Liverpool face Chelsea this evening in the UEFA Super Cup in Istanbul; here are all the best stats and facts ahead of kick-off as we aim for another trophy.
Super Cup records
Tonight will see the first all-English Super Cup final and it will be the fifth time in the last six seasons, and the eighth overall, to feature teams from the same nation.
Tonight will see an eighth English victory in this competition. The others have been won by Liverpool (three) and one each from Aston Villa, Chelsea, Man United and Nottingham Forest.
This will be Liverpool’s sixth Super Cup final having won in 1977 and 2005 as European Cup winners and 2001 as UEFA Cup holders, while they lost in 1978 and 1984.
Liverpool were the last English club to win the Super Cup (2005). Four Premier League teams have lost in the fixture since: Man United (2008 & 2017) and Chelsea (2012 & 2013).
Only Barcelona (nine), AC Milan and Real Madrid (seven each) have appeared more times in this showpiece occasion than Liverpool, while only AC Milan, Barcelona (five each) and Real Madrid (four) have lifted it more times than the Reds.
Reds and Blues
Last season the teams met three times. They faced each other twice within four days, with Chelsea beating Liverpool in the League Cup at Anfield before a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Eden Hazard and Daniel Sturridge netted in both games.
The Reds took the league points at Anfield with Sadio Mane and Mo Salah scoring within three second-half minutes in a 2-0 victory.
That win saw Liverpool’s first clean sheet against Chelsea in 19 encounters.
The teams will meet in the first of this season’s league clashes in London on 22 September.
The Reds’ last hat-trick against this evening’s opponents came from Patrik Berger at Anfield in October 1997, in a 4-2 league win.
Liverpool have failed to score in three of the last 23 league and cup encounters.
Names and faces
Mo Salah played twice in Europe for Chelsea, both appearances coming during the 2014/15 season, both against Sporting CP in the Champions League.
Jordan Henderson played his first game in senior football against Chelsea in November 2008 in a 5-0 Sunderland defeat at Stamford Bridge.
James Milner‘s only career goal against Chelsea came in December 2002 while with Leeds.
Stephanie Frappart will become the first female to take charge of a major European men’s final.
Along with her assistants, French compatriot Manuela Nicolosi and Ireland’s Michelle O’Neill, she took charge of the Women’s World Cup final last month.
Memory lane
This season’s Champions League final will take place across the city at the Ataturk Stadium, the scene of the Reds’ 2005 victory over AC Milan.
Liverpool and Chelsea are meeting for the 11th occasion in European competition. Five have ended in draws with the Reds winning two, one fewer than the Londoners.
Both of the Reds successes have been by a 1-0 scoreline, in the Anfield Champions League semi-finals of 2005 and 2007.
They last clashed in Europe in 2009 when Chelsea won a Champions League quarter-final 7-5 on aggregate.
Key men
Should Sadio Mane play he will be making his 200th appearance for an English club.
Joel Matip‘s next appearance for Liverpool will be his 100th in all competitions for the Reds.
Adrian made four appearances in Europe for West Ham and has been on the winning side in both penalty shootouts he has played in.
In the 2015 calendar year with the Hammers he scored the winning penalty in an FA Cup shootout win over Everton and was in goal when they defeated Birkirkara in the Europa League.
The Spaniard has lost only one of his last four games against Chelsea.
View from the Bridge
Chelsea lost the Super Cup in successive years in 2012 and 2013 against Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Against the latter, then-captain, now-manager Frank Lampard was successful from the spot. Bayern’s fifth penalty was converted by Xherdan Shaqiri.
Chelsea have now lifted five major European trophies. The only English club to win more are Liverpool with nine.
The last Chelsea player to be red-carded against Liverpool was Frank Lampard at Anfield in February 2009.
Last Sunday, Chelsea suffered their worst-ever opening-day defeat in 104 league seasons when they were beaten 4-0 at United.
Scorers this season
Liverpool: Matip 1, Origi 1, Salah 1, Van Dijk 1, own goals 1
Chelsea: None
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