The final Super Sunday of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign proved to be as gripping and enticing as those in football, and the associated press, had hoped for given the close battle between Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team this season.
There were a number of plot twists in the telling two final games involving each side and the battle went down to the final ten minutes before fans watching on knew where the title was going. Despite Liverpool’s late victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester City’s own fightback against Aston Villa gave them the point they needed to lift the trophy.
Despite the disappointment felt at Anfield at the final whistle, Klopp cannot allow his charges to dwell for too long as with second spot secured domestically, the season is not over just yet as there is still the small matter of next Saturday’s Champions League Final with Real Madrid to decide.
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With each side having had a good season under their belt this year, the Final clash could well be tasty and defence will be key to which side comes out on top as both boast stellar strikers in the shape of Egyptian Mohamed Salah and World Cup bound Frenchman Karim Benzema.
With 29-year-old Salah coming on as a late substitute in their final Premier League action, he got himself on the scoresheet in the 3-1 victory and that took his goal tally tp 23 for the year with him now sharing the 2021/22 Golden Boot award with Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-Min. Salah also helped himself to the Premier League’s newer Playmaker of the Season award, chipping in with 13 assists in his 30 starts and five substitute showings.
Factoring in all competitions (and applicable international matches this season), Salah’s season has been even more successful as in his 51 starts and six substitute appearances, he has contributed 33 goals in total and provided 16 additional assists and Jurgen Klopp will be confident he can add to that again.
Real Madrid manager Carlos Ancelotti will also fancy his chances of adding to his own trophy haul by delivering the European title back to the Santiago Bernabeu, and that will be hugely based on the current form of 34-year-old Frenchman Benzema.
With his goalscoring exploits helping the La Liga outfit to a very comfortable top spot finish, with a whopping 13 point advantage over rivals Barcelona, the former Lyon Academy graduate has really stepped up to the plate following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo back in the summer of 2018 as he made the switch to serial winning Italian side Juventus.
Rediscovering his best form in recent seasons, Benzema has been a revelation in 2021/22. Looking at his own involvement across 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 is undoubtedly a phenomenal return for a player who has been with them for well over a decade and it truly re-establishes him as a Galactico – particularly just at the time when Los Blancos needed their big players to step up and perform consistently.
There is no doubt at all that Benzema will be on the plane to Qatar for France’s World Cup bid this winter, and in what could be his last major international competition, you can only imagine he will be aiming to go out with the headlines.
Whichever striker comes out on top across the 90 minutes will have a decisive say on where the trophy goes. Whatever happens on Saturday, it should be another thrilling watch – especially for neutrals and then it is all eyes to the next campaign and a World Cup in the winter.