^*^ ‘Be yourselves’: Jürgen Klopp’s message to Liverpool before Real Madrid clash

• Manager wants team to regard themselves as Madrid’s equals
• He says final, moved from Russia, is ‘for all people in Ukraine’

Jürgen Klopp has said Liverpool face Real Madrid as equals in Saturday’s Champions League final and believes staging the event in Paris sends “exactly the right message” to Vladimir Putin over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Liverpool aim to become champions of Europe for a seventh time at Stade de France, where the 13-times winners Real and four-times winning coach Carlo Ancelotti await. Real’s European stature and vast Champions League experience could give them an edge, Klopp acknowledged, but having reached the final three times in five seasons he insists his team should consider themselves on the same level.

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