Vinicius Junior scores winner as Real Madrid beat Liverpool in Champions League final

Real Madrid might have become the great titans of European football on the strength of a history of attacking riches.

And yet, as the Champions League’s most successful club extended their own record to a 14th European Cup title, their one great galactico was their goalkeeper.

The Spanish champions claimed victory over Liverpool on a tempestuous night in Paris on the strength of a lone goal from Vinicius Junior, plus a mighty rearguard from Thibaut Courtois.

The 1-0 win went against the majority of pre-game predictions and, in truth, against the dominant direction of play, too.

And yet, given the way Madrid’s campaign in this competition had panned out – battling against the odds for what felt like all of it – their triumph somehow felt written.

There was a 36-minute delay to the final due to security issues apparently born from organisational failings outside the stadium.

A number of ticket-holding fans were locked out of the ground, and video footage showed some being pepper-sprayed by riot police.

Despite it all, the planned opening ceremony went ahead before the rescheduled kick off. The performance of Camila Cabello, the Cuban-American singer, was received with understandable hostility from the majority in the stands.