The UEFA Champions League Final is arguably the biggest game in club football, with eyes from all around the world squarely looking on and watching, arguably, the two best teams in Europe go up against each other for the highest glory in football possible.
As we know, we will see Real Madrid take on Liverpool in Paris on May 28, in a repeat of the Final that took place four years ago in Kyiv, Ukraine.
That particular encounter had ended 3-1 in favour of the Spaniards, with Gareth Bale netting two goals on the night, with the Reds’ goalkeeper, Loris Kauris, having what could only be described as a nightmare and effectively ended his career as a shot-stopper at a top club.
Will we see more of the same? Or will we get a completely different final? Let’s take a look at the two teams and what we could expect when the two teams take to the Stade de France pitch in just a matter of days.
Real Madrid’s form heading into the 2022 UCL
Naturally, when you think of Real Madrid, many will immediately associate the Spanish club with being the most successful club in the history of the competition. They are 13-time champions of this prestigious tournament, with their last trophy win being the 2018 edition when they defeated Liverpool.
Los Blancos come into the game as La Liga champions and will be looking to further extend their record. Some will likely be fancying them to be able to overcome the challenge of the English giants, as they have already managed to dispatch two other Premier League sides in order to get to the Final.
Real Madrid defeated Chelsea in the Quarter-finals after managing to get past Paris Saint-Germain, before defeating Manchester City in emphatic and rather incredible circumstances in the Semi-final stage. Given that they have been able to get past three of the most difficult teams in European competition already, many will immediately be fancying that they will take their chances.
However, those who perhaps read a sports blog UK has available to them might be of the opinion that Liverpool could be able to add their second UCL title in three years.
Liverpool has been in exceptional form
Jurgen Klopp’s side has been incredible this season and never look like losing whenever they take to the field, regardless of the competition that they are playing in.
The Reds have already managed to obtain a double after winning the League Cup and the FA Cup in the same way: defeating Chelsea in a penalty shootout. As of writing, they are still competing for the Premier League title – which will come to its conclusion on Sunday – and the UCL would help them to potentially complete the quadruple if they are able to capture the league title.
Indeed, Liverpool’s route to the UCL Final has been a lot simpler than the route that Real Madrid has had to take, as they defeated Inter, Benfica, and Villarreal to reach the showpiece in France.
What do we expect to happen this time around?
As highlighted, the last time these two teams met in the UEFA Champions League Final, Real Madrid managed to come out on top. Do we expect that to happen again?
In truth, it is certainly a possibility as Karem Benzema and Vinicius Jr continue to be incredible in attack for the Spaniards, with both playing extremely well and having very important contributions to the side.
However, it would be incredibly stupid to rule out Liverpool and their chances of winning. The Reds bounced back from that defeat in Kyiv to win the next edition of the UCL, whilst they have been a formidable opponent for every team over the last couple of years with Klopp in charge and an attack that contains Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
One thing we would imagine it would be impossible to see again is a defeat of the same manner. We would be very surprised if there were mistakes of the magnitude made in the 2018 Final, whilst we hope that the game is exciting all the way through.
