Liverpool and Real Madrid have drawn against each other in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League and will meet for the first time since the 2018 final.
Two of world football’s most prestigious clubs, the Reds (6) and Los Blancos (13) have been crowned European champions 19 times between them. Despite their success on the European stage, however, their paths have not crossed as regularly as you might think.
The couple has met on only six occasions. Here, 90 minutes looks at Liverpool’s record compared to the Spanish giants.
Liverpool 1981 UEFA European Cup Final Winners | Getty Images / Getty Images
The Merseyside club met Real Madrid for the first time in the European Cup final in 1981. The fixture took place at the home of Paris Saint-Germain, Parc des Princes in the French capital.
Alan Kennedy scored the only goal of the game eight minutes from time and the Reds won 1-0 to become European champions for the third time in five seasons.
Real Madrid’s team that day included Vicente del Bosque who you may remember had a successful spell as the club’s manager in recent history.
As for the English side, their side was full of famous names like Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Alan Hansen just to name a few.
Real Madrid vs. Liverpool – UEFA Champions League Round 16 | Etsuo Hara / Getty Images
The pair then met 28 years later in the UEFA Champions League eighth round in 2009, when Rafa Benitez’s side earned a narrow 1-0 victory at the Bernabeu in the first stage.
Yossi Benayoun was the scorer that day and went home from a free kick from Fabio Aurelio. Liverpool looked comfortable all the time and limited their opponents to the most far-reaching speculative efforts.
Benitez received much praise for his tactical attitude that night and the away victory put them in the driver’s seat for the second stage which would follow about two weeks later …
? 2009: When Liverpool beat Real Madrid 4-0 at Anfield …
⏰⚽️1⃣6⃣ Torres ⏰⚽️2⃣8⃣ Gerrard⏰⚽️4⃣7⃣ Gerrard⏰⚽️8⃣8⃣ Dossena @ LFC | #UCLdraw | #UCL pic.twitter.com/o2Xzevs1uz
– UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) 19 March 2021
Liverpool finished the job they started in the first stage emphatically with an extensive victory over the Spaniards in the second stage.
Fernando Torres was the star of the show that day, the former Atletico Madrid star made the opener against his old opponents, Steven Gerrard added a brace and substitute Andrea Dossena added a fourth – scored his first goal for the Reds.
Rafael Benitez’s side “surpassed” Los Blancos during the course of the match but continued to be eliminated in the quarterfinals by their domestic rivals Chelsea.
Liverpool FC vs. Real Madrid CF – UEFA Champions League | Alex Livesey / Getty Images
Five years later, former Manchester United man Cristiano Ronaldo was on target for Real Madrid when they beat 3-0 at Anfield. Pari were drawn together in the group stage, which gave Madrid the chance to avenge the defeat they had suffered in 2009.
Karim Benzema was also on target and scored Real’s second and third goals of the night. This was the first time Liverpool had ever been three goals down at half-time at Anfield.
The most dominating Pepe player was without a doubt Mario Balotelli. He was replaced at the break by Adam Lallana.
You can forget the lineup for Liverpool V Real Madrid tonight.
It will never beat the one I chose in 2014 pic.twitter.com/gobJLOuYEW
– Deluded Brendan (@DeludedBrendan) May 26, 2018
Karim Benzema scored the only goal of the match in the return match just shy of the half-hour mark.
Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool boss at the time, made seven changes to the side that faced Newcastle United in the Premier League the weekend before, leaving Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho on the bench. ..
Liverpool showed more attacking effort in the second half but failed to equalize and so the La Liga club completed a comfortable double over the Reds in Group B that season.
??? Decimotercera …
⚪️ Real Madrid beat Liverpool in the 2018 final, a game that featured substitute Gareth Bale’s fantastic overhead effort? @Realmadriden | #UCLdraw | #UCL pic.twitter.com/cYSrt87PCT
– UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) 19 March 2021
About 37 years later, Real Madrid finally took revenge on Liverpool for their defeat in the 1981 European Cup.
The two met in the Ukrainian capital in the UEFA Champions League final 2018, but Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool suffered a heartbreaking defeat. A combination of Gareth Bale’s brilliance and a disastrous display from Loris Karius contributed to the outcome – leaving the Premier League side broken.
Still, Liverpool made up for it a year later …
