It’s true that he rested players when he could, but he still had a hard-fought FA Cup final against Chelsea at full-strength to contend with just two weeks ago, and in any case, the mental drain of being within a point of eventual Premier League champions City can’t be underestimated. Liverpool’s pursuit of the quadruple meant Jurgen Klopp did not have that luxury. Real Madrid’s self-belief and quiet confidence made all the difference against an agitated, anxious Liverpool in Saturday’s Champions League final. Ancelotti’s lineup reflected this: It may or may not have been his best XI, but it’s the one he trusted to start the game, with Fede Valverde wide on the right doing double duty as a winger in attack, a fourth midfielder without the ball. That’s what happens when arithmetic grants you the league early: You have the luxury to rest and recuperate, tweak and tinker, eyes and minds fully engaged on the prize. Real Madrid arrived at the Stade de France with three weeks of late-season games that were de facto preseason warm-ups. But the tools of victory were those they had employed in earlier rounds: belief, unflappability and experience. There was no heroic comeback this time, because Liverpool failed to convert the chances they created before Vinicius Junior‘s second-half strike, thanks in no small part to the long-limbed Thibaut Courtois: part-octopus, part-Gumby, all nerves of steel. Beyond that? Well, I’ve never seen anybody win without being a bit lucky at times, too.” “Main factors? Quality, mentality, the experience of the veterans, the drive and impact of the youngsters, all of them are important.
“There’s not much I can say - this was a really difficult Champions League campaign, if anything tonight was easier than the previous games,” Ancelotti said after the 1-0 victory. 1a in most fans’ unofficial power rankings.
But perhaps no team has ever become champions of Europe after overcoming such a tough run in the knockout rounds: Mbappe’s (and Lionel Messi‘s) Paris Saint-Germain, defending champions Chelsea and then Manchester City and Liverpool, No. We already know that no club is as closely associated with this trophy: From the early days of Paco Gento, Ferenc Puskas and Alfredo Di Stefano, to the Zinedine Zidane Galactico era at the turn of the millennium to this outfit, capable of winning five European titles in nine years. – How social media, sports star reacted to Madrid’s UCL victory – Olley: Liverpool’s UCL final defeat will test mental toughness – Ogden: Courtois inspires Madrid to glory by denying Liverpool (Or, as club president Florentino Perez put it after the game: “Mbappe is forgotten now and that’s OK … Madrid had a perfect season.”) (“I am a record man!” he said, equal measures disbelieving and self-effacing.)Īnd now the Kylian Mbappe snub isn’t quite so infuriating - it has to be satisfying to win a European Cup in his city, a 10-minute scooter ride from where he was born and raised. PARIS - And now it’s 14 Champions Leagues for Real Madrid, which is more than the next two most successful clubs in Europe - AC Milan have seven, Liverpool six - combined.Īnd now Carlo Ancelotti has four as a manager, which is more than anybody else.