By Ikolaba Olanrewaju
This year went the same as 2018, as Real Madrid rode some luck and strong goalkeeping from Thibaut Courtois to beat Liverpool 1-0 in Paris and take home the prize. After a 40-minute kickoff delay due to delays getting fans into the stadium, the Spanish side walked away worthy winners.
The Champions League final began late due to some shocking scenes outside the stadium, but it ended with Real Madrid walking away with their 14th European title, beating Liverpool 1-0 in Paris on Vinicius Jr's second-half goal.
Madrid had a strong UCL season, winning five times and losing only once against Manchester City. They avenged that loss soon enough, however, engineering an incredible comeback by scoring twice after the 90th minute just enough to win 6-5 on aggregate.
This game wasn't quite as dramatic as their victory against Manchester City, but it wasn't entirely without controversy. In the first half, Karim Benzema took advantage of a chaotic sequence in front of Liverpool's goal, scoring in the 42nd minute. The goal was disallowed, however, after VAR review determined that he was offside.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti rewrote the Champions League history books as Vinicius Junior's second-half goal clinched a 1-0 win against Liverpool in Paris to secure a record 14th success for Real and make Ancelotti the first coach to win four European Cups.
But while Vinicius' goal was the decisive moment, Real owed their victory to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois who made a succession of crucial saves throughout the game. The former Chelsea keeper kept out efforts from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane during the early stages, pushing a Mane shot onto the post as Liverpool attempted to capitalize on a bright start to the game. Courtois continued his heroic performance in the second-half, before and after his team's breakthrough goal, to seal a compelling case for the man of the match award.
By winning this game, Real avenged their 1981 European Cup final defeat against Liverpool in the French capital and also stretched their incredible winning record in the competition. Real's 14 European Cups/Champions League is now twice as many as AC Milan, who stand second in the rankings with seven titles. Liverpool remain on six having last won the competition in 2019. And Ancelotti now moves ahead of Liverpool's Bob Paisley and Real's Zinedine Zidane as the most successful coach by winning it a fourth time. The Italian won two with AC Milan, on 2003 and 2007, before adding another two with Real in 2014 and now 2022.
Just two weeks ago, Liverpool were on course to make history by winning an unprecedented quadruple of Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, but the quadruple has now ended up a domestic double, with Klopp's team falling short in the big two competitions.
Manchester City's dramatic late fightback against Aston Villa last Sunday, when they overturned a 2-0 deficit in the final 15 minutes to win 3-2, denied Liverpool the title on the final day of the league season. And Saturday's result left Liverpool without their seventh European Cup. So how can we judge a season that promised so much, yet ultimately ended with disappointment?
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