Real Madrid v Liverpool: UEFA Champions League Final Preview
This season's Champions League Final in Kiev, Ukraine pits perennial finalist Real Madrid against tournament Cinderella story, Liverpool. While Liverpool is certainly no stranger to success in the continental competition, this is their first appearance in the finals in over a decade. On the flip side, opposite the Red's will be the evil empire from the Spanish capital city. Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid squad is not only historically the most successful franchise in Europe's top club competition, but they will also be chasing history this year as they hope to become the third team in history to lift the Champions League trophy in three consecutive years.
On paper, this match looks like a David vs. Goliath type match up and even Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp remarked that "Real Madrid's bench would qualify for the Champions League," and he's probably right. However, no matter how badly the odds seem to be stacked against this Liverpool side, they have shown resilience all year long and their counter-attacking style of play has proven to be most successful against higher quality opponents who tend to push forward and look to score.
Also in Liverpool's favor is that their front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah have emerged as arguably the most dynamic attacking trio in Europe. the Reds's front line have been lethal in both Europe and the Premier League, primarily due to the team's ability to turn defense into offense in the blink of an eye. Mane and Salah, and to a lesser extent Firmino, have deadly speed and all three of them have world-class ball-handling skills, but what sets them apart from the other big names in Europe are their chemistry and soccer IQs. No one could have expected first-year man Mo Salah to thrive in Liverpool's system the way he has. The Egyptian has pretty much scored at will all season and recently not only received the Premier League's Golden Boot award as the league's top scorer, but also set the EPL record for goals in a season with 32. Salah is also tied for 2nd with teammate Firmino with 10 Champions League goals this year, just ahead of Mane in 3rd, with 9. The dynamic trio has carried Liverpool all season and will need to continue their offensive production for one more game if Klopp's side is going to dethrone Real.
In what has become a tale of two sides of the field, Liverpool has struggled defensively this season. In almost a perfect juxtaposition from their front line, the back line has been consistently woeful for the majority of their campaign. The Red's have blown 2-3 goal leads to turn wins into draws and seen comfortable leads dwindle into 1 goal anxiety-filled composureless sighs of relief. Some of the defensive difficulty is due to the very system that has made their offense so successful. The free-flowing attacking nature of Jurgen Klopps's system requires most outfield players (3 ATT, 3 Mid, LB & RB) to push forward on the attack, but when there is a turnover, the script is flipped and the 2 CBs are left on an island. Liverpool also employs a high press in the attacking half of the field, which has proven to be extremely effective at pressuring the opponents back line to handle the ball and make mistakes leading to turnovers and goals, but when the press gets broken there are too few defenders at home. Consistent goalkeeping has also been a challenge all season. The team made a mid-season switch from Simon Mignolet to Loris Karius, who has been playing better, but the team has yet to find a long-term solution. If Ronaldo gets a free-kick from basically anywhere inside of the mid-field line most Liverpool supporters will undoubtedly have their hearts in their throats.
Where do you being with Real Madrid? They're in the midst of perhaps the most dominating Champions League run of all time, dating back to almost 5 years ago. Los Blancos have won two titles in a row and three out of the last four. They have probably the best player in the year and have beaten European giants PSG, Juventus, and Bayern Munich on their warpath to Kiev.
Real have a who's who of talent on their roster, led by all-everything Portuguese forward Christiano Ronaldo. Despite turning 33 earlier this year, Ronaldo has showed no signs of slowing down and has continued to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. mentioned earlier how Liverpool's front thee are a either tied for 2nd or 3rd in Champions League scoring this season, well it's Ronaldo who occupies the number one spot with 15 goals in this season's competition.
However, Christiano Ronaldo isn't the only reason for Real's dominance. Zidane's squad boasts an embarrassment of riches and they're easily two deep at every position on the field. If a team can somehow figure out a way to contain number 7, they still have to contend with any combination of Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Lucas Vazquez, Marco Asensio, and Isco. Even when their opponents can go toe-to-toe with Real for 60 minutes, rarely can they match the caliber of super substitute that Zidane has at his disposal. Real Madrid doesn't have an excellent team, they have an all-star team.
Keys to the Match
In my opinion there are several key factors that will decide the outcome of this game and the first is how will Liverpool contain Christiano Ronaldo? The direct RB vs LW match up will pit Ronaldo against Liverpool's 20 year old RB Trent Alexander-Arnold. Alexander-Arnold has exploded into the Red's starting 11 this season from relative obscurity from the Liverpool youth system. He has looked solid defensively and has been an asset pushing forward, but he hasn't faced anyone at the level of Ronaldo. It will be interesting if Klopp has the confidence to let TAA defend Ronaldo alone, or if he will have Jordan Henderson play a deeper, more holding role to offer defensive help for the young full back. Neutralizing, or at least limiting, Ronaldo is always at the top of the scouting report when facing Real, so the Liverpool staff has undoubtedly been doing his research on this match up so it will be interesting to see what they come up with.
The next key to the game will be Liverpool's front three against Real's back four. I mentioned Liverpool's attacking prowess earlier, and they will heavily rely on them to continue their offensive output if they will have a chance in this match. Real Madrid are scarcely held goalless, so Liverpool will most likely need to score 2-3 goals to be able to win. Real will need to figure out a way to slow down Mohamed Salah, who has been the hottest player in Europe this season. While the Red's front three have been deadly this year, especially in the Champion's League, they will face one of the best back lines in the world. Anchored by Sergio Ramos and complimented by Raphael Varane in the center and Marcelo and Dani Carvajal on the wings, the Real back 4 is big, strong, fast, and skilled. When you add Casemiro at defensive Midfield and Keylor Navas in goal you have a daunting defensive code to crack. Liverpool's front three will need to continue to be deliberate in their attack and be clinical when they get their chances, because Real's defense doesn't make many mistakes.
Perhaps the most obvious position group question mark in this match is Liverpool's defense. The Red's defense has been inconsistent at best and dreadful at their worst over the course of this season. Jurgen Klopp has made personnel adjustments to stop the bleeding and Trent Alexander-Arnold and young Scottish left back Andy Robertson have been pleasant and surprising additions to the lineup, but clean sheets have remained elusive. Dejan Lovren and the goalkeeper duo of Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius have each made bewildering miscues this year that have been costly. The most important defensive alteration Klopp made for his side has been acquiring giant Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk in January from Southampton for 75 million pounds. However, even with a relatively revamped back line, Liverpool will have their hand's full with one of the most potent attacks in the world. Reals has a Swiss army knife of offensive fire power. Ronaldo leads the charge and needs no further explanation, but he is complemented by Karim Benzema up front, speedy Lucas Vazquez on the opposite wing, an under-appreciated Gareth Bale, a dynamic play-maker in Isco , world-class facilitators in Toni Kroos and Luka Modric from the back, and superb forward thinking wing players in Carvajal and Marcelo who love to join in the attack. Because every single Real payer is a nightmare in their own right, Liverpool will need superb individual efforts from each defender to keep the ball out of their net. The Red's defense will need a nearly mistake free performance, because Real's attack feasts on opportunity.
The most glaring difference between Liverpool and Real's rosters this year is the depth of each team's bench. For a little perspective, Real often has Gareth Bale come off the bench, a player they spent nearly $90 million on. Meanwhile Liverpool has 20 year old Dominic Solanke as Roberto Firmino's primary backup striker. While Liverpool's bench was already thin, an injury in the second leg of their semi-final tie to super-sub Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has made their depth situation even more dire. Klopp won't have many substitute options in Kiev as Solanke has only appeared in 20 games this season, Adam Lallana (probably their best 'plug and play' option) has just returned from a long injury, and Emre Can hasn't appeared for the team in months and seems to have one foot out the door and in Torino. Conversely, Real Madrid won't lose much, if anything, if they decide to make any substitutes during the match as they go 2 deep across their lineup. Liverpool will need to stay healthy because any early substitutions will drastically change what they're able to do on the field. It will be interesting to see how Klopp and Zidane approach the substitute chess match
