There’s a reason the Champions League Final is always the final game of the season: it’s the biggest.
This year, we have a particularly prestigious matchup with Liverpool against Real Madrid in Paris. It’s a rematch of the 2018 Champions League final which Madrid won.
Four years on, though, and neither team is the same. At that time, Liverpool were at the beginning of their dominance under Klopp.
They’ve since won the Champions League and the Premier League. Winning this rematch could be a nice exclamation point on their progress.
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Conversely, the 2018 Real Madrid team was at the end of its cycle, and that final was the last game Cristiano Ronaldo played for the club.
That’s what makes them so remarkable this season. They shouldn’t be in the final. They shouldn’t still be able to do this. They’ve introduced younger talent, but it’s still Modric, Kroos, Benzema et al at the heart of the side.
Their improbable comebacks on the road to Paris were exhilarating and commendable, but they probably deserved to be knocked out before now. Nonetheless, they’re possibly the worst opponent for Liverpool.
Klopp’s team are reeling from the disappointment of losing the Premier League title on the final day of the season. As well as that, the team is depleted by injury with doubts over Tiago and Fabinho.
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Real Madrid has won the European Cup a record 13 times, and these players won it four times in five years within the past decade. They expect to win, and Liverpool sort of need to win.
After the preposterously triumphant season they’ve had, it seems insane to say Liverpool need to win the Champions League in order for it to be considered successful.
A Champions League, F.A Cup and League Cup represents an incredible, historic haul to end the season with. An F.A Cup and League Cup, when the quadruple was possible until just last week, seems mediocre in comparison.
Jurgen Klopp has enjoyed describing his players as ‘mentality monsters’ this season. They will need to embody that spirit again, and then some, until the very end on Saturday.
