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The stage is set for the biggest showdown of the season. Kiev is ready to witness the fight for the ultimate glory - the prized UEFA Champions League 2017-18, and there could not have been setup a better pair of heavyweights than this.
Real Madrid will be vying for their 13th European title, and their third consecutive cup under the tutelage of the brilliant Zinedine Zidane, which will make them the first team to do so in the modern era. Liverpool, on the other hand, are the story of the season. Their stupendous rise in the tournament has been aided by none other than the flawless Mohammad Salah, and has given them a very realistic chance of lifting their 6th European title.
On the eve of this showdown, we take a look at the top 5 Champions League memorable matches that will be forever etched in the minds of football fans.
#5: Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Malaga (Agg 3-2) (Quarter Finals, 2nd Leg, 2012-13)
The second leg of 2012-13 quarter-final will be fondly remembered as one of the most surprising comebacks in recent times. The first leg at the La Rosaleda stadium in Spain ended in a drab goalless draw, and Dortmund being the away team, came back home with a disadvantage.
The second leg looked like it will follow the first encounter, only to be interrupted at the 25th-minute mark when Joaquin scored a brilliant left-footed 20-yard goal through the legs of Neven Subotic, beating Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller at his near post.
Robert Lewandowski equalised in the 40th minute, when he latched on to a surreal pass by Marco Reus, and rounded off Malaga goalkeeper Willy Caballero before striking the ball into the bottom of the net.
The match looked set to go to extra-time if not for substitute Eliseu, who scored a controversial 82nd-minute goal, putting Malaga in the lead in Dortmund's backyard. It looked like Manuel Pellegrini will extend Malaga's fairytale run and guide them to the Champions League semi-finals, but Marco Reus' simple tap-in from seven yards in the first minute of injury time blew the match wide open.
Two minutes later, Dortmund completed one of the most extraordinary comebacks when Felipe Santana slotted home the ball after a scramble in the 6-yard box, and took Dortmund to the semi-finals.
Borussia Dortmund:
Squad: Weidenfeller, Subotic, Bender (Sahin 73), Gundogan (Hummels 86), Lewandowski, Gotze, Reus, Błaszczykowski (Schieber 72), Piszczek, Felipe Santana, Schemlzer
Goals: Lewandowski (40), Reus (90+1), Santana (90+3)
Malaga:
Squad: Caballero, Gamez, Demichelis, Camacho, Joaquin (Portillo 87), Toulalan, Baptista (Cruz 83), Duda (Eliseu 74), Sanchez, Isco, Antunes
Goals: Joaquin (25), Eliseu (82)
Highlights:
#4: Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 AC Milan (Agg 5-4) (Quarter Finals, 2nd Leg, 2003-04)
This is the textbook story of David v/s Goliath. AC Milan had seemingly taken an unassailable 4-1 lead in the first leg of the quarter finals, only to be proved wrong by the Spanish underdogs who stunned the entire world by overcoming a team with the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Andriy Shevchenko and Kaka.
Deportivo proved they meant business when they scored within the first 5 minutes of the game, with Walter Pandiani taking advantage of some rare poor defending by the legend Paolo Maldini, and then curling a left-footed strike past Dida.
Juan Valeron added a second 10 minutes before half-time, capitalising on Dida's missed clearance from a corner, and slotting a easy header in the net. The Spanish fans had started believing the unthinkable could happen. They were rewarded a minute before half-time, when Albert Luque got past Alessandro Nesta and beat Dida with a lofted strike.
Milan pushed forward for a goal, and had some brilliant chances saved. Nevertheless, it was the Spanish outfit who had the last laugh, as substitute Fran capitalised on Gennaro Gattuso's mistake and beat Dida with a heavily deflected shot to make it 4-0 and 5-4 on aggregate.
Deportivo Coruna:
Squad: Molina, Manuel Pablo, Romero, Naybet, Andrade, Mauro Silva, Sergio (Duscher 87), Victor, Luque (Fran 66), Valeron (Djalminha 90), Pandiani.
Goals: Pandiani (5), Valeron (35), Luque (44), Fran (76)
AC Milan:
Squad: Dida, Cafu, Pancaro (Rui Costa 77), Nesta, Maldini, Pirlo (Serginho 59), Seedorf, Gattuso, Kaka, Tomasson (Inzaghi 67), Shevchenko.
Highlights:
#3: Barcelona 6-1 PSG (Agg 6-5) (Pre-Quarter Finals, 2nd Leg, 2016-17)
Remontada - The literal personification of the word "comeback". A brilliant turnaround story was scripted in the pre-quarter finals this time, with Barcelona becoming the first team in the history of the Champions League to overturn a first leg 4-0 deficit.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring in the 3rd minute with a header that PSG could not stop going over the line. The Catalans doubled their tally, when some brilliant footwork by Iniesta led to a Layvin Kurzawa own goal in the 40th minute.
It was now the turn of the Brazilian to step up and Neymar obliged by being directly involved in all of Barcelona's remaining goals. Thomas Meunier fouled Neymar inside the box, handing Lionel Messi a penalty, which he converted in the 50th minute. Barcelona were one goal away from taking the match to extra-time, but Cavani spoiled the party by scoring in the 62nd minute, leaving Barcelona with three goals to score to progress to the quarter-finals, with 28 minutes remaining on the clock.
A brilliant free-kick from Neymar landed in the top left corner of PSG's goal in the 88th minute, and Camp Nou gained an unexpected ray of hope. The Brazilian added a second in the first minute of injury time, converting a controversial penalty, won by Luis Suarez.
Four minutes later, Neymar's beautiful pass found Sergi Roberto's feet and he slotted in the ball over the head of Trapp, fulfilling the hopes of millions of Catalan supporters.
Barcelona:
Squad: Ter Stegen, Pique, Rakitic (Andre Gomes 84), Busquets, Iniesta (Turan 65), Suarez, Messi, Neymar, Rafinha (Roberto 76), Mascherano, Umtiti
Goals: Suarez (3), Kurzawa (OG 40), Messi (50 P), Neymar (88, 90+1 (P)), Roberto (90+5)
PSG:
Squad: Trapp, Silva, Marquinhos, Verratti, Lucas (Di Maria 55), Cavani, Meunier (Krychowiak 90 +3), Matuidi, Kurzawa, Draxler (Aurier 75), Rabiot
Goals: Cavani (62)
Highlights:
#2: Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich (Final, 1998-99)
"Beckham.....Into Sheringham...and Solskjaer has won it!"
These lines will be forever etched into the minds of every United fan. The Red Devils did a stunning turnaround at the grandest of stages to become the first and only English team to complete the treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Bayern took an early lead when Mario Basler scored a 25-yard free kick in the 6th minute of the game. United squandered a flurry of chances and Bayern were unlucky to be denied by the post twice, as both the sides failed to score any more goals until the injury time. Captained by the fantastic Oliver Kahn, Bayern Munich had led the match for the majority of the period, before having to see the trophy mercilessly snatched away from them in the dying moments of the game.
Ryan Giggs helped setup the first goal in the 91st minute, when he diverted a David Beckham corner into the path of Teddy Sheringham, who put the ball in the net to give United a late lifeline. In what was potentially the last corner of the game, Beckham provided a neat cross to Sheringham, whose header fell to Solskjaer, and the Norwegian made no mistake in scoring the second goal to crown United the European champions.
Manchester United:
Squad: Schmeichel; G Neville, Johnsen, Stam, Irwin; Beckham, Butt, Giggs, Blomqvist (Sheringham 66); Cole (Solskjaer 80), Yorke.
Goals: Sheringham (90+1), Solskjaer (90+3)
Bayern Munich:
Squad: Kahn; Linke; Matthaus (Fink 79); Kuffour; Babbel; Jeremies; Effenberg; Tarnat; Basler (Salihamidzic 88); Jancker; Zickler (Scholl 70).
Goals: Basler (6)
Highlights:
#1: AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (Pen 2-3) (Final, 2004-05)
This match is rightly dubbed as "The magical night of Istanbul". This year's finalists Liverpool last European glory came in the year 2005 when Rafa Benitez and Co. overturned a three-goal deficit in the finals of the Champions League to win the Cup for the fifth time in their history.
Fifty seconds into the match, Andrea Pirlo's cross met an unmarked Paolo Maldini who beat Dudek to hand Liverpool the worst possible start to the final. Hernan Crespo scored the second 6 minutes from half-time when Shevchenko released the ball to him after a brilliant run, and added a third just before the interval, scoring through a timely chip from a beautiful pass by Kaka.
Liverpool looked all set to be blown apart in the second half had it not been for the 54th minute header by Gerrard, which brought the Reds back into the game. Smicer scored through a grounded 25-yard shot two minutes later, and Xabi Alonso completed a stunning turnaround in the 60th minute when he scored the rebound from his own missed penalty.
Liverpool held on in the remaining 30 minutes and in the extra time, thanks to a fantastic performance by Dudek. The match went to penalties with 3-3 on the board. Serginho missed the first penalty, while Hamman scored for Liverpool. Dudek saved the second spot-kick, taken by Pirlo, and Djibril Cisse made it 2-0 in favour of the Reds by scoring his penalty. The third round saw Tomasson scoring for Milan, while Riise missed for Liverpool. Kaka and Smicer scored their respective penalties to make it 3-2 in favour of Liverpool. Shevchenko had to score from the last kick to keep Milan in contention, but saw his effort saved by Dudek, giving Liverpool a fairytale story to remember for ages.
AC Milan:
Squad: Dida, Cafu, Maldini, Stam, Nesta, Gattuso (Rui Costa 112), Seedorf (Serginho 86), Pirlo, Kaka, Shevchenko, Crespo (Tomasson 85).
Goals: Maldini (1), Crespo (39, 44).
Liverpool:
Squad: Dudek, Finnan (Hamann 46), Traore, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise, Gerrard, Luis Garcia, Alonso, Kewell (Smicer 23), Baros (Cisse 85).
Goals: Gerrard (54), Smicer (56), Alonso (60).
Highlights:
