MADRID: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has warned Liverpool that his side are as hungry as ever to win the Champions League, rejecting claims that the Spanish giants might have lost their edge ahead of Saturday’s final in Kiev.

There have been some suggestions that Real, having won the past two finals, might not be as motivated as Liverpool, with the English club not having tasted European glory since 2005.

“I can’t talk for the opponents, but we always have the same desire as we always do and nobody can say we don’t,” Zidane told a news conference.

“We’re in a third final and we have the chance to do something historic and win it three times in a row. You can’t say Liverpool have more hunger than us; it simply isn’t true.

“Nobody can take our hunger away from us. We’re Real Madrid … We always want more and will always give our all to get more.”

The Frenchman also said that his side’s experience of playing in and winning three finals in the past four years will have no bearing on the outcome. By comparison, no player in the Liverpool squad has reached this stage of the competition before.

“It’s a one-off game, in a neutral venue. We’re ready for it, but our experience doesn’t count,” Zidane said.

“Granted, we have more, but we need to show that we want to win it. Our experience doesn’t count for anything. It’s a final, they (Liverpool) haven’t played in a lot of them, but they’ll kill themselves for this and we know it.”

Inevitably, talk turned to star men Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah, but Zidane was unequivocal when asked if he would swap the Portuguese for Liverpool’s Egyptian star.

“Cristiano is the best, he shows it every year,” the coach said. “Sometimes pressure gets to players and it spurs others on. He is certainly the latter. He’s of maximum importance to us.”

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• Yates and Dumoulin set for time trial that could decide Giro

4.07pm BST

But Dumoulin’s on the charge coming up to the finish …

4.06pm BST

It doesn’t look as if Dumoulin’s going to rein in Dennis today … the home hope Pozzovivo ends his underwhelming afternoon crossing the line in 30th place

Summer came late in 1906, and the spring, harried by a keen north-east wind, hardly stopped at all. May was cold and grey, frosty till the third Sunday. It was dismal weather for cricket. The season started on Wednesday the 2nd, but no one came to watch. Lord’s was empty. The Oval was empty. Old Trafford was empty. The press began to fret. On 27 May the Observer published a leader called The Necessity for Cricket Reform. It asked if the game had outlived its popularity. “Matches are being finished, but the crowds do not come,” the editorial read. “Cricket seems to have grown too old fashioned for these go-ahead times.”

The Observer wasn’t the only one worrying. The next year’s Wisden recalled “all sorts of gloomy forebodings”. Until “the sun came out and all was well”. By the far side of the summer, England was in the middle of a long, late heatwave. George Hirst did the double-double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets, but Yorkshire were still pipped by Kent, who won 11 championship matches in a row, thanks in part to their brilliant young all-rounder Frank Woolley. It was one of the great seasons of the Golden Age, and when it was over, “no more was heard as to cricket being on the wane”.

Thomas Bjorn insisted he has not called time on the Ryder Cup playing careers of Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell after naming the duo to finalise a roster of five vice captains for the meeting with the USA in France.

Confirmation that Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington would form part of Bjorn’s European backroom team – Robert Karlsson had been named earlier – was widely expected but the appearance of McDowell and Donald at Wentworth on Tuesday had not been predicted.

The former PSG coach needs to instil defensive discipline, find a new shape for Arsenal’s midfield and get the most out of a wealth of young talent to impress at the Emirates

A quick highlights reel of Arsenal’s away performances from last season will tell Emery all he needs to know about how an injection of organisation and motivation are paramount. The concentration lapses, the losing of leads, the lack of robustness, need knocking on the head from day one. Whether it was complacency or anxiety or a weird mixture of both, it needs addressing. The players should be ready to welcome some new instruction, new guidance, new ideas to give them a fresh start. The fear of surrendering points has become mental as well as tactical and technical. Time to sweep bad habits away.

The 22-year-old midfielder is back in the mix with the U.S. national team despite his club enduring relegation for the second straight season

The new manager of the Ligue 1 champions pleaded for patience as the 44-year-old tries to implement his philosophy at the club

PKNP FC’s training session on Monday night was graced by the presence of a former Manchester United winger and two-time English Premier League winner.