I just feel that if Man City, who for me are the best passing side in the world right now, can't evade our press, can a creaky Madrid?
Pre match CL final vs Real Madrid
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Shiiiiiiiiiiit.....
Its getting real (excuse the pun) now, I dont think it has still really kicked into my brain that we are in the CL final! fuck me, what a bolt from the blue this has been really....
When you actually think about what a monumental achievement this is by Klopp, taking into account the purchases he made, everything has basically been right for the club... he didnt rush his transfers, got the right players for awesome fees, got them all to gel together and made the crowd believe as one... I mean I cant really remember someone doing such a great job in turning a club around in such a short time in such an amazing way for a very long time....
If he wins this CL.... for me he shouldve been manager of the season.
Its getting real (excuse the pun) now, I dont think it has still really kicked into my brain that we are in the CL final! fuck me, what a bolt from the blue this has been really....
When you actually think about what a monumental achievement this is by Klopp, taking into account the purchases he made, everything has basically been right for the club... he didnt rush his transfers, got the right players for awesome fees, got them all to gel together and made the crowd believe as one... I mean I cant really remember someone doing such a great job in turning a club around in such a short time in such an amazing way for a very long time....
If he wins this CL.... for me he shouldve been manager of the season.
Game could be make or break down Marcelo's side. I'm sure Madrid will target Trent and he is often left without sufficient cover. He will have a tough game with Marcelo bombing forward. It will also allow us get in behind Madrid on that side. Hopefully there will be plenty of opportunities for us to win back possession which will leave Marcelo exposed high up the pitch so we can exploit his side. Mane and Frimino then running from left to right to drag defenders with them. We need to take our chances when we do get them because there is no way Madrid aren't scoring at least one. I have a feeling Mane could be main man for us. Yeah, he'll miss a few chances but I fancy him to score at some stage and exploit space left behind by Marcelo. #Marcelobration
I'd say they will pay us the massive compliment of sitting deeper than they would. I'm not saying they're going to park the bus, but I do expect them to have drilled a bit more discipline into their team than what we saw against Munich.
I was about to post something about this not really being "David vs Goliath", then I realised neither was Germany vs Brazil, then I realised you meant we're going to absolutely fucking destroy them, in a battering for the ages.
And then I was happy and on board with it.
Same here Paul. Day before the game I'll be quaking, but we have the tools. I just saw signs in the Brighton game of how much this team has been jaded by fatigue given the small squad and a series of huge games. Against Brighton that energy and spark was back. I think they'll be ready to deliver their absolute best in Kyiv.
5 days ...
We are slowly evolving into believers.
I haven't had a proper shit since the first leg against City
BM actually battered them over the two legs but incredibly failed to convert their umpteen chances. Lewandowski, Muller etc. actually had a mare over the two legs. BM should have won it comfortably. So it RM want to play it that way (they won't) I'm confident we'll still edge them.
However I can't see RM sitting back because unlike against BM they will dominate possession against us - which suits us just fine, we'l pressure them high up and we'll hit them on breaks from our own half too.
It's really not good I'm feeling this calm and this confident.
At least if they both make the bench and can give us 20-30 mins then we have decent options because otherwise we really have nothing to fall back on (not that I think we'll need it).
We are definitely going to score a couple - and if we do it in a quick fashion they will have no option but to open up. The game could be a complete nightmare for chances at either end. Huge game for Loris. Looking forward to seeing VVD against Karim.
I think you have to take a look at La Liga form too. It's all well and good saying "ah but RM are THE team in the CL" that doesn't mean they magically solve their defensive issues or aging legs will get a new lease of life after we've harried the shote out of them.
As I think it was Roy Keane said (or it may have been Lee Dixon - anyway they agreed with each other) RM beat a Naymar-less PSG, a BM team dominated them but failed to score and a Juventus team that plays absolutely nothing like we do - still managed to score three goals against them at the Bernabeu. Then we can look at their LL form and results. This RM team are ageing and the longer the match goes on yet remains in the balance the greater our chances increase of scoring.
I'm calling 4-2 for us anyway.
I'll take that. I'm guessing we're 4-0 up and then we bring Klavan on for Mane....
I'm not so sure Benzema will even start. Bale has been very good since he returned. Maybe Zidane will hold Bale back for the last 3- mins and use Benzema for the first 60 mins, or vice versa. And will he use Isco or Ascencio ? It won't be both.
I think that against BM was just about as defensive as this RM team is capable of and I'm not sure drilling them further will make any difference to players set in their ways such as Ramos and Marcelo (both of them being on Firmino & Salah's side of the pitch) - I expect them to go on the attack and try to win it by blowing us away. This could be one of the all time great finals.
Virgil van Dijk has only been a Liverpool player for five months, but he is well-versed in the club's storied European past having picked the brains of legends – and now he wants to place the names of his teammates alongside theirs.
The Netherlands centre-back, who sealed a move to Merseyside from Southampton on January 1, has already experienced the magic of continental nights at Anfield in the successes over Manchester City and AS Roma.
And now, with Liverpool set to face Real Madrid in Saturday’s Champions League final, he wants the current crop to join the pantheon of greats who’ve hoisted the European Cup aloft for the Reds.
“The Champions League nights I’ve played so far have been very special – even the away game against Roma was incredible, with their support and our support, which was fantastic as well,” Van Dijk told Liverpoolfc.com.
“To secure the Champions League final spot there was nice, it was crazy. I've spoken with a lot of big, big legends of the club already and I like hearing stories of them back in the day. It’s great to be part of something special now.
“There is definitely a chance [to write our own history]. It is going to be a hard task, but we just need to believe in ourselves. We know we have the quality, we know we have the game plan to make it difficult for any opponent.
“We have to respect them in a certain way, but we’re not going to fear them. We want to win the game and we’re going to do everything that is possible. It’s going to be a very big game.”
Watch our Virgil van Dijk exclusive in full on LFCTV GO
‘No fear’ is a recurring sentiment during the dialogue with Van Dijk.
While the 26-year-old acknowledges the pedigree of the Spanish giants, their abundance of talent, as well as their nous in the climax of the competition, he feels the Reds shouldn’t approach the fixture with any apprehension.
“They’ve won three of the last four,” he states, in reference to Real’s stunning Champions League record. “They have experience, they have so much quality.
“We need to look at them, but the main thing is to look at ourselves. I’ve said it before, we’re not here for no reason – we deserve to be here.
“We need to show that as well on the pitch: be brave, do our thing, do what we normally do. It’s a one-off game, but we need to just be confident and show what we’re good at.
“Only the Roma away game we’ve lost in the Champions League, so that says a lot. The way we play, if everyone is 100 per cent and the tactics are spot-on, then we can make it difficult for any team.
“They are experienced in these kind of games, they have played these type of games in the last few years. For us, it’s a little bit new, but that doesn’t matter really. We just need to play our game and be ready for anything that’s possible. I think we will be.”
Winning the Champions League would cap off the perfect start to life as a Liverpool player for Van Dijk, whose transition from St Mary’s to Anfield has been seamless.
The No.4’s commanding displays at the centre of the Reds’ defence have ensured he’s already a favourite with fans – and the feeling is very much reciprocated.
“Sometimes I forget I’ve only been here for five months,” he concedes with a smile. “I think that’s credit to everyone around me – the staff, the players obviously, the people at the club who help me every day. It also helps a lot that my family is settled here, too.
“We have a great, great bunch of guys in the team and I think the team spirit is very good, which is very important for players to settle in. It only can grow.
“I’ve not really been surprised [by our supporters]. I’ve seen so many examples, games or pictures or anything, and our fans are everywhere. Even when I wasn’t a Liverpool player, when I travelled around the world and I would see so many Liverpool shirts and fans. Now I really know how big the fanbase is of Liverpool. I am very proud to play for them and give my all for them.
“I see the videos of them on social media – I can’t miss it really! It makes you proud. It makes you motivated to give even more than you already are trying to do. You play for the team, you play for the club and you play for the fans as well. It’s amazing to have such support behind you.”
Liverpool returned from a four-day training camp in Marbella on Saturday evening, where they used the gap between their final game of the Premier League season and the showpiece in Kiev to, in the words of Jürgen Klopp, ‘refresh… and recharge the batteries’.
Now, with just five days to go until they tackle Real Madrid in Ukraine, the final preparations will be undertaken in terms of physical, tactical and analytical work.
“I’m very excited, obviously,” said Van Dijk. “It’s a fantastic game and it almost doesn’t get any bigger than this game. We’re looking forward to it, we need to enjoy it and we need to be ready.
“It’s a game that not a lot of players play in during their careers. To be playing in the Champions League final with Liverpool is something special and I can’t wait for it.”
Before Van Dijk wraps up the interview to head to training, there’s just one last question.
For a man who continuously exudes coolness and calmness, has he – even if only for just one second – allowed himself to dream?
“Not really, to be fair – I am not really that kind of guy who looks too far ahead in these kind of situations,” comes the response.
“We need to prepare. We need to enjoy the moment and enjoy the game with our fans, with the quality we have in the team. We are going to give 100 per cent – even more – and hopefully we’re going to enjoy it after the game, but right now we don’t look too far ahead.
“It’s a one-off game and I’m not sure what’s going on in other players’ minds, but for me personally I just want to enjoy it – but I want to win it. I don’t want to come with the feeling that we lost it.
“We’re going to prepare like every other game and we’ll give 100 per cent. That’s the main thing.
“We’ll play our game.”
The Netherlands centre-back, who sealed a move to Merseyside from Southampton on January 1, has already experienced the magic of continental nights at Anfield in the successes over Manchester City and AS Roma.
And now, with Liverpool set to face Real Madrid in Saturday’s Champions League final, he wants the current crop to join the pantheon of greats who’ve hoisted the European Cup aloft for the Reds.
“The Champions League nights I’ve played so far have been very special – even the away game against Roma was incredible, with their support and our support, which was fantastic as well,” Van Dijk told Liverpoolfc.com.
“To secure the Champions League final spot there was nice, it was crazy. I've spoken with a lot of big, big legends of the club already and I like hearing stories of them back in the day. It’s great to be part of something special now.
“There is definitely a chance [to write our own history]. It is going to be a hard task, but we just need to believe in ourselves. We know we have the quality, we know we have the game plan to make it difficult for any opponent.
“We have to respect them in a certain way, but we’re not going to fear them. We want to win the game and we’re going to do everything that is possible. It’s going to be a very big game.”
Watch our Virgil van Dijk exclusive in full on LFCTV GO
‘No fear’ is a recurring sentiment during the dialogue with Van Dijk.
While the 26-year-old acknowledges the pedigree of the Spanish giants, their abundance of talent, as well as their nous in the climax of the competition, he feels the Reds shouldn’t approach the fixture with any apprehension.
“They’ve won three of the last four,” he states, in reference to Real’s stunning Champions League record. “They have experience, they have so much quality.
“We need to look at them, but the main thing is to look at ourselves. I’ve said it before, we’re not here for no reason – we deserve to be here.
“We need to show that as well on the pitch: be brave, do our thing, do what we normally do. It’s a one-off game, but we need to just be confident and show what we’re good at.
“Only the Roma away game we’ve lost in the Champions League, so that says a lot. The way we play, if everyone is 100 per cent and the tactics are spot-on, then we can make it difficult for any team.
“They are experienced in these kind of games, they have played these type of games in the last few years. For us, it’s a little bit new, but that doesn’t matter really. We just need to play our game and be ready for anything that’s possible. I think we will be.”
Winning the Champions League would cap off the perfect start to life as a Liverpool player for Van Dijk, whose transition from St Mary’s to Anfield has been seamless.
The No.4’s commanding displays at the centre of the Reds’ defence have ensured he’s already a favourite with fans – and the feeling is very much reciprocated.
“Sometimes I forget I’ve only been here for five months,” he concedes with a smile. “I think that’s credit to everyone around me – the staff, the players obviously, the people at the club who help me every day. It also helps a lot that my family is settled here, too.
“We have a great, great bunch of guys in the team and I think the team spirit is very good, which is very important for players to settle in. It only can grow.
“I’ve not really been surprised [by our supporters]. I’ve seen so many examples, games or pictures or anything, and our fans are everywhere. Even when I wasn’t a Liverpool player, when I travelled around the world and I would see so many Liverpool shirts and fans. Now I really know how big the fanbase is of Liverpool. I am very proud to play for them and give my all for them.
“I see the videos of them on social media – I can’t miss it really! It makes you proud. It makes you motivated to give even more than you already are trying to do. You play for the team, you play for the club and you play for the fans as well. It’s amazing to have such support behind you.”
Liverpool returned from a four-day training camp in Marbella on Saturday evening, where they used the gap between their final game of the Premier League season and the showpiece in Kiev to, in the words of Jürgen Klopp, ‘refresh… and recharge the batteries’.
Now, with just five days to go until they tackle Real Madrid in Ukraine, the final preparations will be undertaken in terms of physical, tactical and analytical work.
“I’m very excited, obviously,” said Van Dijk. “It’s a fantastic game and it almost doesn’t get any bigger than this game. We’re looking forward to it, we need to enjoy it and we need to be ready.
“It’s a game that not a lot of players play in during their careers. To be playing in the Champions League final with Liverpool is something special and I can’t wait for it.”
Before Van Dijk wraps up the interview to head to training, there’s just one last question.
For a man who continuously exudes coolness and calmness, has he – even if only for just one second – allowed himself to dream?
“Not really, to be fair – I am not really that kind of guy who looks too far ahead in these kind of situations,” comes the response.
“We need to prepare. We need to enjoy the moment and enjoy the game with our fans, with the quality we have in the team. We are going to give 100 per cent – even more – and hopefully we’re going to enjoy it after the game, but right now we don’t look too far ahead.
“It’s a one-off game and I’m not sure what’s going on in other players’ minds, but for me personally I just want to enjoy it – but I want to win it. I don’t want to come with the feeling that we lost it.
“We’re going to prepare like every other game and we’ll give 100 per cent. That’s the main thing.
“We’ll play our game.”
Jürgen Klopp hailed Liverpool's collective journey to the Champions League final as he targeted the 'best possible end' when his team take on Real Madrid in Kiev.
Backed by the power of Anfield, the Reds have made an emphatic and thrilling return to Europe’s top table this term which has brought them all the way to the showpiece match this Saturday night.
With just five days to go until Klopp’s men face the holders, excitement is growing proportionately around the city – and the manager feels the positive mood is just reward for all concerned.
Asked about the atmosphere in Liverpool at a media conference, he said: “I love that, I really love that – it’s great.
“A lot of things happened since I came in, to be honest, but the biggest change was how the people changed in the case of how much they like the actual team. It’s long ago that really not a lot of people talk about having another player in the line-up: if we would have, if we would have this or that.
“That’s what I feel in the moment and that’s really nice. But the boys deserved it. It was an exceptional season; it always could be better but it was really good and a big step in comparison with last year.
“And then going to the final, we all enjoyed these moments together. The home crowd was really good and European nights special. If you had Wikipedia or Google and put in ‘European nights’ the answer must be: Anfield. That’s really cool, being part of that. And even at the away games it was outstanding.
“Meanwhile, I know after two-and-a-half years, I know us well enough – and with a little bit of the Liverpool soul, in the moment the weather is good and everything is positive – but until Saturday it will be up and down, feeling-wise. No problem with that. That’s all part of the deal and all something we have to go through. And then we play a football game.
“As a unit we are pretty good. I love that fact. Let’s give it a try.”
The battle for a top-four place in the Premier League continued until the final day of the season but Liverpool successfully warded off a late surge from Chelsea by beating Brighton and Hove Albion 4-0.
Soon after, Klopp and his players departed Merseyside for a four-day training camp in Marbella, where ‘recharging the batteries’ was top of the agenda.
Now back at base, the Reds will spend the entirety of this week putting themselves in the best position to defeat Zinedine Zidane’s reigning Champions League holders.
“[It’s a] very good moment for the club, for us and for the boys because we finished the season in the best way we could, that felt really good,” said the German.
“Then having the time we had now to prepare the game was really, really good. We could do a lot of things and we didn’t have to rush it in two or three sessions.
“The boys could recover and we could do a lot of good things in training already. Today, because you [the media] were all here we only did a little athletic session – stabilisation and stuff like that.
“But from tomorrow on we have again three more sessions which are very important and we’re looking forward to that. Then we will be best prepared for the game.
“I don’t want to talk about confidence or something like that. We feel really good and we think we deserve where we are because the boys really showed up in all different games. It was a very exciting journey so far and now we want to bring it to the best possible end.”
Backed by the power of Anfield, the Reds have made an emphatic and thrilling return to Europe’s top table this term which has brought them all the way to the showpiece match this Saturday night.
With just five days to go until Klopp’s men face the holders, excitement is growing proportionately around the city – and the manager feels the positive mood is just reward for all concerned.
Asked about the atmosphere in Liverpool at a media conference, he said: “I love that, I really love that – it’s great.
“A lot of things happened since I came in, to be honest, but the biggest change was how the people changed in the case of how much they like the actual team. It’s long ago that really not a lot of people talk about having another player in the line-up: if we would have, if we would have this or that.
“That’s what I feel in the moment and that’s really nice. But the boys deserved it. It was an exceptional season; it always could be better but it was really good and a big step in comparison with last year.
“And then going to the final, we all enjoyed these moments together. The home crowd was really good and European nights special. If you had Wikipedia or Google and put in ‘European nights’ the answer must be: Anfield. That’s really cool, being part of that. And even at the away games it was outstanding.
“Meanwhile, I know after two-and-a-half years, I know us well enough – and with a little bit of the Liverpool soul, in the moment the weather is good and everything is positive – but until Saturday it will be up and down, feeling-wise. No problem with that. That’s all part of the deal and all something we have to go through. And then we play a football game.
“As a unit we are pretty good. I love that fact. Let’s give it a try.”
The battle for a top-four place in the Premier League continued until the final day of the season but Liverpool successfully warded off a late surge from Chelsea by beating Brighton and Hove Albion 4-0.
Soon after, Klopp and his players departed Merseyside for a four-day training camp in Marbella, where ‘recharging the batteries’ was top of the agenda.
Now back at base, the Reds will spend the entirety of this week putting themselves in the best position to defeat Zinedine Zidane’s reigning Champions League holders.
“[It’s a] very good moment for the club, for us and for the boys because we finished the season in the best way we could, that felt really good,” said the German.
“Then having the time we had now to prepare the game was really, really good. We could do a lot of things and we didn’t have to rush it in two or three sessions.
“The boys could recover and we could do a lot of good things in training already. Today, because you [the media] were all here we only did a little athletic session – stabilisation and stuff like that.
“But from tomorrow on we have again three more sessions which are very important and we’re looking forward to that. Then we will be best prepared for the game.
“I don’t want to talk about confidence or something like that. We feel really good and we think we deserve where we are because the boys really showed up in all different games. It was a very exciting journey so far and now we want to bring it to the best possible end.”
Bricking it already. Though we have the tools to exploit Real, some of you lot are mad for being so confident. Nerves are steadily building and can't imagine how I'll feel next weekend.
It's this weekend dude.
Panic attacks!
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