PARIS - Real Madrid secured a recordextending
14th European Cup
when they beat Liverpool 1-0 in a
Champions League final delayed
for more than half an hour after
police tried to stop people trying
to force their way into the Stade
de France on Saturday.
Vinicius Junior scored just before
the hour with Real’s first attempt
on goal and their goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois made several
fine saves to deny Liverpool, who
end the season with two domestic
cups having also failed to win
the Premier League.
In a battle of European heavyweights,
Juergen Klopp’s side
had more chances but lacked
sharpness when it mattered as
Carlo Ancelotti became the first
coach to enjoy four European
Cup triumphs having won the
trophy with AC Milan and Real
twice, leapfrogging Liverpool’s
Bob Paisley and Real’s Zinedine
Zidane. “I am a record man. I had
luck to come here last year and
have a fantastic season. A fantastic
club, a really good squad with
a lot of quality and mental character,”
said Ancelotti of a team who
came from behind against Paris
St Germain, Chelsea and Manchester
City to reach the final.
It was LaLiga title holders
Real’s fourth Champions League
crown in seven years as they improved
their impressive record
in the competition with their
eighth victory in as many finals.
Liverpool were looking for their
seventh European Cup triumph
but despite their best efforts they
were left in awe of Courtois’s sublime
performance.
“In the dressing room nobody
feels it was a great season at this
moment,” said Liverpool manager
Juergen Klopp, whose team
beat Chelsea on penalties in the
FA Cup and League Cup. “We
played a good game, not a perfect
game, but I don’t think a perfect
game would have been possible
the way the opponent was set up
with a deep formation. “We had
a lot of shots but not the clearest
and Thibaut Courtois made
two top saves.” The final was to
be played in St Petersburg but
European soccer governing body
UEFA relocated it to Paris after
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,
which Moscow calls a ‘special operation’.
The game started after a
35-minute delay following incidents
outside the stadium when
fans were tear-gassed by riot
police as people without tickets
tried to force their way in.
Liverpool had won the previous
European Cup final both
teams had played in Paris, winning
1-0 at the Parc des Princes
in 1981, which was Real’s last
defeat in a final. Liverpool were
the slight favourites on Saturday
but Real beat the Merseyside club
for the second time in a row after
their 3-1 victory in 2018. Liverpool
started the game by pushing
high up the pitch, looking to
quickly feed their full backs, and
the pressure on the Real back line
became immense. Mo Salah was
picked out by Trent Alexander-
Arnold in the box but Courtois
stretched to deny the Egyptian.
Sadio Mane came much closer
when he ghosted past Eder Militao
and Casemiro before his fierce
attempt was tipped onto the post
by the excellent Courtois in the
21st minute. Liverpool, however,
were not incisive enough in attack
and Real’s only chance of the
first half gave Liverpool a huge
scare but Karim Benzema’s effort
was ruled out after the Video Assistant
Referee ruled that he was
offside, being played in by Federico
Valverde despite Fabinho’s
deflection. Liverpool were back
at it early in the second half but
Real soaked up the pressure until
they struck in the 59th minute. It
started when Luka Modric turned
smartly away from Andy Robertson
to create space and ended
with Valverde’s pinpoint driven
pass across to the far post being
turned in by Vinicius.
Courtois then dived to superbly
tip Salah’s curled attempt away
to keep Real ahead. The Belgian
keeper was impeccable again to
deny Salah 10 minutes from time
before his delighted team mates
jumped into his arms to show
their gratitude at the final whistle.
14th European Cup
when they beat Liverpool 1-0 in a
Champions League final delayed
for more than half an hour after
police tried to stop people trying
to force their way into the Stade
de France on Saturday.
Vinicius Junior scored just before
the hour with Real’s first attempt
on goal and their goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois made several
fine saves to deny Liverpool, who
end the season with two domestic
cups having also failed to win
the Premier League.
In a battle of European heavyweights,
Juergen Klopp’s side
had more chances but lacked
sharpness when it mattered as
Carlo Ancelotti became the first
coach to enjoy four European
Cup triumphs having won the
trophy with AC Milan and Real
twice, leapfrogging Liverpool’s
Bob Paisley and Real’s Zinedine
Zidane. “I am a record man. I had
luck to come here last year and
have a fantastic season. A fantastic
club, a really good squad with
a lot of quality and mental character,”
said Ancelotti of a team who
came from behind against Paris
St Germain, Chelsea and Manchester
City to reach the final.
It was LaLiga title holders
Real’s fourth Champions League
crown in seven years as they improved
their impressive record
in the competition with their
eighth victory in as many finals.
Liverpool were looking for their
seventh European Cup triumph
but despite their best efforts they
were left in awe of Courtois’s sublime
performance.
“In the dressing room nobody
feels it was a great season at this
moment,” said Liverpool manager
Juergen Klopp, whose team
beat Chelsea on penalties in the
FA Cup and League Cup. “We
played a good game, not a perfect
game, but I don’t think a perfect
game would have been possible
the way the opponent was set up
with a deep formation. “We had
a lot of shots but not the clearest
and Thibaut Courtois made
two top saves.” The final was to
be played in St Petersburg but
European soccer governing body
UEFA relocated it to Paris after
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,
which Moscow calls a ‘special operation’.
The game started after a
35-minute delay following incidents
outside the stadium when
fans were tear-gassed by riot
police as people without tickets
tried to force their way in.
Liverpool had won the previous
European Cup final both
teams had played in Paris, winning
1-0 at the Parc des Princes
in 1981, which was Real’s last
defeat in a final. Liverpool were
the slight favourites on Saturday
but Real beat the Merseyside club
for the second time in a row after
their 3-1 victory in 2018. Liverpool
started the game by pushing
high up the pitch, looking to
quickly feed their full backs, and
the pressure on the Real back line
became immense. Mo Salah was
picked out by Trent Alexander-
Arnold in the box but Courtois
stretched to deny the Egyptian.
Sadio Mane came much closer
when he ghosted past Eder Militao
and Casemiro before his fierce
attempt was tipped onto the post
by the excellent Courtois in the
21st minute. Liverpool, however,
were not incisive enough in attack
and Real’s only chance of the
first half gave Liverpool a huge
scare but Karim Benzema’s effort
was ruled out after the Video Assistant
Referee ruled that he was
offside, being played in by Federico
Valverde despite Fabinho’s
deflection. Liverpool were back
at it early in the second half but
Real soaked up the pressure until
they struck in the 59th minute. It
started when Luka Modric turned
smartly away from Andy Robertson
to create space and ended
with Valverde’s pinpoint driven
pass across to the far post being
turned in by Vinicius.
Courtois then dived to superbly
tip Salah’s curled attempt away
to keep Real ahead. The Belgian
keeper was impeccable again to
deny Salah 10 minutes from time
before his delighted team mates
jumped into his arms to show
their gratitude at the final whistle.
