Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 to clinch Champions League title | Football News
Brazilian winger Vinicius hit Fede Valverde’s attractive low cross in the 59th minute at the Stade de France and Liverpool could not find the equalizer as Jurgen KloppTheir side have lost to the Spanish giants in the Champions League final for the second time in five seasons.
As it happened: Liverpool vs Real Madrid
The Anfield hosts will wonder what could have happened if the excellent Thibaut Courtois had failed to shove Sadio Mane’s shot into the post as they were leading in the first half, as they failed to win the treble.
This season’s League Cup and FA Cup winners, they just missed out on Manchester City for Premier League title and denied a win here, which would put them on par with AC Milan on seven European Cups.
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Instead, Real got the fifth Champions League in nine seasons to win the Spanish championship, like Carlo Ancelotti became the first manager to win the biggest prize in European club football for the fourth time.
Ancelotti was also the manager of Real when they won the final in 2014 and won against AC Milan in 2003 and in 2007, the following victory was against Liverpool.
The match started 35 minutes later than scheduled 9:00pm (1900 GMT) which began in the French capital after chaos at stadium entrances resulted in fans being unable to get into their seats. me.
UEFA said it was “sympathetic” to those affected and reduced the huge fan base at the gate to “thousands of fans who bought fake tickets that didn’t work at the turnstile”.
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Police also fired tear gas as a small number of people could be seen trying to extend the fence around the perimeter of the outcrop.
The final was only moved to the French capital after Saint-Petersburg was disqualified following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
The delayed start time could be the cause of the slow start of the match, as it took 16 minutes before there was a noticeable crash, Mohamed Salah Trent Alexander-Arnold sends a low cross into goal only for Courtois to save.
Liverpool were seen as a good candidate to avenge their loss to the Spanish giants in the 2018 final in Kyiv and they began to take control of the game.
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Mane nearly opened the scoring in the 21st minute when he missed a shot from inside the box only for Courtois to hit his own net into his right post.
Klopp’s side, with Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara starting in midfield after overcoming their fitness concerns, are on top but have not been able to turn their advantage into goals.
Real, meanwhile, produced almost nothing in the first half with Karim Benzema silent, but their captain briefly thought he had made his breakthrough two minutes before halftime.
The Frenchman scored the home side’s goal after the ball flew back to him in the box but the offside flag was raised.
The decision to disallow the goal was upheld after a lengthy VAR check, despite Fabinho saving Valverde’s touch on Benzema.
However, Ancelotti’s side still kept their determination and were rewarded with goals as game time approached.
Valverde moved down to the right front before bouncing a low ball over goal for Vinicius to head into the net of Brazil national team colleague Alisson.
Just like in 2018, Real poured their first blood, but this time they didn’t need to bring in Gareth Bale to ensure victory.
Courtois brilliantly flew to the right to stop Salah before making two consecutive saves late in the game.
First, the Belgian went low when substitute Diogo Jota blocked Salah’s effort towards goal, and then he put up a powerful arm to block a Salah shot.
It was the night of Real Madrid.