MY ACCOUNT
Vinicius Junior hopes he has won the first of many Champions League titles after helping Real Madrid become European champions for a 14th time, defeating Liverpool 1-0.
Vinicius was the sole goalscorer in Saturday’s final in Paris, left with a simple tap-in after Luka Modric’s pass cut Liverpool open and released Federico Valverde to drill in a cross in the 59th minute.
Another victory clinched a double for Madrid after they claimed the LaLiga title with four games to spare in April.
This was special for Vinicius, though, as his breakthrough Champions League triumph, and he was struggling to come to terms with his achievement as he spoke to Movistar afterwards.
“Inexplicable. I have no idea what I have done today,” he said. “Now to celebrate and have a lot of fun. We have enjoyed what we have done, getting here and winning… there is nothing better than winning with this shirt.
“It was a dream for me. To have scored in the final is the best thing a player can have. It’s the first. I want to keep winning and keep making history here for a long time.”
While Vinicius was new to this stage, 36-year-old Modric was not.
Much like in the 2018 final against Liverpool in Kyiv, Modric was at decisive best as the match progressed, riding out the initial waves of Reds energy to ultimately nullify their pressing.
A pivotal figure in the club’s run in the knockout stages to make the Champions League final, and with a contract extension on the horizon, Modric also intends to stick around and keep winning.
“We’re still letting what we’ve done sink in,” he told Movistar. “This club is without doubt the greatest in the history of football. We always say that, and we have to repeat it – there’s nothing like Real Madrid.
“Character, never giving up, believing right to the end. We did that today. Five Champions Leagues were impossible to imagine. But now I have five, and hopefully there’ll be more.”
