Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool will meet La Liga champions Real Madrid in the 2022 UEFA Champions League final on Saturday 28 May at the Stade de France, Paris. Six-time winners Liverpool and 13-time winners Real Madrid will go head-to-head in a repeat of the 2018 Champions League Final, where Los Blancos recorded a 3-1 victory, largely thanks to a man-of-the-match performance from Gareth Bale.
Domestic Campaigns
We’re in for a real treat here as Liverpool face Real Madrid. Klopp’s side have enjoyed a wonderful season, despite missing out on the Premier League trophy, and could have been in line to win an unprecedented quadruple, if it wasn’t for City being crowned Premier League champions. The Premier League title race went to the wire on the final day last weekend as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City narrowly claimed the trophy by just a single point. The Citizens also came from two goals down to defeat Aston Villa to pip the Reds to the title.
Liverpool have performed valiantly across all competitions this season and were also crowned winners of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, defeating Chelsea on penalties in both finals. Tiredness has started to creep in but the Reds continue to defy expectations and perform at an elite level.
Real Madrid eased their way to their 35th La Liga title this season, finishing 13 points ahead of rivals Barcelona in second. Their European campaign this term has provided us with pure footballing drama as Carlo Ancelotti’s side have become synonymous with late comebacks. Real were the frontrunners for La Liga all season and led the way comfortably. However, they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey in the quarter-final against Athletic Bilbao. Ancelotti’s squad should be a lot more fresh than Klopp’s men.
Ancelotti’s History Against Liverpool
Ancelotti is certainly no stranger when it comes to going toe-to-toe with Liverpool. Most notably, during his time with Milan, where he faced the Reds in two Champions League finals in 2005 and 2007. He will certainly remember the famous night in Istanbul in 2005, which will go down in history as one of the most epic finals of all time. Liverpool overturned a three goal deficit at half-time, led by captain Steven Gerrard, to run out eventual winners on penalties.
Nonetheless, the Italian legend was able to pick up his second Champions League title in 2007 as Milan and Liverpool clashed once more. This time Filippo Inzaghi helped Milan to victory, bagging a brace as they ran out 2-1 winners in Athens. Of course, Ancelotti will feel some form of vengeance was served but that night in Istanbul will never be forgotten.
Memories of Istanbul: Ancelotti denies claim that Milan 'celebrated at half-time against… https://t.co/lUUkpJIr3G pic.twitter.com/as397YjDY9
— GOAL (@goal) May 25, 2016
Route to the Final
Liverpool Route to the final: Group B winners, 2-1 agg vs Inter (R16), 6-4 agg vs Benfica (QF), 5-2 agg vs Villarreal (SF)
On paper, Liverpool had a much easier path to the final here. Nonetheless, the sides the Reds faced deserved to be there and proved to certainly be no pushovers. Inter provided Klopp’s side with a tough task as Liverpool ran out narrow 2-1 winners on aggregate. The Nerazzurri were unfortunate to lose the first leg, before defeating the Reds at Anfield in the second. Benfica also qualified out of a group that featured Bayern Munich and Barcelona and a six-goal thriller in the second leg kept things interesting. Villarreal were one of the competitions surprise packages this year, knocking out giants Juventus and Bayern in previous rounds. The Yellow Submarine were not to be taken lightly as Liverpool fought back from 2-0 down in the second leg to run out eventual winners.
Real Madrid Route to the final: Group D winners, 3-2 agg vs PSG (R16), 5-4 agg vs Chelsea (QF), 6-5 agg vs Man City (SF)
Real arguably had a tougher journey to reach Paris as they knocked out the star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side, making a come back after finding themselves 2-0 down on aggregate. Despite taking a 3-1 leading against Champions League holders Chelsea heading into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, Los Blancos found themselves 4-3 down with 15 minutes of normal time remaining. They needed extra-time to find a winner, scored by that man, Karim Benzema.
A thrilling first leg at the Etihad saw Real 4-3 down heading into the semi-final second leg. Ancelotti’s side looked down and out after a goal by Riyad Mahrez put Premier League champions City 5-3 up. However, a late brace by Rodrygo saw Real head to extra time once more and of course it was that man again, Benzema, who found a winner to send Real to the final.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid Predicted Line-ups
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Keïta; Salah, Mané, Luis Díaz
Fabinho is still in doubt for the final here after picking up a thigh injury against Aston Villa earlier in the month. However, the Brazilian is expected to recover for the final here and has returned to full training this week. Thiago Alcantara is a major doubt here after being forced off at half-time last weekend against Wolves due to a calf injury.
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Éder Militão, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Modrić; Valverde, Benzema, Vinícius Júnior
Real should have a fully fit squad available for selection here with a clean bill of health and no suspensions. They have already named their squad for the final, with out-of-favor Gareth Bale included. David Alaba is a slight doubt but is still expected to start.
A Voice from the Camps
Mohamed Salah has stated that: “We have a score to settle.”
The pain from 2018 will still be tender as Salah was forced off after just 25 minutes with a dislocated shoulder, following a challenge by Sergio Ramos. It’s been a somewhat tough year for the Egyptian who missed out on a Premier League trophy with Liverpool, as well as seeing his teammate Sadio Mane lift the African Cup of Nations trophy as Egypt lost on penalties to Senegal. Salah also missed a key penalty as he saw his side fail to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He will be hoping he can end this season on a high note, particularly getting revenge for the 2018 final.
Carlo Ancelotti: “Something strange has happened. Since the start of the season we have played very strong teams who believed they’d win the Champions League – Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Man. City. Credit goes to the players and our fanbase, who push and push and push. The shirt carries weight – the pride of the club. For me, a final with Liverpool is like a derby because I continue to be an Evertonian.”
Having already become the first coach to win the title in all of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues, Ancelotti could now become the only manager to win the European Cup or Champions League on four separate occasions.
A victory will be even sweeter for the Italian as he hopes to do his old side Everton a favor by beating their cross-city rivals here. Ancelotti will be leaning on his side’s spirit once more as they tackle Liverpool here. More late drama, twists and turns are to be expected in what is set to be a thrilling final.