Real Madrid vs AC Milan live updates: Champions League ...

Such is the standard of these two teams in this competition, the head-to-head record is extremely tight.

They have met on 15 occasions in the European Cup/Champions League:

The only time they faced off in the final was in 1958 when Real Madrid twice came from behind to win 3-2 after extra time — six-time European Cup winner Paco Gento scored the winning goal.

There is no fixture in the Champions League steeped in more history than this one.

Real Madrid lifted a record-extending 15th title back in June while AC Milan are second on the list having won the European Cup/Champions League seven times.

Here is the leaderboard:

The Athletic's Mario Cortegana was tasked with telling the story of a nightmare couple of days for Real Madrid and he did a superb job with some truly brilliant nuggets of information — make sure to check it out below if you haven't already.

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Vinicius Junior, Ballon d’Or disappointment and Real Madrid’s furious reaction

A little over a week ago, before the dreadful news that came out of Valencia, Real Madrid were the talk of the town in the football world, and not for good reason.

Staff and players at the club boycotted the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris after they found out that Rodri was going to win the top prize ahead of Vinicius Junior.

Carlo Ancelotti won the Coach of the Year award but was not there to accept it. Real Madrid — who also had Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal in the running for the Ballon d'Or — won the Club of the Year but that award also went without in-person acceptance.

A real fiasco and one that didn't paint the European champions in a good light at all.

There was much debate in Spain over whether any matches should have been played at the weekend. In the end, only two La Liga matches were postponed: Valencia vs Real Madrid and Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano.

Diego Simeone was one of those who felt there should have been a full postponement, something Ancelotti agreed with yesterday.

“I think the whole football world has been quite clear on this,” said the Italian. “Nobody wanted to play and that seemed to me to be the right decision. We are not the ones in charge and we have to respect the decision of those in charge.

“It’s very difficult to prepare for a match like this because you have it in your head all the time. What happened was unbelievable and terrible.

“It’s been a difficult week — it’s a difficult week because the atmosphere is not normal, but nothing to do with the Ballon d’Or, which has already happened and we congratulate the winners… The sadness is not there, but in what is happening here in Spain.”

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Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says La Liga matches should have been cancelled due to Valencia flooding

Before taking questions at his pre-match press conference, Carlo Ancelotti opened with a message about the devastating scenes in Valencia.

"It's been a week since what happened, the tragedy in Valencia. We are sad, this is the emotion we have. We are very close to Valencia and all the towns affected," said the Real Madrid manager.

"Let us hope that this can be resolved soon. In this sense, I want you to understand that talking about football at this time is a bit complicated, just like playing football. We are part of this country and all this affects a lot. Out of respect for you and for all of you who are suffering,

"I will try to keep the press conference as simple as possible because I have no desire to talk about football, even if tomorrow's game is very special for me. I will try to talk as little as possible."

Some desperately sad news has been coming out of Spain over the last week or so, and in Valencia more specifically.

More than 200 people have lost their lives as a result of flash flooding and extreme weather conditions in the region.

Valencia were due to host to Real Madrid on Saturday evening in La Liga but the decision was made last Wednesday to postpone the fixture.

The Athletic's Dermot Corrigan looked at whether Spanish football has done (or is doing) enough to help those affected — you can read his piece below.

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‘How can you go to a stadium when there is so much tragedy?’

Three English clubs lead the way after three rounds of matches with Aston Villa topping the league phase table after a dream start to their debut Champions League campaign.

As for these two teams, it has not been the best of starts. Real Madrid have won twice but sit outside the top eight places which guarantee automatic qualification for the last 16.

Meanwhile, AC Milan are in real trouble. They are marooned in 25th place, a position that leads to instant elimination so they need to turn their form around quickly.

Nine more Champions League matches are on the way tomorrow — they are:

5:45pm GMT/12:45pm EST

8pm GMT/3pm EST

Another busy midweek of Champions League football coming up, and it all gets underway in a couple of hours' time.

Here is today's schedule:

5:45pm GMT/12:45pm EST

8pm GMT/3pm EST

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Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

Certainly among the greatest stadia in world football, we are at the home of the 15-time Champions League winners today.

In my opinion, it looks a bit of an eyesore from the outside since the renovation but the inside is magnificent and will be packed to the rafters with Madridistas later on.

You can expect plenty of noise, as usual, but it might become something of a snake pit if Madrid get off to a slow start.

Here are the broadcasters and streaming platforms for today's game.

The primetime slot has been reserved for this one — that is 9pm local time (CET).

That is 8pm (GMT) in the UK, 3pm (EST) on the east coast and 12pm (PST) on the west coast.

Hello! And welcome along to the return of the Champions League.

The pick of the fixtures this evening sees the two most successful teams in this competition's history face off in the Spanish capital.

Both clubs have faltered domestically and in Europe this season, so it will be really interesting to see how this one plays out.

Plenty of time to go until kick-off at the Bernabeu though, so stick with us.