KEIR RADNEDGE in PARIS —- History? Every succeeding Champions League final is history one way or another, for the record books or the memory logs. Real Madrid is no exception.

This latest seasonal showdown at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, carries extra weight be cause of the iconic status of the clubs and their equality in previous finals.

For one thing, the match was not supposed to be here at all. Originally the final had been scheduled by European federation UEFA for St Petersburg; Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempted land-grab in Ukraine put paid to that.

Madrid and Liverpool are two of the most successful sides in European Cup history. Madrid’s most recent triumph, and a third successive UEFA Champions League victory, came in Kyiv in 2018 at the expense of the Reds who had previously edged their Spanish opponents in Paris in 1981.

The Spanish side also got the better of Liverpool in last season’s quarter-finals and have eliminated two of Liverpool’s Premier League rivals in consecutive rounds in this season’s competition in Chelsea and Manchester City.

The Reds, meanwhile, are facing a second successive tie against Spanish opposition having beaten Villarreal in the semi-finals.

While Liverpool are aiming to win their seventh European Cup, and register a third UEFA Champions League triumph, Madrid have claimed the trophy 13 times including seven in the UEFA Champions League era – both competition records.

Ancelotti record

Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti is the first coach to lead a team in five UEFA Champions League finals and is seeking a record-breaking fourth European Cup victory.

He shares the landmark of three with former Madrid boss Zinédine Zidane and Liverpool’s Bob Paisley. A victory would also make Ancelotti the first coach to win the UEFA Champions League twice with more than one club.

This is the first time the same clubs have met in three European Cup finals. Madrid and Reims (1956, 1959), AC Milan and Ajax (1969, 1995), Ajax and Juventus (1973, 1996), Milan and Benfica (1963, 1990), Liverpool and Milan (2005, 2007), Barcelona and Manchester United (2009, 2011), Madrid and Atlético (2014, 2016) and Madrid and Juventus (1998, 2017) have all played each other in two.

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