Ronaldo reigns
Striker’s double seals the first back-to-back Champions League titles – and takes him to an astonishing 600 career goals
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale hailed Real Madrid’s history makers after they crushed Juventus to become the first back-to-back European champions of the Champions League era.
Ronaldo scored twice and Bale came off the bench in his home town of Cardiff to help the Spanish champions win 4-1 and claim their 12th European Cup and third in four years. Describing the achievement as a “unique moment in my career,” Ronaldo said: “It was a spectacular end to the season with La Liga and the Champions League. We’ve got another record, the first team to retain the Champions League and the top scorer in the tournament. What more could I ask?” Bale, who was not fit to start last night, added: “What an incredible scene here, the stadium’s incredible, the city have done such an immaculate job in hosting a great event and we thank everyone for that.
“To win at home is a dream come true. At one point, I thought I wasn’t going to make it to the final but I’ve worked tirelessly at home and this is the reward you get for all the hard work you put in.
“We’ve made more history so we’re just very happy to win the 12th and we’ll enjoy this moment now.”
A thrilling final saw Ronaldo net his 599th and 600th career goals and witnessed one of the greatest strikes in the history of the fixture by Juve’s Mario Mandzukic.
Ronaldo also became the first player to score in three finals in the Champions League era, while Juve’s defeat was a record seventh in European Cup finals. Ronaldo added: “You win the biggest prizes because of what you do at the end of the season. [Coach Zinedine] Zidane gave us a very positive half-time team talk and told us he really believed in us.”
The Italian champions’ misery was compounded when Juan Cuadrado was sent off following some disgraceful play-acting by Real captain Sergio Ramos.
Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who has now played in their last three final defeats, said: “It’s a big disappointment because we thought that we’d done everything necessary to play this final and finally win it. We had an excellent first half, where we caused Real Madrid huge problems, so it leaves you open-mouthed in shock that incidents never go our way.
“In the second half, their class, strength and how accustomed they are to winning these games showed through. They won deservedly.”
They have tried since the beginning of the 21st century to create the ultimate winning machine at Real Madrid that might replicate the days when they were the prototype for the super-club, and at last it seems that the dream has been realised in this, the game’s most competitive era.
Their third Champions League in four years, the first time the European Cup has been successfully defended in its new format, a 12th overall title that takes them so far ahead of the pack as to be uncatchable for possibly another generation. The questions still remain as to how they have amassed such wealth and influence, and upon what foundations president Florentino Pérez has built the modern club, but there is no question that the team are formidable.
In the end, the light went out for Juventus, who were beaten by two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo as this final went from a tight first half into one of those routine Sunday afternoon La Liga strolls for the champions of Spain. An Italian team who have dug deep into their experience and picked up players discarded by wealthier clubs were ruthlessly exposed by Zinedine Zidane’s players and Juventus conceded more goals in Cardiff than the three they had in 12 previous matches in this competition.
Not since the AC Milan team of 1989 and 1990 have a club been able to come back for a second year and win this trophy and yet, from the moment that Casemiro, the Brazilian midfielder, clouted a shot that was deflected heavily past Gianluigi Buffon for the second, it was never in doubt. There were moments in the first half when Zidane’s side had wobbled and then, when finally they hit their groove after the break, there was no stopping them.
For Ronaldo this was another momentous night that might pave the way for a fifth Ballon d’Or, which would take him equal with Lionel Messi. There is no disputing the Portuguese goalscorer’s ability to be in the right place at the right time in the big games. He has 600 career goals now at senior level for club and country yet he is just a constituent part of the perfect football team.
Who could overlook the brilliant Luka Modric, the architect of everything Madrid do in attack and the creator of Ronaldo’s second goal? After an indifferent first half, Isco came into his own and when the job was done he made way for Gareth Bale, back on his home turf and winning his third Champions League but a long way from his best form after that long injury lay-off.
Only Sergio Ramos let the side down, with some preposterous simulation late on in the game to ensure a second yellow card for the substitute Juan Cuadrado, who took less than 20 minutes to get his red card. That he was sent off was a travesty but by then Juventus were caught in the jaws of one of the greatest teams in history, unable to get back into a game that had started in such promising fashion for them.
The Italian club have now lost seven finals, more than any other in the history of the competition, and having punched above their weight for so long, eliminating teams with much greater resources than them, they finally found themselves way out of their depth. Their goal, scored by Mario Mandzukic in the first half, was a classic in its creation and its execution, struck over his shoulder, yet after halftime they could not take the pace.
As for Zidane, he is making management look easy. There are many others who have tried to match the spending of this club but Madrid evidently now have the balance right with the axis of Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Modric such a dominant force. The French maestro has arrived on the scene at just the right time, as Pep Guardiola once did at Barcelona, but he is certainly making the most of his opportunity.
Against the shutout kings of Europe, Madrid started the game colder, with Juventus pressing them high up the pitch. There were enough indifferent performances from the defending champions in that first half to make you wonder if the Italians might have a chance. Miralem Pjanic chested down a pass on the edge of the area within six minutes and hit a shot that Keylor Navas pushed away.
At the moment Ronaldo scored the opener, he had switched to the right side to get away from Dani Alves and his chance came when Madrid worked the ball quickly from left to right. Ronaldo passed it on to Dani Carvajal before darting into the area and demanding the return. It was delivered perfectly to be hit right-footed first time, which Ronaldo did, benefiting from a slight touch off Leonardo Bonucci that just took the ball away from Buffon and into the corner.
The equaliser came within seven minutes and was a direct move executed with great technical precision. A ball deep into the corner was crossed by Alex Sandro to Gonzalo Higuaín,
who took it on his chest and had the presence of mind to play it away from goal to Mandzukic. He was in the left channel, facing away from goal and with very little on but he took the ball on his chest which gave him enough time to reposition himself for a rightfooted shot over his shoulder.
It was a marvellous piece of skill and a spectacular goal, but you did wonder how Navas was beaten from such range. The shot was within the reach of a top goalkeeper and somehow Navas could not get to it. Even after that, Juventus finished the half strongly and there were bookings for Ramos and Carvajal before the break, the Madrid captain as ever walking a very fine line.
It was a different Madrid in the second half and the goal scored by Casemiro on 61 minutes was well-deserved if fortunate in the way in which it flicked off Sami Khedira to spin beyond Buffon and into the corner. For the third Modric darted down the right channel in pursuit of Carvajal’s pass and cut the ball back for Ronaldo.
At that point it was over for Juventus, their defence suddenly looking old rather than just experienced and the red card for Cuadrado having destabilised them. Marco Asensio, a substitute, added the fourth in injury time, and the celebrations could begin, a familiar end now to the season for the modern Real Madrid.