The Champions League final will go down in history as Thibaut Courtois’ masterpiece. The Red Devil filled the last hole in his palm with an exceptional performance against Liverpool. Courtois kept Real Madrid upright with a handful of world saves. Vinicius scored the only goal in the minute, but the Belgian is the king of the tournament ball.
Liverpool – Real Madrid in a nutshell
- Key moment: Thanks to Courtois’ miracles, Real Madrid only have to beat once. Shortly before the end of the first half, Benzema’s goal was still rejected for offside, but Vinicius 0-1 withstood the control of the VAR.
- man of the match: You could suspect chauvinism in any other match, but not tonight. Thibaut Courtois It pushed Liverpool in general and Mohamed Salah in particular to despair with a series of amazing balls.
- Amazing stats: Courtois will be especially happy that he finally won the Champions League, but he also set two records. Nine saves in this final and a total of 59 in Real Madrid’s incredible season.
- Also interesting: Thibaut Courtois is the first Belgian to win the Champions League final as a starting player. Eric Gerets did it for him as captain of PSV when the tournament was still called the first European Cup.
Dominant Liverpool evade Benzema
As the organization in Paris struggled to get Liverpool fans to the Stade de France in time, the final kicked off more than half an hour later. When the match finally launched, it took a while before there was really anything to see. In the fifteenth minute, Courtois hit a ball from Salah from the corner.
Liverpool built on that opportunity and soon afterwards Courtois once again stood in the way of Salah trying. Real Madrid suddenly saw the stars and thanked his goalkeeper for saving the first world. Courtois shot a fierce shot from Mane against the post only. He had fewer problems with his header than Salah.
Real Madrid defend on their feet and flick their shirts. Alisson cut through Benzema, but the ball landed again in front of the Frenchman’s foot, who netted it in the net. Intrusion, it seems. The VAR watched the pictures for a few minutes and confirmed: 0-0 remains. Valverde, Fabinho and Konate had a piece of leather with them.
“Vini” vidi vici, Courtois is a superhero of Real Madrid
The second half did not change the match. Liverpool set the course, Real defended itself by all possible means and threw life and limbs into the fray.
The royal goal came unexpectedly. Sharp cross – or is it a missed shot? – Van Valverde scored in the goal at the far post by Vinicius, who was revealed. The edge of offside, but the goal this time mattered.
Liverpool had to give it their all in the last half hour. However, Courtois was ready for whatever the Reds sent his way. At first he spoiled the paparazzi with his gliding dive on a hard ball of Salah. When Liverpool started playing with four strikers after Jota and Firmino interfered, it got busier in front of them.
Keita, who also came in, chased a fantastic opportunity from outside the box into the stands without a chance. Meanwhile, time was running out for Liverpool. Salah picked up a deep ball from the air, passed Mendy and thought of shooting the equalizer into the net. However, Courtois’ cast-iron right arm prevented a 1-1 achievement. Santibo’s action, which awarded Real Madrid its fourteenth cup, is crowned with big ears.
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