Vinicius Junior, Thibaut Courtois lift club to 14th Champions League crown

**REAL MADRID’S VINICIUS JUNIOR BATTLING LIVERPOOL’S IBRAHIMA KONATE**

For the 14th time in their rich, unmatched history, Real Madrid are the kings of the UEFA Champions League. On Saturday, Los Blancos got a second-half goal from Vinicius Jr. on one of their few chances to defeat Liverpool 1-0 in the final in Paris. Jurgen Klopp’s team dominated the ball and the chances, but the best opportunity for Los Blancos in the second half resulted in the lone goal. Federico Valverde played a strong ball across the box that found Vinicius Jr. at the back post for a fairly easy finish in the 59th minute, leaving the Reds shell shocked. Liverpool hit the post in the first half and had the most chances in the game, but they could not get one past an unbelievable performance in goal from Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian shotstopper, a loser in the final with Atletico Madrid against Real Madrid 8 years ago, is now on the winning side with a epic performance that will go down in history, denying Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and company with every chance he had.

The victory completes a double for Real after having won La Liga this season.

A SUMMARY OF REAL MADRID’S FEATS IN THIS SEASON’S UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Real Madrid have had one of the toughest ever Champions League runs.

They played Paris St-Germain in the last 16, and last season’s two finalists – Chelsea and Manchester City – in the next two rounds.

They came from behind against PSG, and Chelsea, and City.

And now they have beaten Liverpool in the final.

Roma 1-0 Feyenoord: Nicolo Zaniolo’s smart finish delivers Europa Conference League glory for Italians as 1-0 win sees Jose Mourinho land his fifth European trophy… and the club’s first since 1961

**Roma’s Tammy Abraham and Lorenzo Pellegrini celebrate their win**

Jose Mourinho seems to be bored of hearing about the Special One these days. But how better to describe a manager who reigns supreme in the inaugural ‘Cup of Jokes’?

That was how Roma’s players viewed the Europa Conference League a year ago. By Wednesday night, however, not one of their supporters in Tirana were treating this as a tin-pot, even third-rate competition. Not when European glory had eluded them since the 1961 Fairs Cup.

That barren spell is over after Nicolo Zaniolo’s goal downed Feyenoord. It means Mourinho is the first manager to win all three of UEFA’s European competitions. His record in major continental finals remains perfect, too.

Played five, won five. For that, he has Chris Smalling to thank. The centre back was immense as Roma withstood a second-half barrage in Albania.

Tammy Abraham had a quieter evening but a brilliant debut season ends with another European medal to add to the Champions League title he won last year at Chelsea.

Roma had to make do for much of the night without Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

A hamstring injury had kept the midfielder out since April. Here he was forced off after barely 15 minutes.

This wasn’t a night for easing back into things, mind. Roma needed a while to settle as Feyenoord took charge during a frantic, fast-paced opening. All that was lacking? A chance at either end.

Abraham and Cyriel Dessers were vying for the competition’s golden boot but neither had a sniff early on. No one did, really, until Zaniolo peeled off Gernot Trauner, cushioned down Gianluca Mancini’s diagonal pass and chipped the ball over Justin Bijlow.

It was brilliantly taken – no wonder the Roma bench emptied on to the pitch.Mourinho did his best to temper the celebrations, for once. And with good reason.

Because by half-time, Feyenoord were pinning Roma back. The closest they came? Orkun Kokcu’s swerving shot from distance that was spilled by Rui Patricio.

Within four minutes of the restart, however, Feyenoord had struck the woodwork twice. First Mancini turned a low cross against his own post. Then Rui Patricio pushed Tyrell Malacia’s rasping shot on to frame of the goal Roma were teetering.

And yet, within moments, Abraham was through on goal. He appeared to be pulled back by Marcos Senesi – it looked an obvious red to all except the referee and VAR.

Fortunately for Roma, it mattered little come the final whistle in Tirana.

Aaron Ramsey misses crucial penalty in shootout as Rangers suffer Europa League final heartbreak

Aaron Ramsey missed in the penalty shootout after coming on as a substitute CREDIT: REUTERS

Rangers left heartbroken after suffering Europa League final defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville.

The Scotts were defeated 5-4 in a penalty shootout with Aaron Ramsey seeing his central shot saved by Kevin Trapp.

Joe Aribo had opened the scoring for the Scottish side in the second half to put them on cusp of glory.

But Rafael Borre fired in an equaliser with 21 minutes to play for the German side in a tense and tight final.

Ryan Kent missed out on scoring dramatic winner in the dying seconds of extra time after close range effort.

Eintracht Frankfurt win their first European trophy in 42 years! 🏆

MANCHESTER CITY STUNNED AT THE SANTIAGO BERNABEU

That wasn’t just a great match. It was a historic one.

Manchester City were in full control for 89 minutes and should have put the tie away when Grealish was granted a pair of chances in the late stages of the game.

Real Madrid never gave up, though, and struck twice through Rodrygo to force extra time. He’s become Mr. Champions League for them.

And in the end it was Benzema who provided the final blow from the penalty spot to send the Spanish giants to another Champions League final.

Pain is undoubtedly in Pep Guardiola’s conscience after a hard fought battle with the Spaniards in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi final.

As it stands Real Madrid and Liverpool face off in the final of the UEFA Champions League.

5 Things Learned: Real Madrid 2-3 (AET) Chelsea | Champions League

From start to finish, the Blues’ work rate was sensational

Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea side are out of the Champions League despite defeating Real Madrid.

Mason Mount gave the Blues the lead early in the first half after his curling effort beat Thibaut Courtois.

The rest of the first half saw Chelsea in control. However, Antonio Rudiger’s long-range effort was the closest they came to testing Courtois.

Antonio Rudiger’s header gave the Blues a 2-0 lead early in the second half to level the tie on aggregate.

Timo Werner’s strike late into the second half gave the Blues the aggregate lead for the first time over the two legs. However, Rodrygo netted late on to level the tie and force extra time. In the first half of extra time, Vinicius’ cross found the head of Benzema who gave Madrid the aggregate lead.

The Blues will now turn their attention to Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Patrick Viera’s Crystal Palace.

Here is five things I learned from Wednesday’s defeat:

1) The importance of rebuilding for the future

Going into the summer, there are a few players who may leave on a free. At the top of the list is Andreas Christensen, who looks set to join Barcelona. With players going, it’s essential to think forward. It’s no secret that the Blues are after a defender. However, it could be a chance for some of the loan players to come back and impress Thomas Tuchel. Both Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja have impressed at Crystal Palace and Southampton respectively. Therefore, Tuchel will have to have one eye going into next season.

2) The front three have to start going forward

Against Southampton, Tuchel opted to start Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Mason Mount up top. After their sensational performance last weekend, the trio started against Real Madrid. From the off, they were quick to test Madrid’s backline and put them under severe pressure. They were understanding of their roles, with Real struggling to get a real grip on the trio. Kai’s work off the ball was second to none, as was Mounts. As for Timo, his runs in behind caused the Spaniards some real issues. If Chelsea stands a chance of winning on Sunday, Tuchel has to start the trio for the third game in a row.

Mount’s recent step up in performances has been evident

3) Tuchel’s tactical switch deserves to be praised

During the first leg at Stamford Bridge, one thing was evident. Real’s midfield had all the time in the world to get both Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior into the game. However, from the off in Madrid, Tuchel stuck an extra man in midfield to press Madrid’s midfield. Both Luka Modric and Toni Kroos barely had the chance to take control of proceedings due to Chelsea’s willingness to press quickly as soon as they lose possession of the ball. The Blues’ midfield of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all deserve credit.

4) Mason Mount’s recent form is refreshing

This season has been a bit hit and miss for Mason Mount. Many fans have criticised the midfielder in recent times. However, over the last few weeks, the midfielder has stepped up when the Blues faithful desepertely needed him. After a great performance last weekend, Mount’s display against Madrid was breathtaking. His overall game deserves to be praised. From the off, Mount was operating in behind both Werner and Havertz. With that being said, his off the ball work was noticeable. As soon as Chelsea were on the back foot, Mount was on hand to drop in midfield and provide numbers defensively.

Thomas Tuchel deserves praise for his tactical switch up.

5) Simple mistakes over the two legs have costed the side dear

At the Bridge, a mistake from Edouard Mendy gifted Karim Benzema his third of the game. In the second leg, an extra time mistake from Thiago Silva allowed Madrid Vinicius Junior to get in behind and set Benzema up for Real’s second. The attention now turns to the rest of the season. With the Blues desperate to qualify for next season’s Champions League, they’ll have to keep picking up results as both Arsenal and Tottenham are hot on Chelsea’s heels.

AS IT STANDS BAYERN MUNICH ARE OUT OF THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Villarreal’s Samuel Chukuweze celebrating his level at Bayern Munich

Samuel Chukwueze scored a late winner in the tie as Villarreal stunned Bayern Munich to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in 16 years.

Unai Emery masterminded a 1-0 first-leg win in Spain, but a dominant Bayern looked seemingly in control once Robert Lewandowski broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute at the Allianz Arena.

But, with just his side’s second shot on target across both legs, Chukwueze levelled on the break in the 88th minute to give Villarreal the lead on aggregate – and earn them a historic victory against the six-time European champions.

They will face the winner of Liverpool versus Benfica in the last four, a contest Jurgen Klopp’s side currently lead 3-1 on aggregate.

Chelsea well beaten at Stamford Bridge AGAIN as Karim Benzema nets a hat-trick – including two brilliant headers and an Edouard Mendy howler – to put Real Madrid in charge of quarter-final

Chelsea were undone by Karim Benzema’s hat-trick at Stamford Bridge (Image: BT SPORT)

Karim Benzema opened the scoring when he met Vinicius Jr’s cross from the left with a stunning header.
The French striker doubled the lead soon after with another fine header from a cross from Luka Modric.
Kai Havertz pulled one back before half-time but an Edouard Mendy error allowed Benzema to score a third.

That is six goals in two Champions League games for Karim Benzema. Three against Paris Saint-German, three more last night. What a player he has turned out to be. After the many claims for Gareth Bale, and the emerging talent of Vinicius Junior, it is Benzema who has blossomed outside the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo.

This was his 37th goal in 36 matches in 2021-22 and his 11th in the Champions League, a record for a French player.

Yet, leave the numbers aside, and this was simply a masterclass in the art of finishing and leading the line. Benzema frightened the life out of Chelsea’s back-line.

He crept up on them, he vanished into thin air and reappeared when they least expected it, he made them jittery and error-prone. His two first-half headers were fabulous, powerful and accurate in equal measure, and his third less than a minute after the second-half restart, ripped the heart out of Chelsea’s revival. They have a mountain to climb now.

Five observations from Bayern Munich’s deserved 1-0 loss to Villarreal

Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

For previous losses, Bayern Munich could count themselves unlucky due to refereeing decisions, individual mistakes and other general bad luck.

Not this time.

The team was thoroughly outclassed by Villarreal. From top to bottom. Their defense was on top of our attack. Their midfield dominated ours. Their attack made our defense sweat throughout. We simply did not do the same.

Julian Nagelsmann’s lineups need a rework
As soon as the opening whistle went off, everyone was puzzled as to why Kingsley Coman is on the right while Serge Gnabry is on the left. Rightfully so. What was Julian Nagelsmann thinking doing this?

Even later on, the refusal to substitute off Alphonso Davies after an extremely poor showing was just madness. Nagelsmann still does not have a fixed lineup or even a general idea of who goes where. This needs to change pronto.

Alphonso Davies’ comeback was less than impressive
Alphonso Davies was a pedestrian today. He was completely pocketed by Juan Foyth, not dribbling past him once, while on the other hand Foyth always managed to scrap his way past Davies. Foyth even outpaced Davies on occasion, which just should not be happening. The most disappointing part was that despite it not working the first half dozen times, Davies continued to try the same thing until the last ten minutes or so of the game, continuing to play the exact same way.

One positive: an excellently blocked shot when Giovani Lo Celso found himself with space to shoot inside the box near the middle of the game.

Robert Lewandowski was persona non grata
Poor Robert Lewandowski. When he dropped deep to collect the ball, the defense decided to play it long. When he stayed near the last line, the ball just would not progress. He seemed cursed this game. Barely got a shot in. It is a fault of Nagelsmann’s system too as this simply does not happen to players like him. Whenever he got the ball he was super productive, always playing it extremely well with his usual heel flicks and final balls but his partners just could not do anything in the final third. A poor attacking performance, and it started with the tactics shackling Lewandowski.

Serge Gnabry is not Leroy Sané
Serge Gnabry started on the left. An objectively horrible decision from Nagelsmann. The kind that makes every single fan shout at their screen. We would find out later on that Gnabry was being used in a Leroy Sané-esque role, dropping into the hole in midfield to collect the ball and progress while Davies provides width on his flank.

This did not work. Gnabry just is not the same player as Sané. Sané has a different presence altogether. His dribbling is way beyond what Gnabry is capable of, his passing vision is something else altogether, they have different preferred feet (Gnabry prefers his right, Sané prefers his left) causing weird passing angles that usually aren’t as difficult, Sané is much faster than Gnabry and tangentially, contributes a lot more to defending against counter-attacks: something that would prove an important quality against this very structured but pacey Villarreal front line.

Lack of midfield cohesion
Tangentially related to the Gnabry issue was this. Gnabry provided less defensive and overall pressing prowess than Sané. On top of this, the midfield was less defensively astute and press-happy as Leon Goretzka was elected to be on the bench in favour of Jamal Musiala. This was not the correct decision, as Musiala simply did not give the same support Goretzka did when he came on later in the game. Kimmich pushed forward like he normally would with Goretzka in the team, but since Goretzka was not actually there, it resulted in no midfield presence behind Kimmich to cover for him as Musiala would always be in an advanced position looking for the killer ball. This left a gigantic gaping hole in the middle of the park which Dani Parejo and Étienne Capoue used to full effect, dominating the game. Nagelsmann seriously needs to re-think his tactics and how he sets up this team. We may win the second leg but we are in for a demolition against Liverpool if this is the level of tactics we are to expect from the team.

Villarreal 1-0 Bayern Munich: Champions League quarter-final, first leg – as it happened!

Arnaut Danjuma celebrating his goal against Bayern Munich

Arnaut Danjuma’s early goal secured Villarreal a deserved 1-0 win against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

The former Bournemouth winger Danjuma gave the Spaniards a slender advantage going into the return leg by scoring the only goal early in the first half at Estadio de la Cerámica.

But it could have been worse for Bayern, who produced a disappointing display, as Villarreal had another effort ruled out for offside before they struck a post through Gerard Moreno.

The home side, backed by a vociferous crowd, made an excellent start and took an eighth-minute lead through Danjuma. The on-loan Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso cut the ball back into the area before Danjuma diverted Daniel Parejo’s shot into the bottom corner.

The Spain defender Raúl Albiol’s well-timed challenge on the edge of the box denied Serge Gnabry a scoring chance as Bayern looked to get a foothold in the game.

But the German champions were relieved to see Pau Torres fail to connect with a flick-on from Parejo’s free-kick as Villarreal threatened again.

And the stadium erupted just before the break when the Spanish side thought they had taken a deserved two-goal lead. Francis Coquelin’s attempted cross flew into the net, but referee Anthony Taylor was told the French midfielder had been offside after a VAR check and Bayern breathed again.

The visitors, who had failed to register a shot on target, had it all to do at half-time. Thomas Müller was inches away from diverting in a cross for an equaliser early in the second period, but there was no respite for Bayern, who were spared by the woodwork when Moreno’s shot hit a post in the 53rd minute.

Bayern sent on Leroy Sané and Leon Goretzka for Gnabry and Müller and in the 66th minute Alphonso Davies fired straight at the Villarreal goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli. It was Bayern’s first effort on target.

The Bundesliga side pressed in the final 15 minutes, but still found chances hard to come by and Alfonso Pedraza fired a golden chance wide for Villarreal in the 87th minute.

Bayern Munich join Real Madrid & Barca in Champions League 500 goal club after Coman strikes in final

**David Alaba, Kingsley Coman and Thomas Muller (respectively) celebrate their first goal.**

The winger’s header (KINGSLEY COMAN) was a landmark goal in the history of the Bavarian giants.

Kingsley Coman’s opening goal in the Champions League final was the 500th Bayern Munich have scored in the competition, joining Real Madrid and Barcelona in reaching the tally.

The winger headed home from a Joshua Kimmich cross to give FCB the lead in the 60th minute of their clash with Paris Saint-Germain, which until that point had been a tight affair with few opportunities.

Hansi Flick’s side are just the third team in the history of the competition to reach that mark, with Real Madrid out ahead on 567 goals and Barcelona second on 517.

Meanwhile, the only other outfits to have notched more than 300 goals in Europe’s most illustrious club competition are Manchester United, who have tallied on 373 occasions, and Juventus, who have found the net 306 times.

The Bundesliga side have shared the goals around impressively throughout their teams over the years, but Robert Lewandowski leads the way on 51 strikes from just 62 outings, including 15 in what has been a remarkable competition for him this year.

Team-mate Thomas Muller stands second in their all-time list, having notched 46 goals over the course of his career.

Three other players in Bayern’s ranks have scored more than 20 goals, with Netherlands legend Arjen Robben having scored 25, Mario Gomez 23 and Giovani Elber 22.

Coman, meanwhile, stands on eight goals after his historic strike at Lisbon’s Stadium of Light.

Bayern are long established as one of the most storied teams in the history of European competition, having won the European Cup on five occasions.

Prior to Sunday’s clash with PSG, they had won the Champions League twice. After suffering heartbreak against Manchester United, who scored twice late on in the 1999-2000 final, bounced back to win the trophy a year later, then did so again in 2012-13 when they overcame Borussia Dortmund at Wembley, Robben grabbing the late winner.

Bayern have been in particularly impressive form on the continent this season, having scored 19 goals in six knockout matches, while they tallied an incredible 24 in their six league games, taking their aggregate to 43.

Among their most impressive displays have been a 7-2 win away against Tottenham and a stunning 8-2 success in the quarter-final against Barcelona.