Ronaldo reels off a double as Real Madrid creates history
CRISTIANO Ronaldo (pictured) scored twice to help Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 in a memorable Champions League final full of attacking verve and brilliant goals as the Spanish club won the title for the third time in four years and 12th in all.
Ronaldo hit Real’s first and third goals to become only the second man to score in three European Cup finals and take his career goal tally to 600 for club and country.
“Again, I’ve had an amaz- ing season,” Ronaldo said.
“Me and my teammates have done the double. The numbers don’t lie. I’m very happy — an amazing season, we’ve won trophies.”
Few of those will have matched Mario Mandzukic’s spectacular overhead equaliser for Juventus, which was eventually in vain for the Italian side that had the best of the first half before being swept aside in the second.
A long-range deflected effort by Casemiro and a neat finish by the irrepressible Ronaldo within four minutes effectively settled one of the most entertaining finals for years, with a late tap-in by substitute Marco Asensio adding the gloss.
The victory means Real is the first team to successfully defend the trophy in the Champions League era.
“It’s been a spectacular year, you couldn’t dream of anything better,” Real coach Zinedine Zidane said.
“We won the (Spanish) league on the very last day. It’s very difficult to reach the Champions League final two years running, but we did that. “The first half was difficult, but in the second we were quickly superior.”
It was heartbreak again for Juve, which was seeking a treble after winning the Italian league and cup.
Juventus came away as losers for the seventh time in nine European Cup finals having also lost to Barcelona in 2015.
The Italians let in more goals yesterday than the three they had conceded in the 12 games they played to reach the final as a muchvaunted Real attack versus Juve defence scenario went emphatically in Madrid’s favour.
After a positive start it turned into a hugely frustrating night for Juventus and their coach Max Allegri.
“After the second goal we should have found a solution to stay in the game,” he said.