Il Real Madrid won the Champions League 2021-’22 beating Liverpool 1-0 in Paris in the final. For the ‘merengues’ it is the 14th European title, for Carlo Ancelotti it is the fourth as a coach. THE CHRONICLE
Carlo Ancelotti enters the history of football. In fact, the Real Madrid coach overtook Bob Paisley and Zinedine Zidane, becoming the most successful coach in the history of the Champions League, with 4 trophies: in 2003 and 2007 he won the Champions League with Milan, in 2014 and today (2022) with the Real Madrid. Ancelotti is also the only coach to have won at least one title in all five major European championships: the Italian one with Milan, the English one with Chelsea, the French one with PSG, the German one with Bayern Munich and the Spanish with Real Madrid.
Champions: Ancelotti in history, the first coach to win 4
And they are 14: Real unreachable, on the roof of Europe for the umpteenth time, unsurpassed Carlo Ancelotti, the only one to have won 4 as a coach (plus 2 as a football player), now unbeatable Karim Benzema, started his first, late but well deserved, Golden Ball . One to zero, the rematch of Liverpool beaten 4 years ago in Kiev did not take place at the Stade de France, in a game only apparently dominated by Liverpool, who in reality were much less lucid than their opponents. The heroes of the evening: a 21-year-old boy, Vinicius Junior, who drove the people of Madrid crazy by scoring the winning goal under their curve. And the Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who saved everything, engaging and winning a personal duel with Mohamed Salah. The Champions League in the last 10 years has dressed in white once out of 2, the excessive power now makes Real a team out of reach of their pursuers. Against Liverpool, a match delayed by 36 ‘because the influx of English fans had been blocked due to French and UEFA organizational disruptions, it was a battle, as expected: the Reds attacked relentlessly but were often inaccurate, at other times unlucky but overall they faced an unsurpassed goalkeeper, Courtois. The match, in front of a stadium that was finally crowded after the interminable wait, was equal to itself for 95 ‘: the British attacking with their heads down, the Spaniards defending themselves blow by blow, even if very rarely they managed to restart. . Salah, Mané – who ideally left Benzema the Golden Ball that was a race between the two of them – and the tireless Alexander Arnold tried them all, starting again each time with his head down. But when all the white jerseys seemed outdated, Courtois’ big hands appeared, in the first half even deflecting on the post, then taking them all: long shots, low shots, from half a meter, even deflected (in the second half a Courtois shot changed direction but the Belgian had time to catch up with him. From the first half, Real gave the impression, on the rare occasions when they tried to attack, that they could hurt the Liverpool defense, protected for a long time by Fabinho. At the end, it took almost 3 minutes to check the Var to cancel a Benzema goal on the edge of the offside. In the second half, Liverpool even more with their heads down, but Real than with Modric and Kroos in midfield and the trident Benzema- Vinicius-Valverde, was growing visibly. At 14 ‘, Casemiro’s ball on the right for one of the many bucks by Valverde, who perfectly placed a cross in the area for the rushing Vinicius, who bagged on the right and then went crazy with happiness . Neither In the last half hour Liverpool tried everything, but Courtois was everywhere, and the Spaniards even risked doubling. Party for everyone but the smiles of Ancelotti, who is about to light his second cigar to celebrate his triumphal finale of the season, and Benzema were the most radiant. Who knows, about ten kilometers from Saint-Denis, among the Bondy villas, what the Mbappé family must have thought when they saw the French center-forward drag Real to success and set off on the most glorious crown of his career. Kylian said no to Real, who had been his favorite team since he was a child. Now he must be able to change history.
The most important actions and goals
90 ‘+ 6 Triple whistle at the Stade de France. Real wins the 14th Champions League in their history.
82 ‘IMMENSE COURTOIS! Miracle of the Belgian goalkeeper on Salah’s close right from a few steps after a fly control and dribble on Alaba. Now the game is played with only one goal, but the Real defender seems to be graceful in the evening.
80 ‘LIVERPOOL OPPORTUNITY! Salah-Firmino-Salah on the edge of the opponent’s area. The Egyptian kicks low with his left-handed plate, Diogo Jota intervenes on the trajectory and almost surprises Courtois. The Belgian goalkeeper goes to the ground in a more clumsy way than the previous very saves but is still effective by deflecting for a corner.
69 ‘LIVERPOOL OPPORTUNITY! Alexander-Arnold crosses to the far post for Diogo Jota, whose bank bypasses Courtois. Salah rushes to the far post and, with very little angle available, touches the outside, once again finding the response of the Belgian goalkeeper.
64 ‘LIVERPOOL OPPORTUNITY! Salah converges in the center from the right and kicks around with his left. Courtois uses all the inches of his body to reach it with his right hand and takes the ball out of the corner.
60′ GOAL! Liverpool-REAL MADRID 0-1! Vinicius Network! Lightning of the Blancos with Valverde leading the ball on the right and crosses hard and low shot at the far post where, forgotten by the English defense, there is Vinicius ready to deposit on the net.
45 ‘+ 4 End of the first half. Liverpool-Real Madrid 0-0.
43 ‘REAL OPPORTUNITY! Benzema is caught behind the Reds defense, returns on the left but finds Alisson completely covering the mirror. The French striker touches in the center, Alisson-Konaté mess and intervention by Valverde who is closed by Fabinho. The ball goes back to Benzema who inflates the net with his left-handed but is signaled offside.
34 ‘LIVERPOOL OPPORTUNITY! Alexander-Arnold fishes Salah free in the middle of the area. The Egyptian chooses his worst shot, that of the head, to try to worry Courtois and in fact he does not succeed. The Belgian goalkeeper finds the ball in his arms in the middle of the door and blocks it without worries.
21 ‘LIVERPOOL POLE! Mané dances on the edge of the Madrid area, takes the ball to the right and kicks hard towards the near post with his right. Courtois still responds great by deflecting with his big hand on the post!
18′ There were no shots on goal, three arrived in a very short time, all towards Real’s goal. Immediately after Salah’s opportunity came Henderson’s right from the edge blocked without problems by Courtois. Same outcome for Salah’s conclusion from inside the area.
16′ LIVERPOOL OPPORTUNITY! Alexander-Arnold disguises himself as a slalomist, enters the area in vertical percussion and crosses in the center, low, for Salah. The Egyptian, almost in counter-time, manages to touch towards the goal, finding the reactive response of Courtois, who went to the ground in an amen to remove the ball from the corner on his left.
15′ First quarter of an hour of the game with a lot of Liverpool and very little Real but zero shots towards the two doors.
Liverpool FC vs Real Madrid
The formations
4-3-3 for Liverpool: Alisson – Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson – Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara – Salah, Mané, Luis Diaz.
Disposition: Kelleher, Milner, Keita, Firmino, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Minamino, Diogo Jota, Tsimikas, Matip, Elliott.
4-3-3 also for Real: Courtois – Carvajal, Eder Militao, Alaba, Mendy – Modric, Casemiro, Kroos – Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Available: Monday, Nacho, Hazard, Asensio, Marcelo, Lucas Vazquez, Bale, Ceballos, Rodrigo, Isco, Mariano Diaz, Camavinga.
KICK OFF WITH MORE THAN HALF AN HOUR DELAY
The sensational delay of 36 minutes in the start of the Champions League final at the Stade de France was caused by crowds of Liverpool fans who had not been able to enter and pressed on the gates, protesting and shouting their reasons. Controls are too long, the subway is slow and the organization is lacking at the base of the sensational disservice. Improvised in 3 months, the organization of this final between Liverpool and Real Madrid – which was to be held in St. Petersburg but was moved due to the war between Russia and Ukraine – made water on all sides. Tonight, when the police saw themselves overwhelmed by the events, with dozens of British climbing over the railings without any more checks or searches, they also made use of stinging gas to ward off the pressure of the crowd. In a few minutes the British media have released images and videos of fans in red shirts attached to the fence, all with the regular ticket in hand but without being able to enter. Many girls and children, and some people were crying. The most chaotic situation was created towards the entrances to the south-east of the stadium, the one marked with the letter Y was not opened even after the unlocking of all the others. The underground strike, which was one of the causes of the delay of the British, had been declared for days, but in the morning the transport authorities had assured that in the evening 3 out of 4 trains would be running. The reality – about 3 hours before the start of the match – was that the trains were packed, often in difficulty in leaving because the doors could not be closed. The prefecture’s fears were also linked to the expected influx of tens of thousands of fans, mostly English, without tickets. At the two subway stations to the stadium, 2 hours from the start, there was a sea of Reds fans, many with beer in hand, others lying on the grass, mostly waiting for friends or family to come they were lost during the day or were late on the subway. So in the end even those who had nothing to do with the hooligans got involved, like Liverpool’s Joel Matip brother, Marvin, who simply wanted to watch the game with his family. “But at a certain point – he told Sky Deutschland – the police lost control of the situation and started firing stinging gas on the crowd, including families. The organization was unworthy for a Champions League final”. So Marvin Matip was forced to flee and take refuge in a restaurant near the stadium, together with his pregnant wife. Meanwhile the charges continued ..
Liverpool FC vs Real Madrid
METSOLA TO THE FINAL
“The Champions League final is particularly significant this year as, in solidarity with Ukraine, it will be held in Paris instead of St. Petersburg as originally planned. This demonstrates the strong unity, determination and support of European countries and football. European with Ukraine and its people, who are suffering unjustified and illegal aggression by Russia “. This was stated by the president of the EU Parliament Roberta Metsola, in the stands of the Stade de France for the final Liverpool-Real Madrid. “I welcome UEFA’s decision to change the venue of the final as an important and highly symbolic message that Europe stands with Ukraine. Our true champions this year are the Ukrainians who are fighting for our values. European football. it is a great European success story and the European Parliament is a champion of sport based on values, based on solidarity, teamwork and respect, “he added.
Liverpool FC vs Real Madrid
