Welcome to Sportstar's highlights of the UEFA Champions League 2021-22 final between Liverpool vs Real Madrid being played at the Stade de France Stadium in Paris, France.
This was Aneesh Dey bringing you the pre-match buildup minute-by-minute updates from the final.
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MATCH REPORT: Vinicius goal gives Madrid 14th Champions League win
READ: Courtois creates Champions League record in final win
READ: Carlo Ancelotti becomes first manager to win four Champions League titles
Full time! (Liverpool 0-1 Real Madrid)
IT IS OVER!! REAL MADRID BEATS LIVERPOOL TO WIN ITS 14TH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TITLE!!
90+5' Courtois comes out and catches Fabinho's floating cross inside the box. He has been immense with nine saves- the most by any keeper in a Champions League final.
90+4' Madrid moments away from from clinching its 14th European title. Luka Modric can't seem to watch from the sidelines.
90+2' Shot- Benzema sets up Camavinga for a shot and the latter obliges. The shot however, is not on target.
Five additional minutes!
90' Real Madrid Sub: IN- Dani Ceballos OUT- Luka Modric.
88' Konate and Courtois both went for the ball. Courtois soars high to collect the ball but Konate seems to have caught him. He is currently on the ground getting medical attention. He should be okay to continue but.
87' Madrid with another counter attack. Vinicius cuts in and backheels the ball to Benzema. Benzema tries to get the better of Alexander-Arnold with a dummy but the Englishman does well to read the play and snatch the ball from the Frenchman.
86' Real Madrid Sub: IN- Eduardo Camavinga OUT- Federico Valverde.
83' Madrid with a counter of its own involving Vinicius, Valverde and Carvajal. Valverde passes the ball to Carvajal on the right. The full-back tries to slip a pass to Vinicius but Alisson comes out and collects the ball.
82' Save- Salah brings down the ball inside the Madrid box with an exquisite touch, goes past Mendy and shoots from close distance. But Courtois makes himself big and makes a brilliant save. It is the Belgian keeper's eighth save of the match
81' STAT- Liverpool has had 20 attempts at goal but only seven have been on target. Real Madrid has had two attempts out of which one has been on target which resulted in the goal.
79' Jota stretches the ball to pass the ball to Mane inside the Madrid box but Mane was offside when Jota played the ball.
77' Liverpool Subs: IN- Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita OUT- Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara.
76' A well-taken freekick by Madrid as Casemiro makes a good run. He tries to set up Vinicius with a first-time pass but passes it behind the latter.
74' Shot- Alexander-Arnold goes for goal from an ambitious distance. He catches the shot well but it is not on target. Jota poked his leg out in the hope of directing the ball towards goal but cannot get a touch.
71' Modric with enough time to find Vinicius Jr with an accurate pass. The Brazilian cuts in and does a couple of stepovers to get the better of his man. However, he cannot get his shot away as Liverpool regains possession of the ball.
69' Save- Jota brings the ball down from a cross and does well to head the ball back to Salah at the far-post. There was a momentary danger but Courtois got back in time to prevent the Egyptian from getting the tap-in.
66' Liverpool Sub: IN- Diogo Jota OUT- Luis Diaz.
65' Salah is brought down by Vinicius and earns a freekick for Liverpool.
64' Save- Salah with one of his trademark cut ins as he curls a shot at the far-post with his left foot. The shot was most probably creeping inside the far-post but Courtois makes a brilliant save.
62' Liverpool booking- Fabinho with a ill-timed challenge on Valverde and the Brazilian sees the first card of the evening.
59' GOOOAAAALLLLL!! REAL MADRID SCORES!!! IT IS VINICIUS JUNIOR!! Classic Real Madrid sucker punch. This is completely against the run of play. Valverde makes a good run inside the box and finds Vinicius at the far-post with a brilliant low cross. It is a simple tap-in for Vinicius. Alexander-Arnold could have done better but don't take any credit away from the move.
58' A crowded Madrid box as Salah takes a shot. It is blocked but the Egyptian wants a penalty because he feels Alaba touched the ball with his hand. Referee says nothing doing.
55' A clash between Diaz and Militao as they battle for the ball. Militao takes an accidental whack off Diaz and goes to the ground and earns a freekick for Madrid.
54' Blocks- Diaz sets up Mane for a shot. The Senegalese obliges with a vicious effort but it is blocked well. The rebound falls to Alexander-Arnold who attempts a shot from distance but his shot is blocked as well.
52' Salah floats a cross inside the Madrid box from the right but Courtois ventures off his line to collect the ball.
49' Madrid tries to counter after a Liverpool attack. The counter is stopped after Alexander-Arnold brings down Casemiro, who in all honesty, should have released the ball much sooner.
46' Liverpool has started the second half similar to the first. It is pressing Madrid and the Los Blancos not getting much time on the ball.
We are back for the second half!
READ:
Half-time!! (Liverpool 0-0 Real Madrid)
45+2' VAR CHECK OVER!! NO GOAL GIVEN!! Liverpool breathes easy.
Two additional minutes!!
44' VAR CHECK STILL ON!!
43' BENZEMA GOAL RULED OUT FOR OFFSIDE!! VAR CHECK ON!!- Benzema brings down the ball well from a long ball. Benzema gets in behind and Alisson makes himself big to save the shot. Konate fails to clear the ball and Valverde keeps the play alive. The ball deflects back to Benzema who puts it into the net.
41' Shot- The corner is flicked outside the box and Henderson opens up his boot and takes a first-time shot. He gets a good connection but cannot keep it on target.
40' Militao does well to deflect Mane's shot from a tight angle. He got way too much time on the ball.
38' Diaz with a dangerous run down the left flank but Carvajal does well to track the ball and regain possession and send it to his goalkeeper.
36' Vinicius Jr relying on his footwork to wriggle away from a couple of Liverpool defenders but Henderson does well to send the ball out for the corner.
35' Save- Alexander-Arnold with a pin-point ball cross inside the box, which finds Salah. Salah directs his header towards goal but Courtois is in a good position to make the save and hold on to the ball. This is Liverpool's fifth shot on target.
32' Van Dijk does well to intercept the ball before it reached Vinicius inside the Liverpool box. Madrid finally showing signs of intent.
30' Vinicius Jr made a good run but he is inches away from getting the ball as Henderson did well to snatch possession.
29' Liverpool showing no signs of backing off and keeps maintaining an extremely high line. Madrid players are back defending in numbers.
29' STAT- Real Madrid is yet to register a shot on target while Liverpool has already registered four.
26' Tenacious defending by Carvajal as he stays with Diaz. Diaz tries to wriggle free but ends up conceding a throw.
24' Real Madrid with a good spell of possession, something it hasn't really enjoyed in the match as of now.
20' Off the bar- Mane cuts in and lashes a shot at Madrid's goal. Courtois, at full-stretch, does well to get his glove to it and direct the ball to the post. This is the closest Liverpool has come to scoring in the match.
19' Salah and Alexander-Arnold combine again and the latter takes a shot at goal after being set up by Salah. The shot had power but not the direction and it went out of play.
18' Save- This time it is Salah with a venomous shot but it was straight at Courtois, who does well to hold on to the ball and avoid any sort of rebound.
17' Shot- Thiago curls a shot from the edge of the Madrid box but it is at a comfortable height for Courtois.
16' Save- Salah showing his quick feet to penetrate the Madrid box. He passes to Alexander-Arnold who did not get the strongest of connections but still forced a save from Courtois.
12' Casemiro and Carvajal do well to shield the ball from Diaz as it goes out of play. Diaz feels that he should have got a corner but the referee points for a goalkick.
10' Mane squares the ball to the centre of the Madrid box from the right flank but the balll had already gone out of play by the time he got to it. Salah's follow-up shot goes in vain.
7' Valverde with a good run down the right flank. He tries to find Benzema with a cross but it is blocked well and Liverpool regains possession.
5' It has been a fast start. Madrid players trying to keep possession of the ball and settle down in the match.
3' It is a decent ball inside the box but it is an easy clearance for Madrid.
2' Liverpool starting with its trademark high press. Real Madrid has conceded a freekick and Robertson will deliver.
1' KICK-OFF!
AND WE ARE UNDERWAY!! FINALLY!!
1:04 am: The Champions League anthem reverberates across the venue. The atmosphere is rocking.
UPDATE 1:03 am: Liverpool's Thiago Alcantara, who was an injury doubt, will start the match.
Players are in the tunnel. Kick-off moments away. Stay tuned for all the live updates from the Champions League final.
12:52 am: The opening ceremony about to begin. Camila Cabello to perform!!
Why the delay in kick-off?
Kickoff in the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid was delayed by 15 minutes on Saturday amid fan violence outside the Stade de France in Paris.
There have been sporadic instances of fans, apparently without tickets, breaking through security and attempting to get into the stadium. The Associated Press saw two fans — one was wearing Liverpool attire — wrestled to the ground by stewards and bundled out of the gates.
Another fan evaded stewards and was seen sprinting through the concourse and into the bottom level of the stadium.
Footage on social media showed fans climbing over fences.
There were long lines of Liverpool fans still outside the stadium when there was 40 minutes to kickoff.
-Via AP
UPDATE 12:47 am: Tennis star Rafael Nadal, a lifelong Real Madrid supporter is at the venue.
UPDATE 12:40 am: Liverpool and Real Madrid players are back on the pitch again with their training gear on. The delayed kick-off means both teams will continue to warm up.
UPDATE 12:35 am: Kick-off now to happen at 1:00 am IST!!
12:21 am: Reports coming in that Liverpool's Thiago Alcantara may not start despite being named in the starting lineup. He will most likely be replaced by Naby Keita.
12:20 am: UPDATE!!
Match kick-off has been delayed by 15 minutes due to the late arrival of fans. Kick-off will now happen at 12:45 am IST.
12:00 am: Players to look out for!
Klopp gives his thoughts ahead of the final: "The Comeback Kings versus the Mentality Monsters. Good headline, eh?".
OOPS!!
STARTING LINEUPS ARE OUT!!
Liverpool XI: Alisson(GK), Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson(C), Thiago, Diaz, Salah, Mane.
Manager: Jurgen Klopp
Real Madrid XI: Courtois(GK), Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy, Kroos, Casemiro, Modric, Vinicius Junior, Benzema(C), Valverde.
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti
11:00 pm: Team Form!
10:45 pm: Head-to-Head!
Liverpool and Real Madrid have met eight times in competitive fixtures in the past and the Reds have won just once, in the Champions League final of 1981, which also took place in Paris. Real Madrid has won four times, while the remaining three matches have been draws.
MATCH PREVIEW
Liverpool will look to settle the scores of the 2018 UEFA Champions League (UCL) final loss when it takes on Real Madrid at Paris in this year's UCL final.
The Reds have gone on to win the Champions League since that final in Cardiff and will hope to win their second Champions League under Jurgen Klopp, after its pursuit for the Premier League was ended by Manchester City on the final matchday.
The team, however, has injury concerns, with Fabinho having a hamstring injury, Thiago out with another knock during the match against Wolverhamton Wanderers and its captain Virgil Van Dijk, who looked to have picked up a minor injury in the FA Cup final.
Though Van Dijk was on the bench for the final Premier League fixture, updates on the other two still remain pending.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, had its domestic ambitions fulfilled with a league title, earning 86 points from 73 matches and will look to win its 14th Champions League title, this time under Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian has already guided Los Blancos to the jewel crown of elite European football once in 2014 and will look to repeat the same on his way to become the most decorated football manager of all time.
When and where to watch the UEFA Champions League final?
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