Champions League Finals: Real Madrid Beat Liverpool 1-0 To Clinch Trophy

Vinicius Junior's goal was enough to secure victory for Real Madrid over Liverpool in the Champions League final.

Champions League Finals: Real Madrid Beat Liverpool 1-0 To Clinch Trophy

Vinicius Junior scored the only goal of the game as Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in Saturday's Champions League final in Paris to become kings of Europe for a record-extending 14th time after a night marred by problems outside the ground that led to the kick-off being delayed by over half an hour.

Brazilian winger Vinicius turned in Fede Valverde's enticing low cross in the 59th minute at the Stade de France and Liverpool could not find an equaliser as Jurgen Klopp's side lost to the Spanish giants in a Champions League final for the second time in five seasons.

Jurgen Klopp's side were hoping to avenge their 2018 Champions League final defeat to the Spanish giants in Kyiv but they could not find a leveller after going down 1-0 when Vinicius ghosted in at the far post to convert Federico Valverde's low cross (59).

Liverpool suffered Champions League heartbreak on a chaotic night in Paris as Vinicius Junior's second-half goal clinched the trophy for Real Madrid for the 14th time in their history.

The game was delayed by more than half an hour after long delays and chaotic scenes for Liverpool fans entering the Stade de France

The game's kick-off time had earlier been delayed by more than half an hour as organisational problems outside the Stade de France caused long delays and dangerous overcrowding for Liverpool supporters attempting to enter the ground.

Liverpool lost none of their focus despite the chaotic circumstances, creating a succession of chances and having 24 shots to Madrid's four, but they could not find a way past the outstanding Thibaut Courtois, who tipped a Sadio Mane effort onto the inside of the post in the first half and made a string of other excellent saves.

Liverpool were bidding to win the competition for the seventh time but the defeat ensures they miss out on a treble having won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup earlier this season, while Madrid, their run to the final characterised by a series of extraordinary comebacks, celebrate yet another European triumph.


Player Ratings

Liverpool: Alisson (6), Alexander-Arnold (6), Konate (8), Van Dijk (6), Robertson (6), Thiago (7), Fabinho (6), Henderson (7), Diaz (6), Mane (6), Salah (6)

Subs: Jota (6), Keita (6), Firmino (6)

Real Madrid: Courtois (9), Carvajal (8), Militao (7), Alaba (7), Mendy (7), Casemiro (7), Kroos (6), Valverde (7), Modric (7), Vinicius (8), Benzema (7)

Subs: Camavinga (6), Ceballos (N/A), Rodrygo (N/A)

Man of the Match: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)


How Liverpool fell short

A jubilant atmosphere had been building in Paris over the course of several days, with Liverpool fans gathering in the streets and squares of the city centre in their thousands, far outnumbering their Real Madrid counterparts.

But the celebratory mood made way for one of concern ahead of the planned kick-off time as logistical issues outside the stadium caused lengthy delays and packed queues for Liverpool fans attempting to make their way into the ground.


Match stats

UEFA put the delays down to "the late arrival of fans" in messages displayed on the big screens inside the stadium but the queues had been building for hours and the ambiguity only added to the sense of confusion amid reports of heavy-handed policing.

The game finally got under way some 37 minutes later than intended and while the circumstances made for an understandably tentative opening quarter of an hour, the encounter suddenly exploded into life with a succession of Liverpool chances.

The first saw Mohamed Salah, seeking revenge for Liverpool's defeat to Madrid in 2018, force a low save from Courtois at close range after fine work from Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right.

Liverpool maintained the pressure, with Thiago, who came through an injury scare during the warm-up to start the game, and Salah both sending shots straight at Courtois.

Team news

Thiago and Fabinho started together in midfield for Liverpool having recovered from injury, while Ibrahima Konate was preferred to Joel Matip in defence.

The Real Madrid team was as expected, with Vinicius Junior joining Karim Benzema in a front two. Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale were among the substitutes.

Mane went closest to breaking the deadlock moments later, his angled effort, after cutting in from the left-hand side of the box, brilliant diverted onto the inside of the post by Courtois.

Madrid were hanging on at that point but they weathered the storm and it seemed they might even go into the break in front when a disallowed goal by Karim Benzema following a defensive mix-up in the Liverpool box was checked by VAR for more than three minutes.

The officials were attempting to ascertain whether the final touch came off a Liverpool player, which would have meant Benzema was in fact onside, but the decision eventually went the way of the Reds.

The disallowed goal still felt ominous, however, even though Liverpool had been the far better of the two sides in the first half.

They continued to push forward after the break, with Alexander-Arnold supplying a series of dangerous deliveries from the right, but Madrid waited patiently for their moment and it duly arrived.

Alexander-Arnold switched off momentarily when he allowed Vinicius to run beyond him after a slick passing move started by Luka Modric in midfield, and the Brazilian was able to fire past the despairing Alisson from a few yards out, prompting wild Madrid celebrations.

Salah led Liverpool's attempts to get back on level terms, a curling effort, one of nine shots from him over the course of the game, forcing another acrobatic save from Courtois just five minutes after Vinicius' goal.

The Egyptian had another opportunity after that, with Courtois charging down his back-post shot from point-blank range, and while Liverpool continued to pile forward, their composure deserted them in the closing stages, with substitute Naby Keita skying one effort from a Fabinho cut-back.

The Liverpool players, playing the 63rd game of a marathon season, collapsed to the turf in disappointment at full-time, while Real Madrid, who overcame Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City in remarkable fashion to reach the final, celebrated their eighth consecutive victory in a Champions League final, further enhancing their European legend.


WHAT THE MANAGERS SAID:

Klopp: Book hotels for next year's final

A defiant Jurgen Klopp vowed Liverpool will come back stronger from the defeat and told fans to book the hotels for next year's Champions League final in Istanbul.

"It's not bad to get to the final - it's kind of a success although not the success you want to have," he told BT Sport.

"I have a strong feeling we will come again. The boys are really competitive and are an outstanding group - they will be that again next season. And we go again. Where is it next season? Istanbul? Book the hotel!

"The mood in the dressing room makes it feel like not a great season in this moment - we'll need a few minutes or hours for that," he added.

"We played a good, not a perfect game. A perfect game wouldn't have been possible with how the opponent set up with the deep formation, counter-attacks and long balls - that was tricky.

"Like the disallowed goal in the first half was a long ball that we couldn't defend in the first place. We had a lot of shots but not the clearest - only three forced (Thibaut) Courtois into top saves.

"We conceded a goal from a throw-in. (Federico) Valverde wanted to shoot, Vinicius was there and that's it.

"The boys tried everything, especially at 1-0 down. We wanted to be more brave in the second half. That's what we said at half-time. We played around them. We should have played more in the formation than around them."

Ancelotti: I am the record man

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti described himself as "the record man" and hailed his side's victory as he became the first manager to win the Champions League for a fourth time.

"I can't believe it. We've had a fantastic season," he said.

"We suffered a lot in the first half but in the end we deserved to win this competition.

"I am the record man. I had the luck to come here last year and found as usual a fantastic club with a really good squad with a lot of quality and mental character.

"The season was top."


Courtois 'earns respect' with brilliant display

Real Madrid's starting line-up was packed with Champions League winners but for Thibaut Courtois this one is a first.

The Belgian goalkeeper was in inspired form at the Stade de France to become a European champion for the first time, keeping Liverpool at bay almost single-handedly and making nine saves over the course of the 90 minutes.

After the game, he took a swipe at his critics, insisting he is not respected as much as he should be in England following his spell with Chelsea.

''I think I said yesterday in the press conference that when Madrid goes to finals, we win them," he said.

''I'm on the good side of history. I saw a lot of tweets coming my way today saying that I will be humbled, but I think it was the other way around.

''Today I needed to win a final for my career, for all the hard work - to put respect on my name because I don't think I have a lot of respect in England."
 

Opta stats

Real Madrid have won the European Cup/Champions League on 14 occasions - twice as many times as any other side in the history of the competition.

Only Juventus (five) have lost more Champions League finals than Liverpool (three), while no manager has lost more finals in the competition's history than Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp (three).

Despite winning the League Cup and FA Cup this season, Liverpool have not scored a single goal in five-and-a-half hours of football in major finals this term.

Liverpool had 24 shots, the most on record (since 2003/04) without scoring for a team in a Champions League final. Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah's six shots on target is the most on record by any player in a single Champions League final.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has become the first manager in European Cup and Champions League history to win the trophy on four separate occasions.

 Delayed kick-off

The match kicked off 35 minutes later than the planned 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) start in the French capital after chaos at entrances to the stadium led to fans being unable to get to their seats.

UEFA said it was "sympathetic" towards those affected and put the huge build-ups of supporters at gates down to "thousands of fans who had purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles".

Tear gas was also fired by police as a small number of people could be seen trying to scale fences around the perimeter of the groud.

The final was only moved to the French capital after Saint-Petersburg was stripped of the game following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.



Buy Luxury Apartments on the Island, Lagos

---

•  Readers Comments desired,  Share Your Story in comment box below;

---