A Champions League final but not as we know it

“It is a proper European final,” said Jurgen Klopp this week. “It is not a third game against Tottenham. It is a proper European final.”

Well, with all due respect to the great man, it is and it isn’t. Given all that has gone before this season, both in a compelling title race in the Premier League and, especially, at the sensational penultimate stage of the Champions League, it might seem churlish to express any reservation whatsoever about the all-England make-up of tonight’s decider in Madrid.