It is finally upon us. The ultimate finale to a season that has seen
its highs and lows, the beauty and the ugly. Liverpool’s pulsating run
in the Champions League culminates in a mouthwatering showdown with a
historic European rival who also happen to be the current holders of
the competition.
Liverpool’s biggest day in more than a decade
Being the most successful English side to grace the Champions League
(or the European Cup as it was known as back in the days), Liverpool
are no stranger to the famous European stage. Liverpool’s quintuple of
successes in the competition has always been a strong source of pride
for its fans but sharp has their decline been in recent years that
Reds fans have long been accused by rivals for living in the past.
That ‘past’ however is now staring right in Liverpool’s face as the
Reds have now thrust themselves back into the forefront of footballing
history. The last time the Reds made any significant impact in the
Champions League, Rafa Benitez was still Liverpool boss, Steven
Gerrard was still very much in his pomp as Liverpool captain and
Liverpool were under a very different set of owners. This is arguably
Liverpool’s biggest day in more than a decade, in fact it has been
some 13 years since Steven Gerrard lifted the same iconic trophy on
that famous night in Istanbul, and the history books at Anfield are
yearning for a new page to be written, a new glorious entry of
triumph. This is their chance to regain or rather renew their bragging
rights as the most successful English club in Europe.
Salah’s big stage
There are few superlatives left to describe the impact 25 year-old
Mohamed Salah has made in his debut season at Liverpool. Initially
labelled as another Premier League foreign flop when he first turned
up with Chelsea, the Egyptian has since seen his stock rise tenfold as
he transformed into the Premier League’s most potent attacker this
season. Salah has since scooped up a bevy of richly deserved awards
for exploits, earning flattering comparisons with the likes of Lionel
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. 10 goals in the Champions League so far
this season is a highly respectable tally but Salah will go into the
game knowing that he is up against elite competition, with Cristiano
Ronaldo having bagged 15 goals in the Champions League so far. The
Portuguese star is also the all-time top scorer in the Champions
League. Pitted against the superstars of Real Madrid, much of the
focus in Kiev will be centered on how Salah and Ronaldo each influence
the game in their side’s favour. Salah is well aware that he has had a
stunning debut season at Anfield filled with personal awards but to
truly be immortalized into Anfield folklore and not have this
wonderful season forgotten amongst history, he needs to lift
silverware with Liverpool this season. To fully earn a deserved
mention along the likes of the arguably the two deadliest forwards of
the decade, 25 year-old Salah still has room to prove on the big stage
and there is no better stage to prove it than in Kiev.
Klopp’s crowning achievement
We all know that despite the immense positivity Jurgen Klopp has
brought to Anfield since his appointment, it remains a niggling fact
that the German has yet to win a major trophy with Liverpool. The Reds
have been transformed into one of the most potent sides in England, a
far cry from when the German first arrived, stepping into a team
looking out of sorts and disillusioned in the wake of Brendan Rodgers’
dismissal. A league cup final and a Europa League final are the
closest Klopp ever got to silverware at Liverpool, and both times it
eluded him. Despite that early setback, Klopp has given the Reds an
identity, a style of play that has both thrilled the fans and
delivered results. The past and current season has seen Liverpool
consolidate their placing among the top four, restoring the club to a
level where they belong, among Europe’s elite. It speaks volumes that
Liverpool’s front three have all hit double figures in the league
season, with Mohamed Salah notably top of the pile and confirming his
status as a ‘great buy’ under Klopp. In Kiev, Liverpool and Klopp will
have eyes on the big prize, a crowning achievement for a man who has
breathed belief back into a historic club that was looking in danger
of being exiled from Europe’s elite. From near-exiled to being thrust
right back into the centre spotlight of European elite, a win in Kiev
will no doubt be not only a crowning achievement for Klopp’s work at
Liverpool so far but also for his managerial career as a whole thus
far.