JAKARTA - Former Liverpool and Real Madrid player, Michael Owen revealed how the Champions League final will go. Owen identified several areas that will be key in the match which will take place on Saturday night Paris time.
"I think Liverpool will probably have a lot of balls, because I think Real Madrid will try hard to prevent space behind them for players like [Mohamed] Salah and [Sadio] Mane to come in," commented Owen, quoted by Marca, Friday.
"But I also think they want to play deeper and then try to exploit the counter-attack.
“Every opponent will look at Liverpool and think the way we can beat them is to try and get in behind them.
The man who is now one of the leading figures in BT Sport then said how Trent Alexander-Arnold's movement would determine this match. For that, he said Liverpool should not be careless.
"When Trent Alexander-Arnold moved forward, they had Vinicius [Junior] who could really hurt Liverpool in that position," said Owen, who has played for Liverpool and Real Madrid.
"Everyone is doing the same thing and everyone is trying it. Whether you can actually do it is another matter.
"No doubt Real Madrid will look at Liverpool's back line, they will often look to Trent up front and they will think Vinicius will be a weapon."
Owen then commented, Carlo Ancelotti would optimize Vinicius' performance more than Karim Benzema. The speed of the Brazilian winger will trouble the Reds.
"I think [Carlo] Ancelotti will try to expose that area and Vinicius will be one of their key components.
"[Karim] Benzema is of course in good form, but I think it's Vinicius' speed that they might try to take advantage of."
Finally, the 2001 Ballon d'Or winner said Liverpool would not field a surprise formation. They will also attack as usual, while Los Blancos will rely on counter attacks.
"Liverpool play in a very similar way, a similar formation and I don't think there will be any surprises from Liverpool," he said.
"They will play exactly the way they normally play and are usually good enough to win.
"Real Madrid are more inclined to want it to be a tactical affair and I definitely expect them to be a counter-attacking team."
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