Andy Robertson has claimed that he hopes Liverpool play Manchester City in the Champions League final.
Robertson was the Liverpool man to face the press after yesterday’s victory over Villarreal. The left-back said that although an all-English final would be tough, he was hopeful it could happen.
” We want an all English final,” Robbo said via Sky Sports. “I think the English finals are always tough, you play them enough in a season, but Man City are an incredible team.
“They’re obviously in pole position for tomorrow and we’ll watch it, and obviously Real Madrid will try to have a say in it.”
Mo wants Madrid revenge
Mohamed Salah unequivocally disagrees with his teammate. When asked by BT Sport after the game who he’d prefer to face off against in Paris, Mo was equally as certain.
“I want to play Madrid,” said Mo. “If you ask me personally I would prefer Madrid because we lost in the final against them! So I want to play against them and hopefully win it.”
Others such as Jurgen Klopp and Virgil Van Dijk were more diplomatic in their answers. Obviously when you get to a final you take whoever you get.
As one of the best teams in the world, Liverpool will prefer to focus on their own strengths anyway.
Weighing up the options
It’s human nature to have a preference though. Some Liverpool fans, like Salah, will want to claim revenge on Real Madrid for the loss in 2018’s final. They also knocked Liverpool out of the competition last season.
Others will want them purely because they can’t bear the thought of the tension of a final against City.
On the flip side, Robertson’s view is possibly in a minority. Liverpool faced an English team the last time they played the final, in 2019, and that was one of the most turgid finals in recent memory.
City are also surely a more difficult prospect than Carlo Ancelotti’s Spanish champions. Madrid are a super team with some standout players, but Man City are on another level.
Either way, it doesn’t really matter. As Liverpool fans know all too well, strange things can happen in a Champions League final.
All that counts is that The Reds have booked their place in the biggest game in club football for the third time in five years.
Whoever joins them in Paris, they won’t exactly be thrilled at the prospect of playing Klopp’s relentless Reds.
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