The final and biggest day of the club season is almost upon us as Liverpool prepare to take on Real Madrid in tomorrow’s Champions League final.
This is the day Reds fans will have been waiting for ever since their side’s thrilling semi-final victory over Roma, which sees them up for an incredible sixth European Cup title.
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While even reaching the final on its own is a remarkable achievement by Jurgen Klopp, there’s no reason to believe the Merseyside giants can’t be the ones lifting the trophy aloft in Kiev on Saturday night.
Nervous? Sceptical? Fear not, here’s five reasons to believe this really could be Liverpool’s night!
The Mohamed Salah factor
Let’s face it, with this guy in the team you’d have to say basically anything is possible.
You’d do well to find anyone in the world who would have expected Mohamed Salah to get anywhere near his current haul of 44 goals in all competitions this season, so why can’t the Golden Boot winner and PFA Player of the Year go one step further and add to his tally on the biggest stage possible?
This is a man who was cool enough to slot home a penalty in the dying seconds to send Egypt through to their first World Cup in 28 years – nothing phases him.
Of course, teams will be wiser to him now after his incredible form, but at this level he remains a lesser-known quantity than someone like Cristiano Ronaldo, so it’ll be intriguing to see if Real can put together a game plan to stop him.
Marcelo and Keylor Navas weaknesses
Which moves us neatly on to our next point – there are definite weaknesses in this Madrid side for Salah and others to exploit.
In particular, the battle with Real left-back Marcelo on Salah’s right-hand side is one that could give Liverpool a great deal of joy.
Roma’s high line at Anfield in the first leg of the semi-final proved suicidal against Liverpool’s pacey attack, and Marcelo is a very adventurous and attack-minded player who could be caught a little too far toward on a few occasions.
On top of that, Keylor Navas in goal remains something of a mixed bag – capable of some great stops, the Costa Rican also has unconvincing moments, such as failing to prevent a Bayern Munich opening goal at his near post in their first leg semi-final win.
If Salah finds space in areas vacated by Marcelo and can get shots at Navas, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the Egyptian could run riot.
Real Madrid’s luck about to run out?
Of course, we’ve sort of been waiting for this to happen for the last two years and it hasn’t yet, but you’d have to say Real Madrid have rode their luck on a few occasions in their remarkable Champions League success.
They were arguably second best for most of their final win over Atletico Madrid, needing penalties to lift the trophy against a dogged and determined side put together on a fraction of their budget – sound familiar?
This season they’ve been run pretty close as well, with a stoppage time penalty against Juventus needed to prevent extra time after a remarkable collapse from 3-0 up to be level 3-3 on aggregate at home against the Italians.
Given that no team has won three Champions League titles in a row since the 1970s, it’s plain to see you do need a big slice of luck to do it, so there’s every chance Real will find this a step too far given the unconvincing nature of some of their results.
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Over-reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo
Okay, he’s not a bad player to be overly reliant on, but plenty have somewhat sugar-coated what a disappointing season this has been for Real Madrid, who were miles behind Barcelona in La Liga.
Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale have been nowhere near their usual standards and the latter seems doubtful to even start the final given the way he’s fallen down the pecking order.
This means Liverpool can effectively just focus on keeping Ronaldo quiet. While this is easier said than done, Madrid will at least have the uncomfortable problem of dealing with three star attackers at their end.
Salah is dangerous enough on his own, but part of what has made Liverpool so thrilling to watch this season is the link-up between the former Roma man and Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
They all pose a different threat but have pace and skill to burn, and it’s been shown this season to be a near-impossible job for defences to keep all three quiet.
Liverpool will sense once-in-a-lifetime chance
Alright, you don’t get to the Champions League final four times in five years by accident, but as well as needing a lot of luck on your side, one imagines the motivation might start to fade a little after a while.
Liverpool, on the other hand, will likely all sense this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and that could give them extra motivation.
It might sound silly, but think back to the difference in how fired up Liverpool were in comparison to Manchester City in their quarter-final tie at Anfield.
Sure, it could also work the other way and make Klopp’s side more nervous, but if anything they’ve shown this season how well they respond to pressure and relish the big games.
