Mane: We believe we can beat Real Madrid

Liverpool star Sadio Mane insisted his team had the belief to cause an upset by stunning Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

The Premier League giants booked their spot in the decider in Kiev on May 26 with a 7-6 aggregate victory over Roma on Wednesday.

While their run to the final has been a surprise, Madrid are preparing for their fourth Champions League decider in five seasons.

But Mane – who has scored nine goals in the competition this season – said his team believed they could complete the job.

"We have a lot of respect for Madrid, they are one of the best teams in the world, but we are Liverpool," he told UK newspapers.

"We are strong, we can beat any team in the world. We believe that. So we believe we can go there and beat them.

"We are going to go there and fight for the fans, for the club, and play without fear to try to win the final.

"We have the players, we know we can score goals, we have shown that and there is nothing to be afraid of for us."

With the Senegalese attacker's opening goal against Roma in the second leg, Mane (9), Mohamed Salah (10) and Roberto Firmino (10) became the highest-scoring trio for a club in a single Champions League campaign.

Mane, 26, was stunned by his team's semi-final success, which came despite a nervy 4-2 loss in Rome.

"Honestly, I can't believe that the dream has come true. It means so much to achieve this – everybody is happy now. It really is one of my best days," he said.

"It is one of my greatest moments in football. I can say that because this kind of moment you can't say is there for every player. It happens for so few players, and for me I can say this is one of my greatest moments.

"I am very proud of what this team has achieved. Everybody was dancing like crazy. Everybody was so happy, dancing together, we enjoyed the moment together.

"It was special to be in that dressing room, such an incredible moment."