Liverpool vs Real Madrid LIVE: Champions League final result, score and reaction

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Keita, Salah, Mane, Diaz

Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy, Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius

Real Madrid have pulled off some dizzying comebacks in this season’s Champions League but Liverpool are a stronger squad and have consistently shown the ability to rise to the occasion themselves. They will be even more determined after missing out on the final day of the Premier League season and will be desperate to avenge their defeat against Madrid in the 2018 final. Liverpool 3-1 Real Madrid

Liverpool - 11/10

Draw - 13/5

Real Madrid - 23/10

Sergio Aguero believes that stopping the “pivotal” Luka Modric is key to Liverpool’s chances of beating Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

The influential Croatian midfielder has again been a key part of Madrid’s run to the Paris decider, controlling the game in the heart of Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Modric produced a fine performance the last time these two clubs met in the final of this competition in 2018, clinching a third successive Champions League crown.

Harvey Elliott is itching for action but determined to soak up the occasion regardless of whether or not he features in the Champions League final.

The 19-year-old midfielder hopes to be on the bench at least as Liverpool take on Real Madrid for European club football’s top prize at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday.

That would underscore an impressive rise for the boyhood Liverpool fan, who four years ago was in the crowd as the Reds were beaten by the Spanish giants in the final in Kiev.

“I am still supporting the team as a fan but to be able to say I’m going to be there as a player is a dream in itself,” Elliott said. “It is just going to be crazy.

“I don’t know how it is going to feel because I’ve never experienced it before as a player, there are going to be so many emotions going through me.

Liverpool star Sadio Mane has revealed just how close he was to signing for Manchester United, and how a phone call from Jurgen Klopp persuaded him to move to Anfield instead.

Mane was a £30 million signing from Southampton in 2016, Klopp’s first summer at Liverpool, and has had a transformative effect on the team under the German’s management.

The 30-year-old will play in his third Champions League final in five seasons on Saturday against Real Madrid, as Liverpool attempt to win the treble by adding to their Carabao and FA Cup wins this season.

But in an interview with former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, Mane revealed there was a contract offer from United that he was close to accepting before Klopp managed to change his mind.

“I have to say, I was really close to going to Manchester United,” Mane told The Telegraph. “I had the contract there. I had it all agreed. It was all ready, but instead I thought, ‘No, I want to go to Liverpool’.

There is something about Paris in the spring. It is a fine place for a final. Liverpool and Real Madrid know this. They have been there before.

In 1981, these two great clubs contested the European Cup final in the French capital. That was their very first meeting. Saturday’s Champions League final will be the ninth and the third time they have vied to become champions of Europe in the continent’s biggest game of the season.

Things were so different 41 years ago that they would hardly be recognisable to the Kopites and Madridistas flocking to the Stade de France over the next 48 hours. The City of Light still has its famous attractions like the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower but the football experience has changed drastically.

Paris will once again be swamped with Liverpool fans. The majority of them will watch the final on television, though, in bars and on big screens. In 1981, almost every supporter who made the journey to the Parc des Prince got into the stadium. There was little if any corporate presence and the local population were keen to sell on their tickets.

So were the Real fans. Despite a paltry allocation – some things never change – of just 12,000 for each club in a ground that held more than 48,000, Madrid did not sell out. There were gaps in their end and many, including myself, bought a ticket from a Spaniard at face value. It was expensive: 100 francs, almost £9 (about £31 today, according to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator). The lowest-cost seats were 25 francs. For those attending on Saturday, the cheapest tickets are £42 with a restricted view, going up to an eye-watering £579.

After one of Karim Benzema’s 10 goals during the Champions League knockouts, someone on BT Sport declared we were watching “the best finisher in the world” (I forget who or when, but I think the quote was rounded off with a “Fletch”).

It is hard to argue with this statement. Benzema has had an incredible season, scoring 44 goals in 45 games, including 15 in the Champions League which puts in reach Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 17 in a single campaign – Benzema scored hat-tricks against PSG and Chelsea, and it is not unimaginable that he might leave Saturday’s final against Liverpool with the match ball under his arm and Ronaldo’s record too.

But finishing is different to goalscoring. The best finisher in the world does not necessarily score the most goals, but makes the very most of the chances they have. If every forward in Europe had exactly the same chances this season, would Benzema have scored the most goals?

We decided to try and find out.