Open Thread: 27 May 2022

The Open Thread/Daily Merengue is a place where you can discuss anything and everything related to football. Feel free to discuss the topics presented here, or start your very own discussions! The Open thread will be posted every day by one of the mods: Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, YoSnail, Ezek lx or NeRObutBlanco.

Team lands in Paris.

The whole squad has travelled to the French capital and was greeted by hundreds of French Madridistas.

3 Keys to Victory against Heavy Metal Football.

• Klopp and the Reds are better than anyone else in the world at creating rapid chances, as they are so adept at winning the ball in the opposition’s half by pressing high. Modric and Kroos shouldn’t have a problem but Liverpool will especially look to target Casemiro and the fullbacks who are prone to give the ball away. Our players must bypass the press and find ways to create quick chances, with the forwards needing to play an active role in both helping when appropriate and making the right runs in transition to create quick chances.
• Be ruthless in attack and test Alisson as often as possible. This includes the midfielders trying their luck from distance. If Vini finds himself one on one he needs to go for it instead of counting on Benzema to lay it off. Because there will be chances. Not a lot of them but enough. Liverpool will not play like cowards. Far from it. The “heavy metal football” Jurgen Klopp espouses will lead to them taking risks, and so Benzema and Vinicius Jr. will get a few clear-cut opportunities as will Rodrygo if he comes off the bench.
• Don’t get cute in defence. Defend compactly especially on set pieces and clear the ball if there isn’t a fellow teammate open. Finally don’t lose your heads with any unnecessary aggression. 90 minutes is a long time in any stadium. It’s just extra long in the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid ranked as world’s most valuable football team by Forbes

Real Madrid have been ranked as the world’s most valuable football club in 2022 by Forbes after being valued at $5.1 billion. The club is closely followed by Barcelona and Manchester United. Read the entire report on the club’s website.

ICYMI: Champions League Final Preview and School of Real Madrid’s Tactical Preview.

In this podcast Kiyan is joined by Joshua Sexton of the Anfield Wrap and Ryan O’Hanlon of ESPN to preview the big game. Do not miss this.

Also watch this tactical preview from the School of Real Madrid. Great work from the team.