Mohamed Salah has dominated a lot of the narratives heading into Saturday’s Champions League final.
Liverpool ’s top scorer has spoken of getting redemption for what happened in the 2018 meeting between the two when he was forced off with an injury following a collision with Sergio Ramos in the first half. The Reds of course then went on to lose 3-1.
Moments after the full-time whistle was blown in the Spanish capital following Real Madrid ’s semi-final victory over Manchester City, he tweeted: “We have a score to settle,” before claiming it was an “easy answer” when asked who he wanted to play at the Stade de France.
"If you ask everybody (at Liverpool), everyone wanted that game," Salah told Sky Sports. "I don't know why we're not allowed to talk about it but I'm ok to talk about it - I wanted that game! I wanted to play Real Madrid before that game (against Manchester City).”
When pressed further on whether it was truly a revenge mission, he quickly added: “Yes…we lost in the final. It was a sad day for all of us and now it’s revenge time.”
Salah is Liverpool's top scorer this season, he scooped not only the Premier League's Golden Boot but also the competition’s Playmaker award for registering the most assists. He’ll therefore dominate a lot of Madrid's pre-match preparation.
But yet, there’s a case to be made that it’s Liverpool’s left that has the potential to be the most dangerous based on current form, especially if Luis Diaz is handed a start. The Colombian has been a huge success at Anfield since his arrival in January, seamlessly settling in to become one of Jurgen Klopp’s most important attackers.
He’s already registered six goals and four assists for the Reds, and has dominated a lot of key attacking metrics, even bettering Salah in some instances. On a per 90 basis, he’s currently top at Liverpool in terms of dribbles attempted and progressive runs. While he ranks fourth at the club in terms of key passes, and second in terms of shots.
With Salah and others, Liverpool have a plethora of attacking talent at their disposal, however, Diaz has certainly brought something a little different to the club.
He’s very quick, which aids his almost unrivalled ability to drive past opponents, but he can also decelerate just as fast, catching out chasing defenders and allowing him to switch direction or expose passing lanes that appear towards goal.
Based on Carlo Ancelotti’s lineups in big games this season, it’s more than likely that we will see Madrid right-back Daniel Carvajal tasked with stopping Diaz, yet there should be confidence in the Liverpool camp that he’ll have too much for the Spanish international.
Carvajal is top a wing-back, but arguably his best assets are attacking ones, rather than defending. This is a point captured by the fact he ranks 30th of the 40 right-backs who have played 1000 minutes in terms of defensive duels won (55.81 per cent) this season.
Although Salah will dominate much of Madrid’s attention given his pre-match comments and the history between both sides in this competition, the Spanish side hasn’t faced a Liverpool team with Diaz in it yet. And the above evidence highlights that it is he who arguably has the potential to punish them more than anyone else on Saturday.
