Liverpool vs Real Madrid
Stade de France is the venue as six-time European champions Liverpool and record-time winners Real Madrid go head-to-head in a mouth-watering Champions League final.
Liverpool’s hopes of claiming an unprecedented quadruple took a knock-out blow in the final moments of the 2021/22 Premier League season, as they fell one point short of reigning champions Manchester City. However, the ‘Reds’ are still on the hunt for a treble of cup successes after beating Chelsea in back-to-back domestic cup finals via penalties. Coming into this fixture, Jurgen Klopp’s men have gone unbeaten in 18 matches across all competitions (W15, D3). Moreover, Liverpool have reached the final as the first side to have won all six away games en route to the Champions League showpiece. After a 100% ratio in Group D, the Merseysiders have overcome Inter Milan, Benfica and Villarreal to reach their third final in five seasons. They will now look to avenge a heartbreaking 3-1 reverse in the 2018 showpiece H2H in Kyiv.
On the other hand, Real Madrid have survived an arduous path to Paris, squeezing past Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City following a top-table finish in Group D in the autumn. ‘Los Blancos,’ who dethroned bitter city rivals Atletico Madrid in La Liga this season, have failed to win their last three competitive matches outside the Santiago Bernabeu (D1, L2). If Carlo Ancelotti is to land a record-breaking fourth Champions League trophy as a manager, his men can ill-afford complacency. ‘Los Merengues’ have reached their eighth Champions League final and have not lost any of their previous seven appearances in the competition’s showpiece since the introduction of the current format in 1992. However, Madrid’s all-time European record against Premier League clubs remains evenly-poised (W19, D13, L16), even though they’ve pulled off aggregate victories over Chelsea and Man City in this season’s knock-outs.