Real Madrid vs Liverpool - LIVE: Champions League final reaction and Mohamed Salah injury latest
Follow latest reaction from Liverpool 1-3 Real Madrid in Kiev after Salah was forced off with a shoulder injury in the first half
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Real Madrid have beaten Liverpool FC to claim the Champions League title and lift the European Cup for a third year in a row.
Madrid's victory makes it a record 13 overall and denies Liverpool a sixth crown in their first final since 2007 after last winning it in the memorable 2005 final.
Cristiano Ronaldo was fit and firing but his battle with Mohamed Salah was cut short after the Egyptian was forced off with a shoulder injury in the first half.
Here's how it all played out in Kiev:
What time is it?
The game will kick off in Kiev at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium at 7.45pm BST on Saturday 26 May.
Where can I watch it?
The final will be shown live on BT Sport 2 from 7pm BST and also available to watch for free on YouTube. Alternatively, you can follow The Independent’s live coverage above.
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the Champions League final from Kiev.
Liverpool take on Real Madrid in one of the most anticipated finals in recent memory with thousands of fans descending on Ukraine willing for their team to go one further and win the game's biggest prize.
We will have all the latest build-up, pictures, video, team news and action for you throughout the day so don't touch that dial.
Without further ado, off we go.
The atmosphere is building in Kiev but let's start with what Klopp had to say yesterday about his opposite number.
"If people think Zidane does not have knowledge of tactical things, that is funny,” Klopp said. “People think the same about me. It would be funny if both coaches in the final have no clue about tactics.
“I have said it before. He was one of the best 5 players ever and is now trying to win his third Champions League. I unfortunately have to expect that he is brilliant.
“I have seen his teams playing many times and they play brilliant football. It is chaos but a good kind of chaos. But it is football and we will have an opportunity as the other team.”
Zinedine Zidane has admitted that it will hurt when he names his Real Madrid starting line-up for tomorrow’s Champions Leaguefinal, such is the depth of quality in his squad.
While Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has few decisions to make about his injury-hit squad, how Madrid will line up remains unclear.
Gareth Bale, the former Tottenham Hotspur winger, is by no means assured of a start in Kiev, with Isco likely preferred.
The biggest news in the run up to the game is that Mohamed Salah will not fast.
The Egyptian is a devout Muslim and has been, as all who follow Islam do, abstaining from eating food and drinking any liquid during daylight hours as part of Ramadan, which began on 16 May.
Under Islamic teachings, it is permissible to break your fast “with anything that is adequate need” or if you are travelling during the day – which Salah will be doing.
It had previously been reported in Egypt that Salah would uphold his fasting during the final, which means he would not be allowed to consume anything, even water, in the hours leading up to kick-off in Kiev.
However, Ruben Pons, Liverpool’s physio, has revealed that the 44-goal sensation will be breaking his fast in preparation for the game on both Friday and today.
Huddersfield manager David Wagner is confident his best friend Jurgen Klopp will win the Champions League final.
Wagner is in Kiev to support the man he previously worked under at Borussia Dortmund and believes they can prevail against 12-time winners Real Madrid.
"I wish Jurgen all the best from the bottom of my heart that he can win this trophy," he says.
"We have texted a few times in the last week, of course we did, but in the end he knows everything he has to do and I am sure his team will be on fire tonight.
"We have to give big credit to him and his staff because I think the players are very well prepared mentally and physically, which is very difficult after such a long season.
"This is the last game of a very long season and they are able to perform in the big games as well and this is where he has his absolute strength.
"He is able to deliver an atmosphere where everyone is relaxed but focused enough and this is why I am pretty confident they have a chance."
European Cup winner David Fairclough wants Liverpool to show better game management in tonight's showpiece with Real Madrid.
Fairclough lifted the trophy with the Reds in 1977 and 1978 and thinks if his old side are to get anything out of the defending champions in Kiev, they will need to be smarter.
They weathered comebacks from Manchester City and Roma in the two previous rounds but Fairclough hopes they can handle such events better come kick-off on Saturday.
"When they've been in situations where Liverpool teams of the past would have pulled down the gates, the situations against Manchester City and Roma... players from past teams would have handled it better and that's where I have a little bit of worry," he said.
Liverpool fans have descended on Kiev in their thousands.
And they're certainly enjoying themselves.
Liverpool fan Kyle Edmund will take time out from his French Open preparations to watch the final.
The British number one plans to cheer the Reds on in a bar close to his Paris hotel.
Edmund, who watched at home as a 10-year-old when Liverpool lifted the trophy in 2005, feels Klopp's side have every chance of repeating the feat.
"It's a final, against a pretty good team," he said. "But I think it helps that it's a one-off game, that occasion, it will help us a bit more."
↵Miguel Delaney is one of our many men on the ground in Kiev this evening.
Here's his take on tonight's game and why it really does shape up to be a one-of-a-kind final.
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