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

Jurgen Klopp wasn’t wearing the Parisian beret that some of his players were, but he was wearing his medal and a celebratory T-shirt. There was also a huge smile, as he settled into his FA Cup post-match press conference at Wembley. Klopp was clearly in the mood to party.

That was why the one “complaint” was that his victorious team couldn’t go out and celebrate, since they have a match away to Southampton on Tuesday.

“Why do this,” Klopp wondered, “a competition as great as this.”

It was the persistent feeling throughout the day at Wembley, even amid the euphoria of victory. Liverpool constantly had to be conscious of what’s next. It was also why, as singularly brilliant as any FA Cup win should be – and especially a first in 16 years – this was always about so much more.

here has been one message that Florentino Perez has been especially keen to convey ahead of Real Madrid’s 17th Champions League final. That is to show Kylian Mbappe what he is missing.

The announcement of the French star’s signing ahead of a Paris final was intended to be a key part of the club’s build-up, fostering an even greater feeling that glory was inevitable. That was scuttled, and it has left the club scrambling – not least for a new signing.

Carlo Ancelotti is too much of a football man for such machinations, and too focused on his team, but he has told Perez it’s just one more setback to be overcome. That fits a theme, that the manager so pointedly asserted after the semi-final.

“I don’t think anybody – anybody – thought Madrid would play another Champions League final this season,” Ancelotti said, in a rare show of strong emotion. “And we’re there.”

That’s no empty statement, or a Jose Mourinho-type attempt to talk up his own impact. It’s true.

When Mohamed Salah insisted he wanted Real Madrid in the Champions League final, it wasn’t just about revenge, or even himself. It reflected the view of a fair few people within Liverpool, but also the top levels of European football.

A grand showdown with Manchester City would have represented the zenith of modern football, bringing an era of rivalry to a peak, but it also would have peaked in terms of emotional intensity and Premier League domination. Jurgen Klopp’s players would have been ready, of course, but a third all-English final in four years would likely have been subject to the sort of stifling tension most one-country finals generally suffer from.

It similarly would have left the rest of Europe again feeling shut out.

There is little of that with Madrid. There isn’t quite the same sense of suffocation, since it feels someway different to be facing a big European club.

The Champions League final is here! Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Liverpool vs Real Madrid in Paris at the Stade de France.

The atmosphere is bubbling in the French capital, with both sets of fans eager to add more glory to their decorated past, with the Reds keen to make it seventh heaven and Los Blancos keen to bring up No 14 in terms of European crowns.

Over the next few hours we’ll build up to the game with preview material, predictions, odds, analysis and eventually team news when it hits around 7pm BST. So stay on top and keep checking back in as we get set for the biggest match in club football.