Thibaut Courtois
Man-of-the-match Thibaut Courtois with nine crucial saves to hand Real Madrid its 14 European Champions League Cup has said that he has used Champions League to add respect to his name.
Courtois speaking after the match said he was not respected in England while he was playing for Chelsea.
Vinicius Junior scored the only goal of the game as Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in Saturday’s Champions League final in Paris to become kings of Europe for a record-extending 14th time after a night marred by problems outside the ground that led to the kick-off being delayed by over half an hour.
Brazilian winger Vinicius turned in Fede Valverde’s enticing low cross in the 59th minute at the Stade de France and Liverpool could not find an equaliser as Jurgen Klopp’s side lost to the Spanish giants in a Champions League final for the second time in five seasons.
The Anfield side will wonder what might have been had the outstanding Thibaut Courtois not pushed Sadio Mane’s shot onto the inside of a post when they were on top in the first half, as they fell short of a trophy treble.
Liverpool winners of the English League Cup (Carabao Cup) and FA Cup this season, came to Paris and saw red as they were frustrated by a standout performance of the Belgian Courtois.
They have just missed out to Manchester City for the Premier League title by one point and could have earned the badge of 7th time Champions League to place them on the same level with AC Milan.
