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Sept 17, 2017 Group H Ramos 61) (Ronaldo 12, 51 pen, (Aubameyang 54)
(Bale 18, Ronaldo 50, 79)
Gareth Bale crashed home a volley before Ronaldo marked his 150th Euro game with two more.
(Ronaldo 43 pen) (Varane 28 og)
Harry Kane was denied a famous winner by a super save from Real keeper Keylor Navas.
(Alli 27, 56, Eriksen 65) (Ronaldo 80)
Dele Alli inspired a first group stage defeat in 31 games for the holders.
(Modric 23, Benzema 39, 45, Nacho 41, Ronaldo 49, 54)
Ronaldo took his goal tally to eight in five games in a club record away win in the Champions League.
(Mayoral 8, Ronaldo 12, Vazquez 81) (Aubameyang 43, 49)
Ronaldo scored again but Real finished second behind Spurs.
Feb 14, 2018
Round of 16, first leg
(Ronaldo 45 pen, 83, Marcelo 86)
(Rabiot 33)
Ronaldo took his Champions League goal tally into three figures with a comeback double.
March 6, 2018
Round of 16, second leg
(Cavani 71) (Ronaldo 51, Casemiro 80)
Madrid won 5-2 on aggregate
Marco Verratti’s red card confirmed it was mission impossible for PSG.
Apr 3, 2018 Quarter-final, first leg
(Ronaldo 3, 64,
Ronaldo became the first man to score in 10 consecutive Champions League games.
Apr 11, 2018 Quarter-final, second leg
(Ronaldo 90 pen) (Mandzukic 2, 37, Matuidi 61)
Madrid won 4-3 on aggregate
Gigi Buffon saw red for blasting ref Michael Oliver after a last-gasp penalty award allowed Real to squeak through.
Apr 25, 2018 Semi-final, first leg
(Kimmich 28) (Marcelo 44,
Real made history claiming their 150th Champions League victory.
May 1, 2018 Semi-final, second leg (Benzema 11, 46)
(Kimmich 3, Rodriguez 63)
Madrid won 4-3 on aggregate
Karim Benzema’s double meant Madrid became the first side to reach three straight finals since Juventus in 1998. VIRGIL VAN DIJK says it was last year’s Champions League final that convinced him to join Liverpool.
The 26-year-old admits he was pestered by Liverpool fans inside Cardiff ’s Principality Stadium as he watched Real Madrid beat Juventus 12 months ago, pleading with him to quit Southampton and move to Merseyside.
It was then that it dawned on the Dutchman just how big the club really was.
So maybe Liverpool and their fans have Champions League sponsor Sony to thank for getting hold of the £75m defender.
“I never really go to big games to watch as a fan, but I was in Cardiff,” Van Dijk said.
“The sponsors hooked us up with two fantastic seats and it was two hours from where I used to live so we thought, ‘Let’s go’.
Influence
“From the moment I got there a lot of people in hospitality were Liverpool fans and they were saying, ‘Join, please join’.
“It was funny to see how big the support and fan base of Liverpool is.
“That sort of thing stays with you. Influence? That is a big word, but it does something to you.
“There was a lot of attention on myself. There had been a lot of talk about different clubs at that time.
“It could have been different fans coming up to me and saying, ‘Come to us’ but 90 per cent of the supporters were Liverpool.
“That says a lot and the people who were with me were like, ‘Whoa, there are so many Liverpool fans, it is all over the world’. It was incredible.”
Van Dijk had to wait until January to get his dream move, after the Reds had to apologise in response to Southampton’s claim they were illegally tapping up their star defender. Since then, he has brought stability to what had previously been a shaky defence.
It is not just the nine clean sheets but the improvement of those around him too – in particular keeper Loris Karius and centre-back partner Dejan Lovren.
They face their toughest test yet against Cristiano Ronaldo and reigning champions Real but some would say Liverpool splashed out a world record sum for Van Dijk exactly for nights like this.
“People are trying to put pressure on me,” said Van Dijk with a chuckle.
“Any player who arrives at this club wants to play in these games, they want to be under this kind of pressure, they want to get trophies. That is basically the situation.
“I don’t think I have been bought to win the Champions League final.
“I have been bought to hopefully get the best out of myself and the best out of the team with the help of everyone else.
“To be in the final right now – it has been a crazy journey. We are there, 90 minutes from the trophy and now we need to give everything we have.”
Liverpool are on the brink of a sixth European Cup but will have to stop Real winning their 13th to do it.
The pressure is huge.
But one man at least insists he will be keeping his cool. “To be calm, that is sometimes a very good thing,” said Van Dijk.
“Against Manchester City in the away game I was a little bit too calm in the beginning.
“The most important thing is we as players have to enjoy every bit of this.
“Other players maybe need to be tense. Myself, I like to look around, embrace it and then when we are in the tunnel there is full focus.”
Marcelo 72)
Asensio 57)