Champions League final: Ronaldo fires twice as Real Madrid beat Juventus

Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid lifts the trophy after Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League final football match between Juventus and Real Madrid PicsAFPCristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid beat Juventus 41 in a memorable Champions League final full of attacking verve and brilliant goals on Saturday as the Spaniards won the title for the third time in four years and 12th in allPortugal forward Ronaldo hit Reals first and third goals to become only the second man to score in three European Cup finals and take his career goal tally to 600 for club and countryFew of those will have matched Mario Mandzukics spectacular overhead equaliser for Juventus which was eventually in vain for the Italian side who had the best of the first half before being swept aside in the secondA longrange deflected effort by Casemiro and a neat finish by the irrepressible Ronaldo within four minutes effectively settled one of the most entertaining finals for years with a late tapin by substitute Marco Asensio adding the glossThe victory means Real are the first team to successfully defend the trophy in the Champions League era AC Milan were the last team to retain Europeacirceurotrades top prize when they triumphed in 1989 and 1990Its been a spectacular year you couldnt dream of anything better said Real coach Zinedine Zidane We won the Spanish league on the very last day Its very difficult to reach the Champions League final two years running but we did that The first half was difficult but in the second we were quickly superior We pressed a lot more and physically we won the game there too so Im very happyIt was heartbreak again for Juve however who were seeking a treble after winning the Italian league and cup They came away as losers for the seventh time in nine European Cup finals having also lost to Barcelona in 2015The Italians let in more goals on Saturday than the three they had conceded in the 12 games they played to reach the final as a muchvaunted Real attack versus Juve defence scenario went emphatically in Madrids favourReal StrikeJuventus looked the more adventurous side in the first 20 minutes but it was Real who struck first after the sort of trigonometric buildup that coaches write books aboutRonaldo was at the heart of it playing the ball into the path of Dani Carvajal who cut it straight back to allow the Portuguese forward to sweep the ball sweetly into the far corner That made Ronaldo the second man to score in three finals after Alfredo Di Stefano who netted in five in a row for Real in the 1950sRonaldos effort was eclipsed seven minutes later by one of the alltime great final goals Juve centre back Leonardo Bonucci drove a long diagonal ball which Alex Sandro reached and cushioned back across the boxWith another volley Gonzalo Higuain knocked it to Croatia striker Mandzukic who took a touch on his chest and with his back to goal struck a stunning bicycle kick that looped over Real keeper Keylor NavasThe ball did not touch the ground between leaving Bonuccis boot and hitting the net The Juventus fans in the 72000 crowd erupted ramping up the atmosphere that was already crackling under the closed stadium roofIt was a different story after the break however and though Juves drilled defence initially kept Real at arms length they were undone by a twogoal salvoCasemiro made it 21 after 61 minutes when his defelcted longrange wrongfooted veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon who has now lost in three finals and Ronaldo swept in the third at the near post after a great run and cross by Luka ModricJuventus then wilted and finished with 10 men after Juan Cuadrado was sent off in the 84th minute acirceuro 18 minutes after coming on as a substitute acirceuro following a second booking for the mildest of pushes on defender Sergio Ramos whose theatrics left a sour taste on an otherwise uplifting occasionAsensio tucked in the fourth goal after Marcelo had charged to the byline and Reals dominance was completeAgain Ive had an amazing season said Ronaldo Me and my team mates have done the double The numbers dont lie Im very happy acirceuro an amazing season weve won trophies This is one of the best moments of my career acirceuro I have the chance to say this every yearAfter a positive start it turned into a hugely frustrating night for Juventus and their coach Max Allegri My only criticism of my team is that after the second goal we should have found a solution to stay in the game he saidBut Real Madrid have important players and when they have a player who wins the Ballon dOr Ronaldo its a huge advantage