Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 on Saturday night to become the first team in the UEFA Champions League era to retain the trophy.
The Portugal international put Los Blancos ahead in Cardiff on 20 minutes, only for Mario Mandzukic to level with a spectacular scissor kick shortly afterwards. This gave the Bianconeri hope of a first Champions League success since 1996, and one which would have earned them a treble having already won the Serie A title and the Coppa Italia this season.
But Zinedine Zidane’s side found another level after the interval, as Casemiro restored their lead on the hour before Ronaldo grabbed his second of the night three minutes later. And if in any doubt, Real’s victory – and a record-extending 12th European Cup – was wrapped up in stoppage time, when substitute Marco Asensio put the icing on the cake for the champions.
“It has been an incredible end to the season by us,” Ronaldo said. “We are the first team to win it two years in a row and I scored two goals. It’s another record for us and the players deserve it and so do I because I scored twice and I’m the top scorer in the Champions League. I prepared myself for this, you win the biggest prizes because of what you do at the end of the season.”
It was ultimately a heartbreaking evening for Juventus, who were reduced to 10 men late on when substitute Juan Cuadrado picked up a second yellow card. This was their fifth consecutive loss in the Champions League final, having also been on the wrong end of the result in 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2015, and it will leave much thinking for head coach Massimiliano Allegri in the coming weeks.
