The Metropolitano needs a historic night...
So Liverpool will face Real Madrid in Kiev but were made to sweat for their passage to the final in Rome. The Serie A side sought three goals on the night, bagged four but gifted Klopp's side two goals through elemental errors and were made to pay the price ultimately. The Italian side were the better team on the night launching wave after wave of attack and indeed should have bagged more goals. The match official rejected two decent penalty shouts and awarded a soft hand ball late in injury time when it was too late for Roma fans to dream. On reflection, it has been an excellent Champions League campaign for the Italian outfit with fine play and courageous displays. Liverpool are back in another Champions League final and this game sees a repeat of the 1981 Paris final where the English side ran out winners with Boskov on the Real Madrid bench.
Atleti's turn
Now the spotlight falls on Atlético Madrid as the club look to write a major page of club history in their new Wanda Metropolitano stadium. Tonight is a night for the epic and legends to be made as the game provides an excellent opportunity to assist those many fans who still miss the club playing at their old Vicente Calderon ground. The old Manzanares stadium witnessed some monumental European nights with many of these coming in the past few years under the guidance of coach Diego Simeone. Arsenal are Atleti's opponents, one of the major sides in English club football with the game tied 1-1 from the first leg in north London thanks in short to a stunning performance from Oblak.
Lyon awaits
Simeone in his pre-match press conference claimed that the game will be played with a focus on the physical as well as the emotional. We've seen this before from his teams in previous semi-final games as his players run themselves into the ground. Atleti find themselves just 90 minutes away from another final with the Europa League offering a degree of comfort after the pain of Champions League elimination. This prestigious UEFA competition has seen seen the club's fans galvanized as they dream of the Lyon final. Diego Costa will be back, Griezmann is playing well, Vitolo is back to his best, Thomas is establishing himself as a key player for the side, the supporters will play their role knowing that Cholo will drive the team along and in Oblak, Atleti have one of the best goalkeepers on the planet. A night for the history books beckons.
