Liverpool and Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian striker whose goals took his side to the Champions League final, hope their brand of attacking football can prevent Real Madrid from becoming kings of Europe for the third year in a row on Saturday.
The Spanish giants have seen the Champions League as their competition ever since winning the first five European Cups in a row, and they are in the midst of another golden era, dreaming of making it a fourth Champions League in five years.
Neither Atletico Madrid (twice) nor Juventus has been able to stop Cristiano Ronaldo from inflicting pain on them in recent finals.
But Liverpool’s own attacking quality gives them a reason to believe and suggests the Olympic Stadium in the Ukrainian capital could be the scene of an unforgettable encounter.
In terms of history alone, this is a dream final.
Real’s 12 European Cup wins puts them way ahead of the rest, but Liverpool has lifted the famous trophy five times themselves, most recently in 2005, defying all the odds against AC Milan in Istanbul.
This time, under Klopp, their adventure started against Hoffenheim in the playoffs last August, continued with a 3-3 draw in Seville when they had been three goals up, before blossoming into stunning wins over Manchester City and Roma.
– Goals galore –
They have scored a record 46 goals in all in this season’s Champions League, with Salah netting 11 of those — the Egyptian has 44 in all competitions since joining from Roma last year.
“If we win the competition then the road to Kiev plus the final would be one of the most exceptional rides ever,” Klopp told Liverpool’s website.
Klopp has lost his last five major finals as a coach, including the 2013 Champions League with Borussia Dortmund against Bayern Munich, and the 2016 Europa League with Liverpool against Sevilla.
Experience means his team has to be the outsiders in Kiev — none of the squad have ever played in a Champions League final before — but Klopp knows Zinedine Zidane’s side cannot dismiss them.
“Do Real Madrid, sitting in Madrid at the moment, think, ‘thank God it’s Liverpool!’? I can’t imagine that,” added the coach, who has welcomed Emre Can back into his squad.
Salah will, of course, be so important, especially if Marcelo is unable to resist the temptation to abandon his left-back position and join the Real attack.
Salah said Real’s past dominance would count for nothing once the whistle blew.
“They’ve won it before, but it’s one game, not two, so we just need to focus and not think about anything in the past,” he said in an interview for UEFA’s website. “When you get to the game it’s just 11 against 11.”
While Gareth Bale is unlikely to make Zidane’s line-up, how will the Liverpool midfield cope against Casemiro, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modric, their central defense against Ronaldo?
– Five for CR7? –
Real can become the first team since Bayern in 1976 to lift the European Cup three years running, and thereby make it five consecutive titles for Spain.
Ronaldo could win his fifth Champions League. That would equal the individual record, and leave him in sight of yet another Ballon d’Or.
Zidane, meanwhile, is on the brink of a third straight Champions League win as a coach.
“We have already made history and we want to keep on doing it. It would be incredible,” defender Raphael Varane told Madrid sports daily Marca.
“I still don’t think we have realised the scale of what we are doing, but when all this is over we will.
“Through experience, we know how difficult it is going to be, but experience gives more security and serenity as well.”
The build-up to the game itself has been overshadowed by complaints from fans of both sides that getting to Kiev — and finding accommodation there — has been too expensive.
With fans undertaking arduous over-land journeys to get to Ukraine and paying extortionate rates for rooms, Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore has claimed the city cannot cope with such a big event.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin confirmed on Thursday that 1,000 tickets allocated to Real fans had been handed back because they could not get there.
Those tickets will — officially at least — be sold to locals, but those coming from afar at great cost will at least be hoping the match itself lives up to its billing.
SOURCES: timeslive.co.za
Great