Head-to-head history…
Wins
Real Madrid – Two
Liverpool – Three
The first of the five previous meetings between the clubs came in the 1981 European Cup final in Paris. That night, those in red defeated their opponents in white through a single goal from Alan Kennedy. The full-back’s near-post strike secured Liverpool’s – and Bob Paisley’s – third success in the competition in five years.
Almost three decades passed before they faced off again, this time in the tournament’s Round of 16 stage, during the 2008-09 campaign. The outcome was the same, though. Rafael Benitez’s Reds silenced the Santiago Bernabeu through Yossi Benayoun’s header and emphatically finished the job at Anfield 13 days later with a 4-0 rout.
It was a different story in 2014-15, however. Having ended their wait for a 10th European Cup the previous season, Real were too powerful for Liverpool when they came to Merseyside in the group stage and followed up a 3-0 victory with a 1-0 win in Madrid as Brendan Rodgers’ side bowed out before the knockout rounds.
Tournament history…
Previous finals
Real Madrid – 15
Liverpool – 7
Previous final wins
Real Madrid – 12
Liverpool – 5
Jürgen Klopp v Real Madrid…
Played six: won three, drawn one, lost two
Unlike his counterpart Zinedine Zidane, the Liverpool boss does have previous with his opponents.
He faced the Spanish giants six times during his Borussia Dortmund tenure, including four fixtures throughout the 2012-13 Champions League campaign. BVB took four points from two meetings in the group stage before eliminating Real 4-3 on aggregate in the last four en route to defeat in the final against Bayern Munich at Wembley.
They met again in the knockout stages a year later but, trailing 3-0 from the first leg, Klopp’s men were unable to complete a comeback in the quarter-finals and Real went on to lift the trophy.
In Kiev...
Real Madrid – Played four: won one, drawn two, lost one
The La Liga side have visited Dynamo Kyiv on four occasions, losing their first in 1998-99 but gaining revenge a year later with a 2-1 win that included a goal from future Reds striker Fernando Morientes. Successive 2-2 draws followed in 2004 and 2006.
Liverpool – Played two: won one, drawn one
Danny Murphy and Steven Gerrard were on target when Liverpool defeated the same Ukrainian outfit 2-1 during the 2001-02 Champions League first group stage. Assistant manager Phil Thompson took the reins in Kiev with Gerard Houllier absent for health reasons.
The Reds also played a qualifier in the city in August 2006, drawing 1-1 with Maccabi Haifa to secure progress to that season’s group stage and begin a journey all the way to the final.
This season (excluding qualifiers)…
Wins
Real Madrid – 8
Liverpool – 7
Goals scored
Real Madrid – 30
Liverpool – 40
Top scorer
Real Madrid – Cristiano Ronaldo (15)
Liverpool – Roberto Firmino/Mohamed Salah (10)
Most assists
Real Madrid – Dani Carvajal (three)
Liverpool – James Milner (nine)
Most chances created
Real Madrid – Toni Kroos (24)
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah (27)
Shots on target
Real Madrid – 84
Liverpool – 89
Conversion rate
Real Madrid – 18.4 per cent
Liverpool – 26.3 per cent
Passing accuracy
Real Madrid – 88.6 per cent
Liverpool – 81.4 per cent
Goals conceded
Real Madrid – 15
Liverpool – 13
Clean sheets
Real Madrid – 3
Liverpool – 6
Shots faced (on target)
Real Madrid – 53
Liverpool – 38
Tackles won
Real Madrid – 144 (64.3 per cent)
Liverpool – 133 (61.9 per cent)
Duels won
Real Madrid – 619 (52.6 per cent)
Liverpool – 684 (49.5 per cent)