History is being made in Kiev tonight. It's not a cliche, despite being a Champions League final which in itself would be an event of great footballing importance. However, the match between Real Madrid and Liverpool will mark something memorable: or the 13th Cup for the Spaniards, third in a row and fourth in five years, an unthinkable thread in the modern era, or vice versa the return to the throne of Liverpool, which today plays the part of the working class who can go to heaven but which is actually the fourth European club for titles won, behind Real Madrid, Milan and Barcelona, with 11 trophies including 5 Champions League.
The Reds won the last one in 2005 against Milan, while the last final (this time they lost, again against the Rossoneri) was played in 2007, eleven years ago. Another era, another ownership, there were still Rafa Benitez and Steven Gerrard and Liverpool was far from becoming that of Klopp (in his second Champions League final after the one he lost to Borussia in 2014, in the German derby against Bayern) and of Mohamed Salah. Among other things, the British, in addition to having a respectable bulletin board, can also boast of having won the only previous final between the two clubs, in 1981 in Paris: the match finished 1-0 with goals from Kennedy.
Not only that: Liverpool are also ahead in all head-to-head matches in Europe: 3 victories with 6 goals scored, against Real Madrid's two victories and 4 goals. Zero draws. The last clash is that of the Champions League 2014-2015 edition, in the group stage, with the merengues who won both games: 3-0 at Anfield, with goals from Ronaldo and Benzema (also on the pitch tonight) and 1- 0 at the Bernabeu, with another goal from the French striker, candidate for the Reds if it proves to be decisive this time too.
In the UEFA ranking, Real Madrid occupies first place and therefore, not only for this reason, is the favourite. Liverpool are only 22nd, although in this edition it is undefeated (Real have instead lost two games, including one at home against Juventus in the quarter-finals) and have the best attack with 38 goals scored, an all-time record for this competition. The best scorers are Firmino and Salah, tied with 10 goals each, while for the blancos the Ballon d'Or stands out Cristiano Ronaldo with 15 goals.
