Klopp equals Lippi’s unwanted Champions League final record with loss

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp equalled Marcello Lippi’s unwanted record of most losses in a Champions League final with the loss to Real Madrid on Saturday.

Defeat in Paris against Los Blancos was the third time the German manager has been beaten on the ultimate stage in the Champions League.

And that haul saw him tie Lippi for the dubious honour of most Champions League final losses. Both have won one and lost three of their finals.

For Lippi, all four finals were as manager of Juventus, though he was successful on his first attempt.

In 1996, in what was Juve’s debut season in the revamped Champions League following years of Milan dominance, the Bianconeri overcame Real Madrid in the quarter-finals en route to a showdown with holders Ajax in Rome.

And, after a tense 1-1 draw, it was Juve who won on penalties with Vladimir Jugovic slotting away the winning spot kick.

That remains Juve’s last victory in the competition, despite being arguably Europe’s most dominant side in the second half of the 1990s.

Juve returned to the final the following season in Munich to face Borussia Dortmund in a rematch of the UEFA Cup final from four years earlier which the Bianconeri won 6-1 aggregate – but it was a different story in 1997.

Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side won 3-1 thanks to Karl-Heinz Riedle’s double and a superb long-range effort from Lars Ricken rendering Alessandro Del Piero’s goal no more than consolation.

But Juve were back again in 1998 and, in Amsterdam, were up against a Real Madrid side who were in their first Champions League final for 16 years.

And Los Blancos clinched their seventh title as Pedrag Mijatovic’s second-half goal settle the tense affair.

Lippi left in 1999 but returned for a second spell in 2001 – and at the end of the following season had Juve in their first final since his first spell.

But in 2003 it was heartbreak against for the Old Lady at Old Trafford. Despite finishing 11 points clear of third-place Milan en route to the Scudetto, Juve lost on penalties after a 0-0 draw to hand Carlo Ancelotti his first Champions League medal as manager.

Ten years later and it was Klopp who qualified for his first final as manager of Dortmund – reaching the final stage for the first time since victory over Juve – in all-German affair as they faced off with Bayern Munich at Wembley.

But it was Bayern who won the trophy to complete a Treble with an Arjen Robben winner in the 89th-minute.

Klopp was back as manager of Liverpool five years, in search of his first major trophy with the club, and was up against Real Madrid – seeking to win the trophy for a third-consecutive season – in Kiev.

Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius had night to forget while Gareth Bale produced a stunning overhead kick to hand Los Blancos the victory.

The Reds improved significantly and were back the following season in stunning fashion as they overturned a 3-0 first-leg defeat to Barcelona to qualify for an all-English final against Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid.

And it was third-time lucky for Klopp as Liverpool won 2-0 courtesy of an early Mohamed Salah penalty and late Divock Origi strike.

Saturday’s clash in Paris was the German tactician’s fourth attempt but he couldn’t not get the second win as Vinicius Junior’s goal nicked it for Real Madrid.