Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez believes that Tottenham Hotspur duo Christian Eriksen and Moussa Sissoko could be key against Liverpool on Saturday.
The two English sides meet in the Champions League final in Madrid, and Benitez believes his former Newcastle player and the dynamic Dane could give Spurs the edge.
“If Christian Eriksen plays well, then Tottenham will be a big threat because he is the one who finds the passes,” he wrote in The Times [01/06; ‘The Game’ pull-out, page 2]. “He is a very good player.
“It will be a difficult game for Liverpool and I also like Moussa Sissoko. He can manage anyone in the Liverpool side because he can go, he can press, he can follow opponents and win the physical battle.”
OPINION
For all the talk about the likes of Son Heung-min and Harry Kane, you could be forgiven for forgetting how important Eriksen is to this Tottenham team. The former Ajax man is a world class playmaker who has the ability to carve open even Liverpool’s resolute defence. If anyone is going to beguile and befuddle Virgil van Dijk and co., it’s the 27-year-old. The Tottenham attackers will need someone to find them with passes and create openings, and Eriksen is that man. As for Sissoko, he is undoubtedly Spurs’ most important central midfielder. He has come on leaps and bounds this season and will likely be one of the first names on the team sheet for Mauricio Pochettino on Saturday evening. His resurrection in north London has been remarkable to witness, and if he could cap it off by sealing a Champions League triumph for his team, that would be quite something.