Zidane Leaves Bale Out Of Starters As Real Chase Champions League Glory
By
Gareth Bale starts on the bench for Real Madrid in Saturday’s Champions League final against Liverpool in Kiev, with coach Zinedine Zidane preferring Isco to the Welshman.
As a result, the Real starting line-up is the same as that which took to the field in last year’s final, when the Spanish giants beat Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff.
Cristiano Ronaldo leads the attack as Real look to win the Champions League for the third season running, something no team has achieved since Bayern Munich in 1976.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp goes, as expected, with the same team that started the second leg of their semi-final against Roma.
Mohamed Salah, who has 44 goals in all competitions this season, has inspired the Anfield club on their run to a first Champions League final since 2007, when they lost to AC Milan in Athens.
Liverpool are looking to win their sixth European Cup overall — they beat Real 1-0 when the clubs met in 1981 in Paris.
Real are chasing a fourth Champions League title in five seasons, and a 13th European Cup overall. Zidane can become the first coach to win the Champions League three seasons running.
Starting line-ups for the UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool in Kiev on Saturday (1845 GMT kick-off):
Real Madrid (4-3-1-2)
Keylor Navas; Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos (capt), Raphael Varane, Marcelo; Casemiro, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos; Isco; Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo
Coach: Zinedine Zidane (FRA)
Liverpool (4-3-3)
Loris Karius; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson (capt), James Milner; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane
Coach: Jurgen Klopp (GER)
The post Zidane Leaves Bale Out Of Starters As Real Chase Champions League Glory appeared first on Channels Television.