Beyond the controversy, a UEFA final looms

Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, a stadium in Madrid, Spain – will be hosting the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League final between two English giants Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur. This venue has been the home stadium of Atlético Madrid since the 2017/18 season.

It is located in Rosas neighbourhood in the San Blas-Canillejas district. The stadium management has been under a lot of pressure from the media and soccer enthusiasts following reports that Liverpool were given just 16,000 tickets in 67,000 capacity stadium.

The uproar was also linked to reports suggesting that getting to the venue is rather expensive, food and accommodation. For English supporters, getting there will be a mission – since they will have to endure an approximated 15 to 18-hour trip by driving or flying. But this is just one of those aggravating issues most fans are maddened about.

Now, back to the spectacular performances these two hulks showed, Spurs were undoubtedly underrated in this competition considering that they had not signed any new players for quite some time. Come to think of it, it’s only been Lucas Moura (Brazilian international) whom Spurs signed last year January.

Spurs’ 4-0 aggregate victory over Borrusia Dortmund in the Round of 16 secured them a semi-final spot after having kept the likes of Sancho off bay. The Reds, on the other hand, outsmarted Bayern Munich 3-1 on aggregate.
Klopp’s men were in a tight group with the likes of PSG, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade.

Liverpool finished second behind PSG with nine points. Spurs had FC Barcelona, Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven in their group stage. They finished second in the group behind Barca who had 14 points, with only two wins, two draws and lost two.

Following their successful triumphs in the Round of 16, it meant that we had three Premier League sides in the last eight (quarter-finals) in Manchester City, Liverpool and Spurs. Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk (Premier League Player of the Season for 2018-19) and leader of men Jordan Henderson inspired a memorable come back against Catalan giants in a 4-3 thriller.

This was after the Merseyside went 3-0 down in the first leg with Lionel Messi scoring a brace and another goal from Luis Suárez. This looked highly unlikely for Liverpool to come back from.

Spurs secured a four-all aggregate score against Man City to move to the semi-finals. They played Ajax Amsterdam in the semis only to win on the away goal rule all thanks to Lucas Moura for his stunning hat trick to book a spot in the final.

In the Premier League, Spurs finished fourth on the table qualifying for the Champions League yet again.
With their new stadium up-and-running, the future looks bright for Daniel Levy’s soldiers. It is safe to say that winning the Champions League will be the icing on the cake.

Liverpool, who were in the final last season, will look to rewrite history this time around. Having lost out on the Premier League, this will definitely be a season to remember if they can clinch the title. The final will take place on June 1 in Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.