Jürgen Klopp press conference LIVE: Champions League final latest as Liverpool manager faces media

Follow the latest from Kiev where the Liverpool and Real Madrid managers will face the media for the final time before Saturday’s Champions League final

Liverpool's Champions League campaign in numbers

Liverpool begin their preparations for the Champions League final after touching down in Ukraine, with 12-time winners Real Madrid standing between them and their first trophy under manager Jürgen Klopp in what could be their most unlikeliest European victories yet.

But despite the European showcase fixture taking centre stage, the build-up to the final has begun in unsavoury scenes though, with a group of Liverpool supporters apparently attacked on Thursday night by a gang of hooligans and a number of flights from the United Kingdom to Kiev cancelled, leaving hundreds without transport to the Ukraine to attend the final.

But on Friday talk about football should return to the fore as both Klopp and Zinedine Zidane, the Real Madrid manager, face the media for the final time before they collide with the Champions League on the line. Follow all the latest news below.

Follow the latest news below...

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Key Points

• Liverpool fans ‘attacked’ by gang of hooligans in Kiev
• Hundreds of fans face missing final after UK flights cancelled
• Miguel Delaney: Why Real’s overconfidence has seen them dismiss Liverpool as weak
• Liverpool owner claims Suarez and Coutinho will regret leaving the club for Barcelona

[25 May 2018 09:47 · Jack de Menezes]

Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of today's Champions League final press conferences, as well as all the latest news surrounding the European finale in Kiev between Real Madrid and Liverpool.

[25 May 2018 10:01 · Jack de Menezes]

We start this morning with the news that many will have feared heading out to the Ukraine as a number of Liverpool fans were allegedly attacked by a group of hooligans wearing bandanas and hoods on Thursday night. Here's the latest from an ugly scene in Kiev:

[25 May 2018 10:20 · Jack de Menezes]

There was further bad news for Liverpool supporters yesterday as three flights - two out of Manchester and one from Liverpool - destined for Kiev were cancelled, leaving hundreds stranded with no way of getting to the Olympic Stadium for Saturday's final. Talks remain ongoing over finding a solution, with the Kiev mayor and former heavyweight world champion, Vitali Klitschko, and Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson in negotiations to try and get the fans out to Kiev.

[25 May 2018 11:00 · Jack de Menezes]

Turning our attentions towards football matters - thankfully - here's all the important details that you need ahead of the final, including kick-off and TV times, the latest team news and odds, as well as what both managers have had to say this week.

[25 May 2018 11:20 · Jack de Menezes]

Real Madrid will run out at the Olympic Stadium tomorrow aiming to win a 13th Champions League in a final that they believe is the weakest that they have faced in 17 years. But it's that complacency, dismissing Liverpool as weak, that could well prove their downfall this weekend.

Our chief football writer Miguel Delaney explains why:

[25 May 2018 11:40 · Jack de Menezes]

Ahead of the final, Liverpool owner John W Henry has given his say on two former players in Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, both of which departed the club in recent years to join Barcelona.

It's fair to say that the Reds' boss hasn't held back in reveling in the moment...

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/liverpool-latest-champions-league-final-john-henry-interview-coutinho-suarez-a8368496.html

[25 May 2018 12:00 · Jack de Menezes]

The run to the Champions League final has certainly helped boost Jürgen Klopp's credentials, with the German looking to go one better than he did back in 2013 when his Borussia Dortmund side lost to Bayern Munich in the showcase event.

But as one past Liverpool great acknowledges, Klopp is very much becoming a Liverpool man as he follows in the footsteps of a past managerial legend.

[25 May 2018 12:20 · Jack de Menezes]

If there's one thing that the Champions League is all about, it's history, and Real Madrid know this better than any one else in the competition.

The Spanish side have won an unrivaled 12 European Cups, but in Liverpool they at least have an opponent who knows a thing or two about winning the competition as well as the Reds are bidding to add to their five previous triumphs.

Miguel Delaney looks at why the two sides involved can make this historic final a one of a kind.

[25 May 2018 12:40 · Jack de Menezes]

Mo Salah or Cristiano Ronaldo? Sergio Ramos or Virgil van Dijk?

It's hard to pick who's going to come out on top in these battles on Saturday, yet even harder to try and pick a starting XI of the best players from both clubs. Yet we've given it a fair crack ahead of the final and, we believe, we've got pretty damn good team on our hands.

The question is: which club provides more players?

[25 May 2018 13:06 · Jack de Menezes]

Part of the phenomenal success story that is Mohamed Salah is to do with his faith, with the Liverpool forward helping to to put Islam on a platform that is becoming more and more common in football these days.

But the Champions League final comes at a time when Muslims are practicing Ramadam, meaning that Salah should be fasting during the day that would have a dramatic impact on his ability to play and train each day.

However, there is a solution, as Jack Austin reveals: