Real Madrid are champions of Europe for the 12th time as a Cristiano Ronaldo brace powered Los Blancos past Juventus 4-1 in the Champions League final on Saturday night at the Principality Stadium in in Cardiff, Wales.
Ronaldo scored in the 20th and 64th minutes, Casemiro struck in the 60th minute and then substitute Marco Asensio finished off the emphatic scoreline with a goal just minutes before full-time. Juventus’ lone goal came from a dazzling volley from Mario Mandzukic in the 27th minute, but it was Real’s sensational second-half that will be remembered as the determining factor in this final.
The victory marks Real’s second straight Champions League title and third in the last four years, and Saturday’s triumph was arguably their most impressive of the trio. Leading up to the final, Juventus had conceded just three goals the entire tournament, yet in a span of 90 minutes Real had Juventus’ legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon digging the ball out of his own net four times.
The big question pre-match was whether Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane would opt for local hero Gareth Bale or continue with the blazing hot Isco in his starting XI. In the end, The Frenchman went with Isco over the Welshman, who has been battling an injury. Otherwise, it was the usual suspects at the starting whistle for Los Blancos. However, Zidane did raise a few eyebrows by who was left off his matchday roster, with James Rodriguez and Lucas Vazquez among the casualties.
Juve had the better start of the two and Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas was called into action several times inside the first 10 minutes, namely on a swerving shot struck by Miralem Pjanic that forced the Costa Rican into a diving save to his right.
After a flat start, Real soon found their rhythm. Isco was being prevented from creating in the centre of the pitch, but Real found space on the right wing with the overlapping runs of Dani Carvajal.
It was one such lung-busting run from the Real right-back that set up Ronaldo’s opener for Real; a one-two combination between Ronaldo and Carvajal ended with the Portuguese rifling in a right-footer past Buffon to give Los Blancos a 1-0 advantage.
Things were being played at a breathtaking pace, with Real being afforded a lot more space than many predicted. But Juventus were undeterred, and the Italian champions showed off their attacking potency with one of the prettiest goals anyone will ever see in a Champions League final.
Mandzukic capped off six straight Juve touches in the air by taking a flicked pass from Gonzalo Higuain, chesting it to himself and then scoring with an acrobatic volley from distance to make it 1-1.
Real were muted after the Mandzukic goal, almost unnerved at how the Italians had equalised and for the next 15 minutes the pace was substantially slower than in the first half-hour.
Real were a much better side to start the second stanza and had Juventus pinned back in their own area. Opponents, even great ones like Juve, can only hold on so long against Los Blancos before the dam is breached, and the first gush of water came right on the hour mark and in rather fortuitous fashion. Casemiro launched a long-range strike that struck the heel of former Real Madrid man Sami Khedira and spun into the only space separating Buffon from his right post to give Real a 2-1 lead.
Juventus were wobbling and Real could sense the time was right to finish off the Serie A champions. Luka Modric was happy to take advantage of some hesitant play from the Juve defence, as the Croatia international found the streaking Ronaldo on a cutback pass and the Portuguese slammed in a shot at the near post past Buffon to make it 3-1.
Real were overflowing with confident football and quite easily could have added another couple of scores. Meanwhile, Juve were bereft of ideas in attack and Max Allegri could only watch on in frustration as Zidane’s men dictated terms.
Adding to Real’s scintillating evening was Bale getting to make an appearance in front of his adoring countrymen, replacing Benzema for the final minutes. As for Juventus, an already disappointing night ended sourly, with substitute Juan Cuadrado getting sent off after picking up two yellow cards in just 18 minutes.
Real then capped the night in style as substitute Marco Asensio put a bow on things right before full-time with a strong finish off a Marcelo cross for the 4-1 final to kick off a celebration that will be heard from Cardiff to Cibeles.
Match Sheet
1.- Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli (Cuadrado, min. 66), Bonucci, Chiellini, Sandro; Khedira, Alves, Pjanic (Marchisio, min. 71); Dybala (Lemina, min. 78), Higuain, Mandzukic
4.- Real Madrid: Navas; Marcelo, Ramos, Varane, Carvajal; Casemiro, Modric, Kroos (Morata, min. 89), Isco (Asensio, min. 82); Ronaldo, Benzema (Bale, min. 77)
Goals: 0-1, min. 20: Ronaldo; 1-1, min. 27: Mandzukic; 1-2, min. 61: Casemiro; 1-3, min. 64: Ronaldo; 1-4, min. 90: Asensio
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany).
Yellow Cards: Dybala (Min. 12) for Juventus, Ramos (Min. 32) for Real Madrid, Carvajal (Min. 42) for Real Madrid, Kroos (Min. 53) for Real Madrid, Pjanic (Min. 66) for Juventus, Alex Sandro (Min. 70) for Juventus, Cuadrado (Min. 72) for Juventus, Cuadrado (Min. 84) for Juventus
Red cards: Cuadrado (Min. 84) for Juventus
Stadium: Principality
Attendance: 74.500
