The “Merengues”, with a huge goal from Thibaut Courtois (59th), won a long, closed final. It was less crazy than the previous rounds.
This team was able to win “hard” against Paris Saint-Germain (0-1/3-1), Chelsea (0-1/2-3 a.p.m.). Then came Manchester City (3-4/ 3-1) a.p. ).
Saint-Denis was a great place to see the defenders, with a stunning duel between Dani Carvajal & Luis Diaz, or a huge game from Ibrahima Konate. He was full of authority, but lost for his first C1 final.
Karim Benzema was awarded his fifth of five goals. Clement Turpin disallowed him for offside (43rd). However, Karim Benzema was the top scorer in the C1 (15 goals), scoring decisive points for Ballon d’ Gold. He beat his rivals Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
This is the first time that Ferland Mendy, a young French diplomat, and Eduardo Camavinga have won this award.
Real now has twice the number of C1 (14) than its first pursuer, AC Milan (7). The “White House,” has reestablished its dominance over European football.
It had won the first five European Cups of Champions Clubs (1956-1960), and then won a sixth in 1966. Then, it was challenged by Liverpool (4th in 1984) and Milan (5th 1994).
Real had been led by the Raul generation (1998-2000, 2002), which was already won by Carlo Ancelotti in his first visit (2014). This made it the third consecutive victory for the Zinedine Zidane-coached team.
Luka Modric and Marcelo are here, as “Benz”, in order to win a fifth unit of the C1 record of Francisco Gento who won the first six Real.
“Carletto,” also broke records with his fourth win on the bench. He added both to the head AC Milan (2003, 2007, and even two as playing “rossonero” (1989, 1990).
Jurgen Klopp in Liverpool is far from these numbers. After “losing many finals”, he was now starting to win the C1 2019 against Tottenham (2-0). However, his famous “gegenpressing” or counter-pressing did not stop the “veterans”, (the word comes from Ancelotti) at Real.
Liverpool lost against Real to their 7th Champions League and did not win. This was a repeat of 2018 (3-1), which is a devastating loss after they fell by one point to second in the title race. The title remained at Man City.
Mohamed Salah lost another final after the African Cup against Egypt and the play-off to reach the World Cup. He was playing with Sadio Mane, his teammate.
The dominant Liverpool machine broke at its weak point in the back Trent Alexander-Arnold. Vinicius, who was not in control of Vinicius at far post, scored on a cross in Federico Valverde’s depth (59th).
Real made the second most dangerous move in the game. Clement Turpin was required to evaluate a complex move, with the help of the video, on the second. Karim Benzema was finally disqualified for a goal. This was an offside decision.
Liverpool was a bit more aggressive than it was before, but they were still soft in the predictable round.
After waiting 36 minutes for Liverpool fans to finish, the kick-off was delayed another quarter of an hour. Nothing happened until a shot by Mohamed Salah was blocked. Thibaut Courtois (16th).
After denying Sadio Mane’s shot on the post, the Belgian goalkeeper escaped with a jerk after being marked by three defenders (21st).
Vinicius’ goal was a clear win for the Reds. Courtois relaxed against Salah (64th and 69th), and sickened him with a strong strike from the Egyptian (83rd).
Real was defeated 1-0 by Liverpool in the European Cup final in 1981. The King of Europe is back.
