Real Madrid made one of its few chances count, as Vinicius Junior’s second-half goal was enough to defeat dominant Liverpool 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League Final on Saturday in Paris.
It’s Real’s 14th European Cup, and comes off a nine-save showing from Thibaut Courtois, who made sure there would be no “revenge” from the 2018 final.
[ MORE: JPW’s live coverage from France ]
Liverpool took six times the amount of shots as their rivals, one of only three teams to win more European Cups than the Reds.
Liverpool, instead, leaves with six wins in 10 finals, tied with Bayern Munich and one behind AC Milan.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid final score, stats
Liverpool 0, Real Madrid 1
Scorers: Vinicius Jr (59')
Shot attempts: Liverpool 24, Real Madrid 4
Shots on goal: Liverpool 9, Real Madrid 2
Possession: Liverpool 54, Real Madrid 46
Three things we learned from Liverpool vs Real Madrid
1. Courtois gets low, stands tall: Former Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois was called up twice in the first 20 minutes to stop Mohamed Salah alone, the first a quick reaction to palm away the Egyptian’s low strike and the second a hard shot right at him. Sadio Mane would soon strike the post, a distinct change after Real Madrid’s first stanza of the game was heavy position.
Thibaut Courtois denies Mo Salah. 🧤 pic.twitter.com/jZAFpoK1tb
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 28, 2022
2. Vini has his breakthrough: Vinicius Junior might’ve actually been in someone’s pocket for most of the game, because you couldn’t find him on the field. Yet the young star timed his run well and got the better of Trent Alexander-Arnold to tap home from Fede Valverde. On a day they were badly out-attempted, Real got its opener.
VINICIUS JR. BREAKTHROUGH FOR REAL MADRID. 💥 pic.twitter.com/GVzH0BsgvZ
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 28, 2022
3. Damage limited: As good as Courtois was -- and he was great -- get a load of this stat. Real Madrid had two big chances and Liverpool had one. Yes, the Reds took a ton of shots, but Courtois was either well-positioned to stop them or they weren’t of much danger.
Man of the Match: Thibaut Courtois -- Don’t kid yourself. His nine-save performance as as important as Vinicius’ goal.
Controversy, chaos before the start
Our man Joe Prince-Wright is on the scene in Paris and described the tension and anxiety amongst Liverpool fans who could not get inside the stadium. The match kicked off with many Liverpool fans kept outside the stadium, their section having plennty of empty seats.
More about it from Joe, here.
This is the current scene outside entrance Y. It’s the same outside entrance X and U at Stade de France.
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) May 28, 2022
Liverpool fans in huge queues still. Riot police patrolling the area and police helicopter overhead. Fans mention being tear gassed & “total chaos.”#LFC #RMFC #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/gCdNr3P5Tk
More controversy as Liverpool dodges concession
You’ll have a hard time explaining the difference between deliberate and not, as Karim Benzema has the ball in the net but a long VAR check does not go the way of the Frenchman and it stays 0-0.
BENZEMA WITH THE BALL IN THE NET. ...But he's ruled offside. 😲 pic.twitter.com/obMLUwCQBF
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 28, 2022