Why the league's form will not mean anything when Liverpool meet Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final

There have been only six chances in the history of the Champions League where two teams from the same country competed in the final of the competition.

The match between Liverpool and Tottenham will become the seventh tie between clubs in the same competition – all since 2000 – when the two Premier League teams will face Madrid on June 1st.

When a national meeting is about to take place at this stage of the competition, it is natural for fans to think back to the shape of the league and the final position to get an idea of ​​what might happen in the competition.

Of course, the Reds had a sensational campaign in the 2018 Premier League, accumulating 97 points, scoring 89 goals and conceding just 22 goals. They recorded 30 wins and one loss. It was a great adventure for Jurgen Klopp's men. finished just one point behind the eventual champions Manchester City.

During this period, Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-1 at home and away. Spurs' good form slipped early and they finished fourth with 71 points after 23 wins and 13 losses.

However, if the history of the Champions League final between two clubs in the same league is one thing to do, the national form is not the best indicator of what the final result will be.

Indeed, on six occasions when three clubs from the same country met, the team won three times, finishing in a better league position this season, and three so.

First, Real Madrid has been victorious in the 100% Spanish business in 2000 against Valencia and in 2014 and 2016 against Atletico Madrid.

In 2000, Valencia finished third in the Liga, while Real was fifth. The two teams have also met twice this season in the league. At the first opportunity, Valencia went to Bernabeu and won the match 3-2. .

The Liga season in 2014 was a similar story for Real Madrid, which finished two places behind Atletico Madrid, championship winner. Los Blancos lost their first game against Diego Simeone's team 1-0 that season and drew 2-2.

In 2016, however, Madrid finished second on the table and Atletico finished third with his first 1-1 draw and the second match finishing 1-0 against Atletico.

AC Milan beat Italian compatriot Juventus on penalties in the final of the Champions League in 2003 and the winning team in Europe finished third in Serie A, while their opponents won the league. In both games of the same season, both teams won a 2-1 victory.

Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund in the 100% German final. In the Bundesliga that year, the winners of the Champions League took the lead, with their opponents finishing second. There was a gap of 25 points between them in the national competition, but face to face, we got a 1-1 draw each time.

And then, the only previous 100% English final took place at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium in 2008, Manchester United beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. That year, United won the Premier League with two points ahead of Chelsea, while the London club beat the league's 2-1 winners in their second game of the season, but lost 2-0 at of the first match.

Overall, the 12 winners of the Champions League won only two victories against their opponents during their respective campaigns in the league. saw the finalists of the European Cup win the victory.

Of course, it is the old cliché that says that, as it is final, anything can happen and the statistics in this case seem to confirm it.