The Premier League’s final Super Sunday of the 2021/22 campaign proved to be as utterly tantalising as people in the world of football, and the wider associated media, had long hoped for given the tight and lengthy battle between Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team.
There were plenty of twists and turns in both of the two final matches that would determine where this year’s title finally ended up and the trophy was only decided in the final ten minutes of both games – Liverpool established advantage over Wolverhampton Wanderers, but Manchester City fought back from two goals down to take a very late victory of their own.
Despite the disappointment felt by those in red on Merseyside, there is no time to dwell as the treble is still on for German manager Klopp’s PL runners up, as the final destination of this years Champions League trophy will be decided in this coming Saturday evening’s battle with Real Madrid.
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Both sides have had incredible seasons during the 2021/22 campaign and the final is set to be a very good spectacle once again, where each manager will more than fancy their sides chances of success.
For Liverpool and Klopp, that’s obvious. He was still able to rest some big players in their clash with Wolves, keeping them fresher for the battle ahead and one of those was Egyptian goal machine Mohamed Salah.
With the 29-year-old coming on as a late substitute, he got himself on the scoresheet in the win and that helped him share this seasons Golden Boot award with Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-Min as both scored 23 goals in the Premier League campaign. For Salah though, he also picked up the Premier League’s Playmaker of the Season award as he helped himself to 13 assists in his 30 starts and five substitute showings.
Factoring in all competitions (and applicable international matches), Salah’s season has been even more successful as he had scored 33 goals and provided 16 assists in 51 starts and six substitute showings.
Real Madrid manager Carlos Ancelotti will also be fancying his chances of taking the trophy back to Santiago Bernabeu given the form of Frenchman Karim Benzema and the ease to which they secured top spot with a 13 point advantage over second placed rivals Barcelona. The 34-year-old has really stepped up to the plate in 2021/22 and rediscovered his best form. Looking at his involvement in all competitions (also including applicable internationals) the veteran striker has scored a whopping 51 goals, with 15 assists in only 51 starts and three additional substitute showings.
It’s an incredible return for the player who has re-established himself as a true Galactico this season, if not slightly before following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo back in the summer of 2018 – and just when they needed him to as well. Given his form this year and his involvement in the French World Cup qualifiers, it’s given he’s already booked his place on the plane to Qatar in December and you would imagine he will want to go out with a bang in what will likely be his last World Cup adventure.
Whichever striker wins out here will have a major impact on the course of the game, and that probably depends on which defence ultimately wins out across the 90 minutes and makes the least unforced errors.
Whatever now happens on Saturday though, it should be a fantastic watch for the fans and then everyone can gear up for the coming 2022/23 campaign, with the winter distraction of the World Cup out in Qatar.
This is a paid guest post.