As dangerous as the situation may seem, as unlikely as victory may seem, the team in white always finds a way to win.
Unfortunately, the night was overshadowed by security problems outside the stadium, which led to fans climbing over the gates, while others were targeted with tear gas in scenes that will be talked about for days.
It wasn’t beautiful for most of the match; the white shirts seemed to be constantly scattered across the penalty area as they desperately tried to repel wave after wave of Liverpool attacks.
The chances for Carlo Ancelotti’s team were few and far between, but he only needed one. Vinicius Junior appeared completely uncovered on the far post of the time point to turn Federico Valverde’s low cross and secure a 1-0 victory and Real’s 14th European crown.
The Real Nacho defender described what his team did in the elimination stages of the Champions League as “magic” and many doubted whether these incredible escape actions were possible outside the Bernabeu.
But doubt the Real of your danger. This team always has another trick up its sleeve.
When the final time signal expired, the Real bench erupted and emptied on the field. Out of joy, some players fell to the floor, while others ran to share the moment with their fans.
It was another night of trials and tribulations for Real in the Champions League this season, but no one can do a little – even this remarkable Liverpool team – when Los Blancos seems to have a meeting with fate.
Ancelotti summed it up, perhaps, as everyone could hope. “This club is special,” he said.
Ugly scenes before the match
Real Madrid fans filled the final end of the stadium almost more than an hour before the start and greeted their players with a thunderous welcome as they emerged from the tunnel to warm up.
It took a little longer for Liverpool fans to filter the ground, but those who took their seats performed a serenade of men in red with a roaring performance of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” when the warm-up was over.
The atmosphere generated by the two sets of fans tingled the spine and there was electricity in the air, which is reserved only for such cases.
However, the opening match was delayed by more than 35 minutes due to unpleasant scenes outside the stadium, with many fans unable to enter and authorities using tear gas.
Some supporters were spotted climbing through closed gates to make their way into the ground as dangerous bottlenecks formed around narrow entry points.
The governing body of European football, UEFA, issued a statement saying that “turnstiles at the end of Liverpool have been blocked by thousands of fans who have bought fake tickets that do not work in turnstiles.”
It added: “As the numbers outside the stadium continued to pile up after the start, the police scattered them with tear gas and pushed them out of the stadium.
“UEFA sympathizes with those affected by these events and will review these issues urgently with the French police and authorities, as well as with the French Football Federation.
A spokesman for the Paris police prefecture said: “People without tickets violated the barriers and tried to enter the stadium to watch the match. These attempts created a movement of the crowd.”
In a statement, Liverpool said it was “very disappointed” with the problems outside the stadium and called for a formal investigation.
“I still couldn’t talk to my family, but I know the families had a real struggle to get into the stadium,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said after the match.
“I heard a few things that weren’t good, it was obviously quite complicated, but I don’t know more about it.”
The length of the delay meant that the teams had to reappear for a second warm-up before the match could begin.
As both sets of fans prepared for the initial local start at 9pm – and there was no update on the stadium until fifteen minutes later – there was a palpable tension in the air with many confusing conversations between fans.
But the appearance of FIFA President Gianni Infantino on the big screens woke fans from sleep as he was greeted with loud boos and taunts from across the stadium.
When singer Camilla Cabello finally started the fun before the match almost half an hour after the match was supposed to start, supporters of both teams took turns to drown out her singing, which could barely be heard over Real’s “Ole, Ole, Ole” and ” Ales, Ales, Ales of Liverpool.
Liverpool dominance
The delay obviously affected the players, as both teams struggled to find some rhythm in the early stages. The gaps were misleading, the gaps were distorted, and both sides struggled to find any incursions into the enemy’s zone.
When the first opportunity finally arrived more than 15 minutes after the start of the match, it was thanks to the good individual work of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who made his way past two Real defenders before digging a low cross in the penalty area.
Mo Salah was there to meet him, but he arrived at his feet somewhat awkwardly, and Thibaut Courtois was equal to him. Salah’s second chance came soon after, but he was hit right in the Real goalkeeper.
It was the first time both teams had managed to keep up the pressure on each other, and Liverpool fans soon moaned again when Alexander-Arnold exploded high above the crossbar when he was well placed in the penalty area.
After more than five minutes of continuous waves of red shirts hitting Real’s defense, Sadio Mane thought he had found the hole only for Courtois, so he could incredibly take his hand on his shot and point it at the crossbar.
Proof of how remarkable the rescue was was that most Liverpool fans on the other side of the stadium had already started celebrating, waiting for the net to swell.
At this point, after almost 30 minutes, the best that Real managed to collect was a Vinicius cross, which seemed for a split second as if it could embarrass Alison at Liverpool’s goal.
A clear pattern was now emerging; those in white were locked in their own half, trembling and unable to escape the pressure of Liverpool.
Real fans, to their credit, continued to chant and wave their flags and scarves in an attempt to breathe life into their messy team. They had the best seats in the house to witness Liverpool’s near-perfect first half, but fortunately the only thing they didn’t see up close was a goal.
Then, out of nowhere, Carlo Ancelotti’s team seemed to take over entirely as a result of the game. After the ball bounced around the penalty area, Benzema rushed to score the ball under Alison, only to see his goal immediately fall off the flag of the line.
What initially seemed like an easy offside solution was eventually confirmed as age, as VAR staff struggled to decide whether the original ball came from a Liverpool player.
After all, after an annoying wait, those in red celebrated wildly when the offside decision was confirmed. It was a suitably tense end to what was a captivating first half.
He really jumps
He was familiar with the way the second half began as Liverpool kept up the pressure on Real, which quickly seemed to be sinking under the weight of the case.
It was a strange sight. After all, this is a team that has made a name for itself in this competition, constantly rewriting books with records and doing the seemingly impossible.
Then the goal came. Yes, it was against the course of the game, with Liverpool looking like the only team to score in the first hour, but in fact this goal still felt inevitable. It’s always like that when Real Madrid plays.
Valverde found himself in the space on the right and made an annoyingly low pass across the face of the door, with Vinicius at the far post’s arm to hit the ball into an empty net.
Cue bedlam. The concrete stairs inside the Stade de France began to tremble as Real’s celebrations lasted almost five minutes. Numerous beeps sounded as this end of the stadium glowed red and smoke filled the cool Parisian air.
Salah did his best to keep up with Liverpool, reaching inside and delivering a beautiful shot to the far post, but Courtois again managed to repel him with full force.
Courtois saves Madrid
Vinicius will receive applause for his winning goal, but when the dust settles, Courtois’ performance will be talked about as one of the greats of all time by a goalkeeper in the Champions League final.
With the clock running, he kept Salah aside again, this time throwing the ball from behind into the corner when the Egyptian’s shot hit the far corner.
“When the goalkeeper is the man of the match, something went wrong for the other team. In the last third we could have done better,” said Klopp after the match.
With every wasted opportunity, the inevitability of Madrid’s victory grows. True fans felt it; so did Liverpool.
Although Klopp’s team continued to push until the end, the celebrations have already begun for Madrid fans. The outpouring of joy at the full-time whistle was largely colored with relief – these fans know what a challenge it was tonight.
Real Madrid didn’t have to go that far. Three times he was stabbed in the face during the campaign, and three times he somehow came out on the other side.
But once he got to Paris, there might have been no doubt that this would be the end result.
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