Given the way both Liverpool and Tottenham reached Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final (3 p.m. ET, TNT), they might be forgiven for being grateful…
Given the way both Liverpool and Tottenham reached Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final (3 p.m. ET, TNT), they might be forgiven for being grateful to have made it this far.
They’re not.
Despite a pair of extraordinary comebacks separated by 24 hours and 400 miles three weeks ago, these two English clubs know full well the opportunity to rewrite a painful modern history that awaits them, the kind of chance that may not arise again soon.
It would have taken only the slightest shift in fate and either or both teams would be on summer vacation right now, left to ruminate on another season that wasn’t everything it might have been.
Instead, they are in Madrid preparing to play for one of the biggest prizes in soccer.
In the second leg of its semifinal against Barcelona on May 7, Liverpool overturned a three-goal deficit on perhaps the most famous night its iconic Anfield stadium has seen.
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The next night, Tottenham clinched a place in the finale in similarly remarkable fashion. Dropping 3-0 behind to Dutch side Ajax on aggregate scores with 35 minutes remaining, the North London team rode a hat-trick from Lucas Moura to victory, sealed by a final goal in the waning moment of stoppage time.
And thus, naturally, two passionate fan bases dare to dream.
