Champions League Final Preview

The Road to the Final

Naijaloaded

Playoff round

1^st Leg

1899 Hoffenheim vs Liverpool 1-2

2^nd Leg

Liverpool vs 1899 Hoffenheim 4-2

Group Stage

Real Madrid

Real Madrid vs APOEL 3-0

Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid 1-3

Real Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspur 1-1

Tottenham Hotspur vs Real Madrid 3-1

APOEL vs Real Madrid 0-6

Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund 3-2

Group H runners-up

Liverpool

Liverpool vs Sevilla 2-2

Spartak Moscow vs Liverpool 1-1

Maribor vs Liverpool 0-7

Liverpool vs Maribor 3-0

Sevilla vs Liverpool 3-3

Liverpool vs Spartak Moscow 7-0

Group E winners

Round of 16

1^st leg

Real Madrid vs Paris Saint Germain 3-1

Porto vs Liverpool 0-5

2^nd leg

Paris Saint Germain vs Real Madrid 1-2

Liverpool vs Porto 0-0

Quarter Finals

1^st leg

Juventus vs Real Madrid 0-3

Liverpool vs Manchester City 3-0

2^nd leg

Real Madrid vs Juventus 1-3

Manchester City vs Liverpool 1-2

Semi-Finals

1^st leg

Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid 1-2

Liverpool vs Roma 5-2

2^nd leg

Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich 2-2

Roma vs Liverpool 4-2

Officials

Milorad Mazic – Referee

Milovan Ristic – Assistant Referee

Dalibor Durdevic – Assistant Referee

Clement Turpin – Fourth Official

NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine

Wikipedia

Managers

Zinedine Zidane

Stuff

Real Madrid

La Liga: 2016-17

UEFA Champions League: 2015-16, 2016-17

Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool FC

Mainz 05

2. Bundesliga promotion: 2003-04

Borussia Dortmund

Bundesliga: 2010-11, 2011-12

DFL-Pokal: 2011-12

UEFA Champions League Runner-up: 2012-13

Liverpool

UEFA Europa League Runner up: 2015-16

Possible Starting Lineups

Real Madrid

Taylor Brostrom | wincolumnsports.ca

What to watch for

• Cristiano Ronaldo has had another amazing campaign in the Champions League, leading the league in scoring with 15 goals
• Bale would be a secondary force in the attack on Real Madrid
• Real Madrid have a strong midfield three of Kroos, Casemiro, and Modric
• Real Madrid are looking for their third straight Champions League Cup

Liverpool

Taylor Brostrom | wincolumnsports.ca

What to watch for

• Salah has had just a phenomenal season and will be the imminent danger for Liverpool
• Liverpool’s fullbacks are lacking experience and could be a focal point
• Since the arrival of van Dijk, the defense has been shored up
• Liverpool lead the competition with 40 goals scored
• James Milner has been huge this season leading with 9 assists
• The front three of Salah, Firmino, and Mane have been the large part of the offense of Liverpool with 10, 10, and 9 goals respectively
• Klopp does not have the best record in cup finals winning 1 of 3

Other Notes on the Match

• Looking forward to a high offensive match between the two
• In the last match, Liverpool failed to finish off Roma in a match that was more tense than it should have been
• The match is set up as Cristiano Ronaldo vs Salah, but the supporting cast will be key to winning
• I have Real Madrid as the favourites in the match but, Liverpool could surprise