Champions League final preview: Liverpool vs Real Madrid – where to watch, kick-off time, starting line-ups, form guide | UEFA Champions League
Liverpool and Real Madrid meet in the 2022 UEFA Champions League final on Saturday, May 28.
TV channels and where to watch the Champions League final
Find your local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.
What do you need to know?
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You have a final here. Liverpool are having a remarkable season despite narrowly missing out on an unprecedented four-fold on Sunday. Aside from perennial Premier League rivals Manchester City, they have always been top of the class for every assignment given to them.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, may have already been crowned Spanish champions, but their European campaign defies both belief and description after a string of stellar comebacks. Their journey here could fill a novel, and the final chapter has yet to be written.
Meet the finalists
The starting formations
liverpool:Alison; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Mané, Luis Diaz
real Madrid: Courteous; Carvajal, Eder Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Junior
Form Guide
liverpool
Road to the final: Winner of Group B, 2-1 tot against Inter (R16), 6-4 tot against Benfica (QF), 5-2 onset against Villarreal (SF)
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWDWDW
where they ended: 2nd in Premier League, FA Cup winners, League Cup winners
real Madrid
Road to the final: Winner of Group D, 3-2 tot against Paris (R16), 5-4 tot against Chelsea (QF), 6-5 tot against Man. City (SF)
Form (all competitions, most recent first): DDWLWW
where they ended: League Champions
European Cup final pedigree – how many cups have Liverpool and Real Madrid won?
liverpool
European Cup final report: P9 W6 L3 F13 A11
Most recent appearance: 2019, Liverpool 2-0 Tottenham
real Madrid
European Cup final report: P16 W13 L3 F42 A23
Most recent appearance: 2018, Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool
Expert predictions
Matthew Howarth, Liverpool journalist
Liverpool may have shown signs of fatigue lately, but despite having conceded first in each of their last four Premier League games, they still managed to pick up ten points. Propelled to the league title by Manchester City, the Reds now have the chance to cap off an otherwise phenomenal campaign with their third trophy of 2021/22.
Jürgen Klopp, by his own admission, has never had such a strong team to play with during his tenure at Anfield. Luis Díaz, the latest in the German’s multi-talented ensemble, played a starring role in the semi-final and could do so again in Paris.
Joseph Walker, Madrid journalist
Here we are once more. What about Madrid and this competition? Admittedly, this season they have risked their arm a few times, but their resilience, courage and determination have allowed them to live up to the former club saying “El Madrid nunca se rinde” (Madrid don’t give up never).
They were indebted to Karim Benzema’s superb campaign, while young Rodrygo was the very definition of a ‘clutch’ player in big games. With Liverpool looking tired – not to mention coach Carlo Ancelotti’s brilliant record – Madrid have a wonderful opportunity to contest 14 European Cups.
View from the camps
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool manager: “Outstanding, massive – it feels like the first because it’s always so special. The atmosphere is good, very good. We’re really excited to be here now and get a feel for the stadium and the occasion History will tell what people say about us, but I’m very proud of what we’ve done so far.
“It’s the most decorated club in the competition. Some of their players can win it for the fifth time and the manager can win it for the fourth time. We can’t buy this experience, but we are here for the third time. times in five years – it’s special. We don’t think about what it will be like to win. To be ‘us’ at the top level would be really cool.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool right-back“We embrace those occasions; those are the occasions that are on your mind when you’re working hard behind the scenes. We’re thrilled to be here, we think we deserve to be here. That’s THE game of the season; Being here is good but winning it would be even better.”
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool striker: “We have a score to settle.”
Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach“I have fond memories of the finals I came to. I lost to Liverpool in 2005 and ironically it was probably the best performance any of my teams had in the final! We had time to prepare, we’re in for a good time, we’ll do our best – we’ll see if that’s enough to win the game, because sometimes in football things that are beyond your control can happen.”
“We deserved to go to the final because of our quality. If you don’t have that, then you don’t go to the final. But quality and talent are not enough. You have to make a team, if make sure they all adhere to it.”
Marcelo, captain of Real Madrid“We know what it’s like to play in a final, to play for this club. The nerves got a bit on the eve of the game, but we were all in the right frame of mind for this game from the second we we qualified.”
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