Carlo Ancelotti must have been considering it. He must have been thinking that this would not be Vinicius Junior's night.
The hour mark was approaching, the Brazilian boy wonder had barely made an impact on this Champions League final, and on the bench there was semi-final hero Rodrygo, straining for a chance.
Heck, there was Eden Hazard too, and even Isco and Gareth Bale. For old time's sake, did they ever cross Ancelotti's mind.
There had been a first-half flicker from the 21-year-old Vinicius, when he got the better of Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate with a stealthy piece of skill in the penalty area, but Jordan Henderson read the danger and gladly conceded a corner.
But that had really been the first and last time in the first 58 minutes of play that Vinicius caused Liverpool any real consternation. He had a team-low 29 touches of the ball at that point, but then Federico Valverde's low cross from the right presented him with a 30th, a tap-in at the far post. The phantom menace became the match-winner.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, needing to initially cover Karim Benzema, appeared to almost forget about Vinicius, but there he was, lurking, and he could not miss.
Billed as a Ballon d'Or shootout between Benzema and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, this final largely ignored that script. If anybody put in a performance worth of such an honour here, it was Madrid's outstanding goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who made nine saves, the most on record in a Champions League final since 2003-04.
Watched by Ronaldo, the great Brazilian whose health scare before the 1998 World Cup final at this very stadium was followed by France romping to glory, Vinicius stayed on the pitch until stoppage time, when Ancelotti opted for Rodrygo's fresh legs.
Ancelotti, that is, who is now a four-time Champions League winner, the first coach in the history of the competition, in this or its previous guise as the European Cup, to reach that tally.
He has trusted Vinicius all season long, backed a blossoming talent and been richly rewarded by the youngster, and his winner in such a game of high prestige marks another step forward in a career that could see him finish among the all-time greats.
There were plenty of greats inside the Stade de France, many in the stands. Needless to say, the likes of Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Clarence Seedorf, Zinedine Zidane and Fabio Cannavaro did not have to tolerate any of the nonsense outside the stadium that forced this game to be delayed by 36 minutes, that left reports of children in tears, of pepper-spraying police, media being mistreated, and of panic on the streets of Paris.
The Galacticos were joined in the VIP seats by Rafael Nadal, midway through his crusade for a 14th French Open title.
Madrid now have 14 Champions League and European Cup titles, and Ancelotti, who delivered La Decima in 2014, has delivered two of those after the two he landed with his beloved Milan.
A double of LaLiga and the Champions League is theirs, while Liverpool must settle for their own twin triumphs from the FA Cup and EFL Cup. The quadruple was beyond them, and Liverpool blew themselves out in the first half here.
After knocking out Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City and now sinking Liverpool in the trophy match, Madrid reign once more.
Vinicius reigns – the first South American aged 21 or younger to have 10 or more goal involvements in a Champions League campaign since Lionel Messi for Barcelona in the 2008-09 season.
His four goals and six assists in Europe came from a personal all-competitions haul of 22 goals and 16 assists in 52 games for the season. At 21 years and 320 days, Vinícius is the fifth youngest player to score in a Champions League final.
Ancelotti reigns – "I am a record man," he told BT Sport at full-time.
Benzema reigns – it was not his night but could have been.
The Frenchman had a goal ruled out for offside just before half-time, after a three-and-a-half-minute wait for a VAR verdict. Deciphering that moment was as challenging as the task of unravelling the Agatha Christie footballers' wives court saga, and it caused almost as much soapbox frothing on social media.
Come the final whistle, and Madrid's celebrations of their 1-0 victory, that moment was an afterthought.
At full-time, former Liverpool and Madrid striker Michael Owen said of Jurgen Klopp's Reds: "I still think they're the team to beat... the most fearsome team in Europe".
Owen was in Paris, at pitchside even, but must have missed the news. Madrid reign again.
Ratcliffe will not pay 'stupid prices' for Man Utd as bid deadline looms
British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe insists he will not pay "stupid prices" for Manchester United as the latest bid deadline looms.
Incumbent owners, the Glazer family, tentatively put United up for sale in November and Ratcliffe was the first suitor to formally register an interest through his London-based chemicals company INEOS.
He was subsequently among the parties to submit initial bids ahead of a 'soft deadline' in February, with Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani thought to be the two frontrunners.
While the exact value of the bids is unclear, the Glazers are reportedly looking for at least $7.2billion (£5.9billion) if they are to sell, which would be a new world-record fee for a sports team. The club was valued at $4.8billion (£4billion) by Forbes last year.
Recent reports suggested the bidders are increasingly confident the Glazers will approve a sale, with Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim expected to submit formal offers this week.
But Ratcliffe has given the clearest indication yet that he will not pay over the odds.
Speaking about the process to the Wall Street Journal, Ratcliffe said: "How do you decide the price of a painting? How do you decide the price of a house?
"It's not related to how much it cost to build or how much it cost to paint.
"What you don't want to do is pay stupid prices for things because then you regret it subsequently."
The second deadline for offers is apparently set for Wednesday, with Sky Sports claiming there could be as many as eight official bids.
Ratcliffe, a life-long United fan, was spotted at Old Trafford last Friday following a meeting with club officials.
Associates of Sheikh Jassim are said to have been in Manchester the day before, though he himself was not in attendance.
Mitrovic charged as FA deems standard punishment 'clearly insufficient' after pushing referee
Aleksandar Mitrovic looks set for a lengthy ban after the Football Association (FA) claimed a "standard punishment" would be "clearly insufficient" after pushing the referee during Fulham's 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.
Mitrovic reacted aggressively after referee Chris Kavanagh awarded United a penalty for Willian preventing a likely Jadon Sancho goal with his hand when Fulham were 1-0 up.
Kavanagh was in the process of showing Willian a red card when Mitrovic approached him, with the Serbian shoving the official and getting in his face.
A straight red would ordinarily lead to a three-match ban, but it would appear the FA will attempt to suspend him for longer.
Fulham head coach Marco Silva was also sent off while play was paused following Willian's handball, and he could be in line for a significant ban as well.
An FA statement read: "Fulham, Marco Silva and Aleksandar Mitrovic have been charged following the incidents that took place in or around the 72nd minute of their tie against Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday, March 19.
"It's alleged that Marco Silva used abusive and/or insulting words and/or gestures and/or behaviour towards the match referee; that he used abusive and/or insulting words towards the fourth official prior to his dismissal; and that he also used abusive and/or insulting words and/or gestures and/or behaviour towards the fourth official after being sent off.
"It's further alleged that in throwing a water bottle in the direction of the assistant referee his behaviour was improper.
"The FA has claimed that the standard punishment which would otherwise apply to Aleksandar Mitrovic for the sending off offence of violent conduct that he committed towards the match referee is clearly insufficient.
"In addition, Aleksandar Mitrovic's behaviour and/or language was allegedly improper and/or abusive and/or insulting and/or threatening following his dismissal.
"It's also alleged that Fulham failed to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion."
Texans sign Schultz and Singletary
The Houston Texans are still over a month away from picking their quarterback of the future, but they are continuing to build around him.
On Monday, the Texans added a starting tight end to their roster, signing Dalton Schultz to a one-year deal worth up to $9million, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
Schultz did not have the market he might have anticipated after his contract with the Dallas Cowboys expired, but he will have the chance to cash in next offseason if he can thrive in Houston playing with the quarterback whom the Texans will almost certainly select with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Last season, Schultz finished with 577 receiving yards and five touchdowns, having racked up 808 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021.
His 13 receiving touchdowns over the last two seasons rank fifth among tight ends.
Houston also added to their backfield, signing former Buffalo Bills running back Devin Singletary.
Singletary is unlikely to be the starter following the emergence of Dameon Pierce, who had 939 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground as a rookie.
Also arriving on a one-year deal, according to multiple reports, Singletary gives the Texans versatile depth at running back.
He has produced over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of the last two seasons. In 2022, he finished with 819 yards rushing and five touchdowns, as well as 280 yards receiving and a further touchdown through the air.
Singletary has 2,197 scrimmage yards since 2021, putting him 20th among running backs across that span.
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