Welcome to RT’s live updates on the UEFA Champions League final, a meeting of footballing royalty between Real Madrid and Liverpool at Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kyiv.
26 May 2018
The match-clinching moment
Liverpool keeper Karius lies on the floor having palmed Gareth Bale's shot into his own net as the Welshman reels away to celebrate making it 3-1 in the final.
FULL-TIME: REAL MADRID WIN THIRD CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TITLE IN A ROW
Bizarre scenes as a fan invades the pitch and approaches Ronaldo as he enters the box, but the man is tackled and taken away.
(90 mins) Liverpool have a free-kick on the edge of the Madrid box, Alexander-Arnold swings it in and it pings around the box a bit before Real clear. 3 minutes of added time in Kiev.
(87 mins) Liverpool fans valiantly belt out 'You'll Never Walk Alone' - but they'll probably want the calamitous Karius to walk after this disastrous display. Jurgen Klopp looks stunned on the sideline - it looks like it will be a second Champions League final defeat for the German.
(84 mins) Just when you thought Liverpool keeper Loris Karuis' night couldn't get any worse... Gareth Bale releases a fierce left-footed strike from range, it's dipping and swerving in the air, but it's right at the Liverpool keeper - who palms it into his own net. Looks like that will be that, barring another miracle...but Liverpool do specialize in those...
GOAL! Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool, Bale again!
(82 mins) CLOSE! Wonderful stuff from Real as Ronaldo curls a cross into the box with the outside of his boot. Bale arriving like a comet meets it on the volley but Karius saves well. We then have the first yellow card as Mane goes in late on Ramos.
(80 mins) Real Madrid's big game experience proving key here. They are keeping the ball well and are staying nice and compact whenever Liverpool have possession. The Reds looking a bit flat.
How did he do that? Players watch on as Gareth Bale acrobatically puts Real Madrid ahead again.
Into the last 15 minutes in Kiev - Liverpool, what have you got?
(74 mins) CHANCE! Ronaldo races clear and is shaping to shoot from inside the box but Liverpool defender Andy Robertson gets his foot in at the last moment to block the shot.
Real coach Zidane was scratching his head on the sideline after that Bale goal. And the Frenchman knows a thing or two about scoring Champions League final stunners...
Ex-England striker Gary Lineker was very impressed by that Bale pearler
Post!
(70 mins) Liverpool goalscorer hits the post from 25 yards. Could so easily have been a brace for the striker.
(66 mins) If Liverpool can fight their way back into it after this, it will be something special. Salah off, going behind to a goalkeeping howler, pulling themselves back into it, only to see Gareth Bale score a goal of quite stunning beauty.
The Liverpool fans are still singing, but it will take a huge effort to drag themselves back into it.
UNBELIEVABLE
Simply unbelievable from Bale. One of the great Champions League final goals.
The Welsh winger has been on the pitch for only 2 minutes, and he's fired an overhead kick into the top corner from the edge of the box after Marcelo broke forward.
The ball crashes past Karius, who, although at fault for the first goal, could do absolutely nothing about the second.
Gareth Bale - take a bow.
GOAL! Real Madrid 2-1 Liverpool
Gareth Bale with an instant contribution!!
(61 mins) Save from Karius to deny Isco, who spins and shoots from 6 yards. A confidence-booster for the Liverpool keeper, although it looked like it was heading wide of the post.
That was the last action of the game for the Spaniard, who is replaced by Gareth Bale. Can the Welsh wizard add another dimension to the Real attack?
Karim Benzema smiles as he puts Real Madrid ahead. But the joy did not last long before Liverpool's equalizer...
From despair to delight for Liverpool in the space of less than five minutes - and Reds' keeper Karius will be breathing a huge sigh of relief...
However, there may be some more (bad) news on Mo Salah's injury...
(55 mins) Sadio Mane levels for Liverpool! The ball is headed back across the goal from a corner, and the Senegal striker nips in to prod the ball past a grounded Navas. All square!
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-1 Liverpool, Mane scores!
Not sure what Karius was doing there. He may have thought Benzema had been offside with his initial run, and that he could roll the ball out for a free-kick. That's what he appeared to protest after the goal was given. Whatever he thought, it's Real Madrid 1-0 Liverpool and this Benzema goal counts!
Real Madrid 1-0 Liverpool
Utterly bizarre. Massive howler from Liverpool goalkeeper, who Karius collects the ball and goes to play it straight out to a defender, but Bezema is there to stick out his leg and poke the ball towards goal. The ball painstakingly rolls into the net. A red-faced moment for Karius and his red men.
GOALLLLLLLLLL!
(50 mins) Benzema puts Real ahead
OFF THE BAR!
(48 mins) Real playmaker Isco hits the bar on the half volley as the ball drops to him just inside the penalty area. Karius beaten but the woodwork saves Liverpool. That was a HUGE chance for Real to take the lead.
SECOND HALF
We are back underway in Kiev. No changes at half-time for either team. Who can break the deadlock?
Hands of Steel! Keylor Navas saving one of the rare shots of this Champions League final, Although the Madrid stopper has been kept busy by some marauding Liverpool attacks I the first half.
STATS
Some first-half stats for you. Real Madrid dominated possession with 63% of the ball to Liverpool's 37%, but the English team had 9 shots to Real's 7 shots. However, both teams only managed one effort on target.
The agony and the ecstasy
That 1st half had almost every emotion; from Salah's and Carvajal's tears at their injuries, to Benzema's disallowed strike and Ronaldo's humility, here's some snaps from an intense first 45 minutes.
HALF-TIME: REAL MADRID 0-0 LIVERPOOL
Goalless at half-time in Kiev, but the big talking point of the half was the huge injury blow to Liverpool when forward Mo Salah was forced off with a shoulder injury mid-way through the half.
Liverpool had opened brightly, fashioning several half-chances, although Madrid finished the half much the stronger and had chances through Ronaldo and Nacho.
Real have had the ball in the net, but Karim Benzema's goal was chalked off after Ronaldo was adjudged to have strayed offside in the buildup.
(45 mins) Real looking threatening heading into the break. This time Nacho latches onto a cross at the far post, but steers his effort into the side netting. 3 mins of added time in Kiev.
DISALLOWED GOAL
Benzema thinks he's put Real Madrid after Karius parries a header from Ronaldo into his path and the Frenchman turns in the rebound. But Ronaldo was adjudged to be offside - marginal to say the least.
(35 mins) Madrid's turn for an injury blow as defender Dani Carvajal is forced off with what looks like a foot injury. He leaves the pitch in tears, like Salah before him, to be replaced by Nacho at right-back.
That Salah shoulder injury came when he was pulled down by Real defender Sergio Ramos and landed awkwardly. Real have immediately upped the tempo as if buoyed by the Egyptian's departure.
A stricken Mo Salah lies on the Kiev turf. Can Liverpool cope without their 44-goal striker?
(29 mins) Tears for Mo Salah. Liverpool's most instrumental player substituted after suffering a shoulder injury. He is replaced by Adam Lallana. Tragedy for the Egyptian and for Liverpool.
(23 mins) Two more chances for Liverpool as Firminho collects the ball in the box before shooting on the turn, but the Brazilian's shot is blocked by Ramos. The ball falls to Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, who drives a shot at the Real goal, but it’s straight at Navas who pushes it clear.
(20 mins) Real have bossed the possession with 60% of the ball so far, but Liverpool have had 7 shots on goal to the Madrid team's 2.
(18 mins) A stray pass from Carvajal gives Liverpool a corner. It’s swung in to the back post where Virgil van Dijk meets it under pressure from Navas, but the Liverpool defender heads over.
One fan is clearly enjoying the frantic start to this Champions League final. Game hotting up nicely. But will it be red-hot or white-hot at the final whistle...?
(15 mins) First real chance for Real Madrid as a wayward pass from Firmino sees Ronaldo race through on the right flank but the Portuguese forward can only fire over Karius' goal from about 10 yards out from a wide angle.
(14 mins) Good spell for Liverpool as Real are forced to block three shots in succession in their box, before Navas punches clear from Alexander-Arnold’s cross. Madrid still looking edgy in and around their own box.
(12 mins) – The opening stages have seen Liverpool start at a typically fast tempo, with Real showing signs of confusion at the back. But the Madrid team are masters at managing the occasion, and have settled more in the last couple of minutes, knocking the ball around more comfortably, but are still being put under fierce pressure from he Merseyside team.
(7 mins) A couple of half-chances for Liverpool as first Mane breaks clear but Navas is quick off his line, aided by Marcelo who eventually cleared, and then the Madrid stopper is out again to spread himself before Alexander-Arnold could shoot just outside the six yard box.
(5 mins) – Liverpool with a free-kick on the edge of the Real box after Marcelo brings down Salah. Henderson lays it off to Salah but the Egyptian’s shot is charged down.
(2 mins) – Both teams showing attacking intent in the opening stages. Liverpool make a raid into the Madrid box in the first minute before Varane snuffs out the danger, then Madrid break down the left through Ronaldo but Karius punches his cross clear.
Allez! Allez! Allez...
Liverpool fans making a fierce noise inside the stadium. Will it be their night tonight?
KICK-OFF
We are underway in Kiev for the 2018 UEFA Champions League final. Liverpool in their traditional red, Real Madrid in their royal white.
The teams are out, the Champions League anthem has been sung and we are about to kick off..
Countdown to Kick Off
A matter of minutes until the match kicks off in Kiev. Ukrainian former striker Andrew Shevchenko carries out the famous trophy onto the pitch.
OPENING CEREMONY
The opening ceremony is underway in Kiev, with British pop star Dua Lipa currently warming up the crowd with rap star Sean Paul.
Kiev
Many of the fans in the stadium have faced arduous journeys over land, air and sea to make it to the final tonight, with hundreds of Liverpool fans being stranded when their flights were cancelled just days before the game.
Real Madrid returned a reported 1,500 tickets allocated to their fans, after supporters faced difficulties with transport and astronomical accommodation costs for the final.
However, there are around 63,000 people packed into Olimpiyskiy Stadium, with the mood building with around 10 minutes to go till kick-off…
Klopp’s final curse?
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has contested six finals as a manager – 4 with Borussia Dortmund and two with Liverpool – but his only victory came in a 5-2 German cup win for Dortmund over Bayern Munich in 2012.
He has lost five straight finals since, including the Champions League final with Dortmund, again against Bayern in 2013, and the 2016 Europa League final with Liverpool against Sevilla.
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has won both finals he’s contested as a manager – the 2016 and 2017 Champions League finals, and also has a 2017 La Liga title to his name.
Zidane is aiming to become the third manager to win the European Cup/Champions League three times – joining Liverpool great Bob Paisley and Italian Carlo Ancelotti.
Zidane would be the first to win an unprecedented treble of three Champions Leagues on the trot.
Goals, goals, goals?
We don’t want to jinx it, but everything is pointing towards a healthy helping of goals in tonight’s game.
Questionable keepers – tick
Dodgy defending – tick
Red-hot strike forces – tick
Liverpool are the top scorers in this season’s Champions League with 40 goals, including 7 which came in a rout against Spartak Moscow at Anfield in the group stage.
The Reds’ attacking trident is among the most feared in the game. Prolific Egyptian Mohamed Salah has 10 goals in this season’s Champions League, part of a 44-goal haul for the season so far. Brazilian striker Roberto Firminho also has 10 in Europe’s top competition, while Sadio Mane has netted nine times.
Real Madrid, however, have a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward has 15 goals in 12 Champions League games this season and a staggering 120 overall in the competition.
Ronaldo could win his fifth European title tonight – a fourth with Real to add to the first he won with Manchester United in Moscow 10 years ago.
TEAM NEWS
Some team news for you.
Both teams are lining up 4-3-3, and the big news for Real is that Isco gets the nod to start just behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema up front, meaning Gareth Bale is on the bench.
Liverpool’s line-up is as expected, with the front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firminho and Mo Salah set to menace the Madrid defence.
REAL
Navas; Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Isco, Benzema, Ronaldo
Liverpool
Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Henderson, Milner; Salah, Firmino, Mane