Introduction
It is the UEFA Champions League Final, where dreams become reality and players showcase their talents. The two prestigious club in the world face each other for the ultimate European Supremacy. The football match which has the attraction of the whole world. It is Liverpool taking on Real Madrid tonight at Stade de France in Paris. The most anticipated match of all time is now about to happen. On one side, we have the Reds who look all ready to face the mighty Los Blancos. Whereas on the other side, it is Real Madrid which has eyes on their 14th Champions League title. Is it going to be Klopp led Liverpool who gets the revenge from four years ago? Or will it be the Ancelotti led Madrid going home with yet another Champions League trophy?
Here we will discuss the journey and the things to expect from today’s contest of prestigious heavyweights.
Why should you watch it?
UEFA Champions League is arguably one of the most watched sporting events in the whole world. So, the world has their eyes on this game and also it has two historic team facing each other. This is the reason why it is going to be the most watched event.
Liverpool come into this game unbeaten in the champions league this season and remarkably won every game in this tournament. Despite the narrow miss to Manchester City in the league, they’re going to go full force from the first. Mo Salah has made it public that he has a score to settle and he’ll be hoping to get that revenge.
Real on the other hand are coming into the tie on the back of a league win. They will be hoping to create some of their famous UCL night magic in the final as well. Few would debate the fact that they’ve got one of the deadliest duos in attack with Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr. These are combined with Kroos, Modric in midfield will be looking for a 14th UCL trophy in their collection. They’ve proved that you can never write them off with some of their best ever performances in comeback wins against PSG, Chelsea and then Manchester City. This are the reasons that makes them certainly favourites for this tie.
Road to the UCL Final
Liverpool
They defeated AC Milan 3-2 at Anfield on the very 1st Matchday, Jordan Henderson scoring the winner at 69th minute to seal the deal. Liverpool continued with a thumping 1-5 away win over FC Porto, with the trio of Salah, Mane and Firmino scoring all five of them. Atletico Madrid were close, were not close enough at home, as Liverpool won 2-3 away by the virtue of Salah’s 78th minute penalty.
They faced Atletico at Anfield and defeated them 2-0 as Diogo Jota scored for the first time this UCL season. They continue their undefeated form as they defeated Porto at home 2-0. Wrapping up the Group Stage with a win over AC Milan 2-0, they topped the group. Winning all six of their group matches earmarked Liverpool as an early favourite to win the Champions League.
They were then paired with Inter Milan in the last-16, where a 2-0 win at San Siro in the first leg saw them through. But a 1-0 defeat at Anfield saw Jurgen Klopp’s side lose this one game in this season’s competition. Liverpool then dismantled Benfica 3-1 in Lisbon in the first leg of their quarter-final. Then, it was followed by a 3-3 home draw, made to look more uncomfortable due to two late goals from the Portuguese side. Unai Emery’s Villarreal awaited Liverpool in the semi-finals, Liverpool chilled after an impressive 2-0 home victory in the first leg. Two first-half goals from Villarreal in the return fixture then jolted Liverpool into life, who secured their place in the final with three goals of their own after the break.
Real Madrid
Group Stages: –
The mighty Los Blancos are in the UCL final for the first time since 2018. They had a very difficult path in the start with an upset, but eventually got the momentum. They had a Herculean task in the playoffs, and yet here they are in their 17th ever final, most by any team in UCL history. Let us discuss this very journey of Real Madrid’s quest for their 14th Champions League title.
Real Madrid was in Group D, alongside Inter Milan, Sheriff Tiraspol and Shakhtar Donetsk. They kick started their Champions League campaign with an away win of 0-1 over Inter Milan by a last-minute goal by Rodrygo assisted by Eduardo Camavinga. A Sebastian Thill screamer caused The Whites a huge upset in the Bernabeu as they lost to Sheriff 1-2 in the following Matchday. The deadly attacking trio of Benzema, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo helped Real Madrid defeat Shakhtar 0-5 away from home. Eduardo Camavinga helped in each possible way to score each of the 5 goals.
4th Group Stage Matchday resulted in a Real Madrid’s win with a close margin of 2-1 against Shakhtar. Karim Benzema scored both goals, including the winner at 61st minute. Real Madrid took their vengeance of the home defeat against Sheriff, defeating them 0-3 away in Tiraspol, Moldova. Real Madrid won their final group stage match against Inter Milan at home 2-0. They top the group D with 15 points.
Knockout Stages: –
Real Madrid faces the most star-studded PSG team in their RO16 round of fixtures. PSG won their home leg by the virtue of a last-minute goal by Kylian Mbappe. At the start of second leg, Kylian Mbappe scores, making the aggregate go 2-0 in PSG’s favour. Then, Karim Benzema scored a hattrick in the span of 17 minutes in the second half, turning the aggregate 3-2 in Real Madrid’s favour. This hattrick made it possible for Real Madrid to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Then, they face Chelsea, the team responsible to knock them out of the CL Semi-finals last year. With the help of another Karim Benzema hat-trick, they were able to defeat Chelsea in the first leg 3-1 away at the Stamford Bridge. Chelsea tried to initiate a comeback and they did come back 4-3 on aggregate, but a beautiful Modric assist and a goal by Rodrygo drew the aggregate 4-4. The game was played in Extra-time, where Karim Benzema score the winner in the 96th minute, letting Real Madrid win by 5-4 on aggregate.
Then Los Blancos had to face the Blues of Manchester in the Semi-finals. The first leg at Etihad was a 7 goal thriller, which resulted in a 4-3 win for Manchester City. In the Second Leg, Riyadh Mahrez scored in 86th minute making Manchester City comfortable with the 5-3 aggregate. But Rodrygo Goes drew the aggregate 5-5, within the span of 2 minutes in the injury time. Karim Benzema won and scored a penalty for Real Madrid, making them win this fixture 6-5 and qualify in their 17th final in UCL history.
CONCLUSION
In all respects, this match is going to be enticing and enthralling from all respects. Madrid have entered their first final in over four years and would give their best to bring their 14th UCL trophy. They have done much this season to get closer to this coveted trophy. Liverpool, on the other hand are playing their 3rd final in five years and would be eagerly searching for their 7th trophy. The desperateness of both the teams to win this game spices up the tie even more.
Expect a fierce encounter to get underway at a magical evening at the Stade de France on the outskirts of Paris. Tighten your seatbelts, and get ready to witness by far the biggest game of the season!!
