Mouth Watering Stats Ahead of Champions League Final
The world of football will stand still for two hours to enjoy a well anticipated Champions League final match between Liverpool and Real Madrid on Saturday, 26th of May, 2018, 7:45pm (Nigerian time). And as much as we anticipate an exciting football from the two of the most attacking football teams in Europe, Mobizone has brought to you, a quick preview of team and player stats, comparisons and likely outcome of the match.
Real Madrid will be looking to seal a third consecutive Champions League title, a feat no team has achieved since its revamp in 1992. Real Madrid had in the course of few seasons broke some remarkable Champions League records, including a back-to-back title achieved last season, giving them their 12th title overall. Liverpool on the other hand will look to achieve a 6th Champions League title, the last which came in a remarkable comeback against AC Milan in Instabul 13 years ago.
League-wise, both teams have not had a good season, but not as bad as not to have secured a spot in next season’s Champions League. Liverpool finished fourth while Real Madrid finished third in Premier League and La Liga respectively. This year’s Champions league has been a major highlights for both teams with goals scoring records being broken and lots of individual records.
The final is not just a case of Liverpool vs Real Madrid, but also a fight for superiority between Mo Salah and Ronaldo. Both players faced off few months back when Ronaldo’s double inspired Portugal to 2-1 victory over Egypt when Salah was also on target.
In terms of stats this season, it is worthy to compare both players’ performances and talk about each player’s chances when they meet in Champions League final.
| Mohamed Salah | vs | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 51 | Club appearances (all comp) | 43 |
| 44 | Club goals (all comps) | 44 |
| 32 | Domestic league goals | 26 |
| 10 | Domestic league assists | 5 |
| 11 | Champions League goals (inc. qualifiers) | 15 |
| 4 | Champions League assists (inc. qualifiers) | 2 |
| 7 | Braces | 11 |
| 0 | Hat-tricks | 1 |
| 1 | Four goals in a game | 1 |
| 7 | Longest scoring streak | 12 |
| 3 | Longest run without a goal | 3 |
Appearance
We can say Salah’s consistency this season has been down to his unbelievable fitness which allowed him racked up a stunning 51 club appearance in all competitions this season. Ronaldo also has a track record for keeping fit all season, but had few times when he didn’t feature for Real Madrid this season. Aside injury and suspension, Zidane’s rotational policy also contributed to some of his missed games this season
Goals
Funny enough, both players are tied with 44 goals apiece in all competitions, but while Salah has already enjoyed domestic accolades with EPL Golden Boot Award, Ronaldo can only wait until after the Champions League final to see if he takes this year’s golden boot. Although, it may seem practically impossible for Salah to score five goals against Real Madrid in the final, we can only wait. Ronaldo has 15 goals, five more than Salah who has 10 goals, but irrespective of whether Ronaldo takes the Golden boot award, the scorer of the winning goal will be considered the hero.
However, it seems unbelievable to note that both players have only managed one hat trick between themselves and this is attributed to only Ronaldo. Salah scored four on one occasion, Ronaldo was not left behind as he also recorded four goals in a match all through the season. Most of their goals have come from brace, Ronaldo (11) scored more brace in a single match ahead of Salah (7).
Overall Contributions
Salah has proved this season that he is not just a goal scorer, he was also able to provide a whooping 10 assist in the dmestic league while Ronaldo could only boast of five. Domestically, Salah enjoyed a fair superiority over Ronaldo in terms of overall contribution this season.
Having seen this, who do you think will shine in the final, Ronaldo or Salah?
