Steve McManaman only finds room for TWO Real Madrid players in their combined Champions League round of 16 as the Spanish giants and Liverpool prepare to face Paris
- Steve McManaman names Liverpool’s top five in the starting eleven
- There is no place in the team for any Real Madrid midfielder other than Luka Modric
- Karim Benzema, of course, is selected in a forward line that also contains Mo Salah
- Real Madrid and Liverpool face Paris in the Champions League final on Saturday
By Julian Bovill for Mailonline
Posted: 15:38, 26 May 2022 | Updated: 3:40 PM, May 26, 2022
Steve McManaman has named his team Liverpool and Real Madrid XI ahead of this Saturday’s Champions League final.
McManaman, who played for both clubs throughout a historic career, scored for Real Madrid in the 2000 Champions League final against Valencia, which was also held at the Stade de France.
Speaking on Betway’s YouTube channel, McManaman only found room for two Real Madrid players from his team, who line up in a 4-3-3 formation, but also did not name Thiago Alcantara for choosing Luka Modric in front of the player.
Steve McManaman naturally found space for Karim Benzema in his combined XI
The bottom line of the reds dominated the eleven of the former Real Madrid and Liverpool winger
Liverpool dominate Steve McManaman’s combined eleven before Saturday’s final
He said: “Thibaut Courtois has had a good season. He has had his criticisms. But unfortunately I will go for Alisson.
Meanwhile, in his four-man defense, McManaman found no room for any Madrid player, staying with Liverpool’s four established defenses.
I’m going to look for Trent Alexander-Arnold [and] Virgil Van Dijk.
The English international then said he would choose Ibrahima Konate or Joel Matip over any of Real Madrid’s central midfielders, including Eder Militao and David Alaba.
“Alaba has had a good first season, I have to admit, but he has played in various positions, so he pulls it off,” he said.
Steve McManaman referred to Jordan Henderson (c) as a reliable gentleman and said he would be on his combined team.
Meanwhile, Andrew Robertson was chosen by McManaman to play on the right wing.
Perhaps where much of the debate lies, McManaman’s midfield is not without controversy.
“I will bet on Luka Modric, the first Real Madrid player I have on my team. [My] defensive midfielder [is going to be] Fabinho.
“My other midfielder would be Jordan Henderson, the skipper, the reliable Mr. We don’t need Thiago if we have Luka Modric,” he said.
The selection of Luka Modric meant that McManaman could not find space or need for Thiago Alcantara
Steve McManaman scored against Valencia in Paris in the 2000 Champions League final
On his front line, it may come as no surprise that McManaman selected Sadio Mane, Karim Benzema and Mohamed Salah to complete his XI.
However, Vinicius Junior made a disastrous appearance.
“Vinicius Junior is a very unlucky person to lose him,” he said. “But the fact that he is playing against Sadio Mané, who is in great shape right now, has just won the African [Cup of] Nations in January, put them [Senegal] Through [to] the World Cup [counts against him]. ‘
At Benzema, McManaman said: “Karim has had the best season he has ever had. It’s just at this point that everything he touches turns to gold. ‘
The entire McManaman team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold; Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson; Modric, Fabinho, Henderson; Mane, Benzema, Salah.
Vinicius Junior has had the “bad luck” of losing his team after an impressive campaign in Madrid