Real Madrid - The European Cup final

[El Rojo]

I feel like while you're dishing out 0.5s some of the no contests deserve extra weight.

 

Agree. Gerrard wipes out any of our current midfielders, but I'd give the same weighting to Salah, Mane and Firmino, which would give the current team the edge.

[Section_31]

Agree. Gerrard wipes out any of our current midfielders, but I'd give the same weighting to Salah, Mane and Firmino, which would give the current team the edge.

I think our attack is awesome but that team was better balanced. With these games the tempo is often controlled from the centre of the park and our centre mids back then were much better. I also felt we had much more steel with Gerrard and Carragher.

[Josef Svejk]

We had a better defence and midfield then. We have a better attack now. Those strengths reflect the priorities of the managers.

 

Ideally, we'd have prime Finnan, Carragher, Hamann, Alonso, and Gerrard to supplement our current team...

[Tony Moanero]

The 2005 team had a manager and players with experience of winning a European trophy. The current team doesn’t.

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

Dry your eyes, little gobshite...

 

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-should-not-champions-league-14694124.amp

My main concern is us winning it. Us celebrating it. Us. Us. Us.

 

But, this crying ted can be added to a massive list of salty bastards who it's going to be very difficult not to do a big, gloating Nelson Muntz styleé "HA-HA!" in the general direction of if we pick up that trophy in Kiev.

 

There's so many bitter fuckers who want us to get beat.

[moof]

I think this team is better. Istanbul was a miracle, we should never have even been in the final, let alone won the bloody thing. If we win on Saturday, it’s because we’re the best team and have been the best team overall throughout the competition.

[Josef Svejk]

The 2005 team had a manager and players with experience of winning a European trophy. The current team doesn’t.

 

The current team does have experience of utterly capitulating in a European final, to be fair.

[Faustus]

There'll more than likely only be three starters from the Basel final. Hardly indicative of a history of capitulation.

[Tony Moanero]

The current team does have experience of utterly capitulating in a European final, to be fair.

Yeah, I was going to mention that, but most of the players from the 2016 final, either won’t be involved on Saturday or have been moved on.

[El Rojo]

Yeah, I was going to mention that, but most of the players from the 2016 final, either won’t be involved on Saturday or have been moved on.

 

Fair point that. Just Lovren, Milner and Firmino are likely to be starters in both games.

[an tha]

My main concern is us winning it. Us celebrating it. Us. Us. Us.

 

But, this crying ted can be added to a massive list of salty bastards who it's going to be very difficult not to do a big, gloating Nelson Muntz styleé "HA-HA!" in the general direction of if we pick up that trophy in Kiev.

 

There's so many bitter fuckers who want us to get beat.

Spot on....hopefully we can ram the taunts and the shite back down their throats by lifting number 6

[liverpoolsno9]

Sami vs Virg - EVEN? Not yet they aren’t. Virg has only been here 5 months. Sami is in the top 5 CDs ever to have played for us. Virg maybe on the way but to call it even now is a tad premature.

[Scooby Dudek]

As a few have said, I just hope we turn up.

 

We started poorly away at City and didn't play the we can, much better second half. 

Roma away we started very well and the first half was ideal but second half we were very poor with our overall play and decisions. 

 

We can't afford a bad half against Madrid. 

[Bob]

Sami vs Virg - EVEN? Not yet they aren’t. Virg has only been here 5 months. Sami is in the top 5 CDs ever to have played for us. Virg maybe on the way but to call it even now is a tad premature.

I called it even based on how I feel about them lining up on a given day. I don’t expect either to fuck up, and I expect them both to win far more of their “duals” than they lose and to exude calmness.

 

I could always have achieved the same score by making VVD a plus over Carra (with all due respect) and Lovren losing to Sami.

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

As a few have said, I just hope we turn up.

 

We started poorly away at City and didn't play the we can, much better second half.

Roma away we started very well and the first half was ideal but second half we were very poor with our overall play and decisions.

 

We can't afford a bad half against Madrid.

Valid concerns.

 

But, there's a "but" from me...

 

The final is a one off game. I think we'll turn up and leave everything on the pitch.

 

City away was a weird game for the fans. And for the players too, I'd imagine. Not knowing whether to take what he had from the first leg and then stick or twist. That early City goal made us shit our kecks a bit and we then appeared to be more concerned with not conceding another. That changed a lot. The shape of the team. How high a line (or not) we held. Even our play with the ball. We were far too eager and direct. We seemed to just want to get it away from our goal asap.

 

Roma away, I think we were tired. And once we got the 2 away goals, we realised it was pretty much job done and we played in second gear. The game was at risk for about 10 seconds of the entire 180 minutes and the aggregate score doesn't really reflect the closeness of the tie, in that we were through the minute Wijnaldum scored.

 

I think we'll definitely benefit from the spacing out of games that wasn't there around the time of the Roma away, West Brom, Stoke and Chelsea games. We saw as much against Brighton after just one weeks rest. I feel that we'll be even more rested and raring to go after the two weeks break we've had before the final.

 

I still understand your concerns. But, while I'll take a defeat on the chin, I can't see us not turning up and I'll feel a bit cheated if that happens and contributes to a defeat.

[Josef Svejk]

There'll more than likely only be three starters from the Basel final. Hardly indicative of a history of capitulation.

Fair point. But I'm psychologically scarred by it and still associate it with this team. Seven of the squad, at least.

[Anubis]

As a few have said, I just hope we turn up.

 

We started poorly away at City and didn't play the we can, much better second half.

Roma away we started very well and the first half was ideal but second half we were very poor with our overall play and decisions.

 

We can't afford a bad half against Madrid.

Just treat this as the first leg and we'll be grand.

[liverpoolsno9]

 

I could always have achieved the same score by making VVD a plus over Carra (with all due respect)

You’d have been wrong there too! If you were to ask me who’d prefer to have out there on Saturday, I’d have Carra everyday. love Virg but I can’t help but feel that what we’ve witnessed so far from him is over egged somewhat. He’ll be boss, I have no doubt, but to put him in the same brackets as 2 legends of ours is far too early. I would have Sami and Carragher in before Virg. Irrespective of the different tactics employed by the teams. Better defenders. Let’s hope 12 months from now (or 3 days!) there is no dispute.

[Aventus]

Ignoring the split between what people think is the best version of our team, is everybody in agreement that the AC Milan side is better than this Real Madrid side?

[Bob]

Carra was great that season, but he was never as good a centre half as I’ve seen Virg be this half a season.

 

If paired with Lovren, and besides Trent, we’d be in absolute panic stations for the full 90 this coming weekend.

[Bobby Hundreds]

Madrid have beat the French champions the German champions and the Italian champions. We are going to have to be brilliant and our players almost touching perfection to beat these.

[El Rojo]

I thought Carragher was one of the top few defenders in Europe for a few years around 2005.

 

VVD looks absolutely fantastic so far too.

 

Comparing a Benitez centre half to a Klopp centre half is like trying to compare a goalkeeper to a striker, though.  They practically play different sports.

[Rick Sanchez C-137]

There's just no predicting what's going to happen here. It's impossible. Seatbelts on and try and enjoy the ride.

 

Thank fuck I'm drinking for it, as that might settle the nerves a bit.

[Red House]

Just saw Rafa himself saying that the current team is better than the 2005 one. Hard to disagree with that. But, ultimately, it does not mean all that much in a final. Our 2007 team was better than the 2005 one while the Milan team was arguably weaker in 2007 relative to the 2005 one. All that matters is how good you are on the day (with a dose of luck thrown in).

[Lario]

13 pages in with 3 days to go? Gonna be epic!

 

Over/Under set at 130.