Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will battle it out in an all-English Champions League final on Saturday, eleven years after Manchester United and Chelsea played the last all-English final.
The Reds will be keen to comfort themselves with a victory after narrowly missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City, while Spurs have a lot to prove after falling apart in the second-half of the campaign.
Ex-United defender Rio Ferdinand would love to see Tottenham win, given how manager Mauricio Pochettino has turned them to a side to reckon with with very little transfer budget.
Spurs didn’t make any signings in the last winter and summer transfer windows, but still managed to finish in top-four and are in their first ever Champions League final.
While Ferdinand will be cheering Tottenham on, he expects Liverpool to win given their superior individual brilliance and the experience of recently playing in a final.
“I’d like to see Spurs win – and that has nothing to do with the rivalry between my old club and Liverpool. TV viewers will have seen I celebrate good football and great goals, whichever team scores them,” the Red Devils legend told The Sun.
“And I certainly won’t be losing any sleep if Liverpool carry off the trophy. But I admire the job Mauricio Pochettino has done on a budget which is relatively small compared to other major clubs in Europe.
“That said, though, I expect Liverpool to win. Last season’s defeat in Kiev will stand them in good stead and they have more weapons in their armoury with Mo Salah and Sadio Mane up front and their two raiding full-backs Andrew Robertson and Alexander-Arnold. They have a fantastic manager in Jurgen Klopp who, while not always calm on the touchline, will need to be calm in the dressing room beforehand and give his team the belief that they will win it this time.”
A huge game is expected between both sides, and most United faithful, including Ferdinand will surely be rooting for Spurs.
But will that be enough for the North Londoners to shock Jurgen Klopp’s men?
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