Euro: 2019 Champions League Final

[koyvoo]

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[These Are The Days]

YNWA baby!

 

[Merya]

Pool will win after a nailbiting final. Spurs will grow up yet another level, but VvD, Alisson and the fab three will be too much. Klopp will smother Pochettino with a bearhug. The big question is, will Spurs bench Harry Kane. They've incredibly done better without him.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

I expect this board to divise. All pool fans and all neutrals to root for Spurs

 

[robertmac43]

I expect this board to divise. All pool fans and all neutrals to root for Spurs

I dunno there are a lot of Arsenal fans around these parts

 

[Vasilevskiy]

Impossible to predict after what happened in semis. May the best team win.

 

[Theokritos]

Liverpool win this and rather easily.

 

[Machinehead]

I'm sort of not in love with June 1st.

I know we need to get fit, but it's such a long time that it feels like a new season. I'm perfectly fine with the season we're having, thanks.

Any chance Kane is healthy for this?

 

[les Habs]

In this sort of match I feel that it could go either way since the two teams know each other. That said Liverpool are for me notably better and way too hungry.

 

[Live in the Now]

Sometimes I get carried away with league results, but these cups are a different story. If I've learned anything before in football, it's to be ready for Liverpool to lose a final or in a knockout game well before that. I have now seen Liverpool play in 6 finals since the West Ham game, and in only one of those finals were they the stronger team. They also won that final against Cardiff as they should have. The overall point is that I have rarely seen Liverpool as the stronger team in the final. I really thought they would win the CL last year, even though the team was flawed. It was very much flawed as we saw in that final. The goalkeeper got a concussion, but we all know he was shit anyway. Our bench was also very much not good, and Henderson merely makes a decent 6, he was able to be exploited in a game like that. Things have changed. Liverpool will have six players who could make a difference from the bench this time.

Every team, great as they are, has flaws. This one is pretty damn great, but they have those flaws. The difference in this Liverpool is that their flaws are masked by great strengths. They don't have any technical wizard in the team, it should be hard for them to create this many chances. Instead they have fullbacks with 28 assists this season. They don't have anyone on the bench equal to the front three, but the existence of having three players that good suffices well enough, at least one or two of them will play and all three won't be injured at the same time. Alexander-Arnold can be weak in defense, this is a flaw that is masked by having Fabinho and Matip in this form, by having Henderson back as a box to box player who can come back to defend for the young man, by Salah never giving up as his shirt said.

I don't really expect Liverpool to win the final due to how many times I've seen them lose in a final, but I do think they have the strongest team they've had since the 80s. The team is loaded with world class players, I could see so many of them wearing any club's shirt and it wouldn't shock me in the least because that's how good they are. There are so many players who could show up at any given time to rescue the result.

Tottenham has their own quality. They could have bent over countless times during that game in Manchester as well as the one today. Their squad is not one of the best, I'll stand by that comment from earlier, but they don't give up. Poch has done a job similar to that of Benitez, making them believe they can win regardless of their qualities. Liverpool will have to be ready for that.

I just want to see the boys win a trophy. Its been a while, we've come close so many times. Some of them, like the Sevilla game in which the referee robbed us out of two or three stonewall penalties, were very painful.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

This will be Klopp's and probably Liverpool's best chance to win it. It would have been true no matter if it's Ajax or Spurs..but it's rare to get to this spot and not face a team with superior resources. It's by no means a given Liverpool will win it, but they'll rightfully be the favorites to do it. And it likely will also be the last time for that to be the case.

 

[Live in the Now]

This will be Klopp's and probably Liverpool's best chance to win it. It would have been true no matter if it's Ajax or Spurs..but it's rare to get to this spot and not face a team with superior resources. It's by no means a given Liverpool will win it, but they'll rightfully be the favorites to do it. And it likely will also be the last time for that to be the case.

I don't think it will. If you mean the last time as favorites, maybe, but I'm not sure. Nobody's leaving and they have a massive amount of cash on hand thanks to how these seasons have gone. We don't know how long Klopp is going to remain at the club though. I'm not saying they will absolutely definitely make it back to finals, but this is just the beginning with a complete team.

Tottenham on the other hand, this may really be their chance to win it and I see why neutrals would favor them.

It would be pretty devastating not to win though.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Last time as favorites I mean because if you do make it back there you're most likely facing a Real, Barca, PSG, Man City or whatever the 'super team' of that moment is rather than an English team you know you can beat.

 

[Live in the Now]

Last time as favorites I mean because if you do make it back there you're most likely facing a Real, Barca, PSG, Man City or whatever the 'super team' of that moment is rather than an English team you know you can beat.

Yeah that's fair. It would be an even matchup at best otherwise because the fact is, as many great players as Liverpool has, there are other teams with just as many.

 

[YNWA14]

Still feeling conflicted. On one hand I'm still buzzing over the Liverpool comeback...but on the other I'm so very sad for Ajax. Really this final should have been City vs. Liverpool, but since we've seen what can happen I won't even try to predict a winner.

It sucks that a win-win situation was so cruelly taken away though. Would have absolutely loved an Ajax vs. Liverpool final.

 

[Blender]

Liverpool should win, but it's close enough that anything can happen.

I'd rather neither team won, but of course that isn't a choice.

 

[Savant]

Liverpool are the favorites, but this it going to be really close.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

So, not knowing how the season went, just looking at results....IF Tottenham somehow pulls this out....which accomplishments would you have taken when the season started:

1)CL winner
2)4th in domestic league (or 3rd if they are lucky)
3)semi finals in domestic cup

1)CL runner up
2)domestic league runner up (assuming....if they win the PL, they would easily have the better CV)
3)round of 32 in domestic cup

Which of those two are a better result for a years work?

 

[Live in the Now]

24 points ahead of the other, so ours. I can only really say that because of being on both sides. Only because I've been on the other side last season and this season was more enjoyable. Less infuriating moments. The only games that really bothered me this season were the Everton away, first Barcelona game, and Red Star away.


The other added element is knowing the state of the team, even if they won last year, it wasn't as good as it is now. If you told me that we'd finish one point behind City I'd definitely take ours.

Now when I think about it more, the part where we lose to a team 24 points behind us makes it worse.

 

[Chimaera]

It would be more than just domestic runner up. They’ve lost one match all season in the EPL. That’s absurd.

 

[Havre]

24 points ahead of the other, so ours. I can only really say that because of being on both sides. Only because I've been on the other side last season and this season was more enjoyable. Less infuriating moments. The only games that really bothered me this season were the Everton away, first Barcelona game, and Red Star away.


The other added element is knowing the state of the team, even if they won last year, it wasn't as good as it is now. If you told me that we'd finish one point behind City I'd definitely take ours.

Now when I think about it more, the part where we lose to a team 24 points behind us makes it worse.

Or the team that was ahead of you in the league last season.

I think Liverpool will win. The last 14 games between the two teams have gone 9-4-1 in Liverpool's favour. Only if Lovren plays does it seem like Spurs might have a shot, but let us not pretend that the gulf between the two teams is that big. Before this year you got to go back to 13-14 to find the last time Liverpool ended up ahead of Tottenham in the league.

If Spurs had been firing on all cylinders I don't think that team is any worse than Liverpool. But this year Spurs have been quite average and the league form over the last weeks does not lie.

My "only" hope is that Liverpool have had a more mentally draining season. That after Sunday they might struggle to get back on the horse somewhat. And that for Spurs it would be the opposite. If Spurs had played Liverpool right away that would have been an easy win for Liverpool. Ajax outran Spurs yesterday. If you don't run with Liverpool you will lose. Got to hope from a Spurs perspective that the energy is there come June.

 

[Live in the Now]

My "only" hope is that Liverpool have had a more mentally draining season. That after Sunday they might struggle to get back on the horse somewhat.

I could see Liverpool losing. There are many ways actually. Player mistakes, Spurs making great plays and playing better, Spurs playing with more composure (#1 possibility), tactical surprise, Liverpool having bad finishing, etc. The more composure thing is most likely as Liverpool will be playing with everything, with thinking about the league season, the games they had to get to this, and last year's final. Everything.

The one way I could never in history see them losing this year's final game is that way you mentioned. There were many quotes in the aftermath of these games where they said last year's loss in the final was driving their entire season, that they couldn't take it and felt it needed to be reversed. This was their goal all season. van Dijk in particular said that he thinks about last year's final all the time. As a player, it would be hard not to because one player lost that game by himself. Klopp was ruthless in getting rid of the weak link, but still. Where Liverpool's strength comes from is mental, there's no way to really define it. I don't really know how a manager makes his team like this.

But again I could see Liverpool losing and I have seen it too many times in these finals. Spurs will have to play the game of their life to do it, but again, I could see it. We already know how Liverpool and Spurs should show up, with massive balls, giving everything like they did these last two days.

 

[Corto]

I actually don't know who to root for. Normally, it'd be Liverpool, but Poch deserves a trophy for the work he's done with the Spurs as well.
Then again, so does Klopp...

As for who wins it... Liverpool has to be the favorite, but do we know if Salah and Bobby will play?
Does Kane play, and if so, how fit is he?

It's one game between teams who are somewhat close in quality. Fluke goal, set piece goal, the other team has to open up, etc.
Liverpool is the favorite, but the Spurs can win in oh-so-many scenarios as well.

 

[Live in the Now]

I actually don't know who to root for. Normally, it'd be Liverpool, but Poch deserves a trophy for the work he's done with the Spurs as well.
Then again, so does Klopp...

As for who wins it... Liverpool has to be the favorite, but do we know if Salah and Bobby will play?
Does Kane play, and if so, how fit is he?

It's one game between teams who are somewhat close in quality. Fluke goal, set piece goal, the other team has to open up, etc.
Liverpool is the favorite, but the Spurs can win in oh-so-many scenarios as well.

Salah is definitely playing, on Sunday for that matter too. Firmino will have been able to recover for a month since his last game. He is supposedly close to play Sunday. Firmino's fitness will be somewhat in question I bet, but they will use the academy to get him fit in a game. He ran around like a goof after the game Tuesday.

I do think Keita will be on the bench or miss the game though.

 

[Havre]

Finals are almost by default 50/50. The same way the semis were. I would argue RM were bigger favourites last year than Liverpool will be this time around, but of course fairly random things can happen as they did last season.

Pretty sure Kane will be fit for the final, but equally certain he won't start. In any case not a bad player to bring on for the last 30.