Champions League Final: 5 Players to Watch Out For
Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are set to face off in the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday night in an all English affair. Both teams have overcome extraordinary odds to seal their berths in Madrid, Liverpool defeating tournament favorites Barcelona and Tottenham edging past dark horses Ajax to reach the finale of Europe's premier club competition.
Liverpool have had an impressive 2018-19 campaign, narrowly missing out on winning the English Premier League title to Manchester City. The Reds gave Pep Guardiola's men a run for their money until the very last matchday. They showed great determination and character in the UCL semi-finals to overturn a 3-0 first half deficit and dismantle Barcelona by a scoreline of 4-0 at Anfield to book their place in the finals. Liverpool is the most successful British club in UEFA Competitions, having won an incredible 11 continental trophies: the UEFA Champions League (formerly known as the European Cup) five times, the UEFA Europa League (formerly known as the UEFA Cup) three times, and the UEFA Super Cup three times. They last tasted continental success in 2004-05 UEFA Champions League where Steven Gerrard and company miraculously defeated AC Milan to claim the title.
Maurcio Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur grabbed the headlines when they beat the all-conquering Manchester City in the quarterfinals and dark horses Ajax in the semi-finals to book their place in Madrid. A magical hattrick from Brazilian winger Lucas Moura helped the Spurs defeat Ajax 3-2 in the second leg at Amsterdam, after the Dutchmen had edged the first leg 1-0. The club has never won the UEFA Champions League in the modern era, but were the first British club to win a major European competition, lifting the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1963. In 1972, they won the inaugural UEFA Cup and won the competition again in 1984.
In this article, we look at the top 5 players to watch out for in this mouth-watering final encounter as we approach the end of what has been a fantastic fooball season.