Real Madrid have secured their 14th UEFA Champions League title after defeating Liverpool 1-0 in Paris on Saturday night.
UEFA Champions League Final
Result: Liverpool 0-1 Real Madrid
Date: 28 May 2022
Venue: Stade de France
Both Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara both started after recovering from injury, while Luis Diaz got the nod ahead of Diogo Jota. For Madrid, David Alaba is back in the defence while Federico Valverde is preferred to semi-final hero Rodrygo.
The start of the game was delayed by 30 minutes due to crowd congestion outside the stadium, with some reports suggesting people with no tickets managed to get in.
Once the game got underway, the Reds took control and managed to carve out the game's first chance after 16 minutes as Thibaut Courtois produced a fine save to keep out Mohamed Salah's close-range strike.
Courtois was at his best once again four minutes later, with the Los Blancos shot-stopper producing a stunning save to push Sadio Mane's strike on the upright.
Los Blancos, meanwhile, struggled to get Benzema and Vinicius into the game at any point in the first half, which resulted in zero efforts at Alisson Becker's goal in the first half.
That nearly changed on the stroke of halftime when Benzema had the ball in the back of the net, but the Video Assistant Referee came to the rescue for the Reds to rule the strike out for offside.
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Liverpool continued to dominate in the second half, but it was Los Blancos who broke the deadlock in the 58th minute when Vinicius turned home Valverde's cross at the far post.
The Reds looked for an immediate response, as Salah tried his luck from distance but Courtois was on hand to make the save just moments before Diaz made way for Jota.
Courtois was proving a tough nut to crack as he frustrated Salah with another last-ditch save to deny the Egyptian a certain goal at the far post after some good work by Jota.
Klopp looked to his bench once again for the final 15 minutes as Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino came in for Thiago Alcantara and Jordan Henderson.
The second half was turning to the Courtois and Salah show, as the Real goalkeeper produced a stunning reflex save to deny the Liverpool attacker in a one-on-one situation on 82 minutes.
Klopp's men pushed for the equaliser in the closing stage, but Real remained resolute at the back and held on to clinch their 14th European title.
Confirmed line-ups:
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago, Diaz, Salah, Mane
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Ferland Mendy, Kroos, Modric, Casemiro, Valverde, Vinicius Junior, Benzema
