Champions League 21/22 – Who Will Win?

The Semi-Finals were just as extraordinary as the Quarters – is this the best edition of the Champions League we’ve ever had? I suppose it comes down to whether the Final in Paris delivers.

Liverpool will face Real Madrid in the Final, and tensions have never been higher – will Real Madrid continue their excellent run, or will Liverpool claim revenge?

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RECAP – My Semi-Final Predictions

Before we move onto my Final prediction, let’s see how I fared with the two Semis …

Liverpool* vs Villarreal (3-1)

A lot of people, myself included, were really hoping that Villarreal could do the impossible again and take down the mighty Liverpool. It didn’t quite happen, but they certainly made Liverpool work for it.

The 2-0 in the first leg was exactly what I predicted, but when Villarreal went 2-0 up in the second leg the whole world went into meltdown. Sadly, Liverpool pulled it back to 3-2 to make it 5-2 on aggregate – at least that meant my prediction was correct!

Man City vs Real Madrid* (3-4)

I was really hoping that Man City and Real Madrid would provide a goal-fest, but I wasn’t expecting them to provide two of the best Champions League Semi-Final games of all time.

I predicted 1-2 and 2-2 in both legs to get Real through 3-4, but it was even crazier than that: the first game was a whopping 4-3 to City, and the second leg’s 1-3 result meant that Real Madrid barely snatched a place in the final with a 5-6 aggregate score.

I still got the prediction right, so that’s 2 for 2 in the Semis!

Now that my recap is out of the way, let’s get on to the main attraction …

Liverpool vs Real Madrid

And so we get to the main event – Liverpool vs Real Madrid, a repeat of the 2018 final. Will Liverpool claim revenge, or can Real Madrid continue their imperious form to clinch yet another European trophy?

Let’s start off with Liverpool first of all: Salah is primed for the kill. Ramos isn’t playing anymore, so there’s nothing for the Egyptian pharaoh to fear when he takes on the Spanish giants. His other attackers are on top form too, with Sadio Mané and Luis Diaz having more than enough firepower between them to take down Real Madrid’s defence.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Liverpool have been challenged enough yet. They’ve hardly played any top teams on their route to the final, yet they’ve still conceded a few times to teams like Villarreal and Inter Milan. Will Real Madrid’s attack finally break them down?

Now let’s look at Madrid’s prospects: they’re a team on top form, and since they’ve already clinched their domestic league title you can be sure they’ll be 100% focused on the European trophy. It’s in the club’s DNA to win competitions like this, and you can guarantee that the players will give it their all.

Once again, it’s Real Madrid’s attack that’ll scare Liverpool the most – Benzema, Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo are making a killing, and they’re backed by a midfield with established talent like Kroos and Modric but with the added benefit of Camavinga pulling the strings as well. All in all, Real have a fantastic team that should terrify Liverpool to their core.

If you thought the other games were high-scoring, just wait until you see what this Final brings (unless it ends up being another Liverpool vs Tottenham snooze-fest again …). I’m predicting 3-2 to Real Madrid, with a last minute goal to send the trophy back to Spain.

MY PREDICTION – REAL MADRID

Aaaaand that’s my prediction! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: