Yet another Champions League title for Real Madrid, the undisputed kings of Europe.
Yet another showpiece European soccer game tarnished by chaotic crowd issues and disorder.
Madrid on Saturday became the European champions for a record-extending 14th time — double the number of any other team on the continent — after beating Liverpool 1-0 in a final that started 37 minutes late because of disturbing scenes outside the Stade de France.
Photo: AFP
It evoked memories of the violence that marred the UEFA European Championship final at Wembley Stadium 10 months ago.
Brazil winger Vinicius Junior was the match-winner, applying a close-range finish in the 59th minute from Federico Valverde’s drive across the face of goal, while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois took just as many plaudits by making breathtaking saves by Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
“Today nobody was going to get in my way,” Courtois said. “I was going to win a Champions League no matter what.”
It gave Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti a fourth European Cup title, the most ever for a manager in the competition’s history, and completed the Champions League-La Liga double for a Spanish giant for whom winning titles is ingrained in its culture.
This time, there was no need for the kind of stirring comeback that Madrid had to produce in getting past Paris Saint-Germain, defending champions 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.
“We are the best,” Madrid striker Karim Benzema said. “It was a very difficult competition for us and we deserved to win this final. With all the history this team has, we showed everyone that we are always here.”
Liverpool’s players 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 to show for their efforts. They lost out on the Premier League title by one point last weekend and the Champions League to a Madrid team that had one shot on target in the final.
For many, especially Liverpool fans, pre-match crowd problems overshadowed the final, 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 Liverpool supporters forced to wait in long lines to get into the biggest club game of the season, whose kickoff was delayed.
UEFA blamed the chaos on people trying to get into the stadium without legitimate tickets, but did not identify where they were 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 being wrestled to the ground.
Riot police with batons and riot shields ran from gate to gate to prevent pockets of fans forcing their way into the stadium.
“I’ve got really bad asthma and I’ve been tear gassed twice,” Liverpool fan Angela Murphy said. “I’m really struggling.”
French Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin said that stewards had been assaulted by Britons who forced their way in without tickets or with counterfeit tickets.
Liverpool said it was “hugely disappointed” with the security issues experienced by its fans.
Angry Liverpool fans held in the lines were seen hanging onto railings and heard shouting: “Let us in. We’ve got tickets.”
There were many instances of fans breaking through security and attempting to get into the stadium. The Associated Press saw two fans — one wearing Liverpool attire — wrestled to the ground by stewards and bundled out of the gates.
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