OPINION
Tottenham fans will love that Davinson Sanchez has said he is not prepared to give Liverpool any leeway in the Champions League final.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, the 22-year-old said that his side are going to “start aggressively” against the Reds and aim to offer them no opportunities going forward.
“A final is about winning,” the Colombian international said. “You can’t wait for the opponent to be better than you, or let them start to play their football. We are going to start aggressively. A final is about this. Everyone wants to win the trophy.
“If you have to crash, you have to crash. You don’t care. You have to tackle. Football is not composed of just taking the ball, or clear the ball, properly. Without touching the opponent? No. If you clear the ball and the opponent is in there — I feel sorry for the opponent.”
Spurs fans will surely love this attitude from Sanchez. It’s a no-nonsense attitude and one that will serve him well against arguably the best front three in Europe at this moment in time.
Liverpool will be difficult to stop – Sanchez definitely knows that – but going into the match prepared to match the attackers pound for pound in each challenge is clearly the best way to go about it.
If you give Jurgen Klopp’s front three any chances to get at you, they won’t hesitate to do just that, and it takes an aggressive attitude stop them.
Look at Sergio Ramos’s performance against the Reds in the Champions League final in Kiev. The Spaniard pocketed Roberto Firmino all game, and the Brazilian had one of his least effective performances of the season.
As for Mo Salah, the Madrid man was involved in a tussle with the Egyptian forward that eventually forced him off midway through the first half.
There will always be a debate about whether there was intent from Ramos to injure Salah, but regardless of that, that is the attitude you have to have against this front three. Be aggressive or be punished.
And there is no doubt that if Sanchez harnesses his inner Ramos and his inner aggression, then he can have a big impact on this final – if he plays at all.
In 23 Premier League appearances last season, the Colombian made 4.4 key clearances per game (Whoscored), while so far in the Champions League, he has made 3.3 such contributions after eight matches.
What’s more, Sanchez averaged over one key tackle per game in both the aforementioned competitions last term.
It will be a fired-up Liverpool front three intent on avenging last season’s defeat in the final, but if Sanchez can bring out the sort of aggression he says he will, then Spurs have a real chance of stopping the trio.