After his Liverpool team qualified for the Champions League final on Tuesday at the expense of Villarreal, Egyptian star Mohamed Salah revealed that he wants to face the latter’s compatriot Real Madrid in the final to compensate for the loss of the 2018 edition against the royal team when he suffered a severe shoulder injury.
Salah, 29, was injured in the 2018 final when Real defender Sergio Ramos dropped him to the ground, preventing him from completing the match that Liverpool lost 1-3 and thus playing the 2018 World Cup in Russia naturally.
After Liverpool’s repeated victory over Villarreal (2-0 and 3-2), Salah revealed the identity of the team that he prefers to face in the final between Real Madrid and Manchester City, the winner in the first leg 4-3, and they meet Wednesday in Madrid for the final card, “I would like to face Madrid. City is a difficult team. We have faced them a few times this season, but I prefer Madrid.”
And whether he wanted revenge, Salah, who reached the Champions League final for the third time after 2018 and 2019 when he won the title, added to the British “BT” channel, “Because we lost the final. I would like to face them again and hope to beat them.”
Regarding the goals he drew before the start of this season, Salah, who has 30 goals and 15 assists in various competitions, contributed to him being named the best player in the English Premier League by the Sports Journalists Association in England again, “I always draw goals for me before the start of the season and I have expectations.” Big for myself, individually and collectively, and the last is the most important. Before the start of the season I set myself a record of 40 goals and 10 or 15 assists.”
He added with a laugh: “I have to focus on goals now. Trent (colleague Alexander-Arnold) will be angry now because I am the best in assists in the Premier League (13 for Salah and 12 for Arnold), but I will look for (achieve) all the numbers.”
Liverpool became closer to achieving a historic quartet for an English club, after winning the League Cup, reaching the Cup final against Chelsea, the Champions League final, and moving away from Manchester City at the top of the Premier League four rounds before the end.
And about his pursuit of the quartet, the former Roma, Fiorentina and Chelsea player said, “Yes, we are looking for it now. To be honest, we might not have thought about this before the start of the season, because I personally focus on the Champions League and the Premier League. But since we are close to it, why not.”
Liverpool is waiting for a difficult match in the local league on Saturday against its fifth guest, Tottenham, who is seeking to qualify for the Champions League. “You must enjoy the moment. Starting tomorrow, we will focus on the next Tottenham match.”