LIVE: Liverpool survive Real Madrid’s scare in goalless first half

LIVE: Liverpool survive Real Madrid’s scare in goalless first half

Liverpool‘s dominance was neutralised by Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema’s efforts in the 43rd minute of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid.

Benzema’s goal was later ruled out by the Video Assistant Referee after many replays.

The English club created chances but Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Courtois made brilliant saves.

In the 34th minute, Salah created the fifth effort on target for Liverpool with Courtois stopping the Egyptian’s header.

A combination of Mane and Salah gave the Real Madrid defence a tough time as Alexander-Arnold operated almost freely on the edge.

Real Madrid won their first corner in the 36th-minute but Liverpool cleared the set-piece.

Two of the most successful sides in European Cup history, Liverpool and Real Madrid, meet in the final for the third time as the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League comes to a conclusion at Stade de France.

The much-anticipated Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid kicked off over half an hour late in Paris on Saturday due to delays in getting fans into the stadium.

Liverpool are looking to win a second Champions League in four seasons just days after they narrowly lost out to Manchester City in the Premier League title race. They have already won the English League Cup and FA Cup.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side are also aiming to end the season with a trophy treble.

The German was boosted by the news that Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara were passed fit to play.

Both were picked to start in midfield for the Reds, while Luis Diaz joined Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah in attack.

This final is only being played in Paris after Saint-Petersburg was stripped of the game following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Liverpool can win their seventh European Cup, which would take them level with AC Milan and leave only Real with more victories.

The Anfield club have bitter memories of losing 3-1 to Real in Kyiv in 2018, when Salah went off injured in the first half following a challenge by the now-departed Sergio Ramos.

Madrid are looking to win their fifth Champions League in nine seasons and, ominously, have won on all of their last seven final appearances.

While Liverpool saw off Inter Milan, Benfica and Villarreal in the knockout rounds, Carlo Ancelotti’s Real produced a series of memorable comebacks to beat Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and then Manchester City.

The only change to the Real team from their semi-final second leg against City saw the return of David Alaba for Nacho Fernandez in central defence.

Ancelotti can become the first coach to win the Champions League four times, having also triumphed with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007 and with Madrid in his first spell in 2014.

This will be the third final between the clubs, who also met in Paris in 1981, when the English side triumphed thanks to Alan Kennedy’s goal at the Parc des Princes.

Facts about Liverpool vs Real Madrid

• Madrid’s most recent triumph, and a third successive UEFA Champions League victory, came in Kyiv in 2018 at the expense of the English side, who had edged out their Spanish opponents in Paris in 1981 to claim their third European Cup, all in the space of five years.

• The Spanish side also got the better of Liverpool in last season’s quarter-finals and have eliminated two of Liverpool’s Premier League rivals in consecutive rounds in this season’s competition. The Reds, meanwhile, are facing a second successive tie against Spanish opposition having beaten Villarreal in the semi-finals.

Champions League final: What you can see in Paris
• While Liverpool are aiming to win their seventh European Cup, and register a third UEFA Champions League triumph, Madrid have claimed the trophy 13 times including seven in the UEFA Champions League era – both competition records.

• Madrid have never lost a UEFA Champions League final. This is their eighth appearance in the fixture – a new record, surpassing the seven of AC Milan and Juventus.

• Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti is the first coach to lead a team in five UEFA Champions League finals and is seeking a record-breaking fourth European Cup victory. He shares the landmark of three with former Madrid boss Zinédine Zidane and Liverpool’s Bob Paisley. A victory would also make Ancelotti the first coach to win the UEFA Champions League twice with more than one club.

• This is the first time the same clubs have met in three European Cup finals. Madrid and Reims (1956, 1959), AC Milan and Ajax (1969, 1995), Ajax and Juventus (1973, 1996), Milan and Benfica (1963, 1990), Liverpool and Milan (2005, 2007), Barcelona and Manchester United (2009, 2011), Madrid and Atlético (2014, 2016) and Madrid and Juventus (1998, 2017) have all played each other in two.

• This is the fifth UEFA Champions League final between clubs from England and Spain – the fixture’s most frequent pairing, one more than Italy vs Spain.