Forget Cristiano Ronaldo, Georginio Wijnaldum warns Real Madrid to beware Liverpool’s own attacking quality

The Reds are the top scorers in the Champions League, but Cristiano Ronaldo has 15 on his own

Georginio Wijnaldum warned Real Madrid that they are not the only one of this year's Champions League finalists with match-winning quality after Liverpool FC booked their place in May's Kiev showpiece.

Wijnaldum scored the first away goal of his Liverpool career in Wednesday night's semi-final second leg at AS Roma and it proved to be decisive, with the visitors losing 4-2 on the night but progressing 7-6 on aggregate.

Zinedine Zidane, Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo's Madrid now await in three weeks' time and the Spanish giants will be considered favourites as they seek to lift the European Cup for a third consecutive year.

Wijnaldum, however, believes Liverpool's epic run to the final proves they have the talent and ability to beat the 12-time winners.

“Probably the biggest test we could have had, the biggest I’ve had as a player. It’s going to be difficult, but for both clubs,” the Dutchman said of Liverpool's opponents in the final.

“Everyone in the Champions League has quality. We have to be aware of their quality, but they have to be aware of ours. They are not the only team with quality, or the only team that can win games.”

Wijnaldum, who arrived at Anfield back in the summer of 2016, was happy to end his long scoring drought on the road, if only to put the issue to bed. “Yeah, it’s great, but people make it bigger than it is,” he claimed. “There are players who never score!”

The 27-year-old deserved credit for his all-round performance at the Stadio Olimpico though, not just for his scoring exploits. Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, picked Wijnaldum and his fellow central midfielders Jordan Henderson and James Milner out for praise.

“That’s because we had to do the most work! But no, the defenders worked hard too,” Wijnaldum said when told of Klopp's comments. “We conceded four goals, but one was a penalty, one was where we wanted to clear, one was a shot from long range. They did a good job also.”