Yet another UEFA Champions League title for Real Madrid, the undisputed king of Europe. Yet another showpiece European soccer game tarnished by chaotic crowd issues and disorder. (More Football News)
Real Madrid became European champion for a record-extending 14th time 바카라 double the number of any other team on the continent 바카라 after beating Liverpool 1-0 in a final that started 37 minutes late because of disturbing scenes outside the Stade de France on Saturday.
It evoked memories of the violence that marred the European Championship final at Wembley Stadium 10 months ago.
Brazil winger Vinícius Júnior was the match-winner, applying a close-range finish in the 59th minute from Federico Valverde바카라s drive across the face of goal, while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois took just as many plaudits by making breathtaking saves by Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
바카라Today nobody was going to get in my way,바카라 Courtois said. 바카라I was going to win a Champions League no matter what.바카라
It gave Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti a fourth European Cup title, the most ever for a manager in the competition바카라s history, and completed the Champions League-La Liga double for a Spanish giant for whom winning titles is ingrained in its culture.
And this time, there was no need for the kind of stirring comeback that Real Madrid had to produce in getting past Paris Saint-Germain, defending champion Chelsea and Manchester City in the knockout stage. It might go down as the most gruelling run to the title in the long history of the competition
바카라We are the best,바카라 Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema said. 바카라It was a very difficult competition for us and we deserved to win this final. With all the history this team has, we showed everyone that we are always here.바카라
Liverpool바카라s players finished a season that promised so much 바카라 a week ago, it was in contention for an unprecedented quadruple of major trophies 바카라 with just the two domestic cups in England to show for their efforts.
They lost out on the English Premier League title by one point last weekend and the UEFA Champions League to a Real Madrid team that had one shot on target in the final.
Playing their 64th game of the season, Liverpool just couldn바카라t find a way past Courtois, who tipped Mane바카라s first-half shot onto the post and produced an even better save to turn away Salah바카라s effort in the 81st.
It바카라s unfathomable that Liverpool, which owns one of the most devastating attacks in world football, has failed to score a single goal in their three cup finals this season. The Reds won the FA Cup and League Cup via penalty shootouts after 0-0 draws after extra time.
바카라In the dressing room, nobody feels it was a great season at the moment,바카라 Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said.
Liverpool바카라s players stayed on the field to watch Marcelo, Madrid바카라s serial winner of trophies who didn바카라t even play a minute of the final, given the honor of lifting the trophy to a backdrop of fireworks and tickertape.
Marcelo is one of a slew of Madrid players to capture a fifth Champions League title, just one off the record held by Francisco Gento, a Madrid great from the 1950s and 바카라60s.
For many, especially Liverpool fans, pre-match crowd problems overshadowed this final, though, and are sure to be the focus of an investigation by UEFA and authorities in the coming days.
Riot police fired tear gas and pepper spray at Liverpool supporters forced to wait in long lines to get into the biggest club game of the European season, whose kickoff was delayed. UEFA blamed the chaos on people trying to get into the stadium without legitimate tickets.
바카라In the lead-up to the game, the turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands of fans who purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles,바카라 UEFA said in a statement.
Some fans climbed fences surrounding the stadium to get in. Others barged their way past security and sprinted onto the concourse before getting wrestled to the ground. Riot police with batons and riot shields ran from gate to gate to prevent pockets of fans forcing their way into the stadium.
바카라I바카라ve got really bad asthma and I바카라ve been tear gassed twice,바카라 Liverpool fan Angela Murphy told The Associated Press through a fence. 바카라I바카라m really struggling.바카라 About 15 minutes before the scheduled kickoff of 9 p.m. local time, an announcement was made that there would be a delay. It was greeted by jeers inside the stadium.
Liverpool said it was 바카라hugely disappointed바카라 with the security issues experienced by its fans which were reminiscent of last summer outside Wembley before the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy. That was largely due to England fans aggressively trying to get into their home stadium.
바카라I know families had real struggles to get into the stadium,바카라 Klopp said. 바카라We will leave it for the investigation to figure out ... Obviously it was pretty tricky out there.바카라
