Liverpool and Real Madrid will face off in this season’s Champions League final on Saturday, May 28.
Liverpool beat Villarreal to reach the final while Real Madrid overcame Manchester City to qualify.
Ahead of the match, Liverpool said key midfielders Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho were fit for Saturday’s final.
Ahead of today, Thiago has a major doubt after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in the 3-1 Premier League win over Wolves on Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti wants to extend his incredible record with a 14th victory in C1, while the Reds dream of conquering a seventh crown to join AC Milan in second place among the European giants. This Liverpool-Real is also the first poster played three times at this stage of the competition.
A crowd of 80,000 will be inside the Stade de France for the final, including around 20,000 supporters of each team who have officially gotten their hands on valuable tickets to the game.
The final promises to be a fitting highlight of the European season, with Liverpool looking to win a second Champions League in four seasons since losing 3-1 to Real in Kyiv in 2018 when Mohamed Salah went down with the injury in the first. halftime and Gareth Bale. scored twice for the Spaniards.
Victory would close a campaign in which Liverpool won the English League Cup and FA Cup, and finished just a point behind Premier League champions Manchester City.
“If you are a footballer you know what my boys have done so far this season has been outstanding”Klopp said on Friday.
“I’m more than happy and proud of what we’ve done so far, it’s really special. I’ll feel better if we win the game and that’s all I worry aboutadded Klopp, who was boosted by the news that the midfield duo, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara, are fit to play.
For their part, Madrid are looking to win their fifth Champions League in nine seasons and, worryingly, have won in their last seven final appearances.
While Liverpool beat Inter Milan, Benfica and Villarreal in the round of 16, Carlo Ancelotti’s Real chained memorable comebacks to beat Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and then Manchester City.
“It’s a great success for all of us to be here. We know the demands of this club very well, the history, but for us to get here is huge.”said Ancelotti, who last year was in charge of local Liverpool rivals Everton.
“We are convinced that the season has already been very, very good, but now we are very close to getting the jackpot”he added.
Liverpool appear to have the strongest side on paper, with Alisson in goal, Virgil van Dijk organizing their defense and Salah and Sadio Mané leading their attack.
It will be the third final between these two clubs, who also met in Paris in 1981, when the English triumphed thanks to Alan Kennedy’s goal at the Parc des Princes.
This final – which will be refereed by the Frenchman Clément Turpin – will only be played in Paris after the city of Saint-Petersburg has been withdrawn from the organization following the events in Ukraine.
.
