The day football fans all over the world have been waiting for is here and with that the most anticipated football match of the season featuring two Premier League teams, Tottenham and Liverpool fighting for glory on June 1st at Wanda Metropolitano.
Tottenham vs Liverpool champions league final logo
The end of 2018/19 Champions League season brings perhaps one of the most shocking finals in a long time. All the small surprised we witnessed in the course of the 9 months lead to Liverpool and Tottenham meeting in the Champions League finals for the first time in history. At the start of the season there was basically no one who would dare to predict we will get to see Liverpool and Tottenham in the finals of UCL and to be fair it seemed like an impossible task only a few weeks ago, but by now we have learned that football can be a very unpredictable sport.
Liverpool, who lost the 2017/18 finals against Real Madrid once again fought their way to the finals in their own style. Liverpool defeated Bayern Munich in the 1/8 finals and Porto in quarterfinals, which got them a ticket for semi-finals, where the Reds had to face off against Barcelona. The match between Liverpool and Barcelona that took place on May 7th at Anfield stadium will go down in history as one of the most memorable UCL matches in history. Coming into 2nd leg 3 goals down, Liverpool were given no chance to advance into the finals, as they had to overcome a 3-goal deficit against Barcelona, who humiliated Manchester United in quarter-finals (4:0). But Jurgen Klopp and his men proved “impossible” is not in their vocabulary, as they shook the world with a 4:0 win on their home ground, which brought us back to 2005 UCL finals, when Liverpool did something similar against the powerhouse AC Milan. The only difference being that Liverpool needed only 45 minutes for a miracle back then.
While we talk about a tough road to the finals, Tottenham did not have it easy either. As a team no one expected to go far, Tottenham surprised the football world and deservingly got themselves in the first-ever UCL finals.
Much like Liverpool, Tottenham also had to face off against some of the best teams Europe has to offer on their way to the finals. In 1/8 finals the Spurs defeated Borussia Dortmund (4:0), followed by a shocking win against Manchester City. The Sky Blues had to admit defeat in the 2nd leg at their own stadium leg when they failed to overcome the 1 goal deficit from the 1st leg. After arguably the best match of the season (Manchester City v Tottenham), the Spurs had to face off against Ajax, the biggest surprise of 2018/19 season. The first leg between the two teams ended in a 0:1 win for Ajax, which put Tottenham in a terrible spot, as they had to win in Amsterdam to secure their first ever UCL finals appearance. After seeing a miracle happen at Anfield stadium, where Liverpool defeated Barcelona, Tottenham decided they will produce a miracle of their own, by defeating Ajax 2:3 with a final-second goal from Lucas, who finished the match with a hat trick.
Seeing two teams with an incredible story that brought them to the finals of the most prestigious tournament in the football world, we can only wonder what the finals have in store for us.
Image source: dailystar.co.uk
Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino will face off in Madrid on June 1st in hopes to lift their first ever Champions League trophy. Both incredible coaches, who masterminded an incredible transformation of clubs deservingly brought their men to the summit of European football and will now look for one last push to end above their opponents. Heading into the finals, nothing less than a triumph will be acceptable for both teams and coaches who know each other all too well. Liverpool on one side would add their 6th UCL title, becoming one of 3 teams that won 6 times or more, while it could be a historic night for Tottenham, who now got a chance to lift the first ever UCL trophy in the history of the club.
With all the key players on both sides fit to play, the UCL finals will feature Harry Kane, Jan Vertonghen,Mohamed Salah, and Roberto Firmino, who were all questionable to appear in the fixture.
Both teams will enter the finals with full strength and high hopes to perform up to par and lift the trophy, but which one will end the night with a trophy in their hands?
Looking at h2h fixtures, it’s Liverpool who comes out ahead. Out of the last ten h2h matches, Liverpool won 5, Tottenham won once and the remaining 4 ended in a draw. But there is more to consider than just h2h matches. Champions League fixtures cannot be compared to Premier League fixtures or any other league fixtures for that matter. Both teams proved their worth this season and should be equally matched in Madrid. With all key players fit to play and no new reports that could harm the team’s chances it safe to assume this seems like a toss-up match with no clear winner. While I cannot say which side comes off as our favourite, we can all expect the 2018/19 UCL finals to produce some exceptional football between two teams that left us speechless several times in their campaigns this season.
