Champions League

By Fernando Kallas PARIS (Reuters) - Liverpool are unbeaten since March, have lost only three games all season and have already lifted two domestic cu...

They face a Liverpool side that came up just short in their race with Manchester City for the Premier League title, ending their dream of an unprecedented quadruple after they lifted the FA Cup and League Cup with shootout wins over Chelsea. For Real the situation could not be more different. Real won a record-extending 35th LaLiga title with a month of the season left and are in their 17th European Cup final – an accomplishment that allowed Ancelotti to give his players some rest as they go into the final with no major injury concerns.

It's Liverpool's press and ability to control vs Real Madrid's penchant for capitalizing on chaos and brilliant moments. So which one will prove superior?

That is not to say the high defensive line is not a risk. That is where Madrid’s three previous opponents have faltered, but a Liverpool side whose style is still derived of Jürgen Klopp’s original heavy-metal template should be better equipped than them to handle the chaos. What is vital, and what PSG, Chelsea and City failed to do to a decisive extent, is to take advantage of those periods. He is a supreme crosser of the ball, registering 12 assists in the league this season. A Kroos pass from deep also led to the second, scored by Marco Asensio, as the ball bounced across the box off Trent Alexander-Arnold. There may be a sense of foreboding: How can Liverpool prevent its right flank from being exposed? You can’t keep relying on Luka Modrić to produce a pass of the mesmerizing brilliance that brought the equalizer against Chelsea. You can’t assume that Karim Benzema will always gobble up every half-chance.

The biggest club football match of the year is finally here with Liverpool to face Real Madrid in the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League final.

Additionally, a free live stream will be available on the BT Sport website and YouTube channel. It will also be shown free-to-air for Virgin Media customers on channel 532. May 29, 03:00 (HKT)

Real Madrid and Liverpool will square off on Saturday in Paris. The game is a rematch of the 2018 final.

Real Madrid is in the final for the fifth time since 2014; in each of its previous four visits since 2014, its fans will quickly point out, it has left with the trophy. In that sense, Liverpool is probably the toughest test Madrid could have faced in the final. But the nature of the way the team plays, conjuring those irresistible surges, is not. Real Madrid has been able to snatch victory from defeat against three of the best-equipped opponents in Europe because its players believe in the club’s almost mystical refusal to wilt. But Madrid has been helped by the fact that the opposition are inclined to believe it, too. The final also was the first time that Pérez and the UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin, met in person since a Pérez-led effort to create a European Super League failed spectacularly just over a year ago. Instead, the tournament organizer, UEFA, and city officials hosted fans of the rival teams in separate venues closer to the city limits. Yes, in a way. To win its seventh European Cup on Saturday, Liverpool will have to break that sequence. Paris was easily able to absorb the influx of fans, though in its usual tourist hot spots there was little sign that soccer’s biggest game was in town. Paris St.-Germain almost looked as if it were waiting for the wave to crash. Real Madrid, which won the Spanish league this year, is chasing a record 14th Champions League title after narrowly dodging elimination in the semifinals.

Traders say the city is "the next best thing to Paris" ahead of the Champions League final.

Merseyside Police said the weekend was "set to be a busy one" and predicted "large numbers of people" travelling to the city. The 62-year-old said she was a "little worried" about people getting too drunk and rowdy but she hoped the match would go well and it would "give a boost to the local economy". Retail complex Liverpool ONE said it anticipated the weekend to be "the busiest of the year" for visitor numbers as fans flock to the city. Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, agreed there was a "real buzz" in the city "regardless of the outcome". Peter Hunter, one of the directors for Liverpool's Baltic Triangle, said the final was both a "mood and trade" boost for the city. With excitement building, Liverpool has been described as "the next best thing to being in Paris".

Choose your color -- red or white. The bars and stands around Paris' Stade de France, the venue for Saturday's Champions League final, have certainly nailed ...

"There the substitute has more space and that's where the player who entered later can decide the match -- that's what happened with me in the other knockout rounds. "I think the coach is making it a little easier because we have players who are very close friends, we're friends too and this helps a lot. "The team will be [most important] for both, they're not just individuals attacking and defending; both teams are teams, from attackers to midfielders and defenders. "We've been through Paris [Saint-Germain], Chelsea and yes, they're great teams, but Liverpool is also there, it's a great team. Liverpool are maybe small favorites but I believe with Madrid, they always play finals, they always know the way to play finals and win. In an attempt to offer an explanation, Real defender Nacho simply said there was "magic" at the Bernabeu on nights such as those.