After a long, hard and gruelling season for most of the teams across European football, the majority of them are already able to start planning for their summer holidays. We can only imagine the kind of luxury destinations they’re going to visit, although funnily enough, you could argue that the two teams in Europe that deserve a holiday more so than any other are the ones that still have one more match to play – and it’s a big one.
Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool are set to square off in the first all-English UEFA Champions League final in 11 years, and what an occasion it’s going to be. When you take a trip down memory lane and think about the journey both of these clubs have been on in the last nine months or so, it really is pretty remarkable that they are the ones left standing tall in Madrid.
The final stop
Thousands upon thousands of fans are going to be making their way over to the Spanish city in the next few hours, with most of them having already arrived. It’s one of those games and one of those moments that you want to be able to say you were there for, and we just love that. Nobody does passion and nobody does European away days like the English, and hopefully, we’re going to see the best of the bunch as opposed to the worst.
In terms of what’s going to transpire on the pitch, though, it’s quite obvious to see that Liverpool are the clear favourites heading into this one. They’ve already beaten Spurs twice this season, and while that may not mean much, the difference in their Premier League campaigns is pretty telling. Liverpool registered 27 points more than Tottenham did throughout the course of their 38 games, which is more points than Fulham in 19th (26) were able to accumulate all season.
The endgame
The arguments will continue about how much that kind of thing matters, and to be honest, we understand where a lot of people are coming from in that regard – but it’s still going to take a Herculean effort for Spurs to overcome the odds here. Of course, the difference in terms of the pressure is pretty telling too, because Tottenham fans are probably just happy to be here. After their first three group stage games we doubt that anyone could’ve realistically pictured them being in this position.
On the other hand, the Reds are twelve months on from their last Champions League final in which they were defeated by Real Madrid. They’ll be absolutely desperate to right the wrong of that game, especially given how well they’ve played this season.
The bookmakers have their own opinions on who is going to walk away with the trophy and the title of being Champions of Europe, but at the end of the day, all we’re hoping for is an entertaining match between two of England’s finest. Given the stakes involved, we’re pretty confident in saying that’s exactly what we’re going to see.
