The essential
- Liverpool and Real Madrid are opposed in the final of the Champions League this Saturday (9 p.m.) at the Stade de France.
- Over 60,000 English supporters are present in the capital. The majority don’t have tickets, but liven up the pregame.
- Champions League top scorerReal Madrid star Karim Benzema is opposed to the duo Sadio Mané-Mohamed Salah.
Follow the day’s events live:
8:56 p.m. “Due to the late arrival of supporters at the stadium, the game was delayed. More information in 15 minutes, maximum”, displays a message on the giant screen of the Stade de France. For their part, the players returned to the locker room and could continue their warm-up in the corridors.
20h49. On the giant screen of the Stade de France, the organization announces that the kick-off will be given 15 minutes late to allow the last supporters, blocked at the entrance with filtering concerns, not to miss the shot. sending.
20h43. The “You’ll never walk alone” resounds in the Stade de France. Chills? Yes.
20h41. This seems to be confirmed by images from Canal +: Thiago could give way to Naby Keita, who now trains with the incumbents on the Liverpool side.
20h40. Tonight, Karim Benzema will not only start the match in an absolute leadership role but also and above all with the armband around his arm. For a Frenchman in a foreign club, it’s extremely rare at this level. The first two, Thierry Henry (with Arsenal in 2006) and Hugo Lloris (with Tottenham in 2019) had ended this unfortunate match…
20h32. According to MARCA, Thiago left Liverpool’s warm-up prematurely.
8:25 p.m. Tonight’s result will inevitably have an influence on another ultra-prestigious trophy in world football: the Ballon d’Or. The two main contenders, Sadio Mané and Karim Benzema, face each other tonight, and the winner of this final could take the total. We asked Habib Beye for his opinion on this game within the game and for him, Benzema has, for now, a small head start.
20h20. 40 minutes before kick-off, and the Liverpool players enter the lawn for the warm-up! they are closely followed by Real Madrid players, Karim Benzema in the lead.
20h20. Phenomenal precocity: at 23 years, 7 months and 21 days, Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is the youngest player to start three Champions League finals.
20h16. *sunglasses emoji*
20:15. Obviously, some traffic jams at the entrance gates of the Stade de France, where security is struggling to contain at certain points the red and white tide which is becoming more and more dense. According to the police headquarters, “attempt to penetrate supporters, who forced at the level of the first filtering. The filtering of the Stade de France is watertight”.
20h12. On the Liverpool side, at least two strong choices for Jürgen Klopp: the tenure of Ibrahima Konaté, excellent at the end of the season, alongside Virgil Van Dijk in defense, and that of Luis Diaz, just as excellent since his arrival in January, instead of Jota. For the rest, it’s classic, and it’s very strong.
La compo, in 4-3-3 : Alisson – Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson – Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago – Diaz, Mané, Salah.
8:05 p.m. With just under an hour before kick-off, it’s time to give you the compositions of the two teams. On the Real side, the classic, with the exception that Federico Valverde takes the place of a second winger. Benzema is obviously there, as is Ferland Mendy.
I made it up, 4-3-3: Courtois – Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy – Kroos, Modrić, Casemiro – Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.
7:48 p.m. The atmosphere is rising around and inside the Stade de France. As shown by the photos taken by our journalist on the spot, the public returns little by little to give voice in the enclosure.
7:38 p.m. The Liverpool bus stuck on the road. According to one of our journalists on site, the vehicle carrying the Reds is struggling to make its way to the Stade de France. More than two hours before kick-off, there is still a little time to arrive.
7:32 p.m. The Real Madrid bus has just arrived at the Stade de France. Real Madrid players are greeted by the chants of their supporters.
7:22 p.m. They lived the mythical song “You’ll never walk alone”. Three witnesses, player, coach and supporter, tell in this article what it’s like to hear the famous chant of Liverpool supporters at Anfield. We give it to you for your personal culture.
6:48 p.m. The Stade de France still very empty. According to one of our journalists present in the enclosure, few supporters have already taken their places in the bays of the stadium.
6:42 p.m. “French beer is delicious! » Our journalist is in the Cours de Vincennes, in Paris, with the thousands of Liverpool supporters waiting for kick-off. And the Reds’ backing is pretty hot, as you can read in his post.
6:35 p.m. People returned without being searched in the fan-zone of Saint-Denis. Confusion in the Saint-Denis fan-zone, where several people forced security checks. A little confusion, but no injuries according to our journalist present on site.
6:32 p.m. Karim Benzema, the man who turned public opinion around in France. Unpopular when the sextape affair broke out in 2015, Karim Benzema found support in France thanks to his excellent performances and his return to Blue last year. Explanations in this article before this “home” final for the center forward.
6:26 p.m. The Stade de France opens its doors. The supporters of the two teams will be able to make their entrance little by little.
6:20 p.m. Ronaldinho “not surprised by Mbappé’s decision”. Invited by his partner Expedia on the occasion of the Champions League final, the former playmaker of PSG and Barça gave an interview to Parisian-Today in France and several other media. On the menu: Mbappé and his decision, PSG and the future of Neymar. It can be read here.
6:10 p.m. Madrid fans insult Kylian Mbappé. Disappointed with Kylian Mbappé’s choice to extend to PSG rather than join Real Madrid, several Merengue supporters are attacking the world champion. Insults “Mbappé, son of p…” and a Madrid jersey with his name and a finger of honor are to be reported in the streets of Paris.
6:07 p.m. The Saint-Denis fan zone is full. Intended for Spanish supporters with tickets and residents registered upstream, the fan-zone of the Legion of Honor park in Saint-Denis can no longer accommodate anyone, announces the police headquarters.
6:03 p.m. Liverpool supporters approach the Stade de France. Several thousand Britons take the road to the enclosure of Saint-Denis. Kick-off is in just under three hours.
5:50 p.m. An exceptional shock? Yes really. Between an exceptional Liverpool team and a Real Madrid follower of crazy reversals of situation in this European campaign, the final has everything to seduce. We explain why in this article.
5:45 p.m. The English set the mood in the streets of Paris. More than 60,000 Reds supporters took to the streets of the capital. For an overview of the atmosphere, here is what the Cours de Vincennes, in the east of Paris, looks like.
5:40 p.m. Hello everyone, welcome to this live to follow this Champions League final. The kick-off will be given at 9 p.m. at the Stade de France.