The Latest: English fans fill Madrid ahead of CL final
MADRID (AP) — The Latest on the Champions League final between Tottenham and Liverpool (all times local):
3 p.m.
Thousands of Liverpool and Tottenham fans are gathering under the sunny and clear skies in Madrid hours before their teams face off in the all-English Champions League final.
More than 30,000 English fans are expected to travel to watch the final at the 68,000-capacity Metropolitano Stadium. Liverpool and Tottenham were each allocated nearly 17,000 tickets, but Spanish authorities expect many thousands more to make the trip.
“I came out here. I flew on my own, I do not have a ticket,” said Liverpool fan Frank O’Leary. “I just came to be with all the beautiful Reds fans and sing my heart out and watch the game in a bar.3/8
Hundreds of mostly Red-clad Liverpool fans also arrived by train from as far away as Barcelona on Spain’s eastern coast early on Saturday. Available hotel rooms are practically non-existent. Weeks before the final the few rooms remaining were running for over a thousand euros.
More than 4,700 security personnel are being deployed by Spanish authorities in what they say are unprecedented measures to guarantee safety at the sporting event.
