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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Matt Verri

Mohamed Salah reveals desire for Liverpool to face Real Madrid in Champions League final

Mohamed Salah wants Liverpool to face Real Madrid in the Champions League final as he eyes revenge for the disappointment suffered in 2018.

Liverpool booked their place in the final with a chaotic win over Villarreal, reaching Europe’s showpiece for the third time in five seasons. They will face either Manchester City or Real in Paris at the end of the month.

The Reds face Real four years ago in Kyiv, when Gareth Bale struck a brace to give the La Liga a 3-1 victory.

Liverpool lifted the trophy a year later, and Salah is hoping that he and his teammates are given the chance this time to get one over on Real and cap a memorable season.

“I want to play Madrid, I have to be honest,” Salah told BT Sport.

“City’s a real tough team, we’ve played against them a few times this season.

“If you ask me personally, I would prefer Madrid. We lost in the final before against them, I want to play them and hopefully we’ll win.”

Salah set up Fabinho for Liverpool’s opening goal in Villarreal, taking his tally for the Reds this season to 30 goals and 15 assists in all competitions.

The Egyptian revealed he is still below the pre-season target he set himself, joking that he may have to become more seflish in the final few weeks of the campaign.

“Always at the start of the season, I know what I want as an individual and collectively,” Salah said.

“I’m nearly there. I have a big expectation for myself. Before the season started, I said I’d go for 40 goals and 10 or 15 assists.

“Now I’ve reached the assists, I need to focus on the goals! Trent [Alexander-Arnold] will be annoyed that I have the most assists in the Premier League, but I’m going to go for everything.”

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