Real Madrid vs. Liverpool: Champions League final highlights and recap

Real Madrid face Liverpool in the Champions League final on Saturday, May 26. Here are all the highlights from the match.

The Champions League concludes on Saturday with Real Madrid and Liverpool playing for the biggest prize in Europe. The two teams travel to Kiev for the Champions League final. Real Madrid are looking to win their 13th title in club history. Liverpool are looking to capture their first Champions League victory since 2005 and sixth overall.

Neither Real Madrid or Liverpool won their domestic league, falling behind Barcelona and Manchester City respectively. With no hope of winning their league title, Real and Liverpool turned their attention to the Champions League. The decision by Zinedine Zidane and Jurgen Klopp paid off as both teams advanced to the final.

Real Madrid are looking to win their third straight title and fourth in five years. No team has won three in a row since Bayern Munich won three straight from 1974-76. Should Real win, Cristiano Ronaldo will become the first player to ever win five Champions League titles. Another title for Ronaldo would help strengthen his argument for greatest player of all time. The Portuguese superstar has scored 44 goals in all competitions and will have to score on Saturday for Madrid to win. Klopp will likely try to get Virgil van Dijk to mark Ronaldo on Saturday.

Liverpool advanced to the final thanks to the incredible play of Mohamed Salah, who has scored 44 goals in all competitions. The Reds’ front three of Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have combined for 90 goals in all competitions this season. The speed of Liverpool’s front three could create problems for Real’s back four. Salah’s matchup against Real left-back Marcelo could determine which side wins on Saturday. Liverpool cannot win without Salah creating goals for the Reds, while Real’s attack is at its best when Marcelo is able to push forward and make runs in the final third of the field. With both players looking to get deep into the opposing team’s territory, it will force both players to track back defensively.

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Highlights

Highlights will be posted live during the match.

Real Madrid are 12-3 in previous finals and haven’t lost in the final since 1981, when Liverpool won 1-0. Liverpool are 5-2 in Champions League finals. The Reds last won in 2005, when they made an incredible three-goal comeback defeating AC Milan. However, Milan would get their revenge two years later, defeating Liverpool 2-1.

First Half

Liverpool controlled the attack early but could not get a clear shot on goal. Real Madrid did a good job getting in front of shots and breaking up passes near the box. Liverpool’s best chance of the half was from right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold but Kaylor Navas made a good save to keep it scoreless.

Mohamed Salah and Sergio Ramos got locked up in a challenge with both players going to the ground. Salah landed right on his shoulder and required attention from the trainer. The Premier League player of the year came back on but went down again minutes later. Salah was forced out of the game with the injury and was visibly upset, breaking out in tears as he headed to the dressing room. James Milner came on to replace Salah.

Real Madrid would also be forced to make a sub before halftime. Right-back Dani Carvajal went down with a calf injury and was replaced by Nacho.

Karim Benzema thought he opened the scoring just before halftime. After Loris Karius made an incredible save on Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema easily tapped in the rebound. However, the assistant’s flag was up for an offside.

Second Half

Real started the second half strong and were just inches from scoring first. However, Isco’s shot hit the crossbar and stayed out. https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1000465407076065280
The game’s first goal would come minutes later. Real tried playing a long ball forward to Benzema. However, the lob was out of his reach and went straight to Karius who quickly went to throw it in. However, Benzema stuck out his leg and deflected into the Liverpool net.

The lead was short-lived for Real. Sadio Mane equalized for the Reds, redirecting a Dejan Lovren header past Navas.

Real retook the lead with an absolutely gorgeous goal from Gareth Bale, who minutes earlier had come on for Isco. Marcelo sent a cross into the box for Bale who executed a beautiful bicycle kick sending the ball into the top corner of the goal.

If the first goal wasn’t bad enough for Karius, he made a second mistake that sealed the win for Real Madrid. Bale took a shot from 25 yards out that went right through the hands of the Liverpool keeper and in.