GWT: UCL Final: Liverpool vs Real Madrid - 28 May

[LOGiK]

Luis Diaz is having a good run. That guy has a hot streak every time I see him out there.

 

[Chimaera]

I think some of the Trent defending issues are overblown. The more the media hypes up that he can't defend, the better he's been at times. I'm not comfortable with a very good player with pace coming at him, but it's one of the concessions Liverpool has made to be successful. If Klopp think it's an issue, you'll see Henderson to offer more cover. He did well enough against Sancho, and limited some of City's chances in their matchups.

Real are going to get some chances. The big thing for Liverpool is getting the first goal relatively early in the matchup, so they can avoid letting Madrid just sit back.

 

[les Habs]

I mean in that case If LFC have better players/depth it’s because of Klopp and their infrastructure

Best XI would be very interesting selection. I think LFC probably have 7 of those spots in the bag. Which is nothing against Madrid either.

I was referring to a best XI between City and Madrid.

 

[keonsbitterness]

boring

 

[luiginb]

I'm not on the "Trent can't defend" train, far from it... but I am on the "Trent can't defend Vinicius" train.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

I'm not on the "Trent can't defend" train, far from it... but I am on the "Trent can't defend Vinicius" train.

The thing with Vini is that he ends up defending himself most of the time hehe.

He has been much better this year at making the right decision at the right time though.

 

[LOGiK]

The thing with Vini is that he ends up defending himself most of the time hehe.

He has been much better this year at making the right decision at the right time though.

Never knew you were into football...

 

[Chimaera]

I don't think it's as simple as saying Trent's on an island, that's it. They likely will provide help out wide to keep it held down as best as possible. But... some of the discussion really depends on possession.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Never knew you were into football...

I have been posting on this sub daily for a decade hehe.

 

[Savant]

Thought this was interesting. Not sure I agree with it or not but it’s interesting for all the people saying that one team had an easier road to the final than the other, Maybe not the case?



People forget that LFC had a gruesome group stage draw, and it’s not their fault that Ajax and Bayern choked. Either way group stage may or may not be weighted higher than it should be here, but thought the numbers were interesting

 

[koyvoo]

Match day 2, which saw this Madrid side lose to Sheriff FC, does seem very long ago indeed.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

Liverpool with 2-3 goals ahead.

 

[Evilo]

Thought this was interesting. Not sure I agree with it or not but it’s interesting for all the people saying that one team had an easier road to the final than the other, Maybe not the case?



People forget that LFC had a gruesome group stage draw, and it’s not their fault that Ajax and Bayern choked. Either way group stage may or may not be weighted higher than it should be here, but thought the numbers were interesting

Yeah no. Real eliminated 2 of the top 4 contenders as well as the title holders. There's absolutely zero comparison.

 

[Corto]

Thought this was interesting. Not sure I agree with it or not but it’s interesting for all the people saying that one team had an easier road to the final than the other, Maybe not the case?



People forget that LFC had a gruesome group stage draw, and it’s not their fault that Ajax and Bayern choked. Either way group stage may or may not be weighted higher than it should be here, but thought the numbers were interesting

Come on, man, Madrid did:
- PSG, who, while they have clowns as owners and a sporting director, have a very good squad, a midfielder away from greatness IMO, are one of the elite teams in Europe
- Chelsea, defending champions and perhaps currently the best Cup-team in the world
- City, EPL champions, leaders, and according to most, the best team in the world

And yes, they struggled, but other teams would've crumbled 2-0 down at City after 10 mins.

Liverpool had:
- Inter, with no Lukaku or Hakimi, looking like they'll finish behind Milan now, and even so, the games were pretty close, and who knows, maybe Inter have a shot if Sanchez doesn't get sent off
- Benfica, 3rd in Portugal
- Villareal, 7th in Spain. Still led 2-0 at HT of the 2nd leg, I'll bet you the UK/US pundits would be spasming over how bad Real, PSG or Barca were if they were 2-0 down to Villareal

It's not Liverpool's fault Ajax and Bayern bombed out, but to say they had a similar road to Madrid's is silly.
I don't care what metric that source used, it's rubbish.

Also, I'm not sure how Liverpool in 18-19 is ahead on that metric of Madrid in 17-18. Or Spurs.
Liverpool played Bayern (transition year, Ribery, Robben last season, Hummels/Boa decline), Porto, Barca.
Spurs had BVB, City and Ajax.
Madrid in 17-18 played PSG, Juve, Bayern. And Liverpool in the final.
To me, Madrid's route is easily the hardest.

 

[Savant]

Come on, man, Madrid did:
- PSG, who, while they have clowns as owners and a sporting director, have a very good squad, a midfielder away from greatness IMO, are one of the elite teams in Europe
- Chelsea, defending champions and perhaps currently the best Cup-team in the world
- City, EPL champions, leaders, and according to most, the best team in the world

And yes, they struggled, but other teams would've crumbled 2-0 down at City after 10 mins.

Liverpool had:
- Inter, with no Lukaku or Hakimi, looking like they'll finish behind Milan now, and even so, the games were pretty close, and who knows, maybe Inter have a shot if Sanchez doesn't get sent off
- Benfica, 3rd in Portugal
- Villareal, 7th in Spain. Still led 2-0 at HT of the 2nd leg, I'm bet you the UK/US pundits would be spasming over how bad Real, PSG or Barca were if they were 2-0 down to Villareal

It's not Liverpool's fault Ajax and Bayern bombed out, but to say they had a similar road to Madrid's is silly.
I don't care what metric that source used, it's rubbish.

Also, I'm not sure how Liverpool in 18-19 is ahead on that metric of Madrid in 17-18. Or Spurs.
Liverpool played Bayern (transition year, Ribery, Robben last season, Hummels/Boa decline), Porto, Barca.
Spurs had BVB, City and Ajax.
Madrid in 17-18 played PSG, Juve, Bayern. And Liverpool in the final.
To me, Madrid's route is easily the hardest.

I agree. As I said I was a bit surprised and it must be that they weighed the group stage too heavily. Probably same happen with 18-19 LFC. Another very tough group.

 

[maclean]

Based on all that, I expect a boring 0-0 draw with penalties

Oof, truth hurts. It's so often the games that should be the most dramatic that end up being snoozers.

I think Liverpool "deserve" to win this but RM is RM, and even though I don't mean it exactly the same way as Scandale du Jour does, the point still stands..

 

[Chimaera]

Sure, they're escaping matchups where they've been worse for a big chunk of the tie. Shit, for what it's worth, they were behind basically ALL of the semi-final other than a last gasp 10-15 minute stretch. It was practically done if not for Mendy and some last gasp heroics.

I guess that's something to hang your hat on?

They certainly had a harder road, and more difficult opponents, but I don't believe they've turned into some monster team. If they play like they did for parts of each of the knockout rounds, the final could be over before they have much chance. I don't expect that to be the result, but there was a lot of concern throughout each knockout round.

 

[robertmac43]

Yeah, Real definitely had the harder route to the final for me. I also think the FiveThirtyEight rankings can be suspect at the best of times. Heck Brighton is currently the 20th-ranked team in the world to them, I'll take it but I don't think we are better than many teams below lol

 

[LOGiK]

Come on, man, Madrid did:
- PSG, who, while they have clowns as owners and a sporting director, have a very good squad, a midfielder away from greatness IMO, are one of the elite teams in Europe
- Chelsea, defending champions and perhaps currently the best Cup-team in the world
- City, EPL champions, leaders, and according to most, the best team in the world

And yes, they struggled, but other teams would've crumbled 2-0 down at City after 10 mins.

Liverpool had:
- Inter, with no Lukaku or Hakimi, looking like they'll finish behind Milan now, and even so, the games were pretty close, and who knows, maybe Inter have a shot if Sanchez doesn't get sent off
- Benfica, 3rd in Portugal
- Villareal, 7th in Spain. Still led 2-0 at HT of the 2nd leg, I'll bet you the UK/US pundits would be spasming over how bad Real, PSG or Barca were if they were 2-0 down to Villareal

It's not Liverpool's fault Ajax and Bayern bombed out, but to say they had a similar road to Madrid's is silly.
I don't care what metric that source used, it's rubbish.

Also, I'm not sure how Liverpool in 18-19 is ahead on that metric of Madrid in 17-18. Or Spurs.
Liverpool played Bayern (transition year, Ribery, Robben last season, Hummels/Boa decline), Porto, Barca.
Spurs had BVB, City and Ajax.
Madrid in 17-18 played PSG, Juve, Bayern. And Liverpool in the final.
To me, Madrid's route is easily the hardest.

Don't forget the first leg of the man - mad match. That was a wild offensive attack and man city could've quite realistically had 7 goals. Real Madrid hung in there though and found a way.
Wins (and loses) come in a variety of ways.

I have been posting on this sub daily for a decade hehe.

Nice. I rarely follower posters habits so... wouldn't've taken ya for a football guy being a hockey guy. heh =P
On top of me not even knowing the board had other areas outside of hockey. I never looked passed the hockey side of it =P
It's a very weak comparison, but I've always said football is like hockey but shed the gear for the summer.

 

[robertmac43]

Something I have been thinking about is the whole rust v rest debate. Going into this final Liverpool will be battling week in and week out to try and bring home more trophies. That sense of urgency and need to win is going to have them playing to their max. On the other hand, Real is coasting into the finals with no real intense games. They have the opportunity to rest up and just focus on the CL finals.

Which would you rather have going into the final?

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Thought this was interesting. Not sure I agree with it or not but it’s interesting for all the people saying that one team had an easier road to the final than the other, Maybe not the case?



People forget that LFC had a gruesome group stage draw, and it’s not their fault that Ajax and Bayern choked. Either way group stage may or may not be weighted higher than it should be here, but thought the numbers were interesting

'Not sure if I agree with it'

f*** outta here.

 

[Savant]

Something I have been thinking about is the whole rust v rest debate. Going into this final Liverpool will be battling week in and week out to try and bring home more trophies. That sense of urgency and need to win is going to have them playing to their max. On the other hand, Real is coasting into the finals with no real intense games. They have the opportunity to rest up and just focus on the CL finals.

Which would you rather have going into the final?

At this level I don’t think it really matters, but I do think Madrid needs to not let their knives get dull.

 

[Chimaera]

Something I have been thinking about is the whole rust v rest debate. Going into this final Liverpool will be battling week in and week out to try and bring home more trophies. That sense of urgency and need to win is going to have them playing to their max. On the other hand, Real is coasting into the finals with no real intense games. They have the opportunity to rest up and just focus on the CL finals.

Which would you rather have going into the final?

here's what matters. Liverpool will likely put out strong teams in most (if not all) of the remaining matches. They'll likely play their best 11 against Chelsea, likely close to it against Spurs, and the rest will have to play most of the best players. They do have depth, but that's still a lot of matches on some legs. Any injury to a few guys, and it could make a massive difference. Because of the sheer volume of fixtures, Liverpool are not taking their usual training camp.


I do think some of the competitive break could mean something for Real, but they have a top manager and a lot of veteran pros. It also would make some difference if there was say, a way that they could play some clubs who are similar to how Liverpool might play. That's not really possible, as I don't think there are many clubs who play like them. So, playing intense matches won't make much of a difference.

 

[Savant]

 

[JeffreyLFC]