spearheading a move to Real Madrid, and it was almost certain his time “Le Parc des Princes” was finished. It was shocking to find out that Mbappé chose to stay at PSG, and many have said he used Real Madrid as leverage to negotiate a better contract with the French giants.
Normally Madrid fans would be up in arms, but I’m afraid they have bigger fish to fry, more specifically, Liverpool and their clash against the English powerhouse, on Saturday, for the Champions League trophy. Real Madrid is the winner of 13 Champions Leagues, most recently in 2018, and will be looking to secure their 14th title with a huge win against Liverpool on Saturday. Liverpool was the runner-up in 2018 and will be looking for redemption in this testy rematch.
I’ve always been a huge fan of football, my grandfather having engrained it in me from a young age, and I have followed these two teams close the entire season, and now to see them facing each other will be a real treat. In saying that, only one side can march out of that tunnel victorious, so who will it be? Well, let’s take a look at their individual situations.
Real Madrid will be coming off a long break as their season wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. The rest may be a good thing for the Spanish club, but I beg to differ. You see, Liverpool is coming off a hard-fought win against the Wolves last Sunday, and will be more “game-ready” than Liverpool. Rest can be good, but not when you’re playing against a team that is rolling off of such momentum. Rest can also have you slipping into comfortability, causing you to start games off sluggish.
Every minute counts in football, and if Real Madrid doesn’t get their legs within the first ten minutes of the game, then Liverpool will strike, and they’ll do it fast. Liverpool was one of the highest-scoring Premier League clubs this season, scoring putting up an astounding 94, and a goal differential of +68. The only way Real Madrid will be able to stop Liverpool is by playing heavy defense in the middle and allowing Liverpool to create on the wings.
Liverpool is known to create most of their offense in transition on the wings, and then whipping it in or dropping it back to Mo Salah. If you can create a cluster of activity in the middle of the field, essentially blocking their ability to parlay it into the middle where Mo Salah or Virgil Van Dijk comes in for his headers, then Madrid can easily pull away with this game. This is also easier said than done though.
Who do you have winning the Champions League? Let me know in the comments below!