- Real Madrid wins the Champions League final against Liverpool 1-0 in Paris and secures the “Henkelpott” for the 14th time.
- The only goalscorer and match winner for the “Royal” in the Stade de France is Vinicius Jr.
- The game had started more than 30 minutes late due to riots before the game.
And in the end, the Liverpool professionals against Real Madrid only had the role of the first well-wishers – as in 2018. The “Royal” were allowed to celebrate in Paris after the 1-0 final victory over the 14th Champions League title in history – the “Decimocuarta” – are happy.
Once again, the Madrilenians proved that they work like a perfectly coordinated machine. “Little effort, high yield” was the motto.
Less is more
Liverpool got more over the 90 minutes (shooting ratio of 23:3) and significantly better chances, but always found their master in real goalie Thibaut Courtois, who had a very strong evening:
- After 16 minutes, the Belgian was on the ground in a flash when Mohamed Salah deflected a cross on target.
- Courtois does even better 5 minutes later; he deflects a shot by Sadio Mané with his fingertips to the post.
- The 30-year-old finally became the match-winner 10 minutes from time after he parried a seemingly unstoppable shot from Salah with his arm.
On the other hand, Madrid limited themselves to the bare minimum. Vinicius Junior refined a sharp cross from Federico Valverde on the 2nd post just before the hour mark. After that, coach Carlo Ancelotti’s team failed to raise the score after counterattacks.
Before the break, Real had hardly become a threat – but still scored the goal. Karim Benzema’s supposed 1-0 lead (43′) was preceded by an offside position. A controversial decision, as the last pass came from Liverpool’s Fabinho.
Real’s players and coaches are becoming legends
For Real it is after 1463 days the return to the European football throne, between 2016 and 2018 the “Royal” had won the CL 3 times in a row. With Toni Kroos, Benzema, Gareth Bale, Casemiro, Daniel Carvajal, Marcelo, Nacho Fernandez and Luka Modric, 8 current Real players won the 5th premier class title of their career.
Coach Ancelotti set a single record. The soon to be 63-year-old Italian secured himself the Champions League for the fourth time as a coach, after having already won the championship cup twice as a player with Milan. With his home club, he also won the “Henkelpott” twice as a coach and now for the second time with Real Madrid. Ancelotti lost the only final in 2005, when Milan lost a 3-0 lead against Liverpool.
For Liverpool, on the other hand, a season in which the “quadruple” would have been possible ended in disappointment. After being narrowly beaten by Manchester City in the English championship, “only” the two English cup titles looked out in the end.