Referee: Clement Turpin (France)
Assistants: Nicolas Danos, Cyril Gringore (both France)
Fourth official: Benoit Bastien (France)
VAR: Jerome Brisard (France)
VAR Assistants: Willy Delajod (France), Massimiliano Irrati (Italy), Filippo Meli (Italy)
PART ONE
What an incredible season we've been treated to and it ends deservedly with another shot at European glory in Paris. In terms of European glamour ties they don't get much bigger than us v Real Madrid and the score in European Cup finals as I'm sure you all know is currently 1-1. So a decider of sorts, back where we won our third European Cup and faced Madrid for the first time in a final, in Paris 1981.
We come in winning form in terms of results, however we've been unsurprisingly showing the rigours of a long hard season, in which we've played in every game that was possible to us. We've conceded first in each of our last four league games, but managed to turn it around in three of those. I think we'll need to bring that mentality to the fore one last time, and those lucky enough to be there (and we know there'll be more reds, somehow there always is), will need to raise the kind of atmosphere that was inside Anfield on Sunday against Wolves - this team will need our help here probably. Which is a little mad as I've no doubt we are in a much better place than we were four years ago in Kiev and now definitely have the stronger side. But they've been recharging a little, while we've faced tough game after tough game.
However if there's one group of players who can muster the mentality and effort for one final time - it's this group. They give us everything every time they step foot on the pitch and we've all been lucky to witness some of the best football we've ever seen these last few years (even for those whose memories go back a long way).
Anyway enough of me spouting on, for the final a few RAWK posters have completed a bit of a round table type exercise - the kind that used to happen more frequently on this forum. stockdam set a bunch of questions and a few of us provided our answers, thoughts etc.
Please feel free to do the same, or not, completely up to you. This is our EUROPEAN CUP FINAL thread - Enjoy it. Let's win number 7 to cap off an amazing season in style
The QuestionsWhat's your first recollection of us in a CL (or European Cup) final?
What was your favourite final?
What was your lowest point?
What goal gave you most satisfaction?
Have you even been to a live CL final?
What are your plans for watching this one?
What players from the RM side do you think we need to keep quiet?
Who has been the most exciting player of our team so far this season?
What tactics do you think Klopp will use?
Team predictions?paulrazorWhat's your first recollection of us in a CL (or European Cup) final?2005, I felt Liverpool in finals was a thing of the past, and even then it felt like it was maybe our one and only shot to ever win it again, it was for years the best day of my life, it was an incredible night. I think I once read Roy Keane wasn’t too happy that David Beckham said in 1999 that he would die happy if he never won another thing. I think Beckham was just caught up in the emotion of it all afterwards.
I can understand why he said it but I am sure once pre season started he was hungry again, one thing for me though, when we won it I actually thought “I want to win this again, and again and again”.
I feel very lucky this will be the 5th time I remember us in the final, its always huge.
What was your favourite final?2005, how could it not be? It was Hollywood stuff come to life, it was just unbelievable, but in 2019, it was a poor game but overall I enjoyed it just as much. It had been 7 years since we had won anything and i remember after losing in 2018, maybe a bit of drunken bravado, but I swore to my brother that night we would win it in 12 months time. I am happy to say I was right, when we did I remember we actually got the same seats in the pub late that night and we both remembered that.
I think the 2019 team was miles better almost player for player, they deserved it as they had been the best team in Europe for a couple of years by that point and you could say they still are.
What was your lowest point?Common thread of 2007 and 2018 was me crying after according to others and being so pissed I don’t remember. Im not sure which one was harder to take, the feeling of deflation after both kind of lingers on most of the summer but you do get over it.
2007 you felt like Milan owed us one, 2018 it just felt like nothing went right that night.
What goal gave you most satisfaction?In a final? Gerrard in 2005 as it just galvanised us. Overall? Probably Wijnaldum’s 2nd against Barcelona, again it just made us believe.
This season I'm not sure really, Firmino at the San Siro was a lovely goal, maybe that.
Have you even been to a live CL final?No, its sort of on the bucket list but I think the prices for tickets, flights and accommodation are disgraceful. I think the allocations are crazy too, how can people justify for example, two clubs getting 35000 tickets between them for 75000 capacities. It doesn’t add up does it?
What are your plans for watching this one?A good mate of mine is on his stag in Galway and im going, only 8 of us but it will be good, all good mates. 3 of us Liverpool fans, the best man will really milk it if we lost as he is a united fan but fair play he has booked a couple of tables in a bar for us
What players from the RM side do you think we need to keep quiet?Benzema, he is unreal. I think Trent needs to be 10/10 because Vinicius is an absolute handful. I was impressed with Camavinga against City. I think we need to make sure Trent isn’t isolated. Van Dijk and either one of Konate or Matip need to be on top of their game too with Benzema
Who has been the most exciting player of our team so far this season?Mane, he never stops, he has really stepped up lately as Salah’s goals have dried up, Salah however, 30 goals this season? He is still one of the very best. Forget one, we need both to sign a deal.
I know he only signed recently but Luis Diaz has been a mega signing. I love watching him, if he was there all season I would pick him. But it says a lot in half a season he is in my top 3, Mane is number 1.
What tactics do you think Klopp will use?Not exactly hard to work out, full backs pushed up but a back 4, I think we might try over load them in midfield with a combination of Thiago’s passing and Keita breaking the lines. Robbo and Diaz overloading them left, hopefully Salah and Trent do the same down the right. Mane down the middle again
Team predictions?I am just hoping we get no more injuries, I hope Fabinho is fit. I think that was one reason we lost in 2018, our midfield was depleted. I never liked that Hendo-Gini-Milner trio but we didn’t have much choice. Oxlade Chamberlain was having a fantastic run until he got injured that season and Emre Can was injured too. Fabinho signed about a week later, if we had him in the final we might have won, Alisson too obviously.
I think if Fabinho doesn’t make it we will line up with
Alisson
TAA Konate VVD Robbo
Hendo
Thiago
Keita
Salah Mane Diaz
I think Jota’s form has tailed off a bit but from the bench he is vital, Bobby too. If Fabinho is out I would probably have to leave Keita out.
Joel Matip, that’s a real headache but I am going with Konate to go up physically against Benzema.
Maybe big Divock can sign off in style from the bench?
I can see this going to extra time, I think we can win 2-1, I think we will dominate large portions of the game and we have to make it count.
Madrid looked dead and buried against PSG, Chelsea and Man City, they just keep coming though. They are mentality monsters themselves, I can see us hanging on at the end.
HazellWhat's your first recollection of us in a CL (or European Cup) final?2005 is my first. I don't remember us winning the league prior to 2020 and honestly, we didn't really get close prior to 2005 and didn't really much make progress in European competitions either, whether it was the UEFA Cup, Cup Winners Cup or the Champions League. The closest we got were a couple of semi-finals in the UEFA Cup I think(?) and losing agonisingly to Leverkusen in 2002. So I'd never seen us get close to winning the league or the Champions League before that season. I know you've asked about that final but honestly, that whole run was crazy, the ups and downs of the group stage culminating in the Olympiakos game (I was listening to that on the radio and remember being down at half time after Rivaldo's goal before the madness of the second half) was like a tournament in itself. Then we got Leverkusen (remember them beating Real Madrid 3-0 in the group stages and finishing top of their group) so thought that was going to be a lot tougher than it was but we comfortably got through that.
And then obviously came the historic Juventus and Chelsea ties. I remember us blitzing Juve in the first half of the first leg, it was kind of a blur how fast we started and of course Luis Garcia capping it off with that goal. We also had Scott Carson in goal and yeah he made a mistake for their goal but he also made some fine saves in that match. That's actually another reason why 2005 was so special overall - we obviously didn't have the best individuals in Europe but we also had to face various trials throughout that season through injuries with Cisse in particular but also Alosno, Garcia, Gerrard and probably others and Kirkland also played against Deportivo in the group stages. I was following the second leg on the radio and like the Olympiakos game, was on edge right up until the final whistle.
The Chelsea tie - Those that were there can talk about it far better than me but yeah, it was over the line and I was bracing myself for Gudjohnsen's shot to hit the net is about as much as I can say about it.
What was your favourite final?Yep, 2005 as above. It that was a novel or film, it'd be too unrealistic.
What was your favourite final?
I think it will be no surprise if I say 2005. 1977 was great as it was our first win but 2005 had all the drama.
Milan were the favourites to win and when they scored in the first minute with their first attack things looked ominous. Milan had Maldini, Pirlo, Kaká, Crespo, Shevchenko....in fact their team was one of the strongest teams that we have ever faced. Crespo scored two quick goals just before half-time and it looked like the match was running away from us. It was the most clinical and one-sided half that I have seen in a top game. Even the most ardent optimist amongst us feared a drubbing; we didn't have a great team but we did have Alonso and Gerrard. We started off the 2nd half much better and then Gerrard scored a brilliant header followed quickly by a great strike by Šmicer and then we were awarded a penalty. Up stepped Alonso but it was saved........but then Alonso scored the rebound......unfukinbelievable. Astounding.
Things began to swing back towards Milan and then an amazing double save by Dudek against Shevchenko kept us in the match. I still can't believe how he did it.
Onto penalties. Dudek was moving back and forwards along the line and managed to put off their first penalty taker (Serginho) who missed. Dudek saved the 2nd penalty from Pirlo. We were 3-2 ahead when Shevchenko stepped up to take his........he was one of the best strikers in the world at the time so surely he wouldn't miss. Dudek mesmirised him and we had won. 3-0 down at half-time against the strongest team in Europe by far.........what a match.
Nice one stockdam. Looking at that Milan side, 9/10 of them have gone down as all time greats, which made that result all the more special. It's ridiculous how strong that team was. Got to say as well, Crespo's second goal is one my favourite non-Liverpool goals of all time (easy to like it now I suppose) and would be considered one of the great European Cup final goals had they won that match. It was a such a perfect goal I could watch over and over again. But before that when Maldini scored after like 50 seconds, I just thought 'typical', after our run throughout the competition, it starts like that. Thankfully, as you've described above, it turned out okay. The only thing that might have made it better would have been us scoring that freekick in injury time in the second half of extra time, I was a tiny bit livid we over played it instead of having Riise hit it directly. Turned out fine in the end though and I still sometimes find it difficult to believe that that match went the way it did.
What was your lowest point?
What was your lowest point?
I think that has to be the 2005 final at half-time. We were 3-0 down and were being over-run by a team that was full of exceptional players. We didn't have the same depth of quality that they had and I feared the worst. I couldn't realistically see any way back.
Weirdly, I wasn't as down as I should have been at half time, not sure why, possibly because the run was so unexpected and maybe because the tie seemed like it was gone but I just wanted us to go for it in the second half and if it got worse, it got worse and so be it. I think I felt the worst at the final whistle in 2007 because we should have won that one and Milan's first goal was really a fortuitous one and made a huge difference in the match. That's why 2019 felt so great because we were one of the best teams in Europe and deserved to win it (and it would have been pretty awful to lose to Tottenham of all teams). 2018 didn't actually feel that bad either for some reason, we matched Real Madrid but two goalkeeping errors (as we found out afterwards, there were extenuating circumstances) and a wonder goal basically won it for them. So yeah, 2007 was the worst for me.
What goal gave you most satisfaction?Origi definitely. It might have more relief than satisfaction but the goals in 2005 all led to differing emotions from 'yes, we've got a chance' to 'come on!' to 'kinell he's missed/yes!' but Origi's goal, given the score at the time and the time he scored it allowed a more measured realisation (after the screaming and jumping around of course) that that was us winning the trophy, while the match was still going on. 2005 was great but we were on edge right until Dudek's last penalty save but Origi's goal in 2019 allowed us to enjoy those few minutes at the end, which we've not had the opportunity to do much in finals in my experience.
Sheer MagnetismWhat's your first recollection of us in a CL (or European Cup) final?I grew up on footage of the first five finals – Tommy Smith heading in at the near post, Alan Kennedy looping that through ball over the keeper, Brucie’s wobbly legs – but like a lot of fans, the first I remember was 2005.
My brother and me watched it upstairs in a Croydon Wetherspoons (they still showed sport back then) along with a small spattering of Liverpool fans and random bystanders. As the Milan goals went in, I remember feeling disappointment rather than depression. I could have taken us losing, but the team deserved better after that fantastic run, were capable of better. I didn’t expect what happened in the second half but I was one of the fans who thought it was possible, assuring people around me there were still 45 minutes to play.
I don’t know if any moment, even Barcelona, can compare with the excitement I felt when Stevie’s goal went in and he ran back to the halfway line gesturing to the crowd. It was on! That 10 minutes seemed to crystallise the idea of the team and the fans as a force of nature capable of toppling mountains, something that’s carried on under Klopp (and to some extent Rodgers). I think I started crying when we won the shootout, overcome with joy for the players and what they'd achieved against all the odds. I’d do it again 13 years later under very different circumstances.
What was your favourite final?Definitely 2005, though the atmosphere of 2019 takes some beating. I was part of a dedicated fan group by then and the groundswell of support was so big they rented out an entire nightclub for the game. Spending the day drinking in the sunshine with friends you’d made over the last three or four years, then watching the game surrounded by people you knew had its own magic. The match itself was dreary but the result felt like a redemption. Then we went back to someone’s flat and partied into the wee hours.
What was your lowest point?2018 should have been a triumph, the culmination of an incredible season of attacking football, but it felt doomed from the start. The pub we’d arranged to watch it in was hugely oversubscribed, meaning no one could leave from about half two. We’d never seen half the people there and there was a lot of drinking, some suspect stuff going on in the bathrooms, dodgy remarks overheard and it all just felt ‘off’.
And then of course there was the game – I just remember feeling so sorry for Karius, who I’d never really rated but who you already knew would have to live with the match for the rest of his career. In hindsight, I remember the feeling of being overrun, much like the Europa final two years before, where the team looked helpless to stop a more experienced opposition taking control of the game. Alisson would come in the summer, Virg in January, and with the signing of Thiago we’ve finally become that team. The one that runs matches.
What goal gave you most satisfaction?As said above, the Gerrard goal, though the feeling of delirium when the third went in was absolutely surreal, like the boundaries between reality and dreamland had broken apart for a few minutes and anything was suddenly possible as long as that split remained intact.
Have you even been to a live CL final?No chance, closest was probably the 2013 final when London was filled with people in red or yellow and black shirts. I shouted “Come on Dortmund” at a couple of groups but the Dortmund fans seemed quite standoffish. Maybe they could see the future!
What are your plans for watching this one?
I’m DJing my best friend’s civil partnership party at the exact same time, so the answer is in dribs and drabs, in an open laptop tab on a stream I’ll be praying doesn’t give out. Maybe I deserve to be run off RAWK for that, but the last couple of years have illustrated that some things are bigger than football, no matter how much joy it can give us.
What players from the RM side do you think we need to keep quiet?The obvious answer should be Benzema, whose record of 15 goals in 11 Champions League games this season is insane. But we traditionally struggle against experienced Italian or Spanish teams with strong midfields, and I think taking Modric and Kroos out of the game has to be the biggest priority. It’s the match Thiago was born to start, let’s hope he’s in good enough shape to do so.
Who has been the most exciting player of our team so far this season?Luis Diaz reminds me of Suarez in his first season, a terrific all-round attacking force whose finishing hasn’t quite slotted into place yet. Once it does, he’s going to be unstoppable, but he’s already transformed the way the team plays, the missing piece that’s finally transformed our style into total football. Players swapped positions a lot before but we’re now seeing defenders at centre forward, midfielders at full back and constant interchanges. Our record since he’s arrived? 23 wins, three draws and a dead rubber loss against Inter in which he didn’t start.
What tactics do you think Klopp will use?Real might actually start with a conservative diamond and Vinicius next to Benzema, but I think it’s likelier they try and use their Brazilians to exploit the space behind our full backs. That’s why I think Klopp will look to conserve possession, use the full backs to cut inside and help nullify their midfield, cutting off the supply line to their front three. In theory, the week-long break, the strength of our bench and the five subs rule in Europe should give us the scope to run hard early on, knowing we have the tools in reserve to change the game later on.
Team predictions?Matip starting next to Virg at the back, Mane at centre forward flanked by Salah and Diaz, with Hendo starting in midfield together with two of Thiago, Fabinho, Keita and Milner (in that order), depending on who’s fit.
Klopp may decide on Firmino up front as he’d hypothetically be hungry for revenge after 2018 (eight of the starting 11 are actually still at the club) and I think there’s a case to be made for Keita starting in order to harass their midfield from kick off, but I think the others’ composure and big game experience theoretically counts for more. Personally, I’d lean towards Gomez at right back considering recent form, though that probably isn’t a mainstream view. I definitely wouldn’t rule out Minamino coming on though, he has been lethal when he’s played this year.
ZlenWhat's your first recollection of us in a CL (or European Cup) final?Istanbul. I'm too young to recall earlier finals, however their impact sent ripples all the way across Europe and to my small town in former Yugoslavia, where all of a sudden there were many mysterious grafitti popping up, causing many a debate between us kids as to what 'YNWA' and 'LFC' actually stand for. The seed of appreciation for LFC mistique was probably planted in my developing mind during those years.
What was your favourite final?Nothing can top Instabul for sheer insanity of it all. I mean, if it was scripted it would be laughed out of the meeting for being 'too far out'. We can't film this shit because Nicholas Cage isn't available - the only man who could pull this off. The emotional rollercoaster of that night, those crazy ten minutes, the likely and unlikely heroes. It's as good an argument as you'll find for whatever it is people call fate. When you look back at it, it seems it couldn't have gone any other way, yet what happened was so unlikely and extraordinary. When I look back at it now, something that night changed the way I see the world. I was never a believer in higher power, but after that night I did start believing in power of not giving up. It's also the final I'm most often reminded of on a daily basis. After Xabi scored I celebrated by kicking with full strenght a heavy oak cabinet the tv was on, causing permanent damage to bones in my right toe which flare up with weather changes. Thanks Xabi.
What was your lowest point?Not an easy one to answer. It's probably minutes before half time in Instanbul, though everything after Bale's goal in 2018 also felt like being in some weird and awful dream. It's perhaps that different outcomes of these finals paint the final picture, making one seem a bit less terrible than it was and vice versa. We've had our share of lows, they are to be expected when playing finals of the most important club competition.
What goal gave you most satisfaction?For some reason it was the Šmicer strike against Milan. Just something about it that stuck with me. That goal is blocked, saved or going wide 19 out of 20 times. But it went in and I felt the gravitational pull of destiny at that moment, it was very much a 'here we go' pivot on which the game turned in our favor. In a different way I really enjoyed the Origi goal against Spurs. It triggered an immense release of anxiety and pressure, made everything in the world instantly ok - which is Origi's purpose in the universe after all.
Have you even been to a live CL final?I haven't, no.
What are your plans for watching this one?If I pull myself together enough to watch it, it will be at home. I usually insulate myself from the rest of the family, mute commentary and fall into a deep state of catatonic anxiety. It feels very much like diving on a single breath for about ten hours. My family has suffered my football related outbursts for years and these days they just leave me alone, ignoring the drama to preserve their own sanity. So I mostly end up alone with my dogs, who can sense something is wrong with me and keep trying to calm me down. They are pretty great at celebrating goals too. I guess once I go berserk after we score they think it's time for food or a walk and just run around absolutely ecstatic that something is about to come their way. Which it often does. Salah alone has put about 2kg of ham into them this season.
What players from the RM side do you think we need to keep quiet?There are many, but it looks likely that Vinicius attacking the empty space behind Trent is probably the main concern. That boy can have off days where he isn't clinical in his finishing, but he is always relentless, extremely fast and well capable of causing mayhem to any defence, including ours. He'll be licking his lips at the prospect of playing against our high line and their entire midfield will just ping balls into that space without even looking. We'll do well to keep him isolated and our attacking players will have to chip in defensively. But it's a high wire act we are comfortable performing, so here's hoping the benefits outweigh the dangers. Benzema as well is a concern, but I'm much more certain that Virgil can manage to keep him quiet, it's a matchup where we have the upper hand in my opinion. Vinicius and Trent though is pretty even and could go either way.
Who has been the most exciting player of our team so far this season?Thiago for me. You can make a case for many other players, but Thiago has reached God-like moments in several games this season. Not just what he does, but how he did it. The perfect flow, complete control of everything that makes the game of football peppered with a generous handfull of sublime style and swagger. It will be absolutely devastating if he doesn't make the final and will not only reduce our chances - but diminish the game as a spectacle of football. He is that good.
What tactics do you think Klopp will use?It will depend on the availability of players I suppose. I don't actually expect us to go gung-ho from minute one. It seems more likely we'll work on establishing control slowly, keeping them quiet and then ramping up the intensity and choking them until they crack. Though Real have been resting for weeks now, I'm certain we'll outrun them and have more in the tank for the final part of the match - which is where I expect us to up the intensity and look to finish them off. But in the end it's a final, and one played between two teams who never give up - pre-game tactics could go out the window in a minute and it could all quickly dissolve into a completely crazy run and gun mayhem. With five subs available in-game management and reactions may turn out to be more important to the final outcome.
Team predictions?Starting from the back, the only real question is who partners with Van Dijk. I think it will be Matip, though there's a strong case for putting Konate and using his speed to cover behind Trent. Joel's experience however might just be more important in my opinion. Midfield is one where there are many unknowns, with condition of Thiago and Fabinho still hanging in the air. Ideally it's Fabinho, Thiago and Henderson, but as things stand it's most likely to be Fabinho, Henderson and Keita. It will be a massive game for Naby - biggest game he has every played as lot of our hopes will hang on how well can he move the ball and break their lines with movement and passing. He needs to be brave but controlled, cheeky but smart. Real's midfield may not be the most mobile, but they are street smart like no other and outplaying them in advanced midfield role is some task for any player. I'm still obviously hoping Thiago makes it, but I believe Naby can do what needs doing as long as Fabinho is ready and playing well behind him, giving him that confidence to push Real and cause damage. Up front for many it will be Diaz, Mane and Salah - but to be perfectly honest I would prefer we start with the old front three. There is something about Bobby I think we would miss in a game like this. He can help us compensate for (likely) absence of Thiago and is always capable of pulling beautiful, polka dotted, pink eyed rabbits out of his hat. It would also give is the option to release Diaz against tired legs which is probably the last thing any full back wants to see.
DougleWhat's your first recollection of us in a CL (or European Cup) final?My first recollection of a European Cup final was Borussia Munchengladbach in 1977. It was so exciting then. I had grown into my teens as Liverpool rode first, the Shankly, then the Paisley waves. We had won 2 UEFA Cups, one against BMG themselves. They were a big team then. For me the European Cup was a 7 year quest. Every tie was do or die. We played against many exotically named eastern European teams behind the Iron curtain. Slask Wroclaw, Dynamos Bucharest, Berlin and Dresden, Red Star and Ferencvaros (both knocked us out). The beauty of the Cup then was that it was an open draw and only the Champions played. The ’77 run included the famous St Etienne quarter final at Anfield. I never saw any of those games live (Being in Ireland) and barely saw highlights. It was radio transmission, It was BBC radio 2. There was (to me) an innocence about that final, loads of Red and White massed on the terraces, I knew we’d win because we were unstoppable those days.
Clemence, Phil Neal, Smith and Hughes, Joey Jones (of the banner). Callaghan, Case, Kennedy and Mc Dermott. Up front Steve Heighway (my hero) and playing his last ever game for Liverpool, the irrepressible Kevin Keegan.
I saw the final. I was at home. It was actually a good game, BMG were tough and talented and matched us. Tommy Smith’s 2-1 header was both unexpected and exhilarating. Bertie Vogts chased after and kicked Keegan allover Rome finally giving away a penalty which finished them off. The image of the game for me was the sheer unadulterated delight of Emlyn Hughes picking up the trophy.
The quest, part 1, was over.
What was your favourite final?As a game, the first one, 1977. As an event in itself it has to be 2005 but 2019 was magnificent. The whole drama of losing the league, coming back from the dead against Barca and the build up to the final itself was unforgettable. I had gone through some tough times personally, losing my Dad and relationship splitting up. It was a very emotional time for me. I loved the Boss nights fan culture, The Wrap and the bus epic and (almost more memorable than the final itself) was the gathering in Madrid the afternoon of the final. I still look and listen back to that event. I watched it in a country pub in West Cork with a good (Red) mate of mine, with whom I will watch the game next Saturday as well.
There were a lot of tears that night and the next day watching the parade, even more so.
What was your lowest point?Brussels. Horrible. Nearly gave it all up then.
What goal gave you most satisfaction?David Fairclough, the third goal at Anfield against St Etienne and Big Divvie’s and Liverpool’s winner against Barca, disbelief and joy. Actually his winner against Spurs killed me too. My God the relief.
Have you even been to a live CL final?No.
What are your plans for watching this one?Gonna meet up with the same buddy I watched the 2019 final. Hopefully a couple of more mates will make it and I’m going to take my 12 year old son along with me. Gonna be wearing my Mum's wedding band at this one. She's just left us. I'll take a little of her to the game.
What players from the RM side do you think we need to keep quiet?Carlo has had defensive success in relatively recent CL games against us. His Napoli team really stifled us. So we have to expect them to do something similar against Trent and Robbo.
Well no prizes for guessing Benzema there. I think the key for us will be strangling the supply lines and that means not giving them space and time in the middle. We’ll need to mentally totally switched on from the start. I think Madrid will be happy to play dead and spring Venicius and Benzema on us.
Who has been the most exciting player of our team so far this season?Different players have burned brightly at different times. Salah then Jota followed by Diaz and finally Sadio. Thiago has been such a buzz to watch as well.
What tactics do you think Klopp will use?I think we will play steadily rather than demented from the start. If we rattle them then try for a quick brace but we may well be a little less offensive than usual. If we are clinical then we should create and score. Pressure needs to produce results though.
Having 5 subs will be important because we looked shot yesterday, second half against Wolves we were ragged and toothless. However we managed, played through the stress and maybe that will help us on Saturday night ?
Team predictions?Matip plus the usuals at the back.
I expect our 6 regular midfielders all to play if it goes to Extra time.
If Thiago doesn’t start then Fab, Hendo and Keita to start for me.
If Thiago is fit to start then Hendo and Fab with him.
Someone in the midfield 3 has to press on to Modric and Kroos.
Diaz, Mané and Mo up front to start.
If Bobby was fit and firing (is he?) then I could see him being a surprise selection and dropping back to cancel out one of Kroos and Modric. I think Madrid will go long from deep behind Trent for sure.
