REAL MADRID CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE AGAIN AS THIBAUT COURTOIS AND VINICIUS JR SHINE TO STOP LIVERPOOL.
After a farcical start to the game due to some terrible organisation the match itself lived up to the billing with Real Madrid and Liverpool playing out a tense, fascinating affair. In the end it was down the continued excellent of Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, and a goal from Brazilian superstar Vinicius Jr to seal the win for the Spanish giants.
Vinicius Junior struck the winner as Real Madrid lifted a record-extending 14th Champions League title with a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in a final where the kick off was delayed due to ‘security reasons’ in Paris.
The Brazilian forward guided home Federico Valverde’s driven cross just shy of the hour after the Merseysiders had failed to find a way past the inspired Thibaut Courtois despite dominating for long periods.
The defeat means Jurgen Klopp’s side end the campaign with two domestic cups in the trophy cabinet, but have come up just short in both the Champions League and Premier League.
In contrast, Real have capped their fairytale run to the final by adding yet another European crown to the La Liga title.
Chaotic scenes which saw thousands of Liverpool fans stuck outside the ground led to a lengthy delay to UEFA’s showpiece occasion with reports of fans being teargassed by police.
When the game did commence it was Liverpool who dominated and Sadio Mane saw a superb strike brilliantly tipped on to the post by Courtois.
Real Madrid struggled to create anything of note until moments before the interval when Karim Benzema had a goal controversially ruled out for offside.
Liverpool continued to pose the greater threat but it was Real who stole in front when Vinicius finished off a devastating counter attack on 59 minutes.
The Reds pushed for an equaliser for the remainder of the contest but could not find a way past Courtois who produced one of the finest performances of his career to lead his team to victory.
TALKING POINT
The final scoreline is all that matters in finals. In the pre-match media conferences Courtois stated that when Madrid get to finals, they win them. They were big words but he backed them up with a big, big performance. The Belgian keeper was the foundation of this victory that capped a run to the final where they somehow came through knockout ties against the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City. It was typical Real Madrid and shows just why they have more European Cups than anyone else.
For Liverpool, it was a night to forget. Their fans were poorly treated ahead of kick off and you can expect more of that story to develop in the hours and days that follows this final.
It was a 63rd game of the campaign for Klopp and Co but they couldn’t find the ruthless streak in front of goal to turn a fine season into a truly magnificent one. The Reds will no doubt come again but there will certainly be a feeling of what might have been given their dominance in the match as a whole and how close they came to pipping Manchester City to the title.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid). Thou shalt not pass. The former Chelsea keeper was truly magnificent as he produced save after save to keep Liverpool at bay.
