Clash between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Paris

Welcome to ESPN’s LIVE broadcast for the 2021-22 Champions League final! Liverpool Premier League giants face La Liga champions Real Madrid in a repeat of the 2018 final.

The match in Paris starts at 15:00 ET / 20:00 ET and you can follow the whole accumulation before the match, as well as these key moments and points of conversation from the match, as it happens right here by Cheers Wright and our team of writers at Stud de France. Just refresh the page to get the latest updates.

– Marcotti: Liverpool’s final against Real Madrid will be box office – O’Hanlan: Can science explain Real Madrid’s remarkable success? (E +) – ESPN FC Daily Stream on ESPN + (US only) – Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access

LIVE BLOG

14:39 ET / 19:39 BST: Liverpool Late Drama as Thiago EXIT, Keita LOGIN

Thiago Alcantara is still declared the starter, but he warms up on his own. Twice Klopp came to talk to him, and Nabi Keita warmed up with the starters. Quite disturbing.

– Julien Lawrence (@LaurensJulien) May 28, 2022

Tiago has just hugged Keita, which seems to suggest that Keita is starting this game. # LFC

– Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) May 28, 2022

14:39 ET / 19:39 BST: Road to the final

After both finished at the top of their group, Liverpool (who also won their six Group A matches) and Real Madrid had to send some tough strikers on their way to the final. Jurgen Klopp’s side pitted Inter Milan, Benfica and Villarreal in the elimination rounds, while Carlo Ancelotti led his team past Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City in a series of return victories.

Real is the W10 L1 D1 in the race this season, with one defeat coming in their shocking 2-1 loss to Moldovan miners Sheriff Tiraspol. Meanwhile, Liverpool have not yet been beaten by a record W8 L0 D4. The Spanish side has scored 30 goals and conceded just 13 goals in 12 games so far, while the English side has scored 28 and conceded 14. Both have kept four clean sheets.

– O’Hanlan: Can science explain the magical run of Real Madrid?

14:34 ET / 19:34 BST: Head coaches

After becoming the first manager in history to win a title in all five major leagues in Europe this season, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is ending his stellar campaign, leading the team to the Champions League final for the fifth time in his career, another record.

Jurgen Klopp is doing this for the fourth time, putting him in second place with many luminaries, including Sir Alex Ferguson, Marcelo Lippi and Miguel Munoz, the great Real Madrid coach of the 1940s and 1950s.

Ancelotti could become the first coach to win four European Cups, having already won twice with Milan in 2003 and 2007 and Real in 2014.

Similarly, a loss to Klopp would mean the German will equal former Juventus boss Lippi as the manager who suffered the most defeats in the Champions League final with three (after losing to Bayern Munich to Borussia Dortmund in 2013 and against Madrid for Liverpool in 2018).

– Ogden: Ancelotti, the coach of the players, on the edge of UCL history

14:29 ET / 19:29 BST: Karim Benzema has a goal record in his field of vision

Los Blancos boasts the best goal scorer of the competition this season, with Karim Benzema scoring 15 goals in just 11 games on the way to the final in Paris.

Benzema also scored a career-high 44 goals in 45 games for Real in all competitions this season, with Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich (50 goals) being the only player in the top five European Championships to record more in 2021-22. . Two more goals in the final will equal the Frenchman with the all-time record for goals scored in one season in the Champions League, which is currently held by former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo (17 goals in 2013-14).

Benzema has 10 goals in his last five Champions League games, a record for five games in the elimination stages of the competition, which he also shares with Ronaldo (10 goals in five games in 2017).

Only three players scored more hat-tricks in the European Cup final – Alfredo Di Stefano (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 of this season, so do not bet against him to join this exceptional club.

Liverpool’s top scorer in Europe is Mohamed Salah (eight goals), which means that the Egyptian striker will have to embark on an unprecedented turmoil in the final to overtake Benzema in the race for the Golden Shoe.

14:22 ET / 19:22 BST: Liverpool are still full

Continuing problems with traffic jams at the Stade de France …

Some problems off the field and it is noticeable inside 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 long queues still waiting to enter

– Mark Ogden (@MarkOgden_) May 28, 2022

14:16 ET / 19:16 BST

Special congratulations to Jordan Henderson, who is the captain of Liverpool in the third final of the Champions League and therefore joins an incredibly famous company in this.

The midfielder has carried the ribbon in as many European Cup / League leagues finals as Milan legend Paolo Maldini and Real Madrid icon Paco Gento and is just one match away from Franz Beckenbauer and Franco Baresi.

14:11 ET / 19:11 BST: Are the fans struggling to get in?

James Ollie is in position, but notes the accumulation of fans who are trying to enter the stadium …

Fans come to the Stade de France. Liverpool supporters are far superior to Real Madrid from what I saw in the whole city. pic.twitter.com/w7ToGtuolL

– @JamesOlley May 28, 2022

There have been other reports of confusion over entry, which is causing some stress outside the Stade de France.

It’s sad to say that it’s chaos outside, the police are pushing fans on dangerously narrow routes – because their fans are parked and block the sidewalk. Dangerous lubrication accumulates behind … pic.twitter.com/Rqzt90MCdn

– Rob Draper (@draper_rob) May 28, 2022

14:07 ET / 19:07 BST: England v Spain

The final in 2022 will be competed by teams representing the two most successful nations in the history of the European Cup, with England and Spain giving a total of 32 winners among them (18 from Spain and 14 from England).

However, the 1981 final, when Liverpool beat Real, is the only time in history that an English team has beaten a Spanish in the final. All four subsequent cases (Barcelona against Arsenal in 2006, Barcelona against Manchester United in 2009, Barcelona against Manchester United in 2011 and Real Madrid against Liverpool in 2018) led to the fame of the Spanish side.

As such, Liverpool are hoping to become the first English team in 41 years – from Liverpool in 1981 – to successfully beat a team from Spain to win the European Cup.

13:55 ET / 18:55 BST: The news for the Liverpool team is IN

Big news for Liverpool – Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho begins, despite suspicions of injury before the match. And in defense, Ibrahima Konate was elected to Joel Matip along with Virgil van Dyke. Tiago was the biggest doubt after escaping victory against the Wolves six days ago with a straightened hamstring. The Spanish midfielder is training on Friday, but the big question will be how long he can last against Real. “Mark Ogden.”

This team in full …

Here’s how we line up for #UCLfinal

👊🔴

– Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 28, 2022

13:49 ET / 18:49 BST: Have you seen the traffic in Paris?

The Liverpool team bus is struggling to get through the traffic to the Stade de France. Jurgen Klopp and his players are only arriving now, as they are temporarily blocked in the traffic on the highway near the stadium. So while Real players are now starting to walk the field to get a feel for their surroundings, the Liverpool team is still waiting to get off the bus. “Mark Ogden.”

13:45 ET / 18:45 BST: Direct record in elimination matches

Starting with the final in 1981, Liverpool beat Real Madrid in their first three matches in the elimination stages of the European Cup / Champions League and all without conceding a single goal.

• 1981 Final: Liverpool 1-0

• 2009, Round of 16, First leg: Liverpool 1-0

• 2009, Round of 16, Rematch: Liverpool 4-0

Since then, Real have remained undefeated (W2 L0 D1) in the three most recent knockout matches between the pair, including the 2018 final.

• Final 2018: Real Madrid 3-1

• Quarterfinal 2021, first match: Real Madrid 3-1

• Quarterfinal 2021, rematch: 0-0

13:30 ET / 18:30 BST: Real Madrid announces their team early

Are these games of the mind or is he a genius? At approximately 13:00 ET, two hours before the start, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti printed his team list. No going back, sir …

Real Madrid left early with their team, announcing their starting XI an hour before it was presented to UEFA. Coach Carlo Ancelotti chose Fede Valverde over Rodrigo in his top three. Casemiro, Luka Modric and Tony Kroos start in the midfield as expected – six years after the start of the final in 2016 against Atletico Madrid in Milan. “Mark Ogden.”

And here is the full team list …

📋✅ Our #UCL final 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗫𝗜! # APorLa14 pic.twitter.com/uj9fib8ZoZ

– Real Madrid CF 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 28, 2022

13:30 ET / 18:30 BST: The first “three-peat” final

Liverpool and Real Madrid are no strangers when it comes to the Champions League, having met in the final twice before, first in 1981 and then again in 2018. The Reds took their first blood in 81 with a narrow victory with 1: 0 in Paris, while Real took revenge almost four decades later, winning 3-1 in Kyiv. As such, the final in 2022 is the first meeting with the “three peats” (ie three finals between the same two countries) since the European Cup was opened in 1955-56.

Speaking of the magic number, Jurgen Klopp’s hopes are also striving to become the first English club to …