da aviator aposta： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
da mrbet： Rio Ferdinand has told BT Sport (via Metro) that he thinks Liverpool will win the Champions League once again this season.
What did he say?
The former Manchester United defender was talking during Wednesday’s coverage of the European fixtures, and there was a discussion following the conclusion of the final round of matches as to who will lift the trophy this year.
Both Glenn Hoddle and Peter Crouch backed Jurgen Klopp’s men, and Ferdinand also believes that the Reds can win the title once again, saying: “It’s a clean sweep for Liverpool, they just look the more complete team.
“They’ve just got a mentality, once you win, they’ve been on the cusp of winning for a couple of years but they got over that line, they won the big one, the Champions League. They look like they’re going to win the Premier League now, I think they’ve just got a mentality now that they’re not going to lose. Before a ball’s even kicked: ‘We’re not going to lose this game, we’re going to win’.”
Premier League comes first
On current form, it is hard to argue that the Anfield outfit are amongst the favourites to lift the trophy in Istanbul at the end of May. Being holders in itself is enough to give them that fear factor, and their current run of form is something to behold – they are unbeaten in 33 matches in the Premier League, for example, and have won 24 matches of their last 25 in that competition.
Can you name the result these iconic Liverpool images belong to? Give it a go now…
However, it is hard to see them prevailing in both tournaments this year. At this point, the league title is the holy grail for the Reds – they have not won it in 30 years, and they are absolutely desperate to be top of the table come the end of the campaign. Having already lifted the Champions League, that is likely to be put on the back burner, especially if there is a sticky period domestically that they need to get through.
Not only that, their worst form this year has come in Europe. They lost their only game of the season in the tournament, 2-0 away at Napoli, whilst they only managed a draw at home. Also, they struggled to beat RB Salzburg, only prevailing 4-3, and they needed a result on the final matchday to even qualify for the next round. Whilst that is the same situation as last year, there was one small difference – they hadn’t won the trophy by that point.
This time around, they may just take their eye off the European competition as they focus on success in England. And, with the calibre of the sides to have qualified being so strong this year – all 16 sides in the first knockout round come from the continent’s top five leagues for the first time ever- they cannot afford to drop their level of performance. This year, the Premier League comes first, and that could be to the detriment of their Champions League campaign.
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp has suffered another injury blow.