Real Madrid beats Liverpool 1-0 for 14th European Cup title

Real Madrid beats Liverpool 1-0 for 14th European Cup title


Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, right, and Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos celebrate winning the Champions League final soccer match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France in Saint Denis near Paris, Saturday, May 28, 2022. Real Madrid won 1-0.

Kirsty Wigglesworth | AP Photo

Real Madrid became European champion for a record-extending 14th time after beating Liverpool 1-0 in a Champions League final that started 37 minutes late because of disturbing crowd issues outside the Stade de France on Saturday.

Brazil winger Vinícius Júnior applied a close-range finish in the 59th minute from Federico Valverde’s drive across the face of goal, securing a win that gave Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti a record fourth European Cup title.

While Madrid completed a Champions League-La Liga double, Liverpool finished a season that promised so much — a week ago, it was in contention for an unprecedented quadruple of major trophies — with just the two domestic cups in England.

The English team couldn’t find a way past Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who tipped Sadio Mane’s first-half shot onto the post and produced an even better save to turn away Mohamed Salah’s effort in the 81st.

“Today nobody was going to get in my way,” Courtois said. “I was going to win a Champions League no matter what.”

Vinicius sank to his knees and covered his face at fulltime. Many of his teammates sprinted the length of the field to celebrate in front of Madrid’s fans at one end of the stadium.

Marcelo, Madrid’s serial winner of trophies who didn’t even play a minute of the final, was given the honor of lifting the trophy to a backdrop of fireworks and ticker tape.

Madrid underlined its status as the king of European soccer, given the Spanish giant owns double the number of European Cups as the No. 2 on the list, AC Milan.

And this time, there was no need for the kind of stirring comeback that the Spanish giant had to produce in getting past Paris Saint-Germain, defending champion Chelsea and Manchester City in the knockout stage.

It might go down as the most grueling run to the title in the long history of the competition.

For many, especially Liverpool fans, pre-match crowd issues overshadowed this final, though, and are sure to be the focus of an investigation by UEFA and authorities in the coming days.

Riot police fired tear gas and pepper spray at supporters waiting in long lines to get into European soccer’s showpiece game, whose kickoff was delayed.

UEFA blamed the chaos on people trying to get into the stadium without legitimate tickets, and without providing details on where they could be from.

“In the lead-up to the game, the turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands of fans who purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles,” UEFA said in a statement.

Some fans climbed fences surrounding the stadium to get in. Others barged their way past security and sprinted onto the concourse before getting wrestled to the ground.

Riot police with batons and riot shields ran from gate to gate to prevent pockets of fans from forcing their way into the stadium.

“I’ve got really bad asthma and I’ve been tear-gassed twice,” Liverpool fan Angela Murphy told The Associated Press through a fence. “I’m really struggling.”

About 15 minutes before the scheduled kickoff of 9 p.m. local time, an announcement was made that there would be a delay. It was greeted by jeers inside the stadium.

The scenes were reminiscent of the chaos outside Wembley Stadium before the European Championship final last year between England and Italy.



Source

U.S. growth forecast cut sharply by OECD as Trump tariffs sour global outlook
World

U.S. growth forecast cut sharply by OECD as Trump tariffs sour global outlook

Old Navy and Gap retail stores are seen as people walk through Times Square in New York City on April 9, 2025. Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images Economic growth forecasts for the U.S. and globally were cut further by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as President Donald Trump’s tariff turmoil weighs […]

Read More
CNBC Daily Open: Elon Musk’s companies aren’t fully self-driving and await his steering
World

CNBC Daily Open: Elon Musk’s companies aren’t fully self-driving and await his steering

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. Hamad I Mohammed | Reuters In his first week away from the U.S. government’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk is seeing positive activity in his companies. His brain tech startup Neuralink announced a $650 million funding round, while […]

Read More
European markets are set to open higher ahead of flash inflation data
World

European markets are set to open higher ahead of flash inflation data

Here are the opening calls London was the No. 2 most-visited city in the world for 2023, according to Euromonitor International. Karl Hendon | Moment | Getty Images Good morning from London and welcome to CNBC’s live blog covering all the action in European financial markets, as well as business news, analysis, earnings and data. […]

Read More