Real Madrid vs Liverpool: 3 key battles to determine the Champions League final

The Champions League final comes down to Real Madrid’s meeting with Liverpool on Saturday with the La Liga side vying for a third successive European triumph. Liverpool, though, are no pushovers and despite Real Madrid’s experience at this stage of the competition, they’ll need to be at their best to overcome the Reds. 

Here, we look at three key battles that could determine who lifts the Champions League in Ukraine… 

Sergio Ramos vs Mohamed Salah 

Sergio Ramos is one of football’s finest centre-backs, yet there is a way to get the better of the Real Madrid star. Nominally starting on the left of the defence, Ramos can be expected to come up against Mohamed Salah, who features on the right of the Reds’ fluid frontline. However, the Egyptian will often look to cut infield onto his left and go for goal, similarly to how he did in the first half against Roma in Liverpool’s 5-2 first leg win over the Italian outfit. 

Given Marcelo’s tendency to push forward and, at times, shirk his defensive responsibilities, it could be that Ramos is left one-on-one with Salah and that could pose a serious threat to Real Madrid’s chances of securing European glory. The 25-year-old has scored 44 competitive goals for Liverpool this season and he’ll look to round off a fine debut campaign for Jurgen Klopp’s side, and improve his chances of landing the Ballon d'Or, with Champions League success. 

Ramos boasts the necessary defensive experience to limit Salah’s impact in the final third and, importantly, the recovery speed to allow Real Madrid to operate a high defensive line yet not get routinely caught by rapid frontlines. Yet if the Spaniard is left to deal with Salah on his own, then Real Madrid will be in trouble. It’s crucial, then, that Marcelo not get sucked upfield that’ll see the Liverpool star granted the space to really hurt Real Madrid. It’ll be up to Ramos to keep the defence in order to ensure Salah is unable to maximise his attacking quality to full effect. 

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Virgil van Dijk 

Bayern Munich managed what no other Champions League side could do this season and stop Cristiano Ronaldo from scoring. While the German side eventually crashed out 4-3 on aggregate, denying the Portuguese sensation from netting is crucial to any hopes a team may have of overcoming Los Blancos. Ronaldo has scored more goals (15) than any other player in Europe’s elite club competition this season and has found the back of the net in two of the last three finals he has played in. 

He’ll look to get at a shaky Liverpool defence from the off, which means there’ll be ample pressure on Virgil van Dijk to impress from the get go. The centre-back has been an inspired signing for the Reds having joined from Southampton in January, yet Saturday will be arguably his toughest test in a Liverpool shirt. The Dutchman’s gained a commendable WhoScored.com rating of 7.24 in the Champions League and has shored up a previously leaky backline to the best of his ability. 

Liverpool's rearguard is still a work in progress, though, and Ronaldo must be itching to get at a Liverpool defence that has faltered, despite their progression to the Champions League final. The Reds have kept just two clean sheets in their last six competitive matches and came perilously close to being knocked out by Roma in the semi-finals, despite at one point holding a 5-0 advantage. Van Dijk won’t make things easy for Ronaldo in Ukraine, yet it promises to be a long 90 minutes, if not longer, for the 26-year-old towering centre-back as he aims to play a part in stretching Ronaldo’s goalless Champions League run to three matches. 

Casemiro vs Roberto Firmino 

Marcelo, Casemiro and Roberto Firmino will all link up with the Brazil squad for the 2018 World Cup after Saturday’s Champions League final. The outcome of the latter duo’s on-pitch battle, though, will determine who lifts the trophy in Kyiv. Casemiro’s established himself as one of the finest holding midfielders in Europe and has made more tackles and interceptions combined (65) than any other player in the Champions League this term. 

Yet rather than focusing his efforts on denying the Liverpool midfield, it could be that Casemiro’s hands are tied in his attempts to minimise Roberto Firmino’s influence, both on and off the ball. The Reds forward isn’t a traditional number nine in any sense, with the former Hoffenheim man often dropping deeper in search of possession and to drag defenders out of position. He’s won possession in the attacking third the third most times (12) in the Champions League this season, with his exceptional work rate helping win the ball from opposition defenders to create goalscoring chances for the Reds. 

It’s key that Casemiro keep a watchful eye on Firmino in that case. With Sergio Ramos likely to have his hands full by Mohamed Salah, the 26-year-old needs to ensure that teammate Raphael Varane isn’t dragged out from the back to do what he can to win the ball from the Brazilian forward, who has created more clear-cut goalscoring chances (9) than any other player in the Champions League this season. Casemiro’s ball winning capability and tenacity in the midfield, while effective against opposing midfielders, needs to be directed towards Firmino on Saturday or Real Madrid could be caught short at the back and punished by Liverpool ruthless attacking trident.