Klopp is winning the battle against Real so far

Liverpool's enigmatic and dynamic German coach is a specialist when it comes to facing Real Madrid. Klopp has their number, to the extent that the balance of previous results against the Spanish giants is tipped in his favour.

Three wins, one draw and two defeats is the previous when it comes to Klopp vs Real, and this is an impressive record given Madrid's quality and famous affiliation with the Champions League. That being said, there is no precedent to the final that will be played in Kiev on May 26, and Klopp has only previously faced the Spanish side when in charge of Borussia Dortmund.

The first time that the German locked horns with 'Los Blancos' was in the 2012/13 season, in the Champions League. During this season, Dortmund and Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid came across each other four times, first in the group stages and later in the semi-finals. 

In the first round, the men in yellow and black had the advantage. At the Signal Iduna Park, Robert Lewandowski and Marcel Schmelzer's goals outweighed Cristiano's one (2-1), while the clash at the Bernabeu ended 2-2 thanks to a late goal from Mesut Ozil. 

Although these two games do not stick out too much in Real fans' memory, the ones in the semi-final certainly do. Dortmund gave Real one of the biggest ever European thrashings, with a four goal haul from Robert Lewandowski defeating Real 4-1. Ronaldo gave his side hope with an away goal, but the 2-0 win in the second leg wasn't enough to send Real to the final. 

It was just one year before the two teams saw each other again. Now with Carlo Ancelotti in charge, Real won 3-0 in the quarter-final first leg thanks to goals from Isco, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo. The second leg was exciting, with a Marco Reus brace bringing Dortmund close, but they couldn't find a third goal, and they were knocked out.

The clash in May will be the seventh installment of Klopp v Real. At the moment Klopp is leading in the battle, but this Real Madrid led by Zinedine Zidane have won two Champions League finals on the trot, and seem to be formidable in Europe. Liverpool will feel safe with their German boss in charge, however. If anyone can do it, he can.

 

May 3, 2018