Real Madrid beats Liverpool 1-0 at Champions League for 14th title win

Football

Published: 29 May. 2022, 16:55

Real Madrid beats Liverpool 1-0 at Champions League for 14th title win

Real Madrid's Marcelo, center, lifts the trophy after winning the Champions League final match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday. Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 1-0.[AP/YONHAP]

From right to left, Real Madrid's Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric pose for a photograph with the trophy after winning the Champions League final against Liverpool at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday. Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 1-0. [AP/YONHAP]

Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 at the Champions League final on Saturday night in Paris at the Stade de France, winning the European Cup for the record 14th time.

Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior scored the sole goal of the match in the 59th minute while Liverpool struggled to get past Thibaut Courtois in the Real net.

The match itself was delayed for over a half hour as crowds outside the Stade de France wreaked havoc. While organizers explained that the failed crowd control was due to people attempting to use fake tickets to enter the match, photos and footage on social media from outside showed fans being pepper-sprayed as they were held up at the fences and barriers.

After the match finally commenced 36 minutes later, Liverpool seemed to have the upperhand, hammering multiple times at the Real net, but nevertheless remained unable to get past the Belgian goalkeeper.

Just before half-time, it seemed Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema had put the La liga club ahead by a point late in the first half, only to see the flag go up for offside. After a lengthy VAR review, the goal was disallowed.

Real Madrid's Karim Benzema scores the team's first goal during the Champions League final match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday before it was disallowed after a VAR review. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The tide turned after the first half, with Real Madrid building momentum while Liverpool continued to struggle to figure out the Real goalkeeper. Then in the 59th minute, Vinicius connected a cross from teammate Fede Valverde and slotted in the first and last goal of the match.

From then on, Liverpool hammered at the Real net every chance they had, but the La Liga club managed to hold out to win their record 14th Champions League title.

It was an especially unfruitful match for Liverpool, as the clear problem was getting the ball past the goal line. Liverpool had 24 shots, nine of which were on target, while Real Madrid had four shots, two of which were on target. But of the two shots on target for Real, successfully converting that one goal made all the difference.

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, left, controls the ball next to Real Madrid's Ferland Mendy during the Champions League final match between the two clubs at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Real Madrid’s 14 trophies are the most any club has ever won from the competition. AC Milan is a distant second with half: seven titles.

This year’s final was actually a repeat of the 2018 final when Real beat Liverpool 3-1 with Vinicius scoring the winning goal.

This year was the third time Real Madrid and Liverpool faced off in the Champions League final: The first time was in the 1980-1981 season when the Premier League club beat the La Liga club 1-0.

Real Madrid first won the Champions League trophy in 1956 after beating Reims 4-3.

Since then, Real has reached the finals 17 times, losing only three times: in the 1961-62 final 5-3 against Benfica, the 1963-64 final 3-1 against Inter Milan and the 1980-81 final 1-0 against Liverpool.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]