Mo Salah is so exact, so precise.
The more I watch Salah swerve and stop and feint and dink, the more precise he seems to be.
Liverpool are an energy team and gegenpressing is the art of attacking when you don’t have the ball. They tackle, intercept, win it, pass forward, sprint forward, shoot or assist, keep attacking, always try to score another goal.
Can Real Madrid absorb that pressure? Can they keep the ball and play through Liverpool?
Small dribblers like Salah make big defenders fall over a lot. To make a tackle you have to be in the right position, you have to be balanced an know exactly where your mate is. But when Mane and Firmino and Salah and Robertson and Alexander-Arnold come flying at you so quickly, you can slip and wobble.
These two clubs have played in 17 previous finals between them.
In Istanbul in 2005 Liverpool came from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan on penalties.
As I’ve said all year, gegenpressing suits Liverpool, suits the Kop and maximises their explosive front three.
What do I think of Real Madrid this season? Very patchy.
Good in the Champions League, average in La Liga.
Tottenham were far too energetic for Zidane’s galacticos in both legs in the group stage. Maybe they thought Spurs would respect them and sit back.
Key facts: Ramos and Varane are the best centrebacks in world football, Marcelo is a productive playmaker, Asensio the classiest footballer Spain has produced in the 21st century. Very gifted.
Luka Modric is still world class.
Most of Ronaldo’s goals this season have been headers or volleys or first-time shots. He wins games by knowing when to move and where. Once a spectacularly athletic sprinter and dribbler, he is now a minimalist goalpoacher. For Cristiano Superstar in 2017-18, less is more.
Verdict?
Klopperpool play passionately and that suits the supporters. As comedian John Bishop says, “You want the person on the pitch to care as much as you do.”
What else? Nothing really. Just that, as always, it’s a big night. My life is measured out in European Cup Finals and has been ever since I bunked off school to see Benfica v AC Milan at Wembley.
PS .I’ve got a lot going on this week, and even more tomorrow, but may be able to post something else on this Final on Saturday afternoon.
Like me, you remember Istanbul :
http://arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/wp/liverpool-come-back/