Memories of Dejan Lovren’s last Champions League encounter with Real Madrid and the similarities with Saturday’s final might once have caused him to wince. Today they inspire only belief. “If I see fear in a team-mate’s eyes I will slap him and say: ‘Come on,’” the Liverpool centre-half explains. “But when I look in their eyes now, the young lads and the experienced lads, they are full of confidence. We are not in the final without a reason.” Kiev is an opportunity for Real to see how far Liverpool have come. Youth T.J. Oshie Authentic Camo Adidas Jersey: NHL Washington Capitals #77 Veterans Day Practice The Spanish club were the European champions with a forward line of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Dennis Rodman Jersey Benzema when they handed Lovren and Liverpool a lesson at Anfield in October 2014. The strikers, two of seven Real players that night who could start in Ukraine, both scored as Brendan Rodgers’ team trailed 3-0 by half-time. Liverpool stemmed that onslaught but it was a hugely underwhelming European campaign that is remembered http://www.officialauthenticchargerstore.com/womens_adrian_phillips_jersey for Rodgers surrendering before the return at the Bernabéu, where he put Philippe Coutinho, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling on the bench in readiness for a league game against Chelsea that also ended in defeat. “The only thing that is similar is the name, Liverpool,” says Lovren, who was omitted from the 1-0 defeat in Madrid. “When you look at the players and everything, we have changed a lot. I think me and [Jordan] Henderson are the only players left who started against them that night at Anfield [Alberto Moreno too]. I am so much more confident in the team now than I was then. I feel the team is ready to battle against every team in the world. We showed that against Man City. Man City showed all throughout this season that they are one of the best teams in the world but they came up against Liverpool. We are a totally different team and nobody played a Trevor Bauer Jersey team like us. Real Madrid didn’t play against us then like we play today. Maybe they are used to this team and they look at images from this game but we are totally different now.” Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool may http://www.official76erstore.com/Joel_Embiid_Jersey have closed the gap in class with Madrid but, as four years ago, Lovren believes Real enter the final as favourites, though the Croatia defender offers the proviso that that mantle is based on recent history, not form. The 28-year-old says: “I prefer that we are the underdogs than the favourites. Even now, in this moment, I would say Real Madrid are the favourite because of their previous experience. You really need to respect a team that has reached the Champions League final three times in four years. We know how hard it is to get to the final – you need to beat everyone and all the best teams to get there and they are not there without a reason. “Do they deserve to be there or not? They won against Juve and they won against Bayern Munich with some decisions that you can talk about but in the end they are still in the final. As some of their players have said, they don’t care how they got there – the most important thing is they got to the final. You don’t need to play the most beautiful football in the final. You just need to win it. And this is how they are doing it.” Few would dispute that Liverpool have played the better and more beautiful football en route to this final. It may not guarantee victory on Saturday but it is why there will be no inferiority complex against a Real team bidding for a third consecutive European crown. “Definitely, definitely,” concurs Lovren when Liverpool’s superior European form is mentioned. “Maybe Bayern Munich against Real Madrid, they played some really nice football, but when you look at the competition in total we definitely deserve to be there. I hope it is our time because from day one up until the final we deserve to be there. Let’s make it beautiful until the end.” Klopp has lost his past five cup finals. “Of course you ask yourself: ‘Is it really possible to lose it again?’” Lovren says. “But in football you never know. When you look at all the teams Klopp has managed they are all really different. Maybe they have a similar style but they are different players. If you asked me a year ago or two years ago, then I would say Real Madrid really deserved to win the Champions League. But when I look at the situation now and look at who plays better, it is definitely Liverpool. Because of how we showed the quality in many games people talk like: ‘You will win it, you will win it.’ Of course it’s not easy to say that but I am really confident we will give everything in the final.” http://aofw.co.uk/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=109188.0
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