Liverpool Vs. Real Madrid UCL Final Preview

Real Madrid’s unexpected and mysterious Champions League run will continue after defeating the expected winners, Manchester City, 6-5 on aggregate in the semi-finals of the tournament on Wednesday. They will face off against Liverpool at the Stade de France in Paris, France, which will be hosting the Champions League Final at 3 pm EST on Saturday, May 28th. You can watch the game on CBS Sports.

On paper, Liverpool is without a doubt the stronger club, but Real Madrid wasn’t supposed to make it past the knockout stage, let alone make it to the final. It almost seems that they are the team of destiny. Real Madrid has proven time and again that they come back from almost any deficit. Real Madrid was down 2-0 to PSG in the 61st minute of the round of 16’s second leg. Right as Real Madrid’s fans thought all hope was lost, their star player Karim Benzema scored a hattrick in a mere eighteen minutes. He led them to a 3-2 aggregate win.

After that, Real Madrid won their first leg against Chelsea, 3-1, before allowing a total of three goals in the second leg. Then magic struck, yet again, as Real Madrid and Karim Benzema came to save the day by scoring a game-winning goal to deliver the knockout punch to Chelsea to win the game in aggregate. 

Benzema has now scored ten goals for Real Madrid in a total of six knockout matches. Nobody in the world of soccer is in better form than him. His magic touch has kept Real Madrid in the tournament and led them to the Spanish league title, La Liga. It really helps to have young stars like Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior on the wings as well. Having that deadly trio will prove to be an issue for Liverpool’s defense. 

Liverpool has made its third Champions League Final appearance in the span of five years, which is an incredible accomplishment considering they had only made it to the final once since the competition’s rebranding in 1992. To make it to the final knockout stage this year, Liverpool defeated Villareal 5-2 via aggregate earlier this month.

Liverpool has set their eyes on the quadruple, which is winning the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Champions League all in a single season. Liverpool has only lost twice this year. That means Liverpool has all the confidence in the world as they haven’t lost a game since facing off against Leicester City in December. 

Liverpool’s star player Mohammad Salah has scored eight times in a total of 12 Champions League games. The Reds also have great depth in that position with Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota, and Fabinho. They also have a ton of talent at fullback with Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Then to put the icing on the cake, they have one of the top managers in the world, Jurgen Klopp, who became a legend for his rebuilding job of the club.

Liverpool looks better. However, Real Madrid has a really good fighting chance. This match has the potential to be one of the most exciting Champions League matches we have seen in a long time. In the end, when the refs blow their final whistle, Liverpool will come out on top with a 3-2 win.

By Avner Belsky