Real Madrid will go head-to-head against Liverpool in the Champions League final, which will be played on Saturday, 28 May at 9 pm (CET), at the Stade de France de Saint-Denis (Paris). The Whites, who will play as visitors, will go in search of the Decimocuarta in a rematch of the 2018 final in Kyiv, when Real Madrid clinched the Decimotercera against the English side after a 3-1 win.
This will be the third time Real Madrid and Liverpool face each other in a European Cup final. Previous to the 3-1 win four years ago, the Premier League side claimed a narrow 1-0 victory at the Parc des Princes in 1981. The Reds will be gunning for their seventh European Cup. Jürgen Klopp's men go into the game having topped Group B with a clean sweep, overcoming Inter, Benfica and Villarreal in the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.
Real Madrid’s history in Champions League can be divided in three main periods. The first period was during the first ten years of the competition 1956-1966. The second one includes a 20-year period from 1981 to 2002. The third one, the most recent, includes the post 2013 achievements which saw Madridistas lift the trophy four times in 5 years and it is not over yet: it’s only 2022 and Real Madrid is again in the final of the competition!
Seventeenth European Cup final: Real Madrid will be contesting their seventeenth European Cup final. The overall record is 13 trophies from 16 finals, in other words, an 80% success rate. Madrid are the club that have played in the most finals and have won the most. Di Stéfano's side claimed the first five editions between 1956 and 1960. The opponents were Stade de Reims (4-3), Fiorentina (2-0), Milan (3-2), Stade de Reims (2-0) and Eintracht Frankfurt (7-3). After losses to Benfica and Inter in 1962 and 1964, came the Sexta, secured by a 2-1 win over Partizan in 1966.
The second spell: In 1981, Madrid missed out on the trophy against Liverpool. Since then, they have emerged victorious from every final they have reached. Juventus were the opponents for the Séptima, in Amsterdam in 1998 (1-0). The following years would bring the Octava against Valencia in Paris (3-0) and the Novena against Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow (2-1 in 2002) with Zidane's memorable goal.
Most recent trophies: In 2014, under the guidance of Ancelotti, the Décima arrived in Lisbon and the legendary goal by Ramos (4-1). In 2016, again against Atlético, Real Madrid picked up the Undécima in Milan. In 2017, they clinched the Duodécima in Cardiff by beating Juventus 4-1. And in 2018, they overcame Liverpool to lift la Decimotercera
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