Mohamed Salah has admitted he "personally" wants to face Real Madrid in the Champions League final as he eyes a chance to avenge Liverpool's defeat four years ago - yet Reds youngster Harvey Elliott has already got his own back on the Spanish giants.
Jurgen Klopp's side suffered a 3-1 defeat to Real in Kyiv after two mistakes from goalkeeper Loris Karius and a stunning overhead kick from Gareth Bale. Salah was forced out of the game after a suffering a shoulder injury inside the first half an hour.
The Egyptian picked up the complaint - which threatened to rule him out of the World Cup - after being hurled to the ground by Real captain Sergio Ramos. Salah was left in tears by the incident but recovered in time to play in the tournament in Russia.
Liverpool went on to win the Champions League 12 months later - beating Tottenham 2-0 in the final in Madrid - and have the chance to win a seventh European crown after reaching this year's final with a 5-2 aggregate win against Villarreal in the last four.
The Reds will face the winner of Real's semi-final against Manchester City, with the second leg taking place in the Bernabeu on Wednesday evening. Pep Guardiola's side boast a 4-3 lead over Real following last week's seven-goal thriller at the Etihad.
Salah would love the chance to play against Real again - and so would Elliott. Shortly before he joined Liverpool in July 2019, the teenager was offered the chance to meet Ramos - who joined Paris Saint-Germain last summer - during a tour of the Bernabeu as they expressed an interest in acquiring his services. .
Will Liverpool win the Champions League this season? Let us know in the comments below!
Real were one of a number of clubs - including PSG, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal - who were after Elliott's signature. Yet there was only one destination for the boyhood Reds fan, who attended the 2018 final in Kyiv.
He went on sign for Liverpool and, during his tour of the Bernabeu, rejected the opportunity to meet Ramos due to his challenge on Salah. "Yeah, that's true," he told The Athletic when asked in August 2020. "I turned it down because of what he did to Mo."
Salah is now hoping to inflict more misery on Real in this month's Champions League final - if the Spanish giants can overcome City. The Premier League champions are the narrow favourites, although most accept it's simply too close to call.
"I want to play Madrid, I have to be honest," said Salah on Tuesday. "City are a really tough team, we played against them a few times this season. I think personally, I would prefer Madrid. We lost in the final to them so I want to play against them and hopefully win it."
Salah will desperate to win as many trophies as possible this season, as Liverpool aim to become the first English team in history to win the quadruple. They've already lifted the EFL Cup, have reached the final of the FA Cup and sit second in the Premier League.
If Liverpool achieve the feat, Salah can be more than pleased with his effort. He was recently named the Football Writers' Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year and will be confident of winning the Reds' award after scoring 30 goals and providing 15 assists.
