Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool: 3 key battles that decided the game
In what was a thoroughly entertaining game for the neutrals, but a complete nightmare if you were a Liverpool fan or an Egyptian, as Real Madrid cruised to yet another Champions League title - their third successive title in the premium competition.
It was more a case of Liverpool losing the game than Madrid earning the trophy, as Liverpool's new No. 1, Loris Karius, made two horrible decisions in the second half to hand Madrid the game - an absent-minded pass that Benzema was clever enough to pounce onto and a long-shot from Bale that somehow ended up in the back of the net were decisive in the game.
Bale's superhuman overhead kick quelled all the momentum Liverpool had built up after Mane's equaliser.
As always, there were a few individual battles that went a long way in deciding the outcome of the fixture. Here's a look at 3 such battles:
#3 Marcelo vs Trent Alexander-Arnold
Real Madrid and Liverpool are more alike in their playing style than most other Champions League finalists, and one of that was their full-back's intent to attack.
Both Marcelo and Trent Alexander-Arnold move forward with the ball in possession and try to contribute in attack. It was going to be the key difference, but on this night, it was the defender who defended that actually won the game. Marcelo stayed back most of the time instead of going on adventures in search of the ball - something he has been blamed for most of the season.
In the end, the Brazilian did manage two assists - both to Bale.
Alexander-Arnold, 19 years of age, was phenomenal during Liverpool's rout of City, but has endured his fair share of bad days since then - and this was one of those bad performances. Zidane's tactics here have to be lauded, as Madrid perfectly baited the English defender into leaving his posts vacant.