UEFA Champions League Final: Real, Liverpool Set For Kyiv Showdown
Putting 233 days of scintillating, and sometimes drab football behind them, defending champions, Real Madrid of Spain and Liverpool FC of England have emerged as finalists for the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League competition.
Liverpool had confidently flagged off their Champions League semi-final campaign against AS Roma in a seven goal thriller at Anfield that ended 5-2.
The margin proved enough for the English side to book their final place after losing 4-2 in their second leg to end hostilities on 7-6 aggregate.
On their part, Real Madrid dug deep to upset Bayern Munich 4-2 on aggregate, thanks to their 2-1 victory at Allianz Arena in the first leg with the return leg ending in a draw at the Bernabeu.
Already, soccer pundits are upbeat that the final between Jurgen Klopp’s free-flowing Reds and Zinedine Zidane’s champions will produce a plethora of magical moments come June 26, 2018 inside the magnificent NSC Olympiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv, the Ukraine capital
Considered as one of the world’s most beautiful cities, Kyiv is warming up to host another of the world’s football spectacle with Klopp’s men fighting for their dream against history-seeking Real gunning for a third consecutive title in a row.
Liverpool versus Roma has no doubt gone into the history books as the highest scoring Champions League semi-final encounter ever. It proved a ridiculous, but remarkable match that witnessed 13 goals over the two legs. Though Liverpool were never behind in it, they were also never comfortable either. In scoring seven goals, the English side could have recorded 20. They conceded six and might have allowed in 20; indeed what a match?
The assumption is that Cristiano Ronaldo and company will be favourites on the final night, but make no mistake, Liverpool, with the devastating striking trio of Salah, Mane and Firmino on prowl, there will be nothing to fear, just ego, reputations and big names on display
For sure, the Reds will be in Kyiv with high hopes; and having come this far, confidence is all-time high and they’ve nothing to worry about.
What a good job the German Coach, Klopp has done and what a wonderful fit he is for this club; a manager who understands passion, excitement, emotion and entertainment all put together. In 24 days, he will lead his side out on the biggest club stage of all. What an occasion it will be, what a night for Kopites.
And judging by what we’ve seen from Liverpool and from Real Madrid this season, what a game it will be. Don’t bother trying to pick a winner. With these two teams, anything is possible.
