Liverpool’s Egyptian ace Mo Salah has signaled he and his teammates will have revenge on their minds when they take on Real Madrid in the Champions League final later this month, after the Spanish giants’ stunning come-from-behind fightback against Manchester City at the Bernebeu on Wednesday evening.
Two late goals from Brazilian rising star Rodrygo and an extra-time penalty from arguably the world’s most in-form striker, Karim Benzema, secured a sensation victory for Real Madrid after a second-half Riyad Mahrez goal appeared to have booked Pep Guardiola’s side an appearance in what would have been their second successive Champions League final.
And soon after the final whistle, Salah indicated that he and his Liverpool teammates will be eager to earn a measure of revenge after Real Madrid conquered his side in the 2017-18 final in Kiev.
“We have a score to settle,” wrote Salah on Instagram soon after the final whistle, alongside a selection of images from their own semi-final against Villarreal in which they endured a scare of their own before sealing a 5-2 aggregate win.
The previous final that the two European giants met in was a memorable one – but, from Salah’s perspective at least, for all the wrong reasons.
The two-time African football of the year had been in imperious form in what was his debut season with Liverpool, scoring 11 goals en route to the final in the Ukrainian capital – but lasted just over half an hour in the showpiece game after injuring his shoulder in a coming together with Spanish defender Sergio Ramos.
A brace from Gareth Bale – one of which was among the best goals ever scored in a Champions League final – and another from Benzema after an error from goalkeeper Loris Karius was enough to cancel out Sadio Mane’s sole strike for the Reds to hand Madrid what was their third Champions League trophy on the bounce.
And it is clear that the manner of that result still irks Salah.
“I want to play Real Madrid, I have to be honest,” Salah said earlier this week. “Hopefully we’ll win it from them as well.”
He gets his wish on May 28 at the Stade de France in Paris.
