“We don’t need Thiago”, “Unlucky person to miss out” – Steve McManaman makes bold choices as he names combined XI ahead of Liverpool vs Real Madrid

Steve McManaman has named his Liverpool and Real Madrid combined XI ahead of the UEFA Champions League final this weekend. The former football, who has played for both sides, has gone with nine players from the Premier League side, with just Luka Modric and Karim Benzema making it from Los Blancos.

While making his picks, McManaman told BetWay that the selections were based on current season form and not just the quality of the players.

Starting with his defensive selection, he praised Courtois but ended up picking Alisson in goal.

"Thibaut Courois has had a good season, he's got his critics and had his critics in his first season, but he's had a really good season…but unfortunately I'm going to go for Alisson Becker. And then I'm going to go for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Konate or Matip because I still think they'll be better. Alaba has had a good first season I must admit, but he's played in a number of positions so that just takes it away. Left-back, Andy Robertson."

Moving on to the midfield, McManaman selected Luka Modric straight up and then went on to pick Fabinho over Casemiro.

He added Liverpool captain Henderson as his 3rd midfielder over Toni Kroos and Thiago.

"Centre-midfield, I'm going to go for Luka Modric, the first Real Madrid player I've got into my team. Defensive midfielder, Fabinho. My other midfielder will be Jordan Henderson, the skipper, Mr. reliable. We don't need Thiago if we've got Luka Modric in."

Finally, in attack, McManaman left out Vinicius Jr. and picked Mane, Benzema and Salah.

"And then I will go for Mane, Benzema Salah. Salah started his season really, really well. The number of goals, put him ahead of everybody. Vinicius Jr. is a very unlucky person to miss out, but the fact that he's playing against Sadio Mane, who is in great form at the moment. He's just won the African Nations in January, put Senegal through to the World Cup. Salah had a really good first few months, but I think Mane has really picked up the baton recently so I think he deserves to be in my team."

Liverpool vs Real Madrid in the Champions League final

Liverpool take on Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final this Saturday. The two sides have taken different paths to the title clash but come into it in similar forms.

Liverpool defeated Inter, Benfica and Villarreal, while Los Blancos had to make comebacks against PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City to make it to the final.