UEFA Champions League final- The numbers game
Real Madrid and Liverpool gear up for a mega finale of the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League to be held in Kiev. Real overcame Bayern Munich in the semis as the Reds saw off a gritty AS Roma outfit. With plenty at stake for both clubs, it would be a crunch battle. Here is the pre-match report in numbers.
Real in domination mode
This is Real's fourth UCL final in a period of five years. A win on Sunday will get them a fourth title and a third successive one. Manager Zinedine Zidane has already helped them seal two UCL honors. If Real win, Zidane will equal Liverpool legend Bob Paisley's record of winning 3 titles with a single club. Real are eyeing their overall 13th title.
All eyes on Real's talisman Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in three different UCL finals and is the only player to do so. The 2017-18 edition's highest scorer has bagged four UCL trophies till date. A win against Liverpool will help him bag his fourth for Real as he earlier won one with Manchester United (2007-08). CR7 is the fifth player ever to feature in five UCL finals.
Reds look to shine in 8th UCL finale
This is Liverpool's 8th final in the Champions League. They have won 5 trophies so far with the last coming in 2005. Jurgen Klopp gears up for his 2nd UCL final. His former team Borussia Dortmund had lost to Bayern Munich in the 2012-13 edition. Liverpool and Real are meeting for the 2nd time in UCL final. The Reds won the 1981 finale.
Salah eyes personal record
Mohamed Salah could become the first Egyptian ever to score against Real Madrid. Karim Benzema has 55 UCL goals and is only behind Ronaldo, Messi, Raul, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Andriy Shevchenko. 14 Real players have featured in an UCL finale. A total of 172 goals have been scored in UCL finals. Real have scored 39 and Liverpool have accounted for nine strikes.
