2022 UEFA Champions League Final

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2022 UEFA Champions League Final
Event2021–22 UEFA Champions League
Date28 May 2022 (2022-05-28)
VenueStade de France, Saint-Denis
Man of the MatchThibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)[1]
RefereeClément Turpin (France)[2]
Attendance75,000[3]
WeatherPartly cloudy night
18 °C (64 °F)
45% humidity[4]
2021
2023

The 2022 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, the 67th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA. It was played at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, on 28 May 2022, between English club Liverpool and Spanish club Real Madrid. It was the third time the two sides have met in the European Cup final, after 1981 and 2018, the third final held here, after the 2000 and 2006 finals, and the first time the same two teams have met in three finals.[5]

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.[6] The final was originally scheduled to be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. After the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final, the final hosts were moved back a year, so the 2022 final was given to the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg.[7] Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, UEFA called an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee, where it was expected to officially remove the match out of Russia.[8][9] A day later, it announced the final would move to the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, located just north of Paris.[10]

Real Madrid won the match 1–0 via a 59th-minute goal from Vinícius Júnior for a record-extending 14th title, and their 5th in nine years.[11] As the winners of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, 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. Additionally, the winners regularly qualify for the annual FIFA Club World Cup.[12][13] However, the tournament's status remains uncertain, following FIFA's proposal for a format improvement.[14]

Background[change | change source]

Liverpool played in their 10th European Cup/UEFA Champions League final. They had previously won six finals (in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005 and 2019) and lost three (in 1985, 2007 and 2018).[15] This was the fourth UEFA Champions League final for manager Jürgen Klopp, after his loss with Borussia Dortmund in 2013 and the Liverpool finals in 2018 and 2019.[16] In addition to their six European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, Liverpool also played in one European Cup Winners' Cup final, losing in 1966 against Borussia Dortmund, and in four UEFA Cup/Europa League finals, winning in 1973, 1976 and 2001 and losing in 2016. Their manager Jürgen Klopp was looking to become the fourth successive German to manage a Champions League-winning club.[17]

Real Madrid played in a record 17th European Cup/UEFA Champions League final, and the first since their win in 2018 against Liverpool. They previously won 13 finals (in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018)[18] and lost three (1962, 1964 and 1981).[19] Their manager Carlo Ancelotti reached a record fifth UEFA Champions League final as manager, winning in 2003 and 2007 and losing in 2005 while in charge of Milan, and winning the 2014 final with Real Madrid, and was looking to become the first manager in history to win four UEFA Champions League titles and eight European trophies.[20][21] Real Madrid also played in two European Cup Winners' Cup finals (losing in 1971 and 1983) and two UEFA Cup finals (winning in 1985 and 1986).[22]

This was a record-third time that the two teams meet in the final, after the 1981 final, which was held in the Parc des Princes in Paris and in which Liverpool prevailed 1–0, and the 2018 final held at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex in Kyiv, which was won 3–1 by Real Madrid. This was also the third final for Carlo Ancelotti as manager against Liverpool, after the 2005 and 2007 finals; he also lost the 1984 final as a player for Roma. This was the sixth time a Spanish side met a English team in the final of the competition, after the 1981, 2006 (won by Barcelona against Arsenal), the 2009 and 2011 finals (both won by Barcelona against Manchester United), and the 2018 final.[source?]

Besides the 1981 and 2018 finals, the two clubs met each other six times. Liverpool won both matches in the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League round of 16 (1–0 away and 4–0 at home). The two clubs were drawn in the same group in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage, with Real Madrid winning 3–0 away and 1–0 at home. In the 2020–21 quarter-finals, the Spanish side won 3–1 at home and held a 0–0 draw at Anfield to ensure progression to the semi-finals.[23]

Previous finals[change | change source]

In the following table, finals until 1992 were in the European Cup era, since 1993 were in the UEFA Champions League era.[24]

Team Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners)
England Liverpool 9 (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1985, 2005, 2007, 2018, 2019)
Spain Real Madrid 16 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1981, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)

Venue[change | change source]

The Stade de France in Saint-Denis hosted the final.

The final was originally awarded to the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 final to be relocated from the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul to the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, the Allianz Arena was reawarded with the 2023 final and the 2022 final was given to the original host of the 2021 final, the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, UEFA organised an emergency meeting of its executive committee on 25 February, at which it decided to move the final to the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.[25] Other cities proposed as replacement hosts were Amsterdam, Barcelona, Munich and Rome.[26] This was the first UEFA Champions League final to take place in France since 2006.[26]

Host selection[change | change source]

An open bidding process was launched on 28 September 2018 by UEFA to select the venues of the finals of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Women's Champions League in 2021. Associations had until 26 October 2018 to express interest, and bid information must be submitted by 15 February 2019. UEFA announced on 1 November 2018 that two associations had expressed interest in hosting the 2021 UEFA Champions League final,[27] and on 22 February 2019 that both associations submitted their information by the deadline.[28]

Bidding associations for final
Country Stadium City Capacity Notes
 Germany Allianz Arena Munich 70,000 Hosted the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, and matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2020
 Russia Krestovsky Stadium Saint Petersburg 67,800 Hosted matches at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2018 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2020

The Krestovsky Stadium was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 24 September 2019,[29] where the hosts for the 2021 and 2023 UEFA Champions League finals were also appointed.[30]

On 17 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee announced that due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, Saint Petersburg would instead host the 2022 final.[7]

Road to the final[change | change source]

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

England Liverpool Round Spain Real Madrid
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
Italy Milan 3–2 (H) Matchday 1 Italy Inter Milan 1–0 (A)
Portugal Porto 5–1 (A) Matchday 2 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 1–2 (H)
Spain Atlético Madrid 3–2 (A) Matchday 3 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 5–0 (A)
Spain Atlético Madrid 2–0 (H) Matchday 4 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 2–1 (H)
Portugal Porto 2–0 (H) Matchday 5 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 3–0 (A)
Italy Milan 2–1 (A) Matchday 6 Italy Inter Milan 2–0 (H)
Group B winners
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 England Liverpool 6 18
2 Spain Atlético Madrid 6 7
3 Portugal Porto 6 5
4 Italy Milan 6 4
Source: UEFA
Final standings Group D winners
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Spain Real Madrid 6 15
2 Italy Inter Milan 6 10
3 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 6 7
4 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 6 2
Source: UEFA
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout phase Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Italy Inter Milan 2–1 2–0 (A) 0–1 (H) Round of 16 France Paris Saint-Germain 3–2 0–1 (A) 3–1 (H)
Portugal Benfica 6–4 3–1 (A) 3–3 (H) Quarter-finals England Chelsea 5–4 3–1 (A) 2–3 (aet) (H)
Spain Villarreal 5–2 2–0 (H) 3–2 (A) Semi-finals England Manchester City 6–5 3–4 (A) 3–1 (aet) (H)

Pre-match[change | change source]

Identity[change | change source]

The original logo of the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final at Saint Petersburg was unveiled at the group stage draw on 26 August 2021 in Istanbul.[31]

Ambassadors[change | change source]

The ambassadors for the final were former Liverpool and Real Madrid forwards Ian Rush and Raúl. Originally, former Russia and Zenit Saint Petersburg forward Andrey Arshavin was chosen to be the ambassador,[32] though this was changed after the final's relocation to Saint-Denis. Rush was previously chosen as an ambassador for the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final at Cardiff, Wales, in which Real Madrid defeated Juventus.

Officials[change | change source]

Frenchman Clément Turpin officiated the final.

On 11 May 2022, UEFA named Frenchman Clément Turpin as the referee for the final. He was joined by five of his fellow countrymen, including assistant referees Nicolas Danos and Cyril Gringore. Benoît Bastien served as the fourth official, while Jérôme Brisard acted as the video assistant referee. Willy Delajod was appointed as one of the assistant VAR officials, along with Italian referees Massimiliano Irrati and Filippo Meli.[2]

Opening ceremony[change | change source]

Cuban-born American singer Camila Cabello performed for the opening ceremony before the start of the match.[33] Cabello performed her songs "Señorita", "Havana", "Bam Bam" and "Don't Go Yet".[34][35]

Issues entering stadium and match delay[change | change source]

Crowd control descended into chaos at the entrances to the Stade de France prior to the beginning of the match.[36] By 21:00 local time, the originally scheduled kick-off time, thousands of seats remained empty in the Liverpool end. For "security reasons", the kick-off was initially delayed by 15 minutes to 21:15. This was further delayed by 15 minutes to 21:30, before being pushed back another 6 minutes to 21:36, eventually started at 21:37.[37]

Match[change | change source]

Details[change | change source]

The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.[38]

Liverpool England0–1Spain Real Madrid
Report
Liverpool[4]
Real Madrid[4]
GK 1 Brazil Alisson
RB 66 England Trent Alexander-Arnold
CB 5 France Ibrahima Konaté
CB 4 Netherlands Virgil van Dijk
LB 26 Scotland Andrew Robertson
CM 14 England Jordan Henderson (c) Substituted off 77'
CM 3 Brazil Fabinho Yellow card 62'
CM 6 Spain Thiago Substituted off 77'
RF 11 Egypt Mohamed Salah
CF 10 Senegal Sadio Mané
LF 23 Colombia Luis Díaz Substituted off 65'
Substitutes:
GK 62 Republic of Ireland Caoimhín Kelleher
DF 12 England Joe Gomez
DF 21 Greece Kostas Tsimikas
DF 32 Cameroon Joël Matip
MF 7 England James Milner
MF 8 Guinea Naby Keïta Substituted in 77'
MF 15 England Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
MF 17 England Curtis Jones
MF 67 England Harvey Elliott
FW 9 Brazil Roberto Firmino Substituted in 77'
FW 18 Japan Takumi Minamino
FW 20 Portugal Diogo Jota Substituted in 65'
Manager:
Germany Jürgen Klopp
GK 1 Belgium Thibaut Courtois
RB 2 Spain Dani Carvajal
CB 3 Brazil Éder Militão
CB 4 Austria David Alaba
LB 23 France Ferland Mendy
CM 10 Croatia Luka Modrić Substituted off 90'
CM 14 Brazil Casemiro
CM 8 Germany Toni Kroos
RF 15 Uruguay Federico Valverde Substituted off 86'
CF 9 France Karim Benzema (c)
LF 20 Brazil Vinícius Júnior Substituted off 90+3'
Substitutes:
GK 13 Ukraine Andriy Lunin
DF 6 Spain Nacho
DF 12 Brazil Marcelo
MF 17 Spain Lucas Vázquez
MF 19 Spain Dani Ceballos Substituted in 90'
MF 22 Spain Isco
MF 25 France Eduardo Camavinga Substituted in 86'
FW 7 Belgium Eden Hazard
FW 11 Spain Marco Asensio
FW 18 Wales Gareth Bale
FW 21 Brazil Rodrygo Substituted in 90+3'
FW 24 Dominican Republic Mariano
Manager:
Italy Carlo Ancelotti

Man of the Match:
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)[1]

Assistant referees:[2]
Nicolas Danos (France)
Cyril Gringore (France)
Fourth official:[2]
Benoît Bastien (France)
Video assistant referee:[2]
Jérôme Brisard (France)
Assistant video assistant referees:[2]
Willy Delajod (France)
Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)
Filippo Meli (Italy)

Match rules[39]

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Twelve named substitutes
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time[note 2]

Statistics[change | change source]

Notes[change | change source]

  1. The final, originally scheduled for 21:00 CEST, was delayed to 21:36 CEST due to security issues with fans entering the stadium.
  2. Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Official Champions League final PlayStation Player of the Match: Thibaut Courtois". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Referee teams appointed for 2022 UEFA club competition finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Spielinfo | FC Liverpool – Real Madrid 0:1 | Finale in Paris | Champions League 2021/22" [Match info | Liverpool 0–1 Real Madrid | Final in Paris | 2021–22 Champions League]. kicker (in German). 28 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Tactical Line-ups – Final – Saturday 28 May 2022" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  5. "Liverpool vs Real Madrid Champions League final match facts: Previous meetings, pedigree, links and trivia, latest news". UEFA.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  6. Smith, Rory. "Bayern Munich Wins Champions League, a Victory for Tradition and Team". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "UEFA competitions to resume in August". UEFA. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  8. "UEFA calls extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee". UEFA. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  9. "Ukraine crisis: Uefa to move Champions League final after Russian invasion". BBC Sport. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  10. "Champions League Final Will Be Played in Paris, Not Russia". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  11. "Champions League final: Vinícius Júnior scores only goal as Real Madrid beat Liverpool to claim 14th European Cup". UEFA. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  12. "Eintracht Frankfurt to play Real Madrid in 2022 UEFA Super Cup". Bundesliga. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  13. "Seattle Sounders await? Real Madrid win Champions League title over Liverpool". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  14. Victor Mather (5 May 2022). "The Sounders Qualified for the Club World Cup. No One Knows When It Is". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  15. Emons, Michael (3 May 2022). "Villarreal 2-3 Liverpool (2-5 on aggregate): Jurgen Klopp's side advance to Champions League final". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  16. McNulty, Phil (4 May 2021). "Man City 2–0 Paris St-Germain (4–1 on aggregate): City into first Champions League final". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  17. "Jürgen Klopp", Wikipedia, 2 October 2022, retrieved 4 October 2022
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  21. Bysouth, Alex (3 May 2022). "Carlo Ancelotti: What next for Real Madrid's record-breaking boss?". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  22. "Big Match Feature: Liverpool v Real Madrid". Super Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  23. "Liverpool vs Real Madrid Champions League final match facts: Previous meetings, pedigree, links and trivia, latest news". UEFA. 25 May 2022. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  24. "Champions League explained". Premier League. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  25. "Decisions from today's extraordinary UEFA Executive Committee meeting". UEFA. 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  26. 26.0 26.1 "УЕФА лишил Петербург финала Лиги чемпионов: подробности" [UEFA deprived St. Petersburg of the Champions League final: details] (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  27. "11 associations interested in hosting 2021 club finals". UEFA. 1 November 2018.
  28. "9 associations bidding to host 2021 club finals". UEFA. 22 February 2019.
  29. "Champions League final hosts announced for 2021, 2022 and 2023". UEFA. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  30. "UEFA Executive Committee agenda for Ljubljana meeting". UEFA. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  31. "2022 UEFA Champions League final branding unveiled". UEFA. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  32. Thorogood, James (13 December 2021). "Champions League: UEFA forced into Round of 16 redraw, Bayern draw Salzburg". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  33. "Camila Cabello to perform at the 2022 UEFA Champions League final Opening Ceremony, presented by Pepsi". UEFA. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  34. Sam (28 May 2022). "Watch: Camila Cabello Scores with UEFA Champions League Final Performance". That Grape Juice. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  35. Peters, Mitchell (28 May 2022). "Camila Cabello Pays Homage to Her Latin Heritage at Stunning UEFA Champions League Final Opening Ceremony". Billboard. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  36. "Champions League final: UK calls for investigation into Paris stadium chaos". BBC News. 29 May 2022.
  37. "Liverpool 'hugely disappointed' by treatment of fans outside Paris final". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  38. "UEFA Champions League preliminary round draw". UEFA.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  39. "Regulations of the UEFA Champions League, 2021/22 Season". UEFA. 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  40. 40.0 40.1 40.2 "Team statistics" (PDF). UEFA. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.

Other websites[change | change source]