2022 Champions League Final vs Liverpool FC

Lore & Background

This was the third time the two sides have met in the European Cup final, after 1981 and 2018. Real Madrid played in a record 17th European Cup/UEFA Champions League final, having previously won 13 finals and lost three. Liverpool played in their 10th final, having won six and lost three. The final was originally scheduled for the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg but was relocated to the Stade de France following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In Their Own Story

Under the hum of the Saint-Denis floodlights, the weight of history pressed down on twenty-two men as fifty thousand voices roared outside. Inside the Real Madrid dressing room, however, there was only a cold, calculated silence. Carlo Ancelotti had preached patience; now, it was time to execute. For Vinícius Júnior, the eyes of the world felt like a physical weight, the season's criticism echoing in his mind until the ball found his feet. The Liverpool defense, so imposing moments ago, seemed to fracture. He accelerated—a blur of white and yellow—leaving Virgil van Dijk grasping at empty air as the net rippled. In that split second, the stadium erupted, but for the Madridistas, it was a release of tension building since the first whistle. As the clock ticked down, a sea of white in the stands witnessed the transformation, proving once more that in this competition, magic often trumps statistics.

Reader's Guide

Real Madrid won the match 1–0. Vinícius Júnior scored in the 59th minute from an assist by Federico Valverde. The match was delayed by 36 minutes due to crowd control issues at the stadium. As winners, Real Madrid earned the right to play against the winners of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League, Eintracht Frankfurt, in the 2022 UEFA Super Cup, and also qualified for the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup, in which they both won.

Did You Know?

• This was the first final to be played in front of a full attendance since the 2019 final, as the previous two finals were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The final was relocated from Saint Petersburg to the Stade de France following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
• This was the third final held at the Stade de France, after the 2000 and 2006 finals.
• Real Madrid's manager Carlo Ancelotti reached a record fifth UEFA Champions League final as manager.