Liverpool under pressure to beat Real in Champions League final

PARIS: Liverpool are unbeaten since March, have lost only three games all season and have already lifted two domestic cups but they will play Real Madrid in Saturday's (May 28) Champions League final under pressure to avoid ending the campaign as nearly men.

Having spent the latter part of the season being touted for a unique quadruple, they face the prospect of potential double disappointment after missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City by a solitary point on the last day.

For Real the situation could not be more different. They began the season with low expectations but ended up romping to the LaLiga title and became the comeback kings of Europe after heroic and improbable fightbacks en route to the final.

So while bookies' favourites Liverpool have lost fewer games in all competitions this term than Madrid have in the Champions League alone, the pressure appears to be more on the Reds to lift the trophy at the Stade de France.

Real are enjoying a dream season that started with almost no expectations and could end up with a LaLiga-Champions League double thanks mainly to an amazing season from Karim Benzema.

His 15 goals in 11 Champions League games, 10 in the knockout stage, have put Real on the verge of winning Europe's elite club title for the fifth time in nine years and the France striker as favourite to claim the Ballon D'Or after scoring 44 goals, with 15 assists, in 45 games in all competitions.

It has been a stellar season that took some time to arrive for the 34-year-old Frenchman, who took has cemented a place as the undisputed leader and most influential player in a team that needed a talisman after losing Cristiano Ronaldo four years ago.

He has only netted once in his four Champions League