Phillip (Gast)
| | When Liverpool play host to Real Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday it will mark the latest chapter in a long and often contentious growing rivalry between the two clubs.
Despite their recent history the two sides share much in common in terms of the success each has enjoyed on the continent throughout the years.
Like Liverpool, Real Madrid are their country's most successful team in European competitions, with their 15 Champions League titles more than double that of their nearest competitor.
Meanwhile the Reds are England's most distinguished side on the continent, having been crowned champions of Europe on six separate occasions.
However, while both clubs have enjoyed their fair share of successes both at home and abroad, it is Los Blancos who have more often than not claimed bragging rights when they have faced off head-to-head.
In fact, Real have triumphed in seven of the last eight meetings between the two sides, with a 0-0 draw in April 2021 marking the only time Liverpool have managed to avoid defeat in the last 15 years.
Arne Slot faces arguably the toughest test of his Liverpool tenure as his side take on Real Madrid
Los Blancos have become something of a bogey team for the Reds in European competitions
In both 2018 and 2022 Liverpool came within touching distance of glory only to be defeated by the Spanish giants
But it wasn't always that way.
The first meeting between the two behemoths of European club football came during Bob Paisley's glittering stint in charge on Merseyside.
After winning back-to-back first division titles, Paisley was tasked with returning his side to the top of European football following successive disappointing first-round exits.
With victories over the likes of Aberdeen, CSKA Sofia and Bayern Munich, the Reds once again found themselves within touching distance of European glory in the 1981 final.
In a tense clash at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Alan Kennedy would net the decisive goal late in the second half to claim the club's third European title, becoming the first English club to do so.
It would take another 28 years for the two clubs to once again meet in a competitive fixture, with Liverpool winning both legs against the Spanish giants in the round of 16 of the 2008-09 Champions League before being dumped out by Chelsea in the following round.
However, the second of these games, a dominant 4-0 victory courtesy of a Steven Gerrard double and goals from Fernando Torres and Andrea Dossena would prove to be the last time Liverpool secured a win against Los Blancos.
In the final full campaign before Jurgen Klopp took the reins in 2015, Liverpool were twice defeated by Real in the Champions League group stage.
Bob Paisley led the Reds to glory against Real in the 1981 European Cup final in Paris
Alan Kennedy netted late at the Parc des Princes as the club claimed their third European title
The next competitive meeting between the sides would come nearly 28 years later in 2009
Klopp's arrival prompted a resurgence for the club both at home and abroad, and the next meeting between the two teams would be at the pinnacle of club football, and prove to be the most divisive to date.
More than three decades after their first meeting in a European final, Liverpool and Real would once again lock horns, this time in the 2018 Champions League showpiece in Kyiv.
After a competitive opening with both teams looking to secure the advantage, Sergio Ramos brought down Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah in the 25th minute causing the Egyptian to suffer a dislocated shoulder.
Klopp was then forced to withdraw his star man, replacing him with Adam Lallana minutes after the incident, but Liverpool were able to reach the half-time whistle with the game still goalless.
The second half would ultimately go down in infamy due to a pair of costly mistakes from goalkeeper Loris Karius, after the German reportedly suffered a concussion following another incident involving Ramos.
Madrid ultimately secured a 3-1 victory at the Olympic Stadium, but resentment towards Ramos for his actions that night has lived on.
As recently as last month, Klopp insisted to Ramos' long-time team-mate Toni Kroos that he would not have a player like the Spaniard on his team.
'Is Mr Sergio Ramos really a good guy?' Klopp said on Kroos' Einfach mal Lupen podcast.
Victory in the return fixture would prove to be Liverpool's most recent triumph against Real
Under Brendan Rodgers the club were twice beaten by Los Blancos in the 2014-15 group stage
But it was the next meeting between the two clubs that would prove to be the most controversial
'He's not my favourite player. The action was brutal. Of course, he can't know that it's bothering his shoulder, but we all know that he accepted it very happily.
'I could never understand that mentality, I never had players like that and, when I did, I made sure they left.'
Kroos responded to Klopp's critique by stating that Ramos was a 'very good team-mate'.
Klopp acknowledged Kroos' opinion, before continuing his criticism of the former Real Madrid captain.
'He may not be my favourite player, but it doesn't matter,' Klopp added.
'I always thought that my centre-backs were good enough not to be involved in actions like that.'
Ramos always denied having attempted to hurt Salah: 'It's all been blown out of all proportion,' he said. 'I didn't want to talk but everything gets magnified.
'Salah pulls my arm first, and I fall on the other side. Then when his other arm is injured, they say that I've done a judo move on him. Then the goalkeeper says he is concussed after a clash with me.
'Now it only needs (Roberto) Firmino to say he got the flu as a drop of my sweat fell on him.'
With Jurgen Klopp at the helm, the Reds once again found themselves at the pinnacle of club football
But the game would be marred after Reds talisman Mohamed Salah was brought down by Sergio Ramos
The Egyptian suffered a dislocated shoulder in the incident and was subsequently forced off
The game is remembered for a pair of mistakes made by Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius
The resentment towards Ramos for his actions on that evening has not quelled among some members of the Liverpool camp
Klopp would get his Champions League trophy the following year as Liverpool defeated Tottenham in Madrid to claim their sixth win in the competition.
However, a chance at redemption against Madrid on the biggest stage would not come until 2022 as the two clubs once again met in the Champions League final.
For a second time though, the showpiece showdown would ultimately end in heartbreak for the Reds as Carlo Ancelotti's side held on to secure a 1-0 win in Paris before once again knocking the Reds out of the competition the following year.
Despite only taking place two years ago, so much has changed in the intervening period at Anfield.
The man that led the reds out on that day, Jordan Henderson, has since left the club, with a disastrous spell in Saudi Arabia followed by a move to Ajax.
The two players that joined him in the three-man midfield that day, Thiago and Fabinho, have also departed, with the clash additionally marking Sadio Mane's final game at the club.
Perhaps the most prominent change however, is in the dugout.
In all of his six meetings with Real Madrid as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was unable to secure a single victory.
The two teams once again locked horns in the Champions League final in 2022 at the Stade de France
Once again though, Klopp was unable to get the better of the Madrid club as his side suffered a 1-0 defeat
Victory for Carlo Ancelotti's side saw them claim club football's top prize for a record-extending 14th time
Real followed that up by once again dumping Liverpool out of the competition the following season
However, the German called time on his near decade-long stint at the club earlier this year and was replaced by Arne Slot.
Such a seismic shift after years of consistency has been the undoing of many a club throughout football history but Slot has thus far managed to steady the ship.
The Reds currently sit top of the Premier League table having suffered just one defeat in their opening twelve games.
In addition to this, the club have enjoyed a perfect start on the continent, and have conceded just once, with a 4-0 victory over reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen only further cementing their status.
As history has shown however, Real Madrid have proven to be the undoing of many a potential contender in Europe, not least the Reds.
For Slot, Wednesday's chance serves as not only at a chance at redemption, but also as a way to get one over on a side that has quickly become Liverpool's bogey team in Europe.
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