Real Madrid has clinched its fourteenth champions league title after defeating Liverpool by one goal to nil.
In the 59th minute, Federico Valverde fed Vinicius Junior who tapped it into an empty net to get Madrid the lead. Man of the match Thibaut Courtois put up an outstanding effort, making nine saves to hold Liverpool scoreless for the entire 90 minutes.
This will be the second time both teams will meet in the finals in the last 5 years with Madrid coming out on top both times.
The game was delayed by 30 minutes, according to UEFA in a Twitter post they said “For security reasons, the UEFA Champions League final kick-off has been delayed by 15 minutes. will now start at 21:15 CET.
“A further delay has been announced to the kick-off of tonight’s Champions League final,” UEFA said through its official Twitter handle,”
In the 50s Madrid created the competition with a few clubs and started winning it from the get-go. With Player and rule changes Madrid still managed to show off their dominance in the European circuit .
The most prestigious club competition in the world has been dominated by the likes of Madrid legends such as Alfredo Di Stefano, Puskas, Hugo Sanchez, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Iker Cassilas, Christiano Ronaldo and many others. All of whom have been part of the Real Madrid Side to have conquered Europe.
Madrid has now won the competition for the 14th time, a record that further stamps them as the most successful team in the champions league. They’ve played in 17 finals and won in 14 of them.
The last time they lost a champions league final was back in 1981 where they lost one goal to nil to Liverpool at the Parc de princes.
A team spirit like no other
In yesteryear’s Madrid used to win these games because they were able to call upon the service of titans who would change an encounter in a blink of an eye. From Zidane’s iconic volley, to Ronaldo’s overhead kick goal to Ramos’s late winner against Atletico Madrid. This year has been different with a lot of team bonding from the players with each of them playing for the man next to him.
This kind of team spirit got Madrid to come back from behind to defeat PSG and Manchester city. The game against the citizens showcased why Carlo ancelotti’s men are too dangerous to be taken lightly. City had all the advantage to move ahead to the finals but Madrid kept coming back and in the second leg City were in the comfortable position only to be on the receiving end of another Remontada (Spanish word for come back).
This attitude of never giving up and pressing hard in the final minutes had become the hallmark of Madrid’s 2021/2022 champions league campaign winning them local and international trophies.
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The Carlo Ancelotti factor
After constant speculation about Ancelotti’s future, the Italian was brought back to Santiago Bernabeu to bring the club glory days. He succeeded in winning the La Liga this season though his tactics have come under scrutiny, especially in the game against PSG where they were made to suffer before coming back in the second leg.
Many pundits felt his tactics were outdated but failed to remember he has won the champions league twice with AC Milan and one time against Liverpool in 2007. Before he took on the role as manager in his first spell in 2013, the Los Blancos last won the trophy in 2002 before he helped them clinch the long awaited La decima in 2014 and has now become the first manager to win the trophy 4 times as a manager.
His self-titled ‘quartz leadership’ and his influence on his strikers has been the secret to why he is one of the most loved and respected coaches in the game.
