Champions League final: Benitez says Klopp's Liverpool better than 2005
Liverpool’s last Champions League manager Rafa Benitez says Jurgen Klopp’s current crop is better than the team he led to European glory in Istanbul in 2005, but is he right?
Benitez became an instant Liverpool legend when he helped mastermind the best Champions League final comeback in history as they beat AC Milan on penalties after trailing 3-0 at half-time.
Klopp’s Liverpool take on Real Madrid in Kiev on Saturday hoping to earn a sixth title, and Benitez says the likes of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane mean the current side beats his one for talent.
Steven Gerrard famously led Benitez’s outfit containing the likes of Xabi Alonso, Jamie Carragher, Didi Hamann and Sami Hyypia, but Benitez believes it’s the current front three that give Klopp’s men the edge.
"I think this one is better,” said Benitez. “We achieved what we achieved - they talk about the Miracle of Istanbul - but this team is better.
Champions League final betting - 2005 specials
- 22/1 - Real Madrid to score 3+ goals & Liverpool to lift trophy
- 100/1 - 3-3 draw in 90 mins & Liverpool win on penalties
- 40/1 - Real Madrid/Draw HT/FT & Liverpool to win on pens
"If we talk about the money spent, my budget was £20m. The value of this team is so much higher.
"We had Stevie, of course, also some players with experience and quality, (Xabi) Alonso and (Didi) Hamann. We had players who worked very hard, we had a good balance.
"This team also has good balance but the three players up front can make a difference on their own. We had one player who maybe could make a difference on his own, and here they have three.
"Real Madrid has the experience and the quality to match them but Liverpool can do it. They have the intensity and the quality, the passion, the desire."
How do Klopp’s Liverpool compare to 2005 Istanbul heroes?
The 2005 vintage will all obviously go down as Liverpool legends, but they were far from the finished article, and in fact the 2007 side beaten in the Champions League final rematch with Milan was widely regarded as a better side.
Here’s how they lined up in Istanbul along with Liverpool’s probable line-up for Kiev.
Liverpool 2005: Dudek, Finnan (Hamann 46), Traore, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise, Gerrard, Luis Garcia, Alonso, Kewell (Smicer 23), Baros (Cisse 85).
Subs: Not Used: Carson, Josemi, Nunez, Biscan.
Liverpool 2018 (probable): Karius, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Lovren, Robertson, Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Mane, Firmino, Salah.
Subs: Mignolet, Lallana, Moreno, Klavan, Can, Solanke, Ings.
The big test of when comparing sides is to see how many of one would get into the other and vice-versa, and on this marker then it’s a close run thing between the two.
The bigger ‘names’ reside in the 2005 team with Gerrard, Carragher, Alonso and Hamann all highly regarded individuals, although the Salah, Firmino and Mane trio are now becoming worldwide stars.
There’s a big difference in the style of play as well, the Benitez team was strong and experienced with the strengths coming in midfield and central defence.
Klopp’s side are a bundle of furious energy that want to press high, win the ball in dangerous areas and move the ball quickly in transition to attack the opposition in a flash.
Champions League final betting (odds via Sky Bet)
- Real Madrid to lift the trophy - 4/6
- Liverpool to lift the trophy - 6/5
- Sadio Mane to score and Liverpool to win in 90 mins - 6/1
- Virgil Van Dijk to score a header - 25/1
- Cristiano Ronaldo to score from outside the penalty area - 9/1
At the back Hyypia and Carragher would be preferred to Lovren and Van Dijk – although it’s again key to point out the difference in style means a different skillset is needed when playing at the heart of defence.
Klopp’s defenders are regularly left one-on-one at the back and have to be able to play out from the back and distribute the ball especially when defending teams sit back against them.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is well on the way to becoming the complete full-back but Steve Finnan was an underrated defender, while it’s also a tough choice between John Arne Riise and Andrew Robertson.
The modern-day midfield is more workmanlike, even more so when Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are out injured, while Luis Garcia stands out as the midfield-forward link man that Philippe Coutinho was while at Anfield.
Hamann, Gerrard and Alonso form one of the best midfields Liverpool could have ever fielded, with their complimentary mix of skills giving almost everything you need in the engine room.
In goal, both Dudek and Karius have their issues – Dudek of course is a Liverpool hero after that Istanbul shootout but was far from the best keeper, while Karius has improved since being named as No.1 but, again, still has a lot to prove.
Who would get in a combined Liverpool XI?
Liverpool combined XI: Jerzy Dudek, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Sami Hyypia, Andrew Robertson, Didi Hamann, Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah.
Subs: Luis Garcia, Lallana, Carragher.
In goal Jerzy Dudek was a penalty shootout hero but was far from the perfect keeper and had a number of moments to forget in a Liverpool goal. He’d probably just get the nod ahead of Loris Karius though who is improving but still not totally convincing.
Alexander-Arnold just edges out Finann as he potentially offers a lot more going forward, while the centre back pairing of Van Dijk and Hyypia would be one to relish.
Liverpool fans can only dream of a midfield trio containing Hamann, Gerrard and Alonso supplying their new trio of heroes - this would be a team to rival anyone in Europe. Hamann was a one-man defensive shield with the guile and 'game management' so often lacking from the current Liverpool team.
Gerrard carried his boyhood team on his shoulders for years - his drive and determination from the middle of the park is also absent from 2018 Liverpool, but you can't argue with the three up front. As an attacking unit they'd walk into most sides.
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Odds correct as of 1205 BST on 24/05/18
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