Real Madrid, kings of Europe after the Cardiff final

Real Madrid have won their 12th Champions League title. Los Blancos beat Juventus 4-1 in the final in Cardiff, and Zinedine Zidane's players fully deserved the win, completely outplaying their opponents.

It was the second final between the two clubs in the competition. Real Madrid also won the first, in 1998, by 1-0, with Predrag Mijatović scoring the only goal in the second half. This time the Spaniards were even more convincing. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a first-time shot from inside the box after an assist from Daniel Carvajal. Juve then equalised when Mario Mandžukić scored with a bicycle kick after Gonzalo Higuaín's headed pass.

After the break Real Madrid played much better and scored three more goals. First, Brazilian defensive midfielder Casemiro scored a magnificent long-range goal in the 61st minute. That goal proved crucial, as Juventus had started to play more attacking football. Just three minutes later Ronaldo scored his second of the night, leaving Buffon no chance. Seven minutes from the end, referee Felix Brych sent off Juan Cuadrado, which settled the game. Substitute Marco Asensio then put the ball in the net in the last minute to make the final score 4-1 to Real Madrid.

Los Blancos have now won the Champions League in two consecutive seasons, having beaten Atlético Madrid on penalties in the previous year's final. Cristiano Ronaldo became the only player to score in three finals of the competition, and it was his fourth title. The Portuguese forward has now scored 600 senior goals, including 71 for Portugal.

Real Madrid proved they are the best team in Europe. Los Blancos also won La Liga for the first time since 2012, their 33rd Spanish title. Since the rebranding of The European Cup to The Champions League in 1992, no team had won the competition in two consecutive seasons. Real Madrid finally did it, a feat that makes a strong case for them as the greatest club in Europe.

The night in Cardiff

The final was played on 3 June 2017 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, renamed the National Stadium of Wales for the occasion, in front of 65,842 spectators. It was the first European Cup final staged under a closed roof. The German referee Felix Brych took charge, and Cristiano Ronaldo, with two goals, was named man of the match.

Several records fell on the night. The win was Real Madrid's 12th European Cup, extending their own record, and they became the first team to defend the trophy since Milan in 1990, as well as the first to win it in consecutive seasons in the Champions League era. Marco Asensio became the youngest Real Madrid player to score in a European Cup or Champions League final. For Juventus the evening repeated a painful pattern: it was their seventh defeat in nine finals of the competition, a record number of lost finals.

A league and European double

The Cardiff win completed a double for Zidane's side. A week and a half earlier, on 21 May 2017, Real Madrid had won 2-0 at Málaga on the final day of the La Liga season. Ronaldo scored inside the first two minutes and Karim Benzema added the second after the break. Real finished on 93 points, three ahead of Barcelona. It was the first time the club had won the Spanish league and the European Cup in the same season since 1957–58.

How the story continued

The run did not end in Cardiff. On 26 May 2018 Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in the final at the NSC Olimpiyskiy in Kyiv, with Karim Benzema scoring once and Gareth Bale twice. That made it three Champions League titles in a row, a feat no club had managed since Bayern Munich between 1974 and 1976, and a 13th European Cup in the club's history. Zinedine Zidane became the first manager to win the competition three times in succession.