The goals of Mohamed Salah have helped the English side reach their first final in 11 years, but this has been a golden era in Europe for Real.

The Spanish giants are targeting their fourth Champions League title in five years and their third in a row in the game, which kicks off at 1845 GMT.

The last team to win three in a row was Bayern Munich over 40 years ago.

None of Klopp’s players have appeared in a Champions League final before.

“Experience is important. I’m pretty sure that in the seconds before the game Real will be more confident than we are, but that’s not important because the game doesn’t end in that moment, it only starts,” said Klopp, who lost the 2013 final with Borussia Dortmund.

Real’s 12 European Cup wins puts them way ahead of the rest, but Liverpool have lifted the trophy five times, most recently in 2005, against AC Milan in Istanbul.

The Reds have also enjoyed a memorable continental campaign, scoring a tournament record 46 goals and beating Manchester City and Roma en route to the Ukrainian capital.

Zidane’s side have beaten Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Bayern — this season’s French, Italian and German champions — in the knockout rounds, but Klopp still believes his team can upset the odds at the Olympic Stadium.

“You analyse Real Madrid playing in other games against other teams and you think ‘wow, they are really strong’, but they never played us.

“We are Liverpool and we are not just a good team. This club has in its DNA that we can really go for the big things. Nobody expected us to be here but we are here because we are Liverpool.”

– Salah’s ‘fantastic potential’ –

Klopp agreed that his job in the build-up has mainly involved taking the pressure off his players, and that meant playing down suggestions that this was Salah’s chance to break up Lionel Messi and Ronaldo’s grip on the Ballon d’Or.

“It’s not important in the moment, no manager is interested in that. I’m interested in performing.

“Lionel Messi and Ronaldo deserve all the praise they have had in the past because they were constantly all those years on that level.

“If Mo can go there we will see in the next years. He he has fantastic potential. This season was exceptional, unbelievable so far.”

Salah has scored 44 goals in his first season at the club. As a Muslim, he has observed Ramadan since May 16, but Klopp refused to discuss whether the Egyptian would fast during daylight hours before the final.

“Religion is private, that is how I understand it, so nothing to say about that,” he stated.

– Ronaldo targets new landmark –

Meanwhile, Ronaldo could win his fifth Champions League, a landmark reached by only four players before now.

The Portuguese star has found the net 41 times this season, and his coach is confident he will be at his very best again.

“He’s fine. You have to know something, he lives for games like this,” said Zinedine Zidane, who can become the first coach to win three consecutive Champions League titles.

The only doubt in the Real starting line-up surrounds which one of Isco or Gareth Bale will start in support of Ronaldo and Karim Benzema up front.

“We have beaten the biggest team in each league — Juve, PSG and Bayern — to get here. It has been a difficult path and now we need to finish the job,” said Real skipper Sergio Ramos.

The path to Kiev has also been difficult for fans, due to the exorbitant cost of flights and hotel rooms.

Around 1,000 Real fans handed back tickets, while a number of Liverpool supporters’ flights have been cancelled due to insufficient landing space at Kiev’s Boryspil Airport.

Those who have made it after often arduous journeys will be hoping for an unforgettable occasion.

The well-built 28-year-old shot a fine three-under-par 69 on Friday to add to his first-round 68 and lies five shots off clubhouse leader Rory McIlroy at the midway point.

Despite a fine round he regretted dropping a shot on the par-five 18th after finishing his first round in similarly disappointing fashion.

“Obviously I’m playing so well in the last six to eight months, and looking forward to having a big win,” said Kiradech, who has enjoyed three top-five finishes in recent months.

“This week might be a good week to make the top, with a lot of players coming, great players in the world to support the European Tour.

“But I just want to play my best golf and show them how Asian players are strong enough to play against them.”

Kiradech, who has four wins on the European Tour, said he was especially pleased with his putting, which gives him hope he can deny four-time Major winner McIlroy a second PGA success after his victory in 2014.

“I’ve been putting so good,” said Kiradech. “I hole everything inside 15 feet, which is phenomenal. Just have to keep doing that until the last two rounds to catch Rory.”

Kiradech, who has yet to make an impression at the Majors, with a best result of tied-15th in the 2016 Masters, said he was happy with his performance on such a demanding course.

“Yes, I’ve been really happy with the result of the first two rounds,” he said. “Every time you play under this golf course, they are very tough conditions. You have to be really pleased with it.”

And he said he was optimistic about the weekend.

“I was quite disappointed the way I finished two days in a row just the par 5 (18th) but I’m hitting the middle of the fairways and got an iron in your hand and walk away with bogeys, which is a little bit disappointing,” he said. “But overall, still really good shape.”

The bubbly 20-year-old, seeded 21 for the French Open which starts on Sunday, has enjoyed a breakthrough season.

She became the first unseeded player since 2005 to win the prestigious Indian Wells tournament, beating Maria Sharapova, current world number one Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova on her way to the title.

Then just days later, she defeated her childhood hero Serena Williams in Miami.

“I used to feel a little bit stressed if I was to play a super great player in the first round,” said Osaka at Roland Garros on Friday.

“Now I’m the woman that many players probably don’t want to play against.”

“So it feels weird being seeded as I can feel the expectations.”

Osaka, the daughter of a Haitian father and Japanese mother, stands at 1.80m (5ft 11in) and boasts an equally impressive set of figures at the Slams.

She made the Australian Open fourth round this year and has reached the third round of Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.

In New York last year, her former home city before decamping to Florida, she defeated former champion Angelique Kerber in the first round.

But it’s clay courts which have provided her with her greatest challenge — 12 months ago, she made a disappointing first-round exit in Paris.

This season on European clay, she fell in the first round in Madrid and at the second hurdle in Rome, beating Victoria Azarenka before losing to Halep.

“In Madrid, I played the match like a hard court. In Rome, I played too many cross-court shots and playing with patience against Halep is not ideal.

“At the end I just got frustrated.”

Osaka says she enjoys trying to bamboozle players who never know what to expect from her hard-hitting style.

“I like to rally and see how frustrated opponents become when I don’t make a mistake. Their coaches tell them I will make mistakes at some stage.”

Since the end of December, Osaka has been coached by Sascha Bajin, the former hitting partner of Williams, Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki.

His influence was certainly there when she defeated Williams in Miami, such a seismic win that the great American hasn’t played since.

“It’s strange but beating Serena gave me more confidence than winning Indian Wells. I had wanted to play her for such a long time.

“It was a very special match. Now I feel I am getting better every day.”

Osaka will start her French Open campaign against Sofia Kenin of the United States.

With goals seemingly guaranteed in the Ukrainian capital, AFP Sports looks at the key matchups where the game could be won and lost.

Cristiano Ronaldo v Virgil van Dijk

Ronaldo is looking to join an esteemed group of 10 players to win five European Cups by scoring in his fourth separate final.

After a slow start to the season, the World Player of the Year has been in stunning form since the turn of the year, scoring 30 goals in 23 appearances for club and country in 2018.

Ronaldo leads the Champions League goalscorers charts for the sixth consecutive season with 15, but will come up against the world’s most expensive defender in £75 million ($100 million) Dutchman Virgil van Dijk in Kiev.

Van Dijk already looks worth the massive price Liverpool paid Southampton for his services in January, as much for the improvement he has inspired in those around him as his own performances.

“I feel also personally much more confident when you know you have a really good partner next to you,” said Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren.

“He’s a leader, he takes control,” added right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. “He’s really got authority.”

Marcelo v Mohamed Salah

Salah has been the star turn of Liverpool’s season, scoring 44 goals in his debut season at Anfield to plunder a series of individual Player of the Year awards.

The Egyptian should get plenty of space to showcase his blistering pace and new-found calm in front of goal in the space normally left unoccupied by Madrid’s cavalier left-back Marcelo.

Salah exploited the gaps left by the Brazilian on numerous occasions when Roma were eliminated by Madrid from the Champions League two seasons ago, when Salah lacked the killer finishing touch he has demonstrated this season to take his chances.

Bayern Munich right-back Joshua Kimmich scored in both legs of this season’s semi-final against Real with Marcelo caught out of position.

However, the Madrid vice-captain, now in his 11th year at the Bernabeu, makes up for his defensive liabilities by bombing forward at every opportunity to wreak havoc at the other end.

“I know exactly how I have to play,” insisted Marcelo on Friday.

The flying full-back has scored against Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Bayern on route to the final, and also has plenty of positive experience in Champions League finals having netted in 2014 and 2016, in a penalty shootout, against Atletico Madrid.

Sergio Ramos v Roberto Firmino

Overshadowed by Salah’s sensational season, Firmino also has 10 Champions League goals to his name this season and is the key starting point for Jurgen Klopp’s pressing game.

“He’s not bothered about hard work, which is another important thing,” said Klopp when Firmino recently extended his contract to 2023. “For an offensive player that is pretty rare in world football.”

Described as a cross between a goalscoring number nine and creative number 10 by Brazil coach Tite, Liverpool will hope Firmino’s movement can drag another Madrid Champions League specialist in Ramos out of position.

Madrid captain Ramos embodies this Real side as he tends to save his best for the big occasion.

The Spaniard started Real’s recent run of European dominance with a stoppage time equaliser against Atletico in the 2014 final and also scored against Real’s local rivals two years later in another all-Madrid showpiece.

Kicker, 25, was found guilty of contriving the outcome of a match at the ATP Challenger event in Padova, Italy, in June 2015 and another match at the Baranquilla Challenger in Colombia in September that year.

He was also found guilty of failing to report a corrupt approach and of not co-operating with a TIU investigation into the allegations made against him.

“Having been found guilty of all charges, he will be sanctioned at a future date to be determined by Independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) Jane Mulcahy,” said a TIU statement.

“Details of the decision on sanctions will be made public when received.”

Kicker is currently ranked at 84 in the world having reached a career high of 78 in June 2017.

He reached the third round of the Australian Open in January this year and the also the third round at the Indian Wells Masters.

The 22-year-old Thai seized the outright lead by one shot after totalling 11-under-par 133 at the highly-rated Suwan Golf and Country Club, a venue where he wrote a slice of history on the Asian Tour in 2010.

At the age of 14 years and 71 days, Jazz, then an amateur, became the youngest player ever to make the halfway cut on the Asian Tour. Eight years on, he is now a one-time winner on the region’s premier Tour following his breakthrough in Bangladesh last season.

Argentinean Miguel Carballo, who held a share of the overnight lead, posted a 69 to share second place with Thailand’s Thitiphun Chuayprakong (65), Chinnarat Phadungsil (67) and Jaturon Duangphaichoom (67) at the ฿3,000,000 (approx. US$96,000) event.

Starting from the 10th hole, Jazz reeled in three straight pars before stumbling with a double bogey on 13 for his only blemish of the day.

The talented Thai, however, bounced back brilliantly with three consecutive birdies to turn in 35 before adding three more birdies on his way home to stay atop the leaderboard.

“I was pretty angry after my double bogey on 13. My ball took an unlucky bounce and went into the water hazard. After that, I just told myself to keep to the plan as I knew the next hole was an easy par-five so I had to keep my cool.

“After I birdied the 15th hole, I managed to keep the momentum going. I made a massive 20-foot birdie putt on 16 and that really boosted my confidence going forward,” said Jazz.

Jazz, who is playing in his sixth tournament in a row, was thrilled to put himself in prime position for a first Asian Development Tour (ADT) victory. The young Thai had to overcome the jetlag that resulted from his long-haul flight from Belgium earlier in the week.

“I came here to play with no expectations in mind. I played on the European Tour in Belgium last week. I flew straight home and had to deal with the change in weather and the jetlag. I wanted to train myself to keep up my stamina with the travelling,” added the Thai.

Carballo, who has capped four top-10s on the ADT this season before going on to claim a top-five finish on the Asian Tour in China last week, traded five birdies against two bogeys to stay in the mix.

“I didn’t feel like I played well today because I was hitting it left and right and was making a lot of bad decisions. I took aggressive lines when I shouldn’t have and I got ahead of myself. But overall, I still held my game together and I am happy with what I shot today,” said the 39-year-old Carballo, a former player on the PGA Tour.

Thailand’s Thammanoon Sriroj and Danthai Boonma, both winners on the Asian Tour, returned with matching 66s to sit two shots off the pace in sixth place alongside local amateur Sadom Kaewkanjana and Hein Sithu of Myanmar.

ADT Order of Merit leader Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand signed for a second straight 68 to trail by four in tied-10th position while defending champion and countryman Tirawat Kaewsiribandit matched his efforts of the day to grab a share of 36th place on 140.

The halfway cut was set at three-under-par 141 with 63 players, including one local amateur, advancing into the weekend rounds.

The Betagro Championship, which is jointly sanctioned by the All Thailand Golf Tour and the ADT, is the ninth leg of the ADT’s 2018 schedule.

The leading five players on the ADT Order of Merit at the end of the season will earn playing rights on the Asian Tour for the 2019 season.

Ends.

Leading round two scores:

133 – Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 65 68

134 – Thitiphun CHUAYPRAKONG (THA) 69 65, Miguel CARBALLO (ARG) 65 69, Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL (THA) 67 67, Jaturon DUANGPHAICHOOM (THA) 67 67

135 – Hein SITHU (MYN) 69 66, Thammanoon SRIROJ (THA) 69 66, Danthai BOONMA (THA) 69 66, Sadom KAEWKANJANA (A) (THA) 69 66

136 – Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 70 66, Tawan PHONGPHUN (THA) 70 66, Meechok PHANTHARAK (THA) 69 67, Kevin LEE (KOR) 71 65, Nitithorn THIPPONG (THA) 68 68, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 69 67, Kazuki HIGA (JPN) 68 68, Charng-Tai SUDSOM (THA) 67 69

137 – Nattawat SUVAJANAKORN (THA) 67 70, Chanachok DEJPIRATANAMONGKOL (THA) 67 70.