David Hytner’s match report has arrived from Paris - the technology these days - so I’m going to wrap this blog up. Thanks for your company and emails throughout. Commiserations to Liverpool, but huge congraulations to Real Madrid and the adorable Carlo Ancelotti, the Jeffrey Lebowski of football management.
For the second time in a month he has made history, and his team have just completed the greatest European Cup campaign of all time, ever. Goodnight!
Courtois made nine saves in total. Two stand out: in the first half he pushed Sadio Mane’s fierce shot onto the post, and in the second he made a stunning reaction save - I think with his bicep - to deny Mo Salah.
Thibaut Courtois with an outrageous save to deny Sadio Mané! 🤯#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/RjMFEVyra9
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 28, 2022
Stop it, Thibaut Courtois! 🥵
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 28, 2022
Joke of a save! #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/3KunsBBN9G
The champagne moment
It's a habit 🏆
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 28, 2022
FOURTEEN times they've lifted this trophy! Insane! 👏#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/GwSROB6RS7
Eight months is a long time in football
Real Madrid have now won the Champions League 14 times. That’s the same as England, two more than Italy and six more than Germany.
“Strangely,” writes J.A. Hopkin, “Liverpool have failed to score in each of their three finals this season.”
“Sorry, Rob strongly disagree,” says Robert Yeoman. “Real were the better team tonight. That was an exemplary European final performance. Ancelotti masterminded a brilliant tactical plan that stopped Liverpool playing the final in the way that suited them best, Yes, Courtois was amazing but keepers aren’t magic. They’re part of a team’s tactics as is the 10 players in front of them then that reduce ‘the better team’ to attempting to score in a way that the keeper can handle. Liverpool were beaten tonight because they had no answer to how Real set themselves up to win this game. Hats off to them!”
Not sure I agree with much of that, but I do take your point. And Real’s oft-maligned defence was excellent, Carvajal and Militao in particular.
The player of the match is Thibaut Courtois. The player of the tournament, though there isn’t an official award, is Karim Benzema. He scored 15 goals, including hat-tricks against PSG and Chelsea and winners against Chelsea (in the second leg) and Manchester City. He probably should have had one tonight as well, but thankfully we won’t be talking about that.
One thing we will be talking about for a while is the scenes outside the ground before the game.
Real have formed a guard of honour for the Liverpool players, who are collecting their medals. Mo Salah is particularly glassy-eyed. It’s still been an incredible season for Liverpool, but it’ll take a few weeks before they see it like that.
Here’s Carlo Ancelotti’s reaction (eyebrow status: jaunty)
“I can’t believe. I cannot believe. We are really happy. [Spreads arms wide] What can I say? I cannot say more.
“I am a record man! I had the luck to come here last year and we’ve had a fantastic season. I found a squad, as usual, with a lot of quality and a lot of mental character.
“We passed through some really difficult games. The supporters helped us a lot. Tonight, I’m really happy that they are happy.
“[What about Courtois?] Unbelievable. I tell you, I cannot believe!”
And with that, he strolls off into the night. There’s a cigar with his name on it, and a trophy with Madrid’s.
Thibaut Courtois’s reaction
“Thank you very much. I said at the press conference yesterday that when Madrid play in finals, they win. I saw a lot of tweets saying I would get humbled. It was the other way round. 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 enough respect, especiallyin England. I saw a lot of criticism that I was not good enough or whatever.
“I’m just really happy and proud of the performance of the team, and when I needed to be there I was there for the team. We have beaten the best clubs in the world, together with us. Liverpool were very strong today. I think I played a great game and that was the difference.”
It’s a sore one for Liverpool. Maybe the long season caught up with them, yet they were still the better team tonight: they had 23 attempts at goal to Real’s three. And they lost, because Real Madrid’s name was on the trophy all along.
A month ago, Carlo Ancelotti became the first coach to win the league in each of Europe’s five biggest leagues. Now he is the first coach to win four Champions Leagues. BUT WHAT DOES HE ACTUALLY DO?
Real have done it again, and this might be the best of the lot - they’ve beaten Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City and now Liverpool. They had two big heroes tonight: Vinicius Jr, who scored the winner in the second half, and the outstanding Thibaut Courtois.
Liverpool were the better team without ever really being at their pulsating best, but Courtois made two exceptional saves and a number of good ones.
Full time: Liverpool 0-1 Real Madrid
It’s Real Madrid’s continent, we just live in it.
90+5 min Fabinho crosses too close to Courtois, and that might be Liverpool’s last chance.
90+3 min Mane’s cross is headed away well by Eder Militao, an often erratic defender who has been almost faultless tonight.
90+3 min: Real substitution Rodrygo replaces the goalscorer Vincius Jr.
90+2 min Camavinga shoots over from 20 yards.
90+1 min Benzema flips a lovely pass to put Dani Ceballos through on goal, but he takes too long and is tackled by Robertson. Real eventually win a corner, over which Kroos takes an age.
90+1 min There will be five minutes of added time.
90 min: Real substitution Dani Ceballos comes on for Luka Modric.
88 min Alexander-Arnold curls it deep, and Courtois comes through the crowd to claim with authority. He has been immense.
88 min Mane, back on the left now, runs Camavinga to win a corner...
87 min Alexander-Anrold makes an important tackle on Benzema, who tried to twist away from him in the area.
85 min: Real substitution Eduardo Camavinga replaces Fede Valverde, who made the goal and ran his branded socks off.
84 min Like the man said.
83 min Real break dangerously, three on three, only for Benzema to slightly overhit a through pass to Vinicius.
82 min: Magnificent save from Courtois! Salah kills a crossfield pass, scoots past Mendy in the area and pings a right-footed shot that is diverted just wide of the far post by Courtois! That is a wonderful reaction save.
81 min Mane plays in the underlapping Firmino, whose cutback evades everyone at the near post. The ball runs to Keita on the edge of the area, and he wafts it high and wide. That was another decent chance.
Firmino has made a difference since coming on.
80 min: Good save from Courtois! Make that 20 attempts at goal: Salah’s shot is redirected by Jota, arriving late in the area, and Courtois changes direction to push it behind for a corner.
80 min Liverpool have had 19 attempts at goal to Real Madrid’s two.
79 min Liverpool are now playing with Mane and Firmino up front, Salah to the right and Jota to the left.
78 min Alexander-Arnold’s cross is crucially intercepted by Militao. He might have gone for goal as well.
77 min: Double substitution for Liverpool Roberto Firmino and Naby Keita replace Thiago Alcantara and Jordan Henderson, which means a switch to 4-2-4.
76 min Kroos’s long free-kick finds Casemiro in space on the left side of the area. He should go for goal but instead tries to cushion a volley back across the penalty area, and makes a mess of that as well.
74 min Alexander-Arnold whistles a cross shot well wide. The stretching Jota got a slight touch, but not enough to divert it towards goal. Liverpool’s response to the goal has been decent, if slightly impatient at times.
73 min Mendy wins the ball fairly off Alexander-Arnold, who gets up and points angrily at him. Not sure what that was about.
72 min “I wouldn’t be too harsh on Alexander-Arnold,” says Kári Tulinius. “That Valverde assist was both incredibly precise in terms of placement and pace, but it came from a really unlikely source. I think this is only his second assist all season. But if you keep your powder dry, that’s the way to ignite it.”
71 min Modric releases Vinicius, one v one with Konate. Vinicius charges infield and seems to have beaten Konate, who then makes a brilliant recovery tackle on the edge of the area. He’s had a fine game.
69 min: Great save from Courtois! Henderson dumps a high, hanging cross beyond the far post, where Jota does well to loop a header back across goal. Salah scurries onto it, a couple of yards out, but Courtois charges back acrosss his line to block Salah’s shot.
69 min Jota wins two corners in quick succession down the left. The second, taken by Robertson, leads to a short game of head tennis before Alaba blooters the ball clear.
67 min Kroos buys a foul from Salah, which eats up another 20 seconds. Every little helps.
