Soccer (football), Sport

Before the Champions League final

Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Madrid, Real Madrid… The last few years Spain or, more specifically, Real Madrid has dominated the Champions League. But the Spanish reign has ended and tomorrow the most precious European trophy will go straight to England. Nevertheless, we still don’t know the final destination. Liverpool or London? The Reds or Spurs? Liverpool or Tottenham?

The final game will take place in Madrid. Wanda Metropolitano will host the two pretenders to the European throne. The final is a very specific kind of match, expectations are huge, the pressure is tremendous and any mistake can end up with defeat. Loris Karius knows something about this… Players are tired after a long and exhausting season but they won’t remember it on the pitch. One more push is needed for glory.

Liverpool’s road to final

Who is the favourite to win the final? Most people say, Liverpool. The Reds’ road to this final in Madrid has been very hard and amazing. They started in a really tough group along with Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli and Crvena Zvezda. With three wins and three losses they ended up in second place but they had to worry about qualifying for the knockout stages right up until the final whistle of the last game. In the last 16, they beat Bayern Munich with a Sadio Mané show in the second leg. The quarter-final was slightly easier. Porto did its best but they weren’t strong enough to eliminate Liverpool. A 6:1 defeat said it all and then, the most spectacular duel in this Champions League, Liverpool against Barcelona. Lionel Messi’s team won the first match 3:0 and it seemed that everything pointed to this contest being over already. However, Liverpool did something amazing and almost unbelievable in the second leg. They won 4:0 and progressed to the final. I guess that every football fan was amazed by the way Trent Alexander-Arnold took the corner kick…

Liverpool in the Champions League 2018/19: 12 games (7 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses), goals difference 22:12.

Tottenham’s road to final

Tottenham also had it difficult at the beginning. In a group with Barcelona, Inter and PSV. Like Liverpool – they had to worry until the final whistle to know for sure that they had made it to the next round. In the last 16, Spurs confidently beat Borussia Dortmund. The quarter-final against Manchester City was a really exciting duel. Tottenham won the first game 1:0 and lost the second one 3:4, but the second leg was a spectacle. Five goals in 21 minutes, seven goals in all and a VAR intervention at the end which disallowed an offside goal for City. Their semi-final was also full of emotion. Ajax had impressed all of Europe by the way they were playing. Tottenham lost the first leg 0:1 and was losing 0:2 in the second leg. But an incredible second half saw Lucas Moura play a perfect 45 minutes where he scored 3 goals. The last and most valuable came in the last few seconds of the game. An amazing story!

Tottenham in Champions League 2018/19: 12 games (6 wins, 2 draws, 4 losses), goals balance 20:17.

Who will win the Champions League final?

Chelsea has won the Europa League title. Now, another club from England will win the Champions League. For Jürgen Klopp, it’s his third final. He has lost the two previous ones, so he is anxious for the trophy. Mauricio Pochettino is debuting in the final, while Liverpool will play in a European Cup final for the ninth time. For Tottenham, it will also be their debut, meaning The Reds have much more experience and this may be decisive.

STATSCORE prediction: Tottenham – Liverpool 2

 

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