The kingship of Champions League meets face to face on Tuesday when Liverpool receive the reigning champion real Madrid at Anfield. They play from 5pm Argentine time and will be broadcast live on ESPN and Star+.
The two giants of European football, holders of 20 European Cups together, meet again in a repeat of last year’s final, in the most extraordinary match of the round of 16.
Real Madrid have been dedicated to increasing their record collection of tournament titles to 14. Their triumph in the final in Paris capped a series of impressive comebacks in the qualifying rounds.
I’m still scratching my head,” said Glenn Hoddle, the former England manager and BT Sport analyst. I’ve covered every one of those games and still can’t fathom how they could have won. They were over.
Real Madrid rose from the canvas to knock out Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City in every knockout stage match before beating Liverpool 1-0 in the final.
“They were like a boxer, the ones who go against the ropes and one thinks the referee is going to stop the fight”said Hoddle. “I don’t know what happened, but they remained standing. They have that quality.”
How Liverpool arrives
Liverpool will be looking to make up for their defeat at the Stade de France in May last year and will go into the first leg with an attack that has fueled up after back-to-back victories over Everton and Newcastle in the English Premier League.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp said on Monday that he only reviewed the final last weekend. “Now I know why. But I had to do it and it was torture,” he said.
His team has had an uneven season after competing for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies last year. So much so that, until last week, winning the Champions League seemed to be the best option to access the next edition of the tournament.
But two recent Premier League victories have lifted their spirits, as well as leaving them six points out of the top four in the table.
How is Real Madrid doing?
Madrid, for its part, comes from the victory of Club World Cup at the beginning of the month. He is eight points behind the leader Barcelona in the Spanish League.
“Last year’s final was a close match, maybe they had more ball possession, but we were far behind and you can always get something good against Liverpool,” commented the Real Madrid manager Charles Ancelotti. “But this Tuesday will be different because there are two games and you have to take that into account, you have to play the 180 minutes well.”
Ancelotti confirms the presence of Karim Benzema in attack, but the central area of the midfield will show the absence of Tony Kros AND Aurélien Tchouameni for physical injuries. The blue coach was evaluating a starting eleven in which to play the Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde more advanced or insert the Brazilian Rodrygo from the start.
I have doubts whether to put a more controlled team behind or a stronger one in front, Ancelotti said. “I hope I’m not wrong.
Speaking about last year’s final, Klopp warned that “it’s the same clubs, but different squads and different times.
He also praised Madrid’s indomitable spirit.
“They are never scared, they never get nervous,” said the German coach. “If you win the tournament that many times, you can probably think it belongs to you and maybe they’re right.”
= Probable formations =
Liverpool (4-3-3: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Gomez, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Bajcetic; Gakpo, Núñez and Salah.
Real Madrid (4-3-3: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rüdiger, Alaba; Camavinga, Ceballos, Modric; Fede Valverde, Benzema and Vinicius.
Where to watch Liverpool vs Real Madrid?
The game will be broadcast on ESPN and Star+. You will also be able to follow the minute by minute on the Clarin website
Source: AP
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.