Road to Champions League final: Liverpool vs. Real Madrid

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - The 2022 UEFA Champions League final is set to see the Liverpool vs. Real Madrid clash on Saturday in Paris as the teams will face each other for Europe's top-tier club title.

Champions League record-holders Real Madrid have won this title 13 times, most recently in 2018.

Real Madrid will play their 17th Champions League final, while Liverpool will step on the pitch to play their 10th final in the tournament.

Liverpool bagged the Champions League trophy six times in history. The Reds last won the Champions League in 2019 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the all-English final at Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Both clubs have met eight times so far. Real Madrid have four wins against Liverpool, while the Reds were handed three wins over the Whites.

One match between the sides ended in a draw.

Real Madrid scored 10 goals, and Liverpool put the ball into the Whites' net eight times.

The 2022 final in Paris will be a rematch of the 2018 Champions League final as Real Madrid previously beat Liverpool 3-1 at Kyiv's Olimpiyskiy to be the champions for the 13th time in Europe's top-tier club tournament.

They last met in the 2021 Champions League quarterfinals. Real Madrid won 3-1 on aggregate to oust Liverpool in the last eight.

Saturday's Champions League final at Paris' Stade de France will start at 1900GMT and French referee Clement Turpin will officiate this season's final.

- Liverpool's road to final

Finalists Liverpool won 10 matches, and had one draw and one loss in their 2021-22 Champions League campaign.

Liverpool were in the same group with Atletico Madrid, Porto, and AC Milan. The English club won Group B, winning all their six games.

The Reds eliminated Inter Milan in the Round of 16, then they knocked Benfica out of the Champions League after winning 6-4 on aggregate in the quarterfinals.

In the semis, Liverpool beat Villarreal in both matches to reach the 2022 final. Spain's Villarreal were the 2021 UEFA Europa League champions.

This season, Liverpool scored 30 goals but conceded 13.

Egyptian star Mohamed Salah was Liverpool's top scorer with eight goals this season. He played in all the 12 matches.

Senegalese winger Sadio Mane and Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino clocked up five goals each to contribute to Liverpool as well.

- Real Madrid star Benzema on fire

This season Real Madrid were led by French forward Karim Benzema as the 34-year-old scored 15 Champions League goals in 11 matches, displaying emphatic performance on the pitch.

Benzema is the Champions League's top scorer this season before the final.

The Whites' Brazilian forward Rodrygo scored five goals, and his compatriot Vinicius Junior added three goals for Real Madrid.

In the whole 2021-22 Champions League season, Real Madrid scored 28 goals as a team. They conceded 14 goals.

Real Madrid won Group D as they bagged 15 points in six matches.

The Spanish club battled Inter Milan, Sheriff, and Shakhtar Donetsk in the group phase.

In the last 16, Real Madrid eliminated France's Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 on aggregate.

Paris Saint-Germain won the first leg 1-0 at home, but Benzema inspired a 3-1 win over the French club.

The Frenchman scored a hat-trick in Madrid.

In the quarterfinals, Real Madrid ousted the 2021 champions Chelsea 5-4 on aggregate after extra time.

Real Madrid took on the last season's Champions League finalists Manchester City in the semifinal.

The Whites lost to Man City 4-3 in Manchester but claimed a 3-1 win in the Spanish capital to book their place in the 2022 final at the Stade de France.

Benzema-led Real Madrid had eight wins and four losses before the final in Paris.

- Stade de France set for 1st CL final since 2006

Located in the north of Paris, the Stade de France, which has a capacity of over 80,000 spectators, is set to stage the first Champions League final since 2006.

Built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the stadium hosted the 2000 and 2006 Champions League finals, and the UEFA EURO 2016 final match.

In the 2006 final, Barcelona beat Arsenal 2-1 to be crowned the Champions League winners at the Stade de France.

The 2016 European football championship (EURO 2016) host nation France lost to Portugal 1-0 in this stadium as Portuguese forward Eder scored the winning goal in the extra-time.

Inaugurated in 1998, the Stade de France is the home of the French national football team for almost 25 years.

In February, UEFA relocated the 2022 Champions League final from Russia's St. Petersburg to Paris after Moscow had launched a war on Ukraine in the same month.