Real Madrid clinched their 14th Champions League title by defeating Liverpool 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League 2022 final at the Stade de France on Saturday (May 28). Liverpool were the pre-match favourites to win the UCL trophy for the 2021–2022 season, and they performed as such. However, Real Madrid's excellent fortune in the campaign continued in the final match. Los Blancos won the title courtesy of a second-half goal from Brazilian sensation Vinicius Junior. The match report of the 2022 UEFA Champions League final is discussed in this article. Match Report of UEFA Champions League 2022 Final: Real Madrid vs Liverpool Liverpool had a strong start to the game, putting pressure on the opponent's defense. They had produced at least three genuine chances in the opening 20 minutes of the game. However, Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was at his utmost best, as he had been all season, and denied Liverpool every time they tried to score. There was also a sense that something wasn't quite right with Liverpool's team, as they continued to miss opportunities. Real Madrid failed to create any meaningful chances in the first half. They attempted to break past the Liverpool defense for the first time in the 43rd minute. After collecting the ball from Federico Valverde, Karim Benzema smashed it into the net. However, he was caught off-side. Read Portugal approves sale of Chelsea by Abramovich Liverpool continued to play with the same energy in the second half, but Real Madrid looked more sturdy. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Luis Diaz all made valiant attempts to penetrate Real Madrid's defense. However, keeper Courtois and some good defensive play kept Liverpool from scoring on every occasion. Real Madrid scored the game's opening goal in the 59th minute, in the midst of Liverpool's squandered chances. They attacked down the right flank, and Valverde delivered a good pass to Vinicius, who slammed it into the net. Liverpool sought to level the score multiple times after that, but failed to do so. In the end, Real Madrid won their 14th Champions League trophy with a 1-0 victory against Liverpool in the 2022 final. Champions League Final 2022 Match Statistics: Liverpool vs Real Madrid Except for the goal chart, Liverpool dominated almost every statistic in the final. Liverpool had 54 percent of possession compared to Real Madrid's 46 percent. They had completed 592 passes, compared to 514 for Madrid. The Kopites had a passing accuracy of 88 percent, whereas the Los Blancos had an accuracy of 82 percent. Read Real Madrid vs Liverpool: UEFA Champions League Final 2022 Preview Real Madrid only had four attempts compared to Liverpool's 24. The English team had nine shots on target, whereas the Spanish team only had two. Liverpool were penalized for 13 fouls and were given one yellow card. Oppositely, Real Madrid committed seven fouls but received no cards. Verdict Real Madrid had accomplished something that no one could have predicted at the start of the 2021–2022 season. The Madrid team is in the midst of a rebuilding phase after losing a number of important players in recent seasons. Even some of their players weren't in good enough shape to play the entire season. Despite this, Real Madrid battled heroically under the leadership of head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who took over as manager last season. They won La Liga with a few games to spare and qualified for the UCL 2022 final by defeating PSG, Chelsea, and Manchester City in the knockout stages.  The majority of them expected Liverpool to win the UEFA Champions League 2022 final, but that did not happen. Real Madrid have once again shown to the rest of the world that they are the true champions of the Champions League competition. Liverpool's hopes of clinching the quadruple this season were dashed after missing out on the Premier League title last week. They had a chance to win the treble as well, but it didn't happen after losing to Madrid. Therefore, they must be content with the FA Cup and EFL Cup this season. Read European Football Season 2021-2022: Winners and Losers From Big Three leagues

Everyone was anticipating a solid start to the 2021-2022 Champions League season after a spectacular summer transfer window 2021. The first round of Europe's most prestigious club tournament kicked off right after the international break. There was some concern about players' stability because all of the key footballers had just returned from an international break. A number of exciting matches were witnessed in the Champions League 2021-2022 first round. There were a few surprises and a lot of goals scored in the first round as well. The results of the first round of the Champions League are discussed in this article.   First-round Results: Champions League 2021-2022 The results of the first round for each group of the current Champions League season are given below. Group A Results: Man City 6-3 Leipzig, Club Brugge 1-1 PSG Last season's finalist Manchester City faced RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, while star-studded PSG met Club Brugge away from home. Manchester City defeated Leipzig 6-3 in a goal-fest encounter, putting Pep Guardiola's side atop the Group A points table. Leipzig's Nkunku scored a hat-trick. On the other hand, PSG drew with Club Brugge despite grabbing an early lead thanks to Andrea Herrera. Read: UEFA Champions League Football 2021-22: Group Stage draw and fixtures Group B Results: Atletico Madrid 0-0 Porto, Liverpool 3-2 Milan Atletico Madrid and FC Porto played to a 0-0 tie at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid. French striker Antoine Griezmann returned to Atletico Madrid in the second half but was booed by the crowd. Liverpool came out on top against AC Milan in a 3-2 thriller at Anfield.  Group C Results: Besiktas 1-2 Borussia Dortmund, Sporting CP 1-5 Ajax In Group C, Borussia Dortmund defeated Besiktas 2-1 due to a first-half injury-time goal by young sensation Erling Haaland. Four-time champion Ajax destroyed Sporting CP in Portugal. The home team was thrashed 5-1. Haller scored four goals for Ajax in this encounter.    Read Lionel Messi’s Charity Work: Exemplary philanthropy of legendary Argentine Footballer Group D Results: Sheriff 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan 0-1 Real Madrid   Sheriff defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 at home, while Real Madrid defeated Italian Serie A Champion Inter Milan thanks to a late equalizer by Rodrygo. Sheriif are in the first place due to a superior goal difference. Group E Results: Dynamo Kyiv 0-0 Benfica, FC Barcelona 0-3 Bayern Munich In Ukraine, Dynamo Kyiv were held to a 0-0 draw with Benfica in a tense match played in front of a packed stadium. FC Bayern Munich beat Barcelona 3-0 at Camp Nou in the other group encounter. Bayern had little problem defeating Barcelona in a thoroughly one-sided encounter. Read FIFA Women's Friendly Football: Bangladesh, Nepal play out goalless 2nd match Group F Results: Young Boys 2-1 Manchester United, Villareal 2-2 Atalanta   Manchester United had an early lead over Young Boys thanks to Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo, but the home side began to dominate after Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sent off in the 35th minute for a bad tackle. In the second half, Young Boys equalized twice to secure a historic win over Manchester United. On the other hand, yellow submarine Villareal drew 2-2 with the Italian team, Atalanta, in front of a home crowd. Group G Results: Sevilla 1-1 Salzburg, LOSC 0-0 Wolfsburg The host Sevilla failed to seal a victory over a comparatively weaker opposition Salzburg in group G. They had to settle for a 1-1 draw with the champion of the Austrian football league. German team Wolfsburg drew 0-0 with Ligue 1 champion Lille in the other match of the group.   Manchester City vs Chelsea: Who will win the Champions League final Group H Results: Malmo 0-3 Juventus, Chelsea 1-0 Zenit Saint Petersburg Despite a poor start to the season, Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus came out on top (3-0) against Sweden’s Malmo FF. This victory will undoubtedly boost their confidence to play well in Serie A. On the other hand, Chelsea defeated Zenit Saint Petersburg 1-0 at Stamford Bridge courtesy to a goal from their mercury summer signing Romelu Lukaku in the 69th minute. Bottom Line Each team tried to display their strength in the first round of the UEFA Champions League 2021-2022 season. As predicted, the majority of the big clubs won their matches and placed first in the group. However, some big teams surprisingly lost or drew. Teams that did not achieve their goals will strive to improve to the next round. The Champions League's second round of the group stage will be staged on September 28 and 29.      Read Ronaldo scores 2 goals on glorious United return

Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan both decided to drop out of the Super League on Wednesday, leaving the new competition on the verge of extinction before it even started. Only four clubs were still officially involved — Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan. The moves by Atlético and Inter came a day after the six Premier League clubs gave up on the controversial breakaway competition. Also Read:Super League collapses after the 6 English clubs withdraw Atlético said the decision was made after its board of directors met on Wednesday. The Spanish club said it “decided to formally communicate the Super League and the rest of the founding clubs its decision not to formalize its participation in the project.” Atlético said the “circumstances” that allowed it to join the new league on Monday “no longer existed today.” “For the club, harmony is essential for everyone involved in the (Atlético) family, especially our fans,” it said. “The first team squad and its coach showed satisfaction with the club’s decision, understanding that sporting merits must prevail over any other criteria.” Inter said the club was committed to delivering the best soccer experience for fans because “innovation and inclusion have been part of our DNA since our foundation.” “Our commitment with all stakeholders to improve the football industry will never change,” the Italian club said. “Inter believe that football, like any sector of activity, must have an interest in constantly improving its competitions in order to continue to excite fans of all ages all over the world, within a framework of financial sustainability.” Also Read: UEFA president urges Super League owners to reverse decision

In a direct appeal to the owners of the English clubs in the Super League project, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin urged them Tuesday to change their minds out of respect for soccer fans. Ceferin both cajoled and criticized the six-club English group — made up of American billionaires, Middle East royalty and a Russian oligarch — less than 48 hours after the Super League was launched in alliance with three clubs from each of Italy and Spain. Also Read: Threats of expulsion as UEFA confronts Super League rebel 12 “Gentlemen, you made a huge mistake,” Ceferin said in a speech to European soccer leaders at the UEFA annual meeting. “Some will say it is greed, others (will say) disdain arrogance, flippancy or complete ignorance of England’s football culture. It does not matter. “What does matter is that there is still time to change your mind. Everyone makes mistakes.” Ceferin urged them to turn back out of respect for fans in England, aiming another barb at what he earlier called “a few selfish people.” “Come to your senses,” he said. “Not out of love for football because I imagine some of you don’t have much of that.” Ceferin also lavished praise on UEFA executive committee colleague Nasser al-Khelaifi, the president of French champion Paris Saint-Germain. PSG has so far resisted offers to be one of the 15 founding Super League members. Bayern Minich and Borussia Dortmund have also stayed out. “Nasser, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You showed that you are a great man,” Ceferin told the Qatari official before also citing Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. The UEFA president also spoke about an email he received from a fan of Tottenham, one of the six rebel clubs from the Premier League. Also Read: UEFA could ban Super League players from Euro 2020, WCup “If you read the email you would be close to crying,” Ceferin said of the fan he identified only as Trevor, whom he had given two tickets to the 2019 Champions League final, when Tottenham lost to Liverpool. Ceferin said fans and governments have supported UEFA in resisting the proposed 20-team Super League, which threatens to directly challenge the Champions League and damage the historic pyramid structure of European soccer. “We cannot lose this match,” said Ceferin, a Slovenian lawyer. The clubs have not said when their planned breakaway league, underwritten by American bank JP Morgan Chase, would kick off. On Monday, Ceferin said he wanted Super League clubs and their players banned from all UEFA competitions “as soon as possible.” It is unclear if UEFA’s legal statutes and Champions League rules will allow that before Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City play in the semifinals next week. Manchester United and Arsenal also play next week in the Europa League semifinals. Earlier Tuesday in a speech that seemed to blame the club owners and absolve players, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he can only “strongly disapprove” of the Super League. “If some elect to go their own way, then they must live with the consequences of their choice,” Infantino said. “They are responsible for their choice.”