Karim Benzema has aimed a thinly-veiled dig within the direction of Mohamed Salah ahead of this weekend’s Champions League final showdown between Real Madrid and Liverpool. The Spanish giants emerged victorious when the 2 clubs met in the identical fixture back in 2018 but their English opponents will probably be desperate to say revenge after they do battle on the Stade de France on Saturday evening.
Salah was forced off early on with a dislocated shoulder after tangling with Sergio Ramos 4 years ago and was forced to observe Liverpool fall to a devastating 3-1 defeat by the hands of Real Madrid from the dressing room on that occasion. The Egyptian maestro, who has chipped in with 31 goals in all competitions over the course of this season to this point, recently underlined his desire to hunt redemption at the subsequent available opportunity with a stern message upon reaching this yr’s Champions League final earlier this month.
“I’m so excited, I said before the sport that I desired to play Madrid in the ultimate,” said Salah following Liverpool’s semi-final win over Villarreal.
“We lost within the [2018] final, it was a tragic day for all of us, and I feel it’s revenge time. I’m sure it will be a troublesome game, they beat loads of good teams, so we just must concentrate on the sport.”
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Salah’s fighting words have since been shot down by Benzema, who will probably be hoping to rival the Liverpool winger for this season’s Ballon d’Or after leading a hugely impressive campaign with Real Madrid over the past nine months. The Frenchman told Movistar in no uncertain terms that he is just not concerned with anything that Salah has to say by insisting that Real Madrid are a special beast and will probably be equally determined to say victory when hostilities are finally renewed in Paris on Saturday.
“Liverpool have loads of confidence,” sneered Benzema. “Possibly they think they already won the sport, possibly they think this is not the identical Real Madrid as before, that they are favourites. Salah can say whatever he wants.”
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It stays to be seen whether Liverpool will have the option to get the job done against Real Madrid on the second time of asking by downing the newly-crowned Spanish champions and securing a seventh Champions League title this weekend. The Reds have already won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season and can fancy their possibilities of picking up one more trophy so as to add to their collection after missing out on Premier League glory to Manchester City despite managing to beat Wolves on the ultimate day of the campaign.
Nonetheless, it’s going to not be a simple task for Liverpool to pip Real Madrid to the crown regardless of their incredible form over the course of this season to this point. The La Liga heavyweights overcame the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and City on their solution to this yr’s final and will probably be eager to clinch a record-breaking 14th continental triumph by adding Jurgen Klopp’s men to their list of high-profile victims under the lights within the French capital.
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