Thierry Henry names his favourites to win the Champions League
We're into the last 16.
Thierry Henry believes Liverpool’s ‘consistency’ makes them favourites to win the Champions League but admitted the tournament is still wide open.
Liverpool already have one hand on the Premier League title after their comfortable 2-0 win over Newcastle in midweek saw them move 13 points clear of Arsenal in second place.
And next month, the Reds will have an opportunity to claim their first trophy under Arne Slot when they face Newcastle again, this time in the Carabao Cup final.
The Reds’ dominant displays have also translated onto the continent where they finished top of the Champions League league phase with seven wins out of eight games.
Despite finishing top of the table, however, Liverpool were handed a tough last-16 draw against Paris Saint-Germain who cruised through the playoff round with a 10-0 aggregate win over fellow French side Brest.
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Liverpool face a trip to Paris for the first leg next week but, despite their difficult draw, Henry believes the Premier League leaders should be considered as the team most likely to lift the trophy.
‘It’s open. Apart from Liverpool who you can say have been consistent in the league and Champions League,’ the former Arsenal and Barcelona forward told Goal.
‘You can see how they might be successful.’
Henry continued: ‘Still you don’t know! There are teams who are up-and down. Barca, very successful in the Champions League but up-and-down in the league. (Real) Madrid didn’t start well, they went into the play-off against City.
‘But you know, Inter, Bayern, Liverpool, we’re gonna name the usual suspects.
‘The team who has been most consistent is Liverpool, if you take away the FA Cup. They have been consistent in every competition. We will see what’s going to happen.’
While others, such as Barcelona forward Yamine Lamal, have labelled Liverpool as favourites to win the Champions League, Alan Shearer instead reckons that Real Madrid remain the team to beat.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side flattered to decieve in the league phase but issued a timely reminder of their quality on the European stage with a commanding 6-3 aggregate win over Manchester City in the playoffs.
‘They’re looking very dangerous, Real Madrid, after having one or two poor results in the league games,’ Shearer said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
‘Two performances against City, both home and away, which will send a huge warning out to the rest of Europe in terms of teams that are left in.
‘They know it’s their competition, they know how well they do and they excel in it and they have to win it. I would put them favourites, absolutely. Definitely.’
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