10 1GG Saturday May 28 2022 | the times
thegame
Look back to the most recent time
that Liverpool played Real Madrid
in the Champions League final and
the first-half shoulder injury
Mohamed Salah suffered was
undoubtedly a turning point.
His replacement came on and he
was like a rabbit in the headlights.
No rhythm. Out of form. He was
running around, chasing shadows,
unable to get close to Luka Modric.
Out there but not really there at the
same time.
That may sound like a
particularly harsh appraisal, but I
say it without fear of upsetting
anyone. That player was me.
I had just returned from injury
and had played only 16 minutes in
the two months before that game.
Losing Mo after Sergio Ramos’s
challenge had been a big
psychological blow for the entire
team. It was his first season at
Liverpool, he had scored 44 goals
and in so many matches he had
been unplayable. With respect to
everyone else, he was the go-to
player. Irreplaceable.
So if I cut myself some slack, I
recognise it was not about the
player who came on, but the player
who went off.
Liverpool did not have the
strength in depth at the time.
Now look at the squad. Jürgen
Klopp referred to the “Ferraris sat
in the garage” after he made nine
changes for the recent win over
Southampton. I was at St Mary’s
that night working for BBC Radio 5
Live and it was such a brilliant
description.
This present Liverpool team is
relentless. Whatever question you
want to ask of them, they have an
answer. They can bulldoze you, 4-0
or 5-0, they can win ugly. They are
like a juggernaut.
In many respects they have
turned into the Real Madrid of
- That team, coached by
Zinédine Zidane, won their third
successive Champions League
trophy, their fourth in five seasons,
and had galacticos in Cristiano
Ronaldo, Modric and Toni Kroos.
Study Liverpool now and they
have world-beaters everywhere.
They have their own galacticos and
there is no point in me naming one
or two because it is a long list.
Since that meeting in the 2018
final — even since the teams
met in the round of 16 last
season during the
pandemic — Liverpool
have become a
different
proposition.
This is an
experienced group of men heading
to Paris and knowing exactly what
is required. The fitness issues
Fabinho and Thiago Alcântara have
had so close to the final are hardly
ideal, but I am hoping that they will
be involved.
It is a squad that has won a lot of
trophies together and they are full
of confidence. Four years ago there
was pressure as the team had still to
win a trophy under Jürgen.
Going into that match, there was
a little bit of a sense that... it’s Real
Madrid. Liverpool weren’t in awe,
but the fact that Jürgen did the
team talk wearing Ronaldo-branded
underpants shows how he was
trying to lance any tension.
Real have beaten Paris Saint-
Germain, Chelsea and Manchester
City to get this far and will be
confident in themselves. They have
big threats in Karim Benzema and
Vinícius Jr. However, they will
know about the quality that
Liverpool possess, and that will
worry them even though they will
not publicly admit that.
This perfectly encapsulates
Liverpool’s evolution.
I have never watched that game
back, but certain aspects remain as
vivid as ever. Firstly, even with Mo’s
injury, I still did not think we were
too far away despite losing 3-1. Real
scored a wonder goal through
Gareth Bale — who came off the
substitutes’ bench — and our
goalkeeper, Loris Karius, made a
couple of mistakes.
Mo was absolutely distraught
afterwards, and he will now be
determined to do well, while there
was no consoling Loris. In that
situation, you go over as a team-
mate and say a few words. But if
everyone is doing the same, it can
be better to give him some space.
He knew he had made a big
mistake when letting Bale’s shot
from distance through his grasp.
Alisson was signed that summer
from Roma and he has clearly made
Liverpool stronger, but I always
remember the Anfield crowd giving
Loris a huge reception at the start
of the next season.
With regard to Modric, I would
say he is the ultimate footballer.
If you were going to grade his
footballing IQ then there won’t be
many more better. The way he
manipulates the ball is
outstanding. He
understands space and
time and is so clever.
He is 36 now, still
churning out two or
three
games a
week, stillaffecting the biggest matches, and
that is really admirable.
Jürgen’s demeanour after the
defeat has also stayed with me. He
did all he could for Loris and, from
a collective point of view, used the
disappointment to fuel the squad to
come back and fight harder. It was
the third consecutive final that
Liverpool had lost under him after
the League Cup and Europa League
finals at the end of his first season.
But this was all part of the learning
process. Of course, it is hard to take
at the time, but these defeats build
resilience.
The Champions League final
victory over Tottenham Hotspur 12-
months later is proof of how
setbacks make you stronger.
Looking at Jürgen now, I have a
feeling he delegates a lot more. He
is a lot more relaxed. Part of that
comes with age, part comes from
the trust he has in staff members
such as Pep Lijnders and Peter
Krawietz and there is also the fact
that this team now knows what is
expected of them from a tactical
viewpoint.
The squad implicitly understands
what he wants and possesses
leaders who also help Jürgen to do
his job by conveying a strong
message. They will effectively help
coach the new players and they help
instil the culture now. Seven years
ago, Jürgen had to do everything.
And I see Trent Alexander-
Arnold and Andrew Robertson as
leaders just as much as James
Milner or Jordan Henderson.
Even though I have been at
Brighton & Hove Albion for two
years, I still speak to Hendo every
day. I will bounce things off him
when I am frustrated and there
have been times when he will use
me as a sounding board. Even
throughout a season that has been
close to perfect for Liverpool, it is
never plain sailing.
I have long since come to the
conclusion that Hendo will only
truly be appreciated when he is no
longer there, but I have been trying
to encourage him to enjoy what is
happening because to be in with a
chance of the Quadruple so late in
the season is something that is not
going to happen again.
Missing out on the Premier
League title to City will not linger.
Liverpool would have been
expecting City to beat Villa
regardless of the circumstances that
transpired and a Champions
League final against Real Madrid is
a good way of channelling your
energy.
This is going to be a proper,
proper final. Two heavyweights
slugging it out. It has the potential
to be iconic.
6 Adam Lallana played 178 times for
Liverpool between 2014 and
2020, scoring 22 goals.I was like a rabbit in the
headlights – now Klopp
has Ferraris on his bench
12 QUESTIONS TO TEST YOUR
EUROPEAN CUP KNOWLEDGE
1 After today’s final, how
many matches will have
been played in this season’s
Champions League between
an English club and a
Madrid team?
A) 5 B) 7 c) 9 D) 112 Which English club
recorded two 6-3 home wins
this season including one in
the Champions League?
A) Chelsea B) Liverpool
C) Manchester City
D) Manchester United3 English winger Laurie
Cunningham played for Real
Madrid in the 1981 final
against Liverpool; for which
team did he face Liverpool
in an FA Cup final in
the 1980s?
A) Everton B) Wimbledon
C) Nottingham Forest
D) Manchester United4 Which European Cup final
featured the most goals of
any final in the competition
and was watched by the
largest crowd?
A) 1960 B) 1970
C) 1980 D) 19905 The finals of 1986 and
1991 each featured one
nation recording its only
European Cup success and
on both occasions it was via
a penalty shoot-out after a
0-0 draw. Which countries?
A) Sweden and Belgium
B) Portugal and Greece
C) France and Turkey
D) Romania and Yugoslavia6 In which year did the
European Cup final go to a
replay for the only time?
A) 1968 B) 1970
C) 1972 D) 19747 In which year did a team
last win a Champions
League final in their own
country? A) 1997 B) 2002
C) 2007 D) 20128 The 2019-2020
Champions League semi-
finals were played over one
leg due to the Covid-19
pandemic but which was the
only other season with one-
legged semi-finals in the
competition?
A) 1983-84 B) 1988-89
C) 1993-94 D) 1998-999 Real Madrid are the
leading scorers in European
Cup finals with a total of
how many goals?
A) 42 B) 45 C) 47 D) 5010 Liverpool have lost only
one Champions League
match on the way to the
2022 final.
Who was it against?
A) Benfica B) Inter Milan
C) Villarreal
D) Atletico Madrid11 What stadium hosted the
1981 final between Liverpool
and Real Madrid?
A) Parc des Princes, Paris
B) Stadio Olimpico, Rome
C) Hampden Park, Glasgow
D) Ataturk Stadium,
Istanbul12 Who is the only manager
to have won the European
Cup three times
in a row?
A) Carlo Ancelotti
B) Bob Paisley
C) Luis Carniglia
D) Zinédine ZidaneAnswers on page 122Lallana admits that he
struggled when he came on
in the final against RealAdam Lallana had a
chastening experience
in the 2018 final but
believes that Liverpool
are better
prepared this
time around