Liverpool’s astonishing victory over Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur’s equally implausible defeat of Ajax in the Champions League semi-finals has caused a surge in fares to Madrid, where the two English teams will meet in the final on Saturday 1 June. Fans of the Merseyside team had a 24-hour window of opportunity, taking advantage of the fact that the other finalist was not known until late on Wednesday evening. The meeting of two English teams in the final has not happened since Moscow in 2008, when Manchester United beat Chelsea. Madrid is a lot easier to reach than the Russian capital, but fares have surged as limited supply meets intense demand. Non-stop flights on easyJet’s flight from Liverpool to Madrid on Friday 31 May, returning on Sunday 2 June, have already sold out. Many of the seats were snapped up weeks or months ago by fans who had faith in their team reaching Europe’s most prestigious club football event. They paid much less for what will be a far better experience than supporters who waited until the final whistle at Anfield. Here is how to get to the final. Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Show all 50 1 /50 Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona EPA Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Action Images via Reuters Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Action Images via Reuters Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Action Images via Reuters Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Action Images via Reuters Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Action Images via Reuters Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona PA Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Liverpool FC via Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona PA Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Action Images via Reuters Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona EPA Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Getty Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona AP Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona PA Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Liverpool FC via Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Reuters Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Action Images via Reuters Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona REUTERS Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Action Images via Reuters Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Action Images via Reuters Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona AP Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona PA Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona PA Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Liverpool FC via Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona EMPICS Sport Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Getty Images Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Action Images via Reuters Liverpool vs Barcelona: The story of the game Liverpool vs Barcelona Action Images via Reuters How to fly there from the Merseyside area For travel out on the day before the match, returning on the day after, the lowest return fare shown on Skyscanner is £527. It involves travelling out from Liverpool John Lennon airport on easyJet to Geneva, then transferring to Swiss, taking just over six hours. The return journey is scheduled to last nearly eight hours – involving an early start on Sunday morning onboard Iberia to Venice, and connecting to easyJet for the final leg. However, these options involve “self-connecting” – taking the risk that, if the first flight is late, the traveller could miss the second with no entitlement to further care. Nearby Manchester airport has a much wider range of flights, but again all the non-stop options have already been bought up. The nearest airport with a non-stop option at least on the crucial outbound sector, is Birmingham – from where Iberia Express flies to Madrid in 2 hours 25 minutes. The fare is €643 (£552) one way. Returning from the Spanish capital to Merseyside is proving extremely problematic. At 8am on Wednesday the Ethiopian Airlines flight from Madrid to Dublin was priced at £134 one-way. It has now increased to over £500. Recommended How to book cheap flights when the sales are over From the Irish capital, Ryanair has a range of departures to Liverpool for around £100. The smarter option is to aim for Barcelona, many of whose fans assumed they would be heading for Madrid on 1 June. The Catalan capital has a vast number of flights, and fares have so far not been too badly hit by “the Liverpool effect”. From Manchester to Barcelona on 31 May, returning on 2 June, the total fare is £402 – outbound on Vueling, back on Ryanair. How to fly there from the London area There are far more flights from the capital to Madrid and elsewhere in Spain, but many seats have already been snapped up by Liverpool supporters. Between London and the Spanish capital, the main airlines are British Airways and its sister carrier Iberia. The standard return fare being charged from Heathrow to Madrid on Friday 31 May and the first part of Saturday 1 June is £1,300. It is highly likely that BA will add extra flights or deploy larger aircraft on existing services. Meanwhile Ryanair has laid on extra flights Stansted-Madrid on 30 and 31 May, and 1 June. Two inbound flights will operate on 2 June and another on 3 June). The fare is £400 each way (excluding baggage, seat allocation, etc). Connecting flights via some weird and wonderful places are also available, with connection opportunities in Casablanca on Royal Air Maroc or Kiev on Ukraine International. Surely someone will organise football specials? In normal circumstances, by teatime on Thursday dozens of charter flights would be lined up.<doc-sep>The Reds will either face Ajax or Tottenham Hotspur on June 1 in the Spanish capital for the chance to lift the famous trophy Liverpool have been given just 16,613 tickets by UEFA for the Champions League Final next month. The Reds secured their place in the final in Madrid on June after an incredible comeback against Barcelona on Tuesday night. 1 Liverpool fans have been given just 16,613 tickets for the Champions League Final However, fans will have to fight for a ticket for the game at Atletico Madrid’s new stadium as just 24% of the capacity has been allocated to visitors from Merseyside. Flight and hotel prices have already rocketed following Liverpool’s victory with tens of thousands of fans set to flock to the Spanish capital. Liverpool have confirmed the allocation at Estadio Metropolitano, which has a capacity of 68,000. Fans who have attended seven Champions League games this season will be given first refusal from 8.15am on Wednesday May 15 until 8am on Thursday May 16 and are guaranteed a ticket. LIVERPOOL TICKET PRICE Here's the price to watch the Champions League Final Category 1: £513 (£410 restricted view) Category 2: £385 (£308 restricted view) Category 3: £154 (£120 restricted view) Category 4: £60 Fans have been urged not to travel to Madrid if they do not have a ticket, but that is unlikely to deter fans after Tuesday night’s heroics. Jurgen Klopp’s side defied the odds thanks to doubles from Divock Origi and Giorginio Wijnaldum at Anfield to reach their second successive European final.<doc-sep>Furious football fans say the tourism industry is profiteering from the Champions League final by ramping up prices for flights, tickets and accommodation. Tottenham and Liverpool supporters complained of being charged more than £1,500 for non-stop return flights to Madrid with EasyJet to watch the match on June 1. Those desperately searching for accommodation struggled to get a hotel room for less than £1,000. Furious Liverpool fans have been faced with huge costs for the Champions League final The cheapest room at the Hilton Madrid Airport hotel is £2,301, with the same room available for just £124 a week later. Consumer website Moneysavingheroes found that small one-bedroom apartments on Airbnb were charging up to £2,500, with even the cheaper ones costing more than £1,000. Meanwhile, tickets were being sold on the black market for up to £90,000 – 1,800 times the face value of the £50 cheapest official tickets. The backlash against EasyJet, which spread on social media yesterday, was spearheaded by Liverpool Metro mayor Steve Rotheram, who described the budget airline's behaviour as 'shameful'. Liverpool fan Mr Rotheram said: 'EasyJet hiking up prices by 683 per cent for return flights to Madrid is quite simply profiteering from the passion of football fans. This is nothing new but entirely shameful.' His followers agreed, with one calling the prices 'disgraceful' and another saying they were 'absolutely immoral'. Tottenham fans were celebrating after beating Ajax, but may be hit hard in the pocket Although Tottenham fans travelling from London have more options, on Thursday night EasyJet was quoting prices of as much as £1,500 for a flight from Gatwick to Madrid on the eve of the final, and returning the day after the match. Responding to Mr Rotheram's criticism, EasyJet said it had a 'demand-led' pricing structure and did not change its prices 'artificially'. Many fans are booking indirect flights to reduce costs, even though they face tortuous journeys. From Liverpool, one option costing £587 involves flying via Bucharest in Romania. The outbound journey takes 15 hours and the return takes 21 hours. Zavvi tweeted an apology but later deleted it as fans expressed their unhappiness Anthoulla Achilleos, of the Tottenham Supporters' Trust, said: 'They need to put on more flights. The prices are ridiculous'. Former Liverpool player Jim Beglin told EasyJet on Twitter: 'You call it business. The punters call it nothing but pure greed. 'Profits before people and it's not just you, your kind are all at it. It's a disgusting practice.' Thomas Cook Sport promised to come to the rescue and said it was organising flights for fans who have tickets to the game at a cost of £559 per person, with other airlines expected to follow suit. George Charles, spokesman for Moneysavingheroes, said fans will have to be more creative. He suggested taking a ferry and driving instead of flying, and staying in a hostel or camping rather than 'splashing out an extortionate amount of money on a hotel or Airbnb'. Mr Charles added: 'A 90-minute game is not worth anyone going into debt for.' Liverpool fans also expressed their fury after being told they had won VIP tickets to the final – only to then be informed it was a mistake. Zavvi, an entertainment retail store formed from the now defunct Zavvi shops, accidentally sent the 'winner' emails to everyone on its mailing list. Meanwhile Harry's girl stays at £3,800-a night hotel! Harry's bride-to-be arrives in Sin City It's been a history-making 12 months for England and Tottenham striker Harry Kane, and it seems his childhood sweetheart is reaping the benefits of his success. As World Cup hero Kane was in Amsterdam on Wednesday night watching his club sensationally qualify for the Champions League final, Kate Goodland enjoyed an extravagant hen party in Las Vegas. Miss Goodland, 26, jetted out with seven friends to the exclusive Encore hotel in Las Vegas, where suites cost up to £3,800 a night. Calling herself Harry's Angel, Miss Goodland flew her friends business class from Heathrow with BA, with seats costing about £1,500 each. Gathering around the Encore hotel's beach club pool, her friends wore Kane masks as they toasted the upcoming marriage. The couple have two daughters – Ivy Jane, two, and Vivienne, nine months. Kane missed Wednesday's win over Ajax with an injured ankle, but is hopeful of being fit for the final against Liverpool in Madrid in three weeks. Kate and her friends show their true faces at the poolside Advertisement Hoddle's leap of faith As his beloved Tottenham Hotspur secured a dramatic last-minute Champions League semi-final win, friends and family of former manager Glenn Hoddle might have feared for his health. Hoddle could be seen leaping from his seat in the BT Sport studio and being grabbed by fellow pundit Rio Ferdinand as Lucas Moura scored the winning goal for Spurs against Ajax. He suffered a near-fatal heart attack last November while working for the same TV company. Glenn Hoddle watched on as his beloved Tottenham beat Ajax against the odds As Spurs secured a place in next month's Champion's League final against Liverpool on Wednesday night, BT Sport presenter Gary Lineker asked Hoddle if he was 'alright' after watching the game's dramatic finale. A smiling Hoddle replied: 'Yeah I am fine. I've never been happier. I am so glad I am still around to see this. Being a Spurs fan from eight years of age - what a proud moment.' One expert said he would not be surprised if some Tottenham and Ajax fans suffered cardiac arrests both at home and abroad as they watched the thrilling finale of the Champions League semi-final. Dr Alexander Lyon, a senior lecturer and honorary consultant cardiologist at London's Royal Brompton Hospital, is a lifelong Spurs fan and watched the last minute victory over Ajax. He has researched how traumatic or stressful events can cause heart problems. 'Such was the nature of the game and the dramatic ending, that would not surprise me,' he said on Thursday. Dr Lyon said Hoddle's health may in fact have been improved after last year's heart scare. He said: 'Obviously Glenn Hoddle had a heart attack after he suffered blockages of the arteries. Hoddle recently had time off after recovering from a near-fatal heart attack in November Fellow pundits Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand joked about Hoddle following the celebration 'But having had his own heart attack it may well be that watching his beloved Spurs last night he might have been able to cope better which is a really good sign. 'This is because after suffering such a serious illness he was able to cope better because of the medication he would have undoubtedly been given since his cardiac arrest. 'For Glenn it would have been an exhilarating roller coaster ride watching his beloved Tottenham win the match.' A study of the World Cup in Germany in 2006 revealed there was massive increases in the number of heart attacks during exciting matches and penalty shoot-outs. The German study revealed that 4,279 people suffered acute cardiovascular events during time periods researched with 302 of these events occurring over the seven days that Germany had World Cup matches.<doc-sep>
Liverpool fans face a scramble to find affordable flights to Madrid after securing a spot in the Champions League final on Tuesday night. Jurgen Klopp's men produced one of the finest comebacks in European Cup history to knock Barcelona out at Anfield following a thrilling 4-0 win. But celebrations were quickly dampened when fans realised that flights from Liverpool to Madrid, where the final will be held on June 1, rocketed to more than £750 for a one-way ticket on the day before the game. Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side booked a spot in the Champions League final with a thrilling win But fans soon realised flights from Liverpool to Madrid were becoming more and more pricey Flights were initially incredibly affordable before kick-off with Lionel Messi and Co firm favourites to reach the final having taken a 3-0 first-leg lead to Anfield. But those affordable prices soon evaporated as thousands turned to the airline websites to sort travel arrangements and price was soon matching demand. A flight from Liverpool on Friday morning, the day before the final, quickly hit £600 for a one-way ticket but 10 minutes later that price had reached £750 for a single adult ticket. With news of the rising prices spreading, fans clamoured for tickets as they initially hit £600 One supporter joked he needs to start a Go Fund Me page in order to afford the outbound flight One optimistic Liverpool fan booked flights to Madrid a long time ago in a bid to get a bargain Liverpool fan Bobby McHale could not resist a dig at the club's title rivals Manchester City There are no remaining direct flights from Liverpool to Madrid on the day of the game and fans will have to get creative to land a cheap deal if they are to take their place inside the Wanda Metropolitano for the final. One supporter on social media joked that he will need to start a Go Fund Me page in order to afford the expensive flight to the Spanish capital. Another could not help but gloat at their bargain having booked flights to the final long ago; they were that confident in Klopp's side. 'Looks like my £40 flight to Madrid I booked ages might come in handy,' Ronnie wrote. Liverpool fan Bobby McHale sought out fans selling flights to Spain for those dates around the final and could not resist a dig at title rivals Manchester City, after they were knocked out in the quarter-finals to Tottenham. 'Any City fans selling Madrid flights,' he tweeted. Even the most optimistic Liverpool fan won't have expected to have ended Tuesday night searching for flights to Madrid for the final. Divock Origi got the night underway as the striker converted from close range to make it 1-0 A brace from substitute Georginio Wijnaldum helped fire Liverpool to the final out in Madrid Braces from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum were enough on the night to cancel out Barcelona's real advantage from the first-leg last week at the Nou Camp. It all started as Liverpool and their fans wanted as Origi, starting in place of the injured Roberto Firmino, was on hand to tap in from close range after seven minutes. Barcelona tried to rally through Messi and Suarez but were thwarted time and time again by goalkeeper Alisson and with the Anfield crowd roaring them on, Liverpool produced one of their finest second-half performances in recent memory.