H
alaMadrid, indeed.No
denyingtheirrighttoparade
a record-extending 14 th
ChampionsLeaguetrophy.
VictoryoverLiverpoolintheStade
deFranceclimaxeda sequenceof
footballingassassinations.They
unleasheda minimumof shots
againstParisSaint-Germain,Chelsea,
ManchesterCityand theRedsand
madethemall count.Ruthlessly.
CoachCarloAncelottiandhisteam
turnedclubhistoryonitshead.Alfredodi
Stefano’s originalgiantsweredemolished
in 1964 bytheruthlesshold-and-hit
strategyofInternazionale.Now Madrid
took“their” cuphomeby restraining
magicalLukaModric,“SirToni”Kroos
andCasemiro to smotherandconserve
energywhileunleashingcounter-attack
precision.
KarimBenzemaendedthe campaign
witharemarkable 15 goals(44 in all
competitions,a personalbest)for a
34-year-oldwhohadbeenwrittenoff
years agowhile ViniciusJunior’swinning
goal– an embarrassmentfor Trent
Alexander-Arnold – wasthe 2 1-year-
oldBrazilian’s fourthofthecampaign.
Ina fewweeksthiswill allbeold
history. Teamsandtimewill have moved
on.Whatmustnotbeforgotten are
clearlessonsfromchaosoutsidea
stadiumwhosebasicdesign,with dogleg
walkwaysand constrictedaccesspoints,
isinadequate.Hence thecrowd crushes
andhold-upsprovokedby alleged
forgedtickets, mischievouslocal
troublemakers,unintelligentstewarding,
plussecurity goons’panickyresortto
teargasandpepperspray.
NotthatEnglishfootballcanbe
self-righteousafter awfulmemories
ofthe Euro 2 02 0 final.
Bycontrast,Madridfanshadpacked
thewestendtocapacitylongbefore
kick-off buttheywerealsofewerin
numberandnotcursedbylatecomers
eitherwithouttickets or withforgeries.
Inthe nonsense of theParisiannight
hundredsoffansevenstruggled,long
after thefinal whistle,toleavethe
stadium,beingmisdirectedfromone
closedexittoanother.
Originallythefinalhad beenscheduled
byUEFA forStPetersburg; Russian
PresidentVladimirPutin’s attempted
land-grabinUkraineputpaidtothat.
Butthedecisiontoswitchvenueswas
taken backinFebruary.TheFrench– and
UEFA– needseekno excuseshere.They
shouldonlyberelieved andgratefulthat
nobodywas seriouslyhurtor worse.
Asfor thefootball,kick-offwas
delayed for 36 minutes,whichstill
featuredsingerCamilaCabelloin an
unnecessary“openingceremony”.This
wastheChampionsLeaguefinal,biggest
clubgameinworldfootball.UEFAneed
notcompetewiththeOlympicsorWorld
Cup;thisisaboutelitesport,short and
simple,with itsownsuperiordrama
ascrowdproblems
threatentoovershadow
finalinParis
- no-one needsthe dancinggirls.
The delayforcedthe teamstowarm
uptwice andaccounted forthe scrappy
opening exchanges. Liverpooldrove
forward with awillto avenge theirdefeat
byMadridinKyivin 2018 and thesearch
for amends aftermissing outonboth
a unique quadrupleand thePremier
Leaguecrown.In ateasing echo of
events, they were edgedbyManchester
Citybyone pointinthe league and
byMadridtothe tune of onegoal.
Liverpool,with Madrid’s deceptive
acquiescence,tookearlycommand.
ThibautCourtoisforeshadowedthe
eveningaheadwith sharp savesfrom
MoSalah,supportedby a sliverof
fortunewhenSadioManehita post.
Courtois’safehandsdeniedSalahagain
whileMadridcontinuedplayingtoa
differentrhythm.Theyrepeatedlysought
REALMADRIDMAKEIT 14
32 WORLDSOCCER
CHAMPIONSLEAGUEREVIEW
2022 CHAMPIONSLEAGUEFINAL
Manof thematch...
ThibautCourtois
scramblestomake
another save
Match winner...
ViniciusJunior
tucks home Real
Madrid’sgoal
Crowd problems...
Liverpoolfansqueue
outsidethestadium