5 classic UEFA Champions League games

Real Madrid and Liverpool are two of the greatest clubs in football history. Over the years, the two European giants have met 11 times in the UEFA Champions League, with three of those games coming in the final stages of the competition.

There is a long history between these two teams and they will meet again in another Champions League game on Wednesday.

Ahead of this mouth-watering clash at Anfield, let’s take a look back at five classic meetings between Real Madrid and Liverpool in the Champions League, starting with Los Blancos’ last visit to Merseyside.

In the round of 16 first leg between Real Madrid and Liverpool in the 2022/23 season, Los Blancos won 5-2 at Anfield.

Liverpool stunned Real Madrid in the first 14 minutes, taking a 2-0 lead through Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah. Carlo Ancelotti’s men responded in style with Vinicius Jr. scoring twice and Real equalizing at half-time.

Los Blancos extended their lead with three more goals in the second half. Eder Militao scored after the break and Karim Benzema secured the win with a brace.

In the end, Real Madrid won the round of 16 6-2 on aggregate after a 1-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu.

After Liverpool secured a memorable 1-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the 2008/09 round of 16, they followed up with an impressive 4-0 victory at Anfield.

On the night, Fernando Torres opened the scoring for the Reds before Steven Gerrard doubled Liverpool’s tally. After half-time, Gerrard extended Liverpool’s lead with a penalty.

In the final minutes of the game, Andrea Dossena sealed the victory and took Liverpool into the quarter-finals.

A winning goal in the 81st minute from left-back Alan Kennedy ensured that Liverpool won the Champions League – then the European Cup – in the 1981 final in Paris.

After a tense tactical battle, the Reds caught Los Blancos late in the game and allowed Kennedy to win.

Notably, it was the third time Bob Paisley won the competition with Liverpool since he became manager in 1974. Paisley made history by becoming the first manager to win the cup three times.

The last Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid ended with Los Blancos lifting the trophy at the Stade de France in Paris.

Vinicius Jr. scored the decisive goal in the 59th minute when he scored freely at the far post. Los Blancos also benefited from a solid defensive performance across the board.

With this final victory, Carlo Ancelotti became the first coach in history to win the competition four times.

In the 2018 Champions League final, Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev, Ukraine.

Karim Benzema gave Los Blancos the lead in the 51st minute, but Sadio Mane equalized for Liverpool just four minutes later. Substitute Gareth Bale then scored a stunning overhead kick to restore Real Madrid’s lead.

Bale secured the trophy for Real in the 81st minute when Reds goalkeeper Loris Karius failed to keep out the Welshman’s 30-yard shot.

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