Real Madrid, European and Spanish champions 59 years later. 12x Euro champions, 3 in 4 years. Extraordinary. pic.twitter.com/p95I7UoCQw
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) June 3, 2017
Read Daniel Taylor's match report ...
The Guardian and Observer’s chief football correspondent was at the Millennium Stadium and typed his fingers to the bone in order to bring you this on-the-whistle match report. Stay tuned to our website for more post-match reaction and comment as the night progresses.
Now it's the turn of Real Madrid
Their players having swapped their purple shirts for white ones, Real Madrid’s players are presented with their medals. Sergio Ramos is presented with the trophy, walks to the front of the podium where he is surrounded by his team-mates and hoists it skywards. Real Madrid are champions of Europe for the 12th time in their history.
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It's time for the presentation
Following what must be the most wishy-washy, dreary, boring and anodyne post-match scenes in European Cup final history (Real Madrid’s players don’t look particularly thrilled and Juve’s don’t seem particularly distraught), Juve’s players are given a guard of honour as they go up to receive their losers’ medals.
Pepe goes full JT ...
Well, not quite. The Real Madrid central defender didn’t make the match-day squad, but has turned up for the post-match celebrations in a jersey and tracky-bs. Real’s celebrations seem decidedly restrained, truth be told- at the risk of sounding like a massive grinch, there seem to be way, way too many randomers, hangers-on and assorted wives, girlfriends and kids milling around.
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That was a weird game ...
Juventus came roaring out of the traps and bossed the first half despite going a goal behind in a massively entertaining first half. The second half could scarcely have been more different, with the Italian side comprehensively outplayed in all areas of the pitch in a niggly affair punctuated by one foul after another. Too many Juventus players disapperaed into their shells: Higuain, Dybala, Mandzukic and Pjanic may have come out of for the second half, but all left their mojos in the dressing room.
Real Madrid win their 12th title ...
Cristiano Ronaldo added another two to his remarkable tally of Champions League goals as Real Madrid ran out comfortable winners against Juventus to secure the Duodecima. For Juventus and Gigi Buffon there is despair - they’ve lost the past four Champions League finals they’ve contested.
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Full time in Cardiff: Juventus 1-4 Real Madrid
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeep! It’s all over - Real Madrid are the champions of Europe, becoming the first team to retain the title since AC Milan 27 years ago. They’ve now won three of the last four Champions League titles.
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90+1 min: The match enters its knockings, with Juventus looking a sorry rabble after such a promising first half. They’ve been walloped in this second half and have conceded four goals in this final, having shipped just three in their previous 12 Champions League matches this season.
GOAL! Juventus 1-4 Real Madrid (Asensio 90)
Another goal for Real! Marco Asensio fires home from about 12 yards after getting on the end of a pull-back from Marcelo, who was given the freedom of the byline after getting in behind the Juventus defence.
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89 min: The camera cuts to a weeping Italian lady in the stand, who is defiantly holding her Juventus scarf aloft. She must be perplexed at the quite weird slump in the performance level of her team since the start of the second half.
88 min: Real Madrid substitution: Toni Kroos off, Alvaro Morata on.
85 min: Looking at the Cuadrado incident again, it seems like the Juventus substitute may have had a petulant little stamp on Ramos’s foot. Whether or not it was yellow card-worthy is open to debate.
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Red card! Juan Cuadrado gets sent off
84 min: Not long on the field as a substitute, Juan Cuadrado gets a second booking for what appeared to be a little shove on Sergio Ramos, who dropped like a sack of cement before rolling around on the ground in agony while clutching his foot.
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83 min: Real Madrid substitution: Marco Asensio on for Isco.
82 min: Juve win a free-kick wide on the right and the ball’s played into the Real Madrid penalty area. Alex Sandro makes a darting run and flicks a header just wide of the far post.
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79 min: Cristiano Ronaldo gallops down the inside right challenge and spots Gareth Bale making a run towards the edge of the six-yard box. With the goal at his mercy and only Gigi Buffon to beat, the Welshman is prevented from sweeping the ball home with his first touch of the game by a sensational last-ditch interception by Leonardo Bonucci.
77 min: Real Madrid substitution: After a quiet night at the office, Karim Benzema goes off and is replaced by a local chap by the name of Gareth Bale. In decidedly less sentimental substitution news, Juventus replace Paulo Dybala with Mario Lemina.
75 min: Isco berates Karim Benzema for selfishly shooting and having his effort blocked, when his teammate was unmarked and in space in the Juventus penalty area.
75 min: Having come on and immediately got himself booked, Juan Cuadrado prompts his manager Max Allegri to shake his head in disbelief as sends a high cross from the right flank soaring towards a vast expanse of empty space on the other side of the pitch near the corner flag.
73 min: Real attack down the inside left with Marcelo on the ball and he pulls it back to Cristiano Ronaldo. Looking for his hat-trick, he is unable to control the ball properly and fires high over the bar. That was a decent chance to put the game to bed.
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72 min: Juan Cuadrado gets booked for a foul on Cristiano Ronaldo.
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71 min: Sandro gets booked for a foul on Raphael Varane. Juventus substitution: Miralem Pjanic off, Claudio Marchisio on.
69 min: That was a splendid goal from Ronaldo, whose movement and anticipation was superb. Without so much as a glance, Modric pulled the ball back to the six-yard box and Ronaldo made Messrs Bonucci and Chiellini look uncharacteristically sloppy as he burst between them to fire past Buffon from four yards out.
67 min: Juve substitution: Andrea Barzagli goes off and is replaced by Juan Cuadrado. Juve switch to four at the back, with Dani Alves playing at right-back and Sandro at left-back, book-ending Bonucci and Chiellini in the heart of the defence. Cuadrado takes up position on the right wing.
65 min: Three minutes and six seconds after Casemiro restored Real Madrid’s lead, Cristiano Ronaldo extends it with his second goal of the night. Taking advantage of some slack play from Mandzukic, Luka Modric stole in behind the Juventus defence. He got to the byline and pulled the ball back to the edge of the six-yard box, where Cristiano Ronaldo had made his run and was on hand to slot the ball past Buffon.
GOAL! Juventus 1-3 Real Madrid (ronaldo 64)
Real Madrid extend their lead! Cristiano Ronaldo gives Real Madrid a two-goal cushion.
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63 min: Gigi Buffon looked seriously fed up as he sat on his backside pondering the futility of it all before picking that one out of the net. It was a fine goal from a player who has been unimpressive thus far, but was optimisitc enough to try his luck from about 30 yards. His luck was in - the shot took a wicked deflection off Sami Khedira and crept in by the far post.
GOAL! Juventus 1-2 Real Madrid (Casemiro 61)
Real Madrid lead! Casemiro fires Real Madrid into the lead with a swerving, dipping effort from distance that bounces on the line as it scrapes in by the foot of the left upright.
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60 min: Real Madrid continue to dominate this second half, but without creating much in the way of chances. Karim Benzema picks up the ball on the left flank and ... oh, hold on!
58 min: Marcelo picks out a Ronaldo run to the far post and threads a lovely cross his way. Sandro does enough to put the Real Madrid man off, although he’d have had to stretch every sinew to turn that ball home from a tight angle.
57 min: Real Madrid advance on Juventus’s penalty area, play the ball wide to Marcelo on the left wing and Andrea Barzagli is immediately out to clear.
55 min: A long succession of second half fouls and stoppages is interrupted by the outbreak of some football, which culminates with Luka Modric unleashing an effort from the edge of the Juventus penalty area. Gigi Buffon saves comfortably.
54 min: It’s one stoppage after another in a very niggly second half. This time Modric goes down after Khedira clambers all over him.
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53 min: Toni Kroos is booked for a late challenge on Sami Khedira.
52 min: Now Dani Alves goes down injured after being trod on by Marcelo. In a case of mistaken identity, the referee gives Isco, who was nearby, a ticking off.
49 min: There’s a break in play as Leonardo Bonucci goes down looking dazed and confused after getting a smack in the face from the ball at a Real corner. He receives treatment and wanders off the pitch with cartoon budgies chirruping around his head, then comes back on again when signalled by the referee.
48 min: I’m a bit late to this party, but in all my excitement over Mandzukic’s goal, I neglected to mention that in the build-up, the ball was passed between four different players without touching the ground, before he volleyed past Keylor Navas, who probably should have done a little better.
47 min: Cristiano Ronaldo gets in behind Andrea Barzagli and tries to pick out Karim Benzema with a scooped pass from the byline. Giorgio Chiellini is on hand to clear.
Second half: Juventus 1-1 Real Madrid
46 min: Real Madrid get the second half started, with no changes in personnel on either side. Keylor Navas begins the half on his knees, arms outstretched as he has a quick word with the Big Man upstairs.
An email from Pradeek Chadha ...
“Zidane’s decision to move Ronaldo to the right wing and keep him away from situations where he is faced with the Dybala-Alved axis has also meant that Real have thus far been deprived of their own creative Ronaldo-Marcello axis and Ronaldo has been largely anonymous,” he says. “I suspect that Zidane will either recognise this is a mistake and correct it or it will become the centre-piece of Michael Cox’s finals analysis.”
That’s a fair point, although I did notice that towards the end of the first half, Cristiano was wandering over towards the left flank in an attempt to get himself into the game a bit more. Whether he did that off his own bat or under instruction from his manager is open to debate. Having said all that, he did open the scoring tonight, but has had little impact so far.
Half-time in Cardiff: Juventus 1-1 Real Madrid
Peep! The ref signals half-time and the players troop off for the interval after a very entertaining first half. Juventus started brightly, but conceded a goal against the run of play when Cristiano Ronaldo finished a move in which the Italian side’s defence were carved open with uncharacteristic ease. Real’s lead didn’t last long - Mario Mandzukic equalised with a splendid piece of improvisation, bagging himself a goal fit to grace any cup final.
45+2 min: Real Madrid win a throw-in deep in Juventus territory and are so bereft of ideas that Dani Carvajal Delaps the ball deep into the penalty area. It’s headed clear.
45+1 min: Georgio Chiellini hacks the ball clear after a brief period of Isco-infused Real Madrid pressure down the inside right.
45 min: With Ronaldo and Benzema in the penalty area, Casemiro tries a shot from distance, but shanks his low effort wide.
44 min: Carvajal sends a curling cross drifting high towards the far post, but Gigi Buffon leaps to pluck the ball from the sky.
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42 min: Dani Carvajal gets booked for a foul on Mandzukic, sliding in from the side and winning the ball. I’d say he has every right to feel hard done by, there. On the touchline, Zinedine Zidane is furious with the decision.
40 min: Pjanic catches the sweet spot of the ball as he connects with a fine effort from the fringe of the Real Madrid penalty area. His thunderous low drive is blocked.
39 min: Mario Mandzukic goes down injured and requires treatment. THere’s a break in play as he’s tended to by the Juventus medics and he’s passed fit to continue. He hobbles on gamely, to see if he can run off whatever ails him.
37 min: Juventus win a corner, which is swung into the mixer. Giorgio Chiellini gets between defenders but miscues his header and is promptly penalised for a foul.
36 min: Another free-kick for Juventus, this time about 45 yards from goal. Pjanic sends the ball fizzing through the centre, trying to pick out a Georgio Chiellini run. Sergio Ramos is on hand to clear up.
34 min: Juventus win a free-kick about 30 yards from the Real Madrid goal. Miralem Pjanic and Paul Dybala stand over the ball, before the Argentinian sends his effort into the wall ... where Cristiano gets away with blocking the ball with his arm.
34 min: Marcelo crosses to Ronaldo from the byline, but the Portuguese scews his header badly wide.
31 min: Sergio Ramos is booked for a foul on Dani Alves. Moments previously, Cristiano Ronaldo tried to score with a bicycle kick of his own, which cannoned off a defender.
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29 min: My words really don’t do justice to that Mandzukic goal, which was as good as you’ll see in any final. It came at the end of a series of end to end counter-attacks in which both teams found themselves failing to take advantage of three-on-two scenarios. With his back to goal, Mandzuukic chested down a pass from Gonzalo Higuain, before steering a looping effort into the top corner.
GOAL! Juventus 1-1 Real Madrid (Mandzukic 27)
Juventus draw level! Mario Mandzukic equalises for Juventus with a sensational goal! Standing just inside the penalty area, he chests down the dropping ball and, without too much room to manoeuvre, sends an overhead kick into the top corner to make it all square. Incredible stuff.
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22 min: Real Madrid take the lead against the run of play and it’s a tidy finish from Ronaldo, who scores his 104th Champions League goal. He played a one-two give-and-go with Dani Carvajal on the edge of the Juventus penalty area, before unleashing a shot that curled away from Buffon and into the bottom corner. I think his effort took a touch off a Leonardo Bonucci on its way in, but would almost certainly have gone in regardless.
GOAL! Juventus 0-1 Real Madrid (Ronaldo 20)
Real Madrid lead! Ronaldo gives Real Madrid the lead with a low right-footed drive from 20 yards that curled beyond the reach of Gigg Buffon and in to the bottom left-hand corner.
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19 min: Sergio Ramos and Mario Mandzukic get all up in each other’s grills after contesting a high ball, but it’s much ado about nothing.
18 min: Casemiro is penalised for the second time in quick succession, but avoids a yellow card for now. The Real Madrid midfielder has not had the best start, having given the ball away once or twice as well.
16 min: Real Madrid enjoy a spell of possession, but their players are being pressed to within an inch of their lives any time they venture towards the edge of the final third. Juventus are back in numbers.
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14 min: Casemiro gives away the ball in the centre-circle, but Gonzalo Higuain is unable to profit. Real Madrid win possession back, but Dani Carvajal gives away a free-kick deep inside the Juventus half, not too far from the corner flag.
13 min: Karim Benzema crosses into the Juventus penalty area from the inside left channel. Georgio Chiellini heads clear.
12 min: Paulo Dybala gets the first booking of the night, for a cynical foul on Toni Kroos, who had got the better of him and was about to go galloping off into the distance.
11 min: Cristiano Ronaldo appeals in vain for a free-kick after being barged by Georgio Chiellini as the pair contested a through-ball that neither was ever going to prevent from going out for a goal-kick.
9 min: Ronaldo gets on the ball on the inside right channel, plays it forward and Juventus clear their lines. They’ve started very brightly.
8 min: Steve McManaman is doing the co-comms for BT Sport and wryly observes that we’re eight minutes into the game and Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t touched the ball yet.
6 min: Juventus have definitely started the livelier of the two teams and charge forward again, with Sandro, Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic combining. A poor defensive header from Dani Carvjal drops kindly for Miralem Pjanic, who puts his boot through the ball from about 25 yards out. Partially unsighted, Navas dives to pull off an excellent save.
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5 min: Gonzalo Higuain registers his second effort on target, firing from distance. Navas can’t hold on to the ball, which breaks in front of him but there’s nobody following up for Juventus.
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3 min: Dani Alves steals the ball from Toni Kroos and sends in a cross for Gonzalo Higuain. His header is a poor one and it’s an easy save for Keylor Navas in the Real Madrid goal.
3 min: Isco and Karim Benzema combine down the left touchline, but Andrea Barzagli is out quickly to snuff out the danger.
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2 min: Luka Modric wins an early free-kick for Real Madrid, going down under a cynical challenge from Sami Khedira, which earns the Juventus man an early ticking-off from the referee.
Juventus v Real Madrid is GO!
1 min: The pitch is finally cleared and Juventus kick off, wearing their usual kit of black and white stripes, white shorts and white socks. Real Madrid are wearing their third kit which is all purple.
Chop, chop chaps pic.twitter.com/vlhG3c4RIT
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) June 3, 2017
Cristiano Ronaldo now instructing the soldiers clearing the canvas from the pitch to get a move on.
— Rory Smith (@RorySmith) June 3, 2017
Not long now ...
With the players waiting patiently in the tunnel, where they have been for quite some time waiting for the Black Eyed Peas to shut up, there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of this match starting on time. The pitch is still covered in a giant banner, but the players march out regardless and line up on either side of the match officials for the Champions League anthem. Ian Rush, the ambassador for the final, brings out the iconic trophy that’s up for grabs tonight.
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The Black Eyed Peas take to the stage ...
No, really. It’s seven minutes to kick-off in the most important match of the European club football calendar and Will.I.An and chums, along with an army of dancers, are poncing around a stage constructed from various segments of a plywood Champions League logo. “I’ve got a feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night,” they sing. It will be once you get off the stage.
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Do you think they're sitting beside each other?
This is ludicrous and another of the Guardian’s men in the press box has pictorial evidence as to just how ludicrous it is. Never mind the players taking part in the final, Uefa need to clear the pitch for an opening ceremony featuring the Black Eyed Peas.
The garnish has eaten the steak.
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) June 3, 2017
Juventus players, still warming up, forced off pitch by opening ceremony set up. pic.twitter.com/JTwr6LCMXg
Sprinklers on during the warm-up, presumably bcs this opening ceremony nonsense means they can't wait. The garnish has eaten the steak.
— Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) June 3, 2017
Cristiano Ronaldo speaks ...
In a clip filmed for BT Sport, Ronaldo says “my motivation is to enjoy myself all the time. The goals is coming in a natural way. They make me happy.” His team-mates Toni Kroos and Luka Modric proceed to pay tribute to the Portuguese, who blows a little solo on his own trumpet before reciprocating by saying “I play with the best players in the world too”.
The teams go out for their warm-ups ...
There’s a huge cheer as both teams go out on the pitch for their warm-ups. Gigi Buffoon, who is aiming to become the oldest ever winner of the Champions League tonight, arrived for this match looking ice-cool in a shirt practically unbuttoned to his navel and wearing shades, but has now changed into something more appropriate.
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Juventus v Real Madrid starting line-ups
Juventus: Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Alves, Sandro, Pjanic, Khedira, Dybala, Mandzukic, Higuain.
Subs: Neto, Benatia, Lichsteiner, Cuadrado, Marchisio, Lemina, Asamoah
Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo, Casemiro, Modric, Isco, Kroos, Benzema, Ronaldo.
Subs: Casilla, Nacho, Bale, Kovacic, Asensio, Morata, Danilo
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
Kick-off is at 7.45 (BST)
Despite there being more than three-quarters of an hour until kick-off, the
Principality
Millennium Stadium is almost full already and has been for some time now. Despite the best efforts of the organisers to ruin what should be a wonderful atmosphere by having some excruciatingly banter-tastic master of ceremonies acting as unwanted cheerleader, with the roof of the stadium closed tonight it should be a real cauldron once that idiot has shut up. Curiously, I had a text from Max Rushden earlier telling me he’s in Cardiff for the game ... hmmm. It couldn’t be, could it?
No surprises in the Juventus line-up
Massimiliano Allegri has picked the starting XI everyone expected and will go with a 3-4-3, with Mario Mandzukic, Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala leading the attack.
How the mighty have fallen dept
James Rodriguez has not made Real Madrid’s 18-man squad for tonight’s game and will watch from the stands. Winger Lucas Vazquez also misses out.
So, the usual suspects with the usual bollocks ... but, hey never mind, just keep on keeping on, you clowns.
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) June 3, 2017
Bale does NOT start for Real Madrid ...
The jungle drums were hammering out a bogus beat - Gareth Bale is not in the Real Madrid starting line-up. Isco starts and the Welshman is on the bench.
More news on Gareth Bale ...
Italian reporter Tancredi Palmeri has said on Twitter that Gareth Bale will start for Real Madrid, who would play a 4-3-3 in that scenario, rather than the 4-3-1-2 formation they play in his absence. We’ll know for certain soon enough.
Rumours from Cardiff ...
Speculation abounds that Gareth Bale may start for Real Madrid tonight, which would be a bit of a turn-up for the books. As mentioned previously, he hasn’t played since 23 April, when he suffered a calf injury, but the word from Cardiff is that he might start instead of Isco. We’ll have the official line-ups in the next 20 minutes or so.
Massimiliano Allegri speaks ...
The Juventus manager sounded decidedly zen in his pre-match presser. “How we’re going to tackle tomorrow’s game is with total tranquility and serenity,” he said. “We’ve worked all year for this. It won’t be easy because Real Madrid are the defending champions, but we know what we’ve built over the season and we’ll try to give that little bit more than Real Madrid.”
On where a Champions League win would rate among his side’s impressive achievements so far this season, Allegri left reporters in little doubt. “We have worked for a whole year,” he said. “All the trophies, and all the victories we’ve had this year, have been a sort of training for tomorrow. We have to win. It’s one game; you need to analyse the game and see when to attack, when to defend and, if we’re able to do that, we have a chance. But we need to feel relaxed and confident that we’re able to win the trophy.”
It does feel a bit odd being inside a stadium with the roof closed pic.twitter.com/YnDwslbNUo
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) June 3, 2017
Zinedine Zidane speaks ...
“We’ve done a lot of work all season, to win the Liga and to get to this final,” said the Real Madrid manager in his pre-match press conference. “What’s most important is that we’re all prepared, and we are. In football, you have to give it your all. I’ve lost many matches, so I know it’s possible to lose. It’s the same for Juventus. We’re going to try to play our game; we know we’re going to play against a great team. What everyone who likes football wants to see is to see a great final.”
Asked if the pressure of favouritism would weigh heavily on Real Madrid, Zidane had this to say. “We know all about pressure at Real Madrid,” he said. “We’re always favourites, but in reality in a final there are no favourites. We’re not favourites, nor are Juventus. It’s 50-50. But we’re in the final again, and everything is possible. I expect an open game on both sides. I’ve lived and been at Juventus, in Italy there’s the famous catenaccio, but Juve don’t just have that. I expect an open game.”
A sort of homecoming ...
Gareth Bale returns to his hometown of Cardiff for tonight’s final, but seems unlikely to start for Real Madrid having not played since his side’s La Liga defeat at the hands of Barcelona on 23 April. Bale injured his calf in that game, but despite being passed fit to play tonight, it would be a surprise if he is picked ahead of Isco, who has been outstanding in his absence. On a day when rumours about a possible summer move to Manchester United began their annual percolation, Bale may have to settle for a place on the bench but isn’t a bad man to have in reserve should Zinedine Zidane need an impact sub.
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The time for talking is over ...
Well, almost over. Almost 12 months after the early preliminary stage began, this season’s Champions League will be decided in Cardiff tonight. European heavyweights Juventus and Real Madrid are the finalists, with the Italian side hoping to add the European crown to the domestic Serie A and Coppa Italia double they’ve already secured.
Their Spanish opponents are aiming to win their first La Liga and European Cup double since 1958, when Argentinian manager Luis Carniglia masterminded the feat with a team boasting talents such as Alfredo di Stefano, Hector Rial, Francisco Gento and Raymond Kopa. Real overcame Italian opposition in the European Cup final on that occasion, beating AC Milan 3-2 after extra time.
If Zinedine Zidane and his men are to emulate the team of 1958, they will have to beat a Juventus side that has conceded just three goals in the 12 matches they have played in this season’s tournament to date. Kick-off is at 7.45pm (BST), but stay tuned for team news and build-up ahead of what promises to be a truly fascinating encounter.
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