White and ‘red’ face each other again after the title duel was resolved in Paris a few months ago with a goal from Vinicius
Early final in the eighth finals of the Champions League. Real Madrid and Liverpool, the last two finalists in the competition, will face each other again in the first qualifying round of this edition. The draw in Nyon with former Madrid player Hamit Altintop as the innocent hand has led to an all-or-nothing crossover with many open accounts and a classic flavor between two clubs with up to 20 trophies to their name.
Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool, with Uruguayan striker Darwin Núñez instead of Senegal’s Sadio Mane, who was transferred to Bayern in the summer as the most notable novelty compared to last season, is a rival that invites caution despite a delicate moment in the Premier League, where he is currently eighth, fifteen points behind leaders Arsenal, no chance to fight for the title and seven points away from the Champions zone.
Mohamed Salah continues to lead Klopp’s attack and has 14 goals and 5 assists in 20 official appearances for Liverpool this season. The Egyptian has improved as the season has progressed, scoring seven goals in the last five Champions League games, a record that places him alongside Kylian Mbappe as the tournament’s top scorer. His closest partner in the ‘network’ offensive plot is Brazilian Firmino, who has regained weight for the England squad after injuries to Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota.
In midfield, Fabinho, who passed through Castilla, continues to act as anchor, with Henderson, Spaniard Thiago Alcantara and the appearance of the young Harvey Elliott as options in midfield. Virgil van Dijk is the linchpin of the Liverpool defence, with Joe Gomez as his favorite back-line companion, as well as Alexander-Arnold and Robertson or the Greek Tsimikas in the lanes. Alisson has been undeniably under the sticks in a very recognizable team in recent years, with the classic Klopp style for fast back and forth.
In the Champions League, Liverpool added 15 of the possible 18 points in their pool, but with the first day victory over Diego Armando Maradona in Naples, they were eventually sentenced to second place, now facing Madrid. an old acquaintance with whom he has had negative experiences in recent years.
And it is that in addition to the lost final this year in Paris and in 2018 in Kiev, the quarter-final draw of the 2020-21 season is added, resolved in favor of the Spanish team after 3-1 at the Alfredo Di Stéfano and the goalless draw at Anfield. Earlier, in the 2014-15 season, the Whites and the ‘Reds’ met in the group stage, with Merengue taking a double win at 0-3 in Liverpool and 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
These latest positive precedents for Madrid have tipped the balance of this particular rivalry to the Spanish side, following Madrid’s infamous draw in the 2008-09 Round of 16 Champions League, when Liverpool stormed Chamartín (0-1) to then Madrid one of the most painful defeats in its rich history in Europe (4-0). Long before that, in 1981, both contenders played in the first of their three finals. Also in Paris, although not in Saint-Denis but in the Parc des Princes, the ‘Madrid de los García’ was overcome with a late goal from the ‘red’ defender Alan Kennedy.
It won’t be the only expected final of a thrilling round of 16 draw. Two of the giants of the old continent today, such as Messi, Mabappe and Neymar’s Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, who are able to take a full number of points in a group that includes Inter Milan and Barça, will meet the faces with the first leg at the Parc des Princes and the resolution of the duel at the Allianz Arena in Munich, repeating the Lisbon final twice in 2020.
In the rest of the matchups, Guardiola and Manchester City from Haaland start as big favorites against Leipzig, just like the surprising Benfica who has not yet suffered a defeat against Bruges this season, a priori the team with the lowest level in the round of 16. Napoli , which beat Italy, Chelsea and Inter, also seems a step ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund and Porto, with Milan and Tottenham the most evenly matched match on paper.
Source: La Verdad
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