Real Madrid go in search of their third consecutive title in tonight's Champions League final. While it may be easy to believe that Madrid will have too much in their locker for Liverpool by virtue of lifting the trophy in three of the last four seasons; you should never, never be quick to forget that the Reds possess a threat Los Blancos have not faced before.
Liverpool play a high press and thrive in the opposition's chaos forcing defenders to make mistakes. It also goes without mentioning their pace on the counter as can be devasting as the opposition overcommit as they try to play catch up.
As much as spectators are hoping for a high scoring affair Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane isn't likely to take that gamble as a frantic and high paced game leans in the favour of Liverpool as the firepower resides with the Reds.
When comparing the two teams both their defences aren't rock solid and its clearly established in a head-to-head battle Liverpool would have the advantage, its the midfield though that will be key in the deciding the who goes home with the trophy.
In that regard its advantage Madrid as they have a much more well rounded midfield and thus giving them the structure required to keep Liverpool at bay for most of the game before being able to let loose with Cristiano Ronaldo, Karem Benzema and Isco.
Isco will prove an even bigger threat than the front two with his abilty to exploit the pockets of space behind the opponents midfield. As a result of the Reds not having having an out and out defensive midfielder he'd be able to dictate the terms for the game.
Madrid's midfield would also function well as a defensive tool as Brazilian Casemiro is likely to have his say in the result.
Casemiro is a player who has grown to be an important cog in Madrid as he provides structure at the base of the midfield and he ensures that there would be no gaps for the opposition to exploit with his ability to break the opposition's rhythm on offense.
This will also allow fullback Marcelo and Dani Carvajal free reign to do the damage on Liverpool.
The distributing ability of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric will be Real's key to get the offensive advantage as it will allow them to bypass Jurgen Klopp's high press.
The further on the game gets the more likely Klopp's charges are to be stretched which would open the door to play in passes for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and their substitutes to exploit a tiring Liverpool later on.
Marco Asensio, Lucas Vasquez and Gareth Bale are just few of the options Madrid have on the bench to change the game. Outside of their starting line up Liverpool don't have the same quality in depth which can count against then when dragged into the deep waters.
No comments:
Post a Comment