PARIS (AP) — If Saturday’s Champions League final is the European game’s answer to the Super Bowl—and there are some powerbrokers who would love to make it even more so—then most will be more than happy with this year’s contenders. Liverpool and Real Madrid both tick many of the hype boxes so dear to sponsors and broadcasters…
There’s no fairy tale in this matchup. Merit and savvy, quality and confidence, experience and grit are all factors that separate these two sides. If you had to rank them, Liverpool—the runner-up in the Premier League and winner of the League Cup and FA Cup—and Real Madrid—LaLiga champions—would probably be considered two of the top three club sides in Europe this season. The third member of this season’s dominant trinity is Manchester City, who were beaten by Real Madrid in a dramatic comeback in the semifinal.
The Two Finalists
The teams that reached the Champions League final were Europe’s elite. Paris Saint-Germain, despite the Neymar-Kylian Mbappe-Lionel Messi frontline, and Chelsea, the reigning European champions, were felled by Madrid’s run to the final. Bayern Munich and Juventus fell to giant-slaying upstarts Villarreal (themselves beaten by Liverpool). Fellow blue-bloods Barcelona and Manchester United also made early exits.
So you have two more-than-legitimate finalists. The marketing folk with their consumer surveys will work out where they rank, but it’s safe to say that in terms of global fan base and brand strength, both Real Madrid and Liverpool are in the top five. Both teams’ colors (red and white) will be dominant on the streets of Paris.
Finalists History
Nobody can question their history, both past and present. Real Madrid have won 13 European titles, more than any other club in the Champions League era, dating back to when it was called the European Cup in the mid-1950s. Liverpool have won it six times, including three straight campaigns from 1977 to 1984. And we’re talking recent success, too: This is Liverpool’s third trip to the final in the past five years; Real Madrid have won it four times in the past eight campaigns.
After the 2017-18 Champions League final, which saw Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1, some Liverpool fans still hold a grudge against players and staff on the Spanish side. Goalkeeper Loris Karius made two colossal blunders and star forward Mohamed Salah had to be substituted after half an hour following a clash with Sergio Ramos. Salah will be there on Saturday night, along with 18 others from both teams who were involved in Kyiv. Ramos, the sort of player loathed by opponents and adored by supporters, might be temped to be there too, and not just for trolling purposes: after all, he spent 16 years at Real Madrid and now plays for PSG, just a short trip around the Peripherique from the Stade de France.”
Then there’s the fact that Real Madrid, who arrive with the ego somewhat bruised, are not without injury concerns. After months in which it appeared certain that they were signing star striker Mbappe as a free agent, one of two heirs apparent to the Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly, French superstar Kylian Mbappe said “non” and instead opted to stay at PSG.
The announcement that Kylian Mbappe had signed a six-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain was a shock to many fans and prompted him to personally reach out to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and give long interviews to explain his decision. The fact that it throws Madrid’s summer transfer plans into disarray is compounded by the fact that this is a club unaccustomed to not getting its way. Fans will feel his absence on Saturday; in spirit if not in body.
Real Madrid have a host of star players, including the presumptive Ballon d’Or winner (Karim Benzema) and a pixieish turn-back-the-clock floppy-haired genius who, even at 36, sees and hits passes others can only draw on whiteboards (Luka Modric).
Liverpool has Mohamed Salah, the Premier League’s top scorer, and Sadio Mane: bitter rivals on another continent—Mane’s Senegal outlasted Salah’s Egypt in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations—brothers in goals on the pitch. The goalkeepers, Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois and Liverpool’s Alisson, are arguably the best in the world, capable of making jaw-dropping saves that can singlehandedly win you a final. Both coaches are wildly popular and quick with a smile; though all business on the field: Jurgen Klopp maniacally waving his arms while roaming sideline to sideline; Carlo Ancelotti intensely chewing gum while huddling with his assistant, Davide (who also happens to be his son). Klopp is looking for his second Champions League title; Ancelotti his fourth, more than any other manager in the history of soccer (football).
This Year This Time
Real Madrid and Liverpool arrived at this year’s Champions League final with vastly different preparations and mindsets. Real Madrid had wrapped up the La Liga title some three weeks earlier and spent their final games recuperating and resting their battle-weary stars, while Liverpool, who reached the final in every competition they entered, played an FA Cup final and contested a Premier League title right up until the dying minutes of the last day of the season—just seven days before they were scheduled to face off against Madrid.
The stage is set and it could not shape up any better: for the supporters, for the neutrals, for the lucky 80,000 in the ground and the hundreds of millions watching around the globe, for the organizers and for the sponsors.
Now that all’s left are the two teams for the pitch, it’s now time for those teams to deliver their pitches. Don’t let us down.