Liverpool 0-1 Real Madrid: Courtois heroics helps Madrid to 14th European Cup title

The trophy was within the grasp of Liverpool, but they were just unable to deliver the performance required, or match the relentless energy of RMAin this game. They were worthy finalists, but ultimately came up short in the end. Both sides arrived on the back of wins. Liverpool were keen to hang onto their position at the top of league and extend their winning run after winning their previous two matches against Villarreal away and Villarreal at home, by 3-2 and 2-0 respectively while RMA were coming off the back of a 3-1 win against Manchester City. Liverpool will no doubt see this as a missed opportunity. They will be pleased to have performed so well to get to this stage of the competition, but ultimately they were un-done in the end by a better team.

After an un-eventful first half, RMA continued to apply pressure in the second and were rewarded, thanks to Vinicius Junior giving Los Blancos the lead in the 59th minute, leaving the final score at 1-0.

Both coaches used all available substitutions. For Liverpool, Diogo Jota, Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino, came on for Luis Diaz, Jordan Henderson and Thiago, RMA brought on Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos and Rodrygo to replace Federico Valverde, Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior.

The referee booked Fabinho for Liverpool.

We now have the Champions League title decided, as we draw the curtain on this year’s tournament. It has been a thrill to see the top teams in Europe battle it out over the months. We look forward to the next one.

Lucas Schneider