This is it, Real Madrid face off against Liverpool for a 13th Champions League title. In anticipation of the final, The Real Champs writers had their say on who will lifting the trophy.
Alex McVey, Co-Expert
Real Madrid has done an extraordinary thing by making it to three consecutive finals. I am thinking this is the year that Zidane’s Madrid is finally undone in a Champions League final.
Real Madrid has had patches of absolute brilliance this season, but they seem to always come in between moments of total defensive chaos. I would love it if they surprised me and pulled off a victory, but I fear for the worst.
Prediction: Liverpool 3 – 2 Real Madrid
Ben Sundock, Co-Expert
Everyone is thinking that Real Madrid has already won the title. I hate that no one is giving Liverpool a chance because they certainly have one with the talent of their three forwards.
Despite me saying this, I think Real’s experience and big-game nature is going to play a huge role in this match and Zidane and company will cruise to a 3-1 win. Like we saw a year ago against Juventus, the first-half was very tightly contested, but the second-half showed the true class of the King’s of Europe. Liverpool will come out amped up, chasing down every ball, pressing, and looking to get their crowd into the match early. By doing this, they will tire themselves out and once they do, Ronaldo and Bale will pounce.
It’s time to make it three UCL title’s in a row for Los Blancos!
Prediction: Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool
Kristofer Mc Cormack, Contributor
This final is one of the most well-matched affairs Madrid have had to face in a long time. Unlike the previous two finals, Liverpool isn’t the type of side to sit back and defend a lead and their ferocious gegenpressing, along with the free-scoring Salah raises plenty of cause for concern.
Nonetheless, Real Madrid deserves to be favorites here. Barring the front three, Real Madrid beat this Liverpool side in every department. That’s not a knock at Liverpool’s quality, but more a statement of how good Los Blancos team is. We possess some truly world-class veterans and Liverpool simply do not have the same individual quality. Liverpool high press is a terrifying prospect, but, Real Madrid press resistance has been one of their best features this season, especially outside of a diamond.
I think it’s going to be a tight game, but, for me, a lot is going to have to go wrong for Liverpool to win this. Saying all this, I have never predicted Real Madrid to win a Champions League final they have won so.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Real Madrid
Aakanksha Sharma, Contributor
My heart screams Madrid but my brain screams Liverpool. There is something about this Liverpool front three which terrifies me. Also, after a terribly inconsistent season and defensive mishaps, I have a bad feeling that Liverpool will finally punish them for their errors. If they give Liverpool the chances that they gave to both Juventus and Bayern Munich at the Bernabéu this match has the potential to be over in the first half. I am still obviously praying for Madrid to get the job done. But they’ll need to channel all their experience, skill, game management and mental toughness to counter this marauding attack.
Prediction: Liverpool 4-2 Real Madrid
Has Karim, Contributor
I think Madrid will ride out the early threat from Liverpool. They’ll assert the dominance in midfield and then punish the inexperience of the Merseyside outfit. The key for Madrid is keeping the ball and rotating possession. If they can force Liverpool to sit and wait, they’ll pick them off.
Prediction: Real Madrid 3-2 Liverpool
Mushtaq Nizamdin, Contributor
Real Madrid is no stranger to Finals, especially the glamorous Champions League Final. Spectators and analysts are putting their money on Liverpool to claim victory but I think differently. Given the out of this world scoring shown by both teams this Champions League I’d suspect a high scoring game but in Real’s favor. Defensively Madrid has a way of getting things done resulting in the Whites getting the victory. Even if Liverpool do score I’m sure Madrid will come back and run away with the game once that first goal goes in. A goal from Ronaldo is very likely, in the event Gareth Bale plays as well I can see him scoring as well. Zidane’s tactics will be on point and unlock Klopp’s Liverpool.
Prediction: Real Madrid 4-1 Liverpool
Sunil Gurubhagwatla, Contributor
Going into this game, based on eye-tests one could be tempted into believing that Liverpool has all the fire-power in their armory to beat Real Madrid twice in 90 minutes. Being a Madridista, I do not hold anything against people with the school of thought mentioned above. Why should I? Liverpool has scored goals for fun this season and they have improved massively in the back since Virgil Van Dijk came in. They press hard, run well and punish the opponent for every silly little mistake; and someone who watches Real Madrid day in and day out should be concerned.
However, Real Madrid has won 3 Champions League in last 4 seasons, effectively with the same squad. I concede that the squad has more issues than it had in any other season previously. It is only natural that people are claiming a Real Madrid white-wash. However, we are talking about Real Madrid here. Time and again these players have fought together and came out with trophies, albeit bruised and battered. This time around Real Madrid faces a team whose strengths match Real’s weaknesses to some extent. However, Real are a much more organized unit in games like these. They defend better and leave their superiority complex back home if there were any.
Next: Scouting the enemy: A guide to Liverpool
I do not feel it will be a whitewash. There will be goals, oh yes! but on both ends. It all depends on who manages the game better. If Real Madrid could manage the first 30 minutes of the game with minimal damage, I think Real have a great chance. Given the condition I placed above, I think it is going to be a 3-1 win for Real Madrid, Liverpool will score first.