Guillem Balague: Still the Real deal - but which Madrid will turn up?

If I was a gambling man – which I’m not – the last side I would ever bet against is the enigma that is Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid. Mind you, the way they have performed at times this season I’m not sure I’d put money ON them either.

I recently spoke to Phil Thompson, captain of the last Liverpool side to beat Madrid in a European Cup final way back in 1981. He told me: “People are saying that this Real Madrid are not very good. But they can find a way to win and that is a fantastic side of their game.

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“It’s more than having great players that can do this or do that, it’s that you find a way of doing it when things are not going well and Real Madrid have done that.

“Did they deserve to beat Bayern Munich? Probably not. Then against Juventus, 3-0 they win away then they play awful at home, getting beaten 3-0 and get that goal in the last minute.

“As I say, they seem to find a way.”

Where to begin with Zidane, who certainly seems to have ‘found a way’ and has had just about everyone scratching their heads in consternation since taking over at the Bernabeu from Rafa Benitez.

He found himself in charge at the club almost by accident and following an initiative from the team’s leaders, namely Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo who only really wanted two thing – namely Benitez out and Zidane in.

Not even club President Florentino Perez had any real expectations about the Frenchman’s tactical prowess, but nonetheless and against all instincts, he handed him the job.

The thing is of course that Florentino forgot that sometimes when it comes to being a manager in an institution like the Santiago Bernabeu it isn’t so much about anything remotely tactical but more about how you mange to cope with the handling of fragile, temperamental, ego-fuelled genius.

Benitez tried to do it his way and it wasn’t terribly long before player power saw him off.

Still, what do we know? Lest we forget – and there are plenty of Real Madrid supporters out there to make sure that we don’t – since taking over from Benitez in January 2016 this is a coach that has won one league, two Champions Leagues, one Spanish Supercup, two UEFA Supercups and two FIFA Club World Cups.

The problem is – and this is why I would always counsel against ‘putting your shirt’ on anything to do with Los Blancos – you’re never quite sure what Real Madrid is going to turn up.

This is a side that this season in La Liga has failed to win at home against any of the other five sides earning just two points from a possible 15.

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This is the side that finished the league campaign 17 points behind the champions Barcelona yet somehow contrived to look the better side when drawing 2-2 with them at the Camp Nou three games before the end of the season.

Here, inherently, is where Jurgen Klopp has a problem. Preparing to play against a side that are a known quantity is difficult enough but just how do you get your side ready when you don’t really know what you will be facing?

So who will they be facing? What is practically set in stone for Madrid is nine of the 11 names in the starting line-up with Navas in goal, a back line consisting of Carvajal, Ramos, Varane and Marcelo, Casemiro playing in front of them with Kroos and Modric either side in midfield.

Cristiano is clearly a shoo-in to start in the main striker’s role and then it gets interesting with Benzema, Isco, Bale, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez in contention for the remaining two starting places.

On the plus side everyone is fit and raring to go but Bale, who until quite recently looked dead and buried at Real, has scored five goals in the past 22 days which creates something of a selection dilemma for Zidane.

I have a feeling that the last two places will go to Isco and Bale, the only problem being that playing Bale guarantees more directness than if Benzema gets the nod.

If Zizou goes for that directness it would suggest that he thinks his best option is to go at Liverpool, to pressure high and be aggressive with the ball, and to be direct rather than look to control the game.

The danger with this plan, as Dani Carvajal was quick to point out, is that the team that loses possession of the midfield is the team that will lose the game simply because both teams’ counter attacks are lethal.

Real Madrid have certainly ridden their luck to get to this stage. For 77 minutes at the Bernabeu, PSG were the better side. Only a last-minute penalty against Juventus prevented the match from going into extra time after Real had contrived to throw away a three away-goal advantage.

While in the semi final Bayern goalkeeper Ulreich chose this occasion to make what was probably his only mistake of the season to gift Real their second goal.

Real Madrid would be excused for believing that somebody up there really likes them and the mood in the camp is buoyant.

Laughing, confident, this is a Real Madrid side, Zidane included, that is very much in their comfort zone. Champions three out of the last four seasons and the only side to have retained the trophy since it changed its format back in 1992, this side genuinely believes that this is a tournament in which they can beat absolutely anybody.

In Ronaldo, Real have their Ace of trumps although Liverpool would be the first to say that on the attacking front they aren’t exactly short on firepower themselves.

But it is probably in the full-back department, and particularly with Marcelo, that Real Madrid can win the title. Unfortunately for them it is also where they can lose it.

Marcelo can be deadly as he makes those forward marauding runs, arguably Madrid’s best attacker on occasions at times even turning up as a centre forward. The flip side of that on occasion he frequently forgets that as a left-back a major part of his job description centres around his defensive duties.

If it happens against Liverpool the likes of Mo Salah will be licking their lips in anticipation except that if Kroos, Marcelo and Ronaldo can tie up the left side then the likes of Salah could well find himself called upon to put in a shift in defence.

In terms of quality Madrid have all the variations in midfield that you want. Modric is the conductor of the orchestra establishing the tempo at which the side plays, while Kroos is more about quick one-touch passing to keep things moving and to cover when Modric moves forward – as well as for Marcelo when he goes AWOL.

Their bench is superior to Liverpool’s and these games are won often with the help of substitutions that change the dynamic.

For the moment what we see is a calm, relaxed Zidane and Real Madrid, safe in the knowledge that their place in the Champions League next year is secured and they are just one game away from a date with destiny, a further re-writing of the record book.

What can we expect? The unexpected, that’s what. After all, it is Real Madrid we’re talking about.