Liverpool, on the stove; Madrid, in Baden-Baden

The European Cup final closes a season that began in August, with all the precautions dictated by the pandemic, and ends in Paris on the brink of a new summer.

Days of heated discussions about the footballing state of Real Madrid and Liverpool are coming, adding a debate that is beginning to appear on the horizon.

What benefits more, arriving absorbed, and perhaps consumed, by the demands of the calendar or taking advantage of the rest, with a latent possibility of disconnection?

The two teams played opposing games over the weekend.

Liverpool, who intends to win all the titles of the season, defeated Chelsea in the English Cup final, which required extra time and penalties to proclaim the champion.

Along the way he lost Salah, substituted in the first half, and Van Dijk, who did not play extra time.

In short, they lost their two flagship players less than two weeks before playing the final in Paris.

It is more than likely that the two will appear in the match of the year, but history is stubborn in these cases: footballers who push their limits run the risk of abandoning it soon or performing below their capabilities.

Liverpool is distinguished by several qualities, and its energetic proposal is not the least of them.

It is a team that seems installed on a stove.

In Wembley extra time, he went from dominating to dominating.

Van Dijk's absence weighed more than Salah's, as if a protective cloak had been removed.

Jürgen Klopp's team became more pedestrian and, above all, more tired.

There is no time left for recovery.

This Tuesday (20.45, DAZN) he faces Southampton with the obligation to win or lose the League.

Added to this almost unlimited consumption of watts is the emotional wear and tear on the team, which never stops pursuing goals.

He reached two —the Cup and the Carabao Cup— and in a few days he will know his fate in the two remaining ones, the most important ones, without the slightest doubt.

His pursuit of Manchester City in the Premier League is epic.

For them, a good draw has turned into a miserable result.

Either they win, or they come close to the precipice.

The City verified it in the 2-2 with West Ham.

If there is any advantage to Liverpool's frenzy, it is the impossibility of being distracted.

Live an exhausting day to day, without rest, or festive concessions.

You don't have time.

An English peculiarity, as if there were not enough, lies in the number of changes in the matches, three only in the Premier League, compared to the five that are allowed in the rest of Europe.

After 38 games, there is a substantial difference in the room for maneuver between the continent's coaches and the Premier's coaches, an imbalance that will be corrected next season.

The English League has finally accepted the common model.

This Liverpool consumed by the heat of the competitions, but focused to the core, will be opposed by a Real Madrid that did its homework very early and now seems to enjoy its particular Baden-Baden.

Ancelotti manages his players' minutes to the millimeter, freed from stressful obligations.

If he enjoys it and the rival allows it, in the case of Levante, Madrid scores because he is a beauty.

If they encounter a fierce resistance, like the one offered by Cádiz, the team settles down and takes care of itself.

After four weeks of bathing and massage, Real Madrid will reach the final like a brush.

It is the good thing about these days in Baden-Baden, which, in return, warn of the risk of softening.

You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on

Exclusive content for subscribers

read without limits

subscribe

I'm already a subscriber