Real Madrid hailed masters of Europe
REAL MADRID were labelled “insatiable” and “masters of the universe” by an adoring Spanish press yesterday after writing more Champions League history by thrashing Juventus 4-1 to win the trophy for the 12th time.
Led by two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Madrid became the first side in the Champions League era to retain the trophy and claimed a third Champions League in just four years.
“The 12th for the insatiable,” ran the front cover of Madrid sports daily AS.
Ronaldo’s double meant he became the first man to score in three Champions League finals. He finishes the season for the fifth straight year as the competition’s top scorer with 12 goals and the Portuguese moves closer to matching Lionel Messi’s record of winning the Ballon d’Or five times.
“Cristiano MVP of the final and a step away from his fifth Ballon d’Or,” added AS.
Madrid’s other sports daily Marca declared Real “masters of the universe”.
“A thrashing by Real Madrid of Juve to win the 12th,” continued its front page.
Pictures of captain Sergio Ramos lifting the famous big-eared trophy and a smiling Ronaldo dominated across the front pages and online editions.
“Real Madrid without limits,” declared Spain’s oldest newspaper ABC, while La Razon described Zinedine Zidane’s men as “12 times kings”.
“The 12th of a Madrid for the ages,” said El Mundo to hail Madrid’s dominance of Europe’s premier club competition in recent seasons.
Real extend their lead as the most successful side in the history of the competition with AC Milan’s seven titles a long way back as second best.
A huge part of that success is due to winning the first five editions of the competition between 1955 and 1960 and El Pais invoked memories of that side as they led with “Real Madrid enter into a new golden age”.
Madrid’s victory at Cardiff ’s Principality Stadium was so resounding that it was even applauded over in Catalonia – home of Real’s bitter rivals Barcelona.
Barcelona-based newspapers Sport and Mundo Deportivo had published front pages on Saturday morning openly supporting Juventus.
Meanwhile, public Catalan TV station TV3 broadcast an advert backing the Italian champions – who beat Barca 3-0 in the quarterfinals – before the game as the “only 11 men capable of avoiding the unavoidable”.
“Real Madrid, deserving champions,” said Sport on its front cover, although the main splash was left for Barca’s latest moves in the transfer market.
Mundo Deportivo was more generous as it lauded the work done by Real’s coach Zidane to win a second Champions League after just 18 months in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu. “Historic Zidane”, said their front cover. “The whites wiped the floor with Juventus after halftime and Ronaldo wins the top-scorer award with his double.” — SuperSport CRISTIANO RONALDO said that his “numbers don’t lie” after his double helped Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid side beat Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff.
A goal in each half took the Portuguese to 105 Champions League strikes as Real became the first side since AC Milan in 1990 to win backto-back cups.
“This is one of the best moments of my career but it seems I am able to say that every year,” he said.
“People won’t be able to criticise me because the numbers don’t lie.”
Juventus were on top for large periods of an entertaining and open first 45 minutes, as Ronaldo’s opener was cancelled out by Mario Mandzukic’s superb overhead kick.
But Real were dominant after the break as efforts from Casemiro, Ronaldo again, and Marco Asensio sealed a 12th European Cup win and a third in four seasons.
Ronaldo has now scored at least twice as many Champions League goals as any other player in the quarter-finals (20), semi-finals (13) and finals (4).
He has won the Champions League on four occasions and has now scored 11 more goals in the competition than Barcelona’s Lionel Messi - his nearest challenger. — BBC Sport