Champions League final Everything you need to know

champions League

Started last June 22 with the various qualifying phases, we have now reached the long-awaited Champions League final, which will see Liverpool and Real Madrid compete for the final victory. After qualifying, groups and the entire knockout phase, everything will be decided in a single match to determine who will take home the most coveted cup in the world of club football and who will be the first among the losers. All you need to know about the Champions League final, when and where it is played.

The Path

Let’s see what the paths of the two teams were, who qualified directly for the group stage through their position in the standings in their respective championships, without first having to go through the preliminary qualifying rounds.

Liverpool

Drew in group B with Atletico Madrid, Porto and Milan, Liverpool dominated their group by a wide margin. Six out of six wins for Klopp’s boys, who finished with full points with 18 points. In the round of 16, after the initial mistake, Nyon’s urn drew the Reds against Inter. After the two-to-zero victory at San Siro against Inzaghi’s players, the 1-0 achieved by the Nerazzurri was not enough to overturn the result or at least bring the match to extra time. In the quarter-finals, it was then Benfica’s turn.

Even against the Portuguese, 3-1 in the first leg played in Portugal, with a daring 3-3 in the return leg that delivered the semifinal to Klopp’s boys. Villarreal, the edition’s surprise, was then faced in the semifinals. Also in this case, it went quiet, with the 2-0 at Anfield and a lively return, which gave the Reds the first ticket for the final at the end of a 3-2 with a thrill, since the first half ended with the Spaniards ahead by two goals to zero and everything in question. Now the last obstacle separating Liverpool from the big-eared cup is Real Madrid.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid won their group thanks to five wins and only one defeat. They were drawn in Group D with Inter, Sheriff Tiraspol, and Shakhtar Donetsk. In the round of 16, the Mérengues were then drawn against Paris Saint-Germain. After the 1-0 defeat in France at the hands of a great goal by Mbappé, the Spaniards won 3-1 at home. After a pass for the quarters, Ancelotti’s boys were drawn with Chelsea. In the first leg, played on English soil, another super Benzema dragged the team with another hat-trick, thus mortgaging the passage to the semifinals.

On the return, defeat was a thrill for Ancelotti’s boys, who still managed to get a pass for the semifinals. In the semifinals, a dizzying double challenge with Manchester City. After a 4-3 in the first leg in favor of the English team, in the return match, everything happened in the final. After City took the lead and mortgaged the final, a brace from Rodrygo after the 90′ postponed the verdict to extra time. Then, from eleven meters, the usual Karim Benzema took care of them, sending them to the final. Only Liverpool stands between Real Madrid and a fourteenth cup.

Liverpool vs. Real Madrid over the years

As for the precedents, Liverpool and Real have met twice in the final and that of May 28th will mark the absolute record in the history of the Champions League. So far, a victory each with the Reds, who won the 1981 Champions Cup (1-0 with Alan Kennedy’s goal) in Paris, home of the 2022 final. In 2018, Los Blancos triumphed 3-1 in Kiev, starring the great Gareth Bale.

When and where will the final be played?

The 2021/2022 Champions League final is scheduled for Saturday, May 28 2022 at the Stade de France in Paris, with the kick-off at 21:00. Initially, the final act of Europe’s top football competition was supposed to be held in St. Petersburg (Russia), but the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine changed UEFA’s plans.