Welcome to ESPN LIVE coverage of the 2021-22 Champions League Finals! The Premier League giants, Liverpool, face Real Madrid, LaLiga champions, in a replay of the 2018 final.
The Paris match starts at 15:00 ET / 20:00 ET, and you can follow all the pre-match preparation as well as the key moments and conversation points of the match as it happens right here by Chirs Wright and our team of writers. at the Stade de France. Just refresh the page to get the latest updates.
– Marcotti: The final between Liverpool and Real Madrid will be at the box office – O’Hanlon: Can science explain the remarkable career of Real Madrid? (E +) – Broadcast ESPN FC daily on ESPN + (US only) – Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
LIVE BLOG
2:39 pm ET / 7:39 pm BST: Final line-up drama for Liverpool as Thiago OUT, Keita IN
Thiago Alcantara is still announced as a starter but has been warming up on his own. Klopp has come to talk to him twice and Naby Keita has been warming up with the headlines. Pretty worrying.
– Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) May 28, 2022
Thiago just gave Keita a hug which seems to suggest that Keita is starting this game.
– Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) May 28, 2022
14:39 ET / 19:39 BST: route to the final
After finishing both top of their group, Liverpool (who won all six Group A matches) and Real Madrid have had to face some strong hitters on their way to the final. Jurgen Klopp’s side sent Inter Milan, Benfica and Villarreal to the knockout stages, while Carlo Ancelotti led his side ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City in a series of comeback victories.
Real Madrid have 10 wins and 1 draw in this season’s competition, with their only defeat in the 2-1 home defeat to Moldovan sheriff Tiraspol. Liverpool, meanwhile, have yet to win with a record of 8 wins and 4 draws. The Spanish team has scored 30 goals and has only conceded 13 goals in 12 games so far, while the English team has scored 28 and allowed 14. Both have kept four goals on target.
– O’Hanlon: Can science explain Real Madrid’s magic race?
14:34 ET / 19:34 BST: Head coaches
Having become the first coach in history to win the title in all five major leagues in Europe this season, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is finishing his stellar campaign leading a team in the Champions League final for the fifth time in his career. another record.
Jurgen Klopp does it for the fourth time, which puts him in second place with a whole series of luminaries such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Marcelo Lippi and Miguel Muñoz, the great coach of Real Madrid in the forties and fifties.
Ancelotti could become the first coach to win four European Cups, having already won twice with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007, and Real in 2014.
For the same reason, a defeat by Klopp would mean that the German would tie with the former Juventus coach Lippi as the coach who has suffered the most defeats in the Champions League final with three (after losing to Bayern Munich with Borussia Dortmund in 2013 and against Madrid). for Liverpool in 2018).
– Ogden: Ancelotti, the players’ coach, on the brink of UCL history
2:29 pm ET / 7:29 pm BST: Karim Benzema has a goal record in his sights
The Whites boasts the top scorer of the competition this season, with Karim Benzema scoring 15 goals in just 11 road games in the Paris final.
Benzema has also scored 44 goals in 45 games for Real in all competitions this season, with Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (50 goals) the only player in the top five leagues in Europe to record the most in 2021. -22. With two more goals in the final, the Frenchman would equal the historic record of goals scored in a single season in the Champions League, which currently has the former teammate of Real Cristiano Ronaldo (17 goals in 2013-14).
Benzema has scored 10 goals in his last five Champions League games, a record for a five-game period in the round of 16 of the competition he also shares with Ronaldo (10 goals in five games in 2017 ).
Only three players have scored a hat-trick or more in a European Cup final: Alfredo Di Stefano (in the 1960 final) and Ferenc Puskas (1960, 1962) of Real Madrid and Pierino Prati of Milan (1969) . However, Benzema scored hat-tricks in consecutive Champions League games against PSG and Chelsea on the way to the final this season, so don’t bet on him joining this exclusive club.
Liverpool’s top scorer in Europe is Mohamed Salah (eight goals), which means the Egyptian striker would have to embark on the final in unprecedented rage to beat Benzema in the Golden Boot race.
14:22 ET / 19:22 BST: Liverpool’s final is still full
Constant congestion problems at the Stade de France …
Some problems off the pitch and it is noticeable at the Stade de France that the end of Real is quite full and there are still many gaps in the Liverpool section, with fans in big queues still waiting to enter.
– Mark Ogden (@MarkOgden_) May 28, 2022
14:16 ET / 19:16 BST
Congratulations to Jordan Henderson, who is Liverpool’s captain in a third Champions League final and therefore joins an incredibly illustrious company to do so.
The midfielder has worn the bracelet in as many European / UCL Cup finals as Milan legend Paolo Maldini and Real Madrid icon Paco Gento and is only one match away from the likes of Franz Beckenbauer and Franco Baresi.
2:11 pm ET / 7:11 pm BST: Do fans have trouble getting in?
James Olley is in position, but he notices the accumulation of fans trying to enter the stadium …
Fans entering the Stade de France. Liverpool fans far outnumber Real Madrid from what I’ve seen all over the city. pic.twitter.com/w7ToGtuolL
– James Olley (@JamesOlley) May 28, 2022
There are other reports of confusion about the entry that is causing some stress outside the Stade de France.
It’s sad to report that there is chaos outside, with police sinking fans on dangerously narrow routes, because their fans are parked blocking the sidewalk. A dangerous danger builds up behind … pic.twitter.com/Rqzt90MCdn
– Rob Draper (@draper_rob) May 28, 2022
14:07 ET / 19:07 BST: England vs Spain
The final of 2022 will be played by teams representing the two most successful nations in the history of the European Cup, with England and Spain producing a total of 32 winners among them (18 from Spain and 14 from England).
However, the 1981 final, when Liverpool defeated Real, is the only time in history that an English team has beaten a Spanish team in the final. The next four occasions (Barcelona-Arsenal in 2006, Barcelona-Manchester United in 2009, Barcelona-Manchester United in 2011 and Real Madrid-Liverpool in 2018) have brought the Spanish team to glory.
As such, Liverpool are committed to becoming the first English team in 41 years, from Liverpool in 1981, by successfully beating a Spanish team to lift the European Cup.
1:55 pm ET / 6:55 pm BST: Liverpool team news is IN
Great news for the Liverpool team: Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho are starting, despite having doubts about injuries before the game. And in defense, Ibrahima Konate is chosen ahead of Joel Matip alongside Virgil van Dijk. Thiago had been the biggest doubt, after limping out of the win against the Wolves six days ago with a tight hamstring. The Spanish midfielder trained on Friday, but the big question is how long he can stand against Real. – Mark Ogden
That complete team …
This is how we line up for the #UCLfinal
⁇
– Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 28, 2022
1:49 pm ET / 6:49 pm BST: Did you see the traffic in Paris?
The Liverpool team bus has struggled to get through to the Stade de France. Jurgen Klopp and his players have just arrived, having been temporarily blocked from traffic on the motorway near the stadium. So while the Real players are now starting to walk the pitch to get an early idea of their surroundings, the Liverpool team is still waiting to get off the bus. – Mark Ogden
1:45 pm ET / 18:45 pm BST: Face to face record in playoff games
From the 1981 final onwards, Liverpool beat Real Madrid in the first three matches of the knockout stages of the European Cup / Champions League and all this without conceding a single goal.
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1981 final: Liverpool 1-0
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2009 round of 16, first leg: Liverpool 1-0
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2009, round of 16, return: Liverpool 4-0
Since then, Real has been undefeated (2 V, 0.1 E) in the last three knockout matches between the pair, including the 2018 final.
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Final 2018: Real Madrid 3-1
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Quarterfinals of 2021, first leg: Real Madrid 3-1
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Quarterfinals of 2021, return: 0-0
13:30 ET / 18:30 BST: Real Madrid announces their team soon
Are they mental games or is it genius? At around 13:00 ET, two hours before the start, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti had his team card printed. We’re not going back now, sir …
Real Madrid have gone early with their team announcing their starting eleven an hour before presenting him to UEFA. Coach Carlo Ancelotti has selected Fede Valverde ahead of Rodrygo in his first three. Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos start in midfield as expected, six years after starting in the 2016 final against Atletico Madrid in Milan. – Mark Ogden
And here is the complete file of the team …
📋✅ Our #UCLfinal 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗫𝗜! # APorLa14 pic.twitter.com/uj9fib8ZoZ
– Real Madrid CF 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 28, 2022
13:30 ET / 18:30 BST: the first final of “three mobs”
Liverpool and Real Madrid are no strangers to the Champions League, having faced each other twice in the final before, first in 1981 and then again in 2018. The Reds took the first blood in the year 81 with a narrow 1-0 victory in Paris. while Real took revenge almost four decades later by winning 3-1 in Kyiv. As such, the 2022 final represents the first “three-crowd” meeting (that is, three finals between the same two sides) since the 1955-56 European Cup.
Speaking of magic, Jurgen Klopp’s aspirants are also looking to become the first English club in …