Preview ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid : The standard Sports

Liverpool are seeking revenge on Real Madrid for their 2018 Champions League final defeat this Saturday at 10pm Kenyan-time.

The final is taking place at the Stade de France in Paris after being moved earlier this year from original host city St. Petersburg due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a ‘special operation’.

Liverpool and Real Madrid have met eight times in the European Cup, with the Spanish giants winning four times and Liverpool three.

Their most recent meeting was in the quarter-finals of the 2020-21 Champions League season.

This is the third time the teams will meet in the final — Liverpool won 1-0 in the 1980-81 European Cup final, while Real won 3-1 in the 2017-18 Champions League final.

Real have never lost a final since the competition became known as the Champions League. This is their eighth appearance in the fixture.

A win for Real will extend their record as the team with the most titles to 14. –having won  in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 — and have triumphed in their last seven finals.

Reds  have won the title six times — in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005 and 2019.

For the second time in a row, an English team will play in the Champions League final after Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 in last year’s clash.

Liverpool, who will need to bounce back from their Premier League heartbreak quickly after Pep Guardiola’s side Manchester City beat them to the Premier League title by a single point, have won the League Cup and FA Cup this season.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has also expressed a desire to get revenge against the Spanish giants.

Speaking after Liverpool’s semi-final comeback victory against Villarreal earlier this month, when it was still unknown if his side would face the Spanish giants or Man City in the final, Salah said: “I want to play Madrid, I have to be honest.

The city is a really tough team, we played against them a few times this season. I think personally, I would prefer Madrid. We lost in the final to them so I want to play against them and hopefully win it.”

On his part, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti in his presser pointed out that he is not nervous about Liverpool and Salah’s motivation for revenge.

“Real Madrid also have a lost final in Paris in their history. We can find the same motivation as Salah against Liverpool. We respect him, he’s a great player and will surely be a threat,” he said.

If Real win this year’s Champions League, Ancelotti will become the first manager to win four UEFA Champions League titles.

“It would be a huge achievement for me, but I know anything can happen in a final. I’m not obsessed with individual honors,” he said.

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