The much-awaited UEFA Champions League final is almost here. Real Madrid fans all over the world have been waiting for this day and they have a very positive feeling ahead of it.
The players are working hard day and night to be 100% for the game. Real Madrid has released the squad list and all the first-team players are available, which is a piece of very positive news for the manager. Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Isco will be heading to Paris with a very motivated mindset of giving a very good performance in what could be the last match of their Real Madrid career.
The most experienced players of the team – Luka Modric, Casemiro, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Dani Carvajal, Casemiro, Isco, Marcelo and Nacho Fernandez have already won 4 Champions League titles and will be hoping to win their 5th, while players like Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo Goes, Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga would be playing their first final.
It’s going to be a great match, and I think that in this interesting match, these three individual battles will be worth watching.
1. Mohamed Salah vs Ferland Mendy
This is going to be a very feisty encounter and worth watching on Real Madrid’s left flank. What makes it so special is that we will see a highly motivated, yet young Ferland Mendy against Mohamed Salah who is hungry for revenge for the 2018 UCL final and the quarterfinal of last season.
We all know how big of a threat Mohamed Salah is. It is going to take something to stop the Egyptian and I believe only Ferland Mendy is capable of it. It will be a highly physical encounter where both the players will be using their speed to maximise their impact on the ball.
On a good day, it is pretty impossible for any player to run past Mendy. He is one of the best young left-backs in the game right now. He is not very good offensively – his crossing is disappointing and his long shots aren’t sharp enough – But Ferland Mendy can easily compensate for that with his high defensive capabilities.
Mohamed Salah will have a difficult day and will need a lot of help from Trent Alexander Arnold if he wants to rule Real Madrid’s left flank.
2. Vinicius Junior vs Trent Alexander-Arnold
This will be a very competitive duel. Both the players will be highly aggressive, using their pace to maximum advantage.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of the best full-backs in the world currently and for years to come. He is excellent going forward, and he usually gets the job done while defending. His crossing is inch-perfect and his shots from distance often surprise the goalkeepers.
And Vinicius Junior? The future star of Real Madrid and the undisputed starter. This has been the breakout season for the young Brazilian and he will be hoping to add this UEFA Champions League trophy as the icing on the cake. Combining with Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior has improved tremendously in the last two seasons, which is evident by the statistics too.
Vinicius Junior has scored 21 goals for Real Madrid, with 16 assists to his name. The speed with which he runs with the ball and the tricks he does with his quick feet to run past defenders will be highly challenging for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who generally struggles with wingers like Vinicius.
When Real Madrid faced Liverpool last season in the double legged Quarterfinal, Vinicius Junior was the star of the game and will be motivated for another such performance. I think that Ancelotti will definitely instruct him to run into spaces for Toni Kroos, David Alaba and Luka Modric to put in through passes or long balls to have him behind the defensive line.
As I mentioned in the first slide, it will be way too difficult for Mo Salah to handle Ferland Mendy alone and will need Trent Alexander-Arnold’s help in the final third. Now if the English right-back is on the offence, it will keep Vinicius Junior with some space to use and the young Brazilian can exploit it with ease.
I think that if Real Madrid wants to attack from the left flank, the players will need to play a counter-attacking or a long ball game. They will have to be very sharp and quick on their feet, because Liverpool doesn’t allow you to keep the ball for that long.
3. Sadio Mane vs Dani Carvajal
I would have probably taken Luka Modric vs Thiago as the third one, but Thiago might not play the game due to injury.
It is pretty much understood that Dani Carvajal will start as the first-choice right-back and will have a pretty hard time dealing with Sadio Mane. Mane is on top of his form and is very much in the race for Ballon D’Or after winning the AFCON. A UCL win could be a very deciding factor in determining the winner and that is what makes this fixture even more interesting.
Assuming that Real Madrid will play the tactics similar to how it has been in the last few weeks. This means that Federico Valverde will assist Dani Carvajal in defending, but also that Carvajal will often make forward runs to help offensively from the right flank, thus leaving Sadio Mane unmarked.
The pace with which Senegal’s forward can break will be very threatening and will demand Carvajal to often track back to prevent dangerous counterattacks. It will be a very fierce battle and the Spaniard will have to step up to play his best game of the season.
Carvajal would have to be very sharp defensively given the high degree of threat of Mane. I know how good Dani Carvajal can be offensively too. His crossing is pinpoint and his chemistry with Luka Modric can help create holes in Liverpool’s defence.
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But even if Carvajal manages to keep up with Sadio Mane, without providing much in attack, I would call it an excellent performance from the experienced right back.