By: Oma Akatugba
Kiev will play host to two teams with a rich UEFA Champions league history on Saturday 26 May 2018. Real Madrid are 12-time winners, gunning for their 13th title and Liverpool, 5-time winners are hoping to make it their 6th title.
A final that promises so much firework and goals, considering the excellent scoring form of both teams in this seasons tournament. Liverpool are leading scorers with 46 goals already while Real Madrid have racked up 30 goals.
The two finalists also boast of the leading goal scorers of the tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid has 15 goals while Mo Salah and Roberto Firminho have ten goals each, followed by another Liverpool attacker, Saidio Mane who is on nine targets. The numbers describe the overall strength of the two finalists and paint a picture of what football fans should expect when the action begins in Kiev.
A large number of football fans believe Real Madrid are favourites having dominated the tournament in the last five years, but there are entirely some people who think that Liverpool would be a hard nut to crack. One of such persons is himself, a former Madridista. He won the champions league with Real Madrid in 1998 and 2000. He is Christian Karembeu. The old French international, a member of the France 1998 world cup winning team bares his mind on the much-anticipated match exclusively to omasports.
“Zinedine Zidane has led the team to the final of the competition for the third time back to back, knowing that Madrid has the expertise and experience. Of course, Obviously I am a Real Madrid fan, and I hope that Zidane can set the record of playing in the final three times in a row and winning it as well. Nobody has ever done it, and obviously, he will be confronting one of the best teams in England today.“
The game has also been termed Cristiano Ronaldo VS Mo Salah because of the stellar season the former has had so far, scoring 48 goals in all competitions for Liverpool Football Club, two less than Cristiano Ronaldo. Karembeu thinks the combination of Salah and Senegalese Saidio Mane would make life difficult for the Real Madrid defence
“With Mohamed Salah and Mane, it’s going to be a difficult game, but they know their goal. Hopefully, Real Madrid would perform again” Karembeu said.
Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp has lost in all his last five finals, while Zinedine Zidane is undefeated in his previous 2 UEFA Champions League finals.