CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL Salah can eclipse Ronaldo
IT IS where this year’s Champions League final could be decided: Mo Salah versus Cristiano Ronaldo.
Liverpool star Salah has scored 42 goals this season – one more than his Real Madrid rival – and has made a clean sweep of all the individual honours in England in the process.
But Ronaldo, a multiple winner of the Ballon d’Or, is quite a friend of the Champions League. He is seeking a fourth triumph at Real, having scored twice in last year’s final, the last penalty in the 2016 shoot-out and the fourth goal in Madrid’s 2014 glory.
Michael Owen, below, knows a thing or two about scoring on the big stage, having played for both clubs and believes Madrid will be more wary of Salah than Liverpool will of Ronaldo.
And he backs Salah to cap an incredible season by lifting the Champions League trophy.
Owen says his extraordinary exploits will mean so much more if he can help Liverpool become kings of Europe for the sixth time while increasing his own chances of ending the duopoly of the Ballon d’Or by Ronaldo and Lionel Messi over the past decade.
“Ronaldo or Salah? On this season’s form, I’d go Salah,” said Owen. “If Liverpool win the Champions League he deserves to win the Ballon d’Or.
“I would like to give a striker’s perspective of him but he is not even a striker – and he is still beating all these records.
“When you are in those meetings before a big game looking at the opposition, there is no question Real will be looking at Liverpool’s front three and in particular REPORTS Salah. They will be asking, ‘Where does he score them? What can we do to prevent it? Can we show him on his right foot? Can we double up in certain areas?’
“He will be one of the main focuses of the Real team talk and if tactically they are going to do anything to stop anyone in particular, you’d have to say it was going to be him. He’s just had a quite brilliant season.”
BT Sport pundit Owen – who spent a season at the Bernabeu after scoring 158 goals in seven seasons at Anfield – said Salah’s form should not come as such a surprise if his spell at Roma is analysed rather than his false dawn with Chelsea.
“Halfway through the season, I was listening to everyone saying he had improved out of all recognition so I started having a look at his performances at Roma and I would say we’re all a bit more surprised than we should be,” said Owen.
“People are remembering him from his Chelsea days, thinking he was one of those with little end product. But look at his Roma stats for goals and assists and they’re quite staggering. Yes, don’t get me wrong, he has gone up another level, but he was well on his way in Italy.”
His record at Roma was 34 goals with 18 assists in his two seasons. Owen says Salah would normally need to maintain his scoring exploits over several years to match the Anfield icons like Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush, but believes winning the Champions League in his first season will elevate the Egyptian to that level.
“That will catapult him into that great bunch of legends because there’s something to show for it as well,” said Owen. “Even though he cost £37million, you would still say he has been one of the best pieces of business of all time. You could add £100m plus to his value now.”
Owen dismissed fears Salah could be lured by Real, Barcelona or Paris St Germain because he believes he has found his spiritual home and the perfect manager in Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
“Liverpool was his ideal destination when he was in Italy and I think he adores the club and is there to stay,” said Owen. “He is not a Suarez or Philippe Coutinho who had that Latin influence where they are drawn towards Barcelona and Real.”
Owen, of course, is not dismissing the threat of Ronaldo and is in awe of the 33-year-old Portugal star’s longevity and scoring statistics – he has 573 goals in 762 club games in his career, along with 81 in 149 appearances for his country.
“He’s getting to an age where one or two bad games and people will start saying he’s past it, but he is giving nobody a chance to say that,” said Owen. “I marvel at the fact he used to play wide, had unbelievable pace and great skill but has sharpened his efforts in other areas and is much more of a centre forward now. He just continues to find ways of scoring goals, especially in big games.”
And his prediction? Owen said: “Liverpool suit one-off games against good teams. Despite Real’s experience, I am going for Liverpool – with a few goals in the game.”
Watch Real Madrid v Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League Final on BT Sport 2 and BT Sport 4K UHD from 6pm today. BT Sport is where the best go head-to-head, for more info visit www.BT.com/sport