Gary Neville Makes Drastic U-Turn On Liverpool Midfield Ahead Of Champions League Final

Gary Neville has been speaking about Liverpool’s midfield ahead of the Champions League final, with the pundit making a U-Turn on comments he made a few months earlier. 

Speaking on The Overlap, when asked about which team he thinks will come out on top in the upcoming Champions league final, Neville pointed towards one key area that could cost Liverpool the match. 

He said: “I look at Real Madrid’s midfield with Casemiro, [Toni] Kroos, [Luka] Modric and then [Federico] Valverde and [Eduardo] Camavinga and I think those five drive them right from the first minute right to the end.”

“And the last 15 minutes, I think Liverpool’s midfield is the weak point in their team.”

He concluded: “I think that midfield for Real Madrid – the five of them combined – I think that will see them win the game on Saturday.”

The comments from the former Manchester United player completely contradicts what he said in March, when he praised Liverpool’s midfield and labelled them as the strength of the team. 

Also speaking to The Overlap in March, Neville said: “People say that the midfield at Liverpool is maybe their weakness – I think it’s their strength, because the back and the front are so exceptional. Those two full-backs are forward all the time, they’re up there, the three up front go up there.”

“That three in midfield, because of their discipline and their subservient nature – Fabinho, Thiago and [Jordan] Henderson – their subservient nature to the rest of the players means they just hold everything together.”

Liverpool fans will not be too concerned about Neville’s comments, their main concern is whether Fabinho and Thiago will be fit to play in the final, with both facing a race to be fit before Saturday’s kick off. If both Fabinho and Thiago are not deemed fit enough to be involved, then Neville could be right, the midfield could be a massive problem for Jurgen Klopp. 

Liverpool are going for their seventh European crown, Real Madrid will be looking to stop them and win their 14th Champions League trophy. The final at the Stade de France is billed to be a fascinating clash between two of Europe's footballing powerhouses.