David Alaba has taken his place in Real Madrid's starting line-up for the first time in over a month for the Champions League final against Liverpool on Saturday.
Alaba had been out of action since being substituted at half-time during Madrid's 4-3 semi-final first-leg defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, with Nacho starting instead when Carlo Ancelotti's men sealed a 6-5 aggregate victory with a stunning comeback at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this month.
The Austria defender's selection in Paris was the only change to the Madrid side that started that second leg, with attacking duo Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema again leading the line.
Those two have assisted one another a combined 18 times in all competitions this season, the most of any pairing in Europe's top five leagues.
Vinicius' inclusion made him just the fifth player to start a Champions League final for Madrid aged 21 or younger, after Raul (1998), Iker Casillas (2000), Nicolas Anelka (2000) and Raphael Varane (2014).
However, Benzema is at the opposite end of his career. He and Alaba were joined by Toni Kroos and Luka Modric to make Madrid the first team to start a final with four players who had previously made 100 or more Champions League appearances.
Benzema had been one of three centurions (also Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos) in Madrid's 2018 final win over Liverpool, in which Gareth Bale's brace as a substitute proved the difference in a 3-1 triumph.
Bale was named on the bench again for this rematch ahead of his imminent departure as a free agent, while fellow winger Eden Hazard was also among the substitutes.
Semi-final hero Rodrygo Goes, who grabbed an improbable stoppage-time double to wipe out City's lead over Los Blancos, hoped to make a similar impact after being named next to the big-money duo on the bench.
Madrid headed into the game aiming to win their 14th European Cup or Champions League title, with their 13 prior wins already a record. Ancelotti was bidding to become the first man to win four Champions Leagues.
UEFA awaits reports following Jose Mourinho’s rant at referee Anthony Taylor
UEFA is awaiting the match official’s reports before deciding whether to take action against Jose Mourinho for his rant at referee Anthony Taylor after Roma’s Europa League final defeat, the PA news agency understands.
Roma boss Mourinho was critical of Taylor in his post-match press conference after his side’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Sevilla in Budapest on Wednesday night.
And in video footage which later emerged on social media, the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager is seen gesticulating at Taylor and officials in the stadium car park and heard saying “disgrace”.
Taylor booked Mourinho during the game, which finished 1-1 after extra time before Sevilla sealed their seventh Europa League triumph by winning 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out.
Tempers simmered on and off the pitch in a disappointing final, with 13 players shown yellow cards, seven of them to Roma players, while fourth official Michael Oliver had his work cut out to keep control of both dug-outs.
The game was littered with delays, with a total of 25 minutes’ stoppage time added to the 120 minutes of playing time.
Mourinho lost for the first time in his sixth major European final, while Sevilla extended their record number of tournament wins following previous successes in 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2020.
On this day in 2019: Liverpool beat Tottenham to clinch Champions League
Liverpool claimed their sixth European Cup after a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid, on this day in 2019.
Jurgen Klopp’s men returned to the big stage 12 months after they had lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in the 2018 final in Kiev, determined to go one better.
They did so still reflecting on a remarkable Premier League season during which they had finished on 97 points, yet still narrowly missed out on the title to Manchester City.
The intervening three weeks had given them time to reflect upon on a near miss, but also to prepare for their showdown with Spurs after both had negotiated a path to Madrid in thrilling fashion.
Liverpool had looked to be heading out of the competition after the first leg of their semi-final when they went down 3-0 in Barcelona, but two goals each from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum on a memorable night at Anfield rekindled their hopes.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side too needed something special to make it to the final when, with just 35 minutes of their last-four tie against Ajax remaining, they trailed 3-0 on aggregate in Amsterdam only for Lucas Moura to plunder a hat-trick which took them through on away goals.
The scene was set for a classic in Spain, although while the opening was explosive, the game failed to live up to expectations.
The die was cast within 22 seconds of kick-off when Moussa Sissoko was adjudged to have handled Sadio Mane’s cross and referee Damir Skomina pointed to the spot.
Mohamed Salah dispatched the resulting penalty past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and although Klopp’s first trophy as Reds boss was not secured until substitute Origi struck three minutes from time, Spurs never really looked like getting back into the game.
The German, who had lost his previous six cup finals, said: “I only want to enjoy that we won it. All the rest is not important.
“I feel mostly relieved, to be honest. Relieved for my family because they are pretty close to me, as you can imagine.
“Six times we always flew on holiday with a silver medal. That doesn’t feel too cool.”
Jose Mourinho: I’ve never gone home prouder than today, even when I won
After giving his silver medal to a fan in the crowd, AC Roma boss Jose Mourinho thanked his players despite losing in penalties to Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League final in Budapest.
Mourinho was set to become the most decorated European manager in history with six trophies and after a Paulo Dybala goal put them in front it was looking likely.
Roma went on to concede an own goal and lost 4-1 in penalties when Roger Ibanez and Gianluca Mancini missed from the spot.
Mourinho told ITV Italy after the game: “I’ve won five finals and I lost this one, but I’m coming back home proud again. The boys gave everything.
“We felt pressure against a team that has more talent than us. We lost a game but not dignity.
“I’ve never gone home prouder than today, even when I won. We had also worked hard on penalties but… we missed two – but all together, not only the penalty takers.”
Mourinho said while his players are sad, his side deserve to go home with their heads held high.
“We are all attached to the shirt, to our nature. We take things seriously and humbly, we work a lot,” Mourinho said.
“Everyone reacts in a different way: one cries, the other doesn’t.
“Congratulations to Sevilla, but also congratulations to my players. The boys must go home peacefully, with pride for having done what they have done. These are my boys from Budapest.”
Footage after the game showed Mourinho handing his medal to a child in the stands.
Meanwhile, Sevilla forward Erik Lamela told BT Sport it was a really tough game as Sevilla won their seventh Europa League title.
“This is amazing, I can’t ask for more, this feeling is unbelievable,” he said.
“Really tough game, not an easy game to play, we were not feeling in our best way because they defended well and it was difficult to find the spaces and create situations but this team fought it out and tonight we’re going to enjoy it.”
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