2017 UEFA Champions League Final

The ambassador for the final was former Wales international Ian Rush, who won the European Cup with Liverpool in 1984, and also played for Juventus from 1987 to 1988.[20]

The dragon logo on Cardiff Castle

UEFA unveiled the brand identity of the final on 25 August 2016 in Monaco during the group stage draw.[21]

With a stadium capacity of 66,000 for the final, a total amount of 41,500 tickets were available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving 18,000 tickets each and with 5,500 tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com from 17 to 28 March 2017 in four price categories: £390, £275, £140, and £60. The remaining tickets were allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme.[22]

The opening ceremony

American hip-hop group The Black Eyed Peas performed at the opening ceremony preceding the final. The performance, which included a pyrotechnic display, ran over time and forced the kick-off to be delayed by several minutes.[23] The UEFA Champions League Anthem featured a recording of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli from the previous season's final.[24]

The 2017 UEFA Women's Champions League Final was held two days prior, on 1 June 2017, at the Cardiff City Stadium, with title holders Lyon beating Paris Saint-Germain 7–6 on penalties, following a 0–0 draw after extra time. The winning penalty was scored by Lyon goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, immediately after her opposite number, Katarzyna Kiedrzynek, had missed her kick.

The annual UEFA Champions Festival was held between 1–4 June 2017 at Cardiff Bay.[25]

German referee Felix Brych was announced as the final referee by UEFA on 12 May 2017.[2]

Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored twice, was named Man of the Match.

Juventus dominated possession in the opening 19 minutes of the match, and had three major chances to score. Gonzalo Higuaín had two shots on goal that were easily saved by Keylor Navas, while Miralem Pjanić had a more dangerous chance that Navas dived to push wide to his right. Despite the scoring chances, as well as the closing down of Real Madrid's counterattacks in the midfield, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first goal of the match in the 20th minute; Dani Carvajal played a one-two on the right with Ronaldo before passing across for him to shoot low to the left corner of the net, which deflected in off the right foot of Leonardo Bonucci.[26][27] Juventus responded with a goal seven minutes later to bring the score to 1–1. Mario Mandžukić chested down a ball from Higuaín and hooked the ball over his shoulder from 15 yards (14 m),[26][28] which arced over Navas. The goal was heralded as one of the best goals ever scored in a Champions League final and was compared to Zinedine Zidane's goal in the 2002 final for Real Madrid.[29] Juventus remained in control through the end of the first half, while Real Madrid conceded two yellow cards for defenders Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal.[26][27]

Real Madrid began the second half strongly and in control,[27] though play was stopped several times for fouls and injuries to both sides.[30] Real Madrid took a 2–1 lead in the 61st minute from a long-range strike from Casemiro, which deflected off Sami Khedira and past Gianluigi Buffon to the left corner of the net.[26][30] Three minutes later, Ronaldo scored Madrid's third goal of the night and his second, finishing in the 6-yard (5.5 m) box from a cut-back from Luka Modrić on the right.[26] Juventus, fending off additional attacks from Madrid, picked up three additional yellow cards, including one to newly substituted Juan Cuadrado.[30] Real Madrid replaced striker Karim Benzema with Gareth Bale, a Cardiff native who had not been fit enough to start but was given a homecoming.[27] Cuadrado picked up a second yellow card and was sent off in the 84th minute for a shove on Sergio Ramos, who went down while holding his foot.[30] Marco Asensio scored Madrid's fourth and final goal in the 90th minute, a tap-in from 12 yards (11 m) after a cut-back from Marcelo from the left.[30]

The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw, which was held on 21 April 2017 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[31]

3 June 2017 (2017-06-03)

19:45 BST

Juventus	1–4	Real Madrid
Mandžukić  27'	Report	Ronaldo  20', 64' Casemiro  61' Asensio  90'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Attendance: 65,842[3]

Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Juventus[4]

Real Madrid[4]

GK 1 Gianluigi Buffon (c) CB 15 Andrea Barzagli  66' CB 19 Leonardo Bonucci CB 3 Giorgio Chiellini RM 23 Dani Alves CM 5 Miralem Pjanić  66'  71' CM 6 Sami Khedira LM 12 Alex Sandro  70' AM 21 Paulo Dybala  12'  78' CF 9 Gonzalo Higuaín CF 17 Mario Mandžukić Substitutes: GK 25 Neto DF 4 Medhi Benatia DF 26 Stephan Lichtsteiner MF 7 Juan Cuadrado  72'  84'  66' MF 8 Claudio Marchisio  71' MF 18 Mario Lemina  78' MF 22 Kwadwo Asamoah Manager: Massimiliano Allegri

GK 1 Keylor Navas RB 2 Dani Carvajal  42' CB 4 Sergio Ramos (c)  31' CB 5 Raphaël Varane LB 12 Marcelo DM 14 Casemiro CM 8 Toni Kroos  53'  89' CM 19 Luka Modrić RF 22 Isco  82' CF 9 Karim Benzema  77' LF 7 Cristiano Ronaldo Substitutes: GK 13 Kiko Casilla DF 6 Nacho DF 23 Danilo MF 16 Mateo Kovačić MF 20 Marco Asensio  90+1'  82' FW 11 Gareth Bale  77' FW 21 Álvaro Morata  89' Manager: Zinedine Zidane

At the post-match press conference, Allegri stated that Juventus had played well in the first-half but failed to make the most of their chances. He felt that his team "let go psychologically" after conceding the second goal. Allegri added, "Even if Real Madrid had a very good second half and have excellent players who can change the game at any moment, that second goal knocked the wind out of our sails. They raised the tempo, as we were the ones pushing Real Madrid back in the first half, but in the second we couldn't play our way out of defence and they kept pushing us back. At that moment, we should've taken out the extra energy to push hard and keep the game open, as we know Real Madrid leave you the chances to score at all times, but we conceded the third goal and that was really damaging."[38] Juventus captain Buffon stated that losing the match was a big disappointment. He felt his side had "an excellent first half, where we caused Real Madrid huge problems" but "in the second half their class, strength and how accustomed they are to winning these games showed through. They won deservedly." If Juventus had won, Buffon would have become the oldest player to win a Champions League surpassing compatriot Paolo Maldini. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who attended the match, told reporters, "Juventus played a great first half, then in the second Real Madrid were extraordinary. They were two excellent sides and in the end the best team won."[39]

Zidane declared that his players deserved to win the double and become the first team to defend the title in the Champions league era. Zidane stated, "They have made history, for sure. Nobody has done it, and now we have. Today is a historic day for all Madridistas, for the players, for me, for all our family. But saying this, you know how it is. Next year will be much more difficult. We will have to work a lot to try and win again. But today we can say we are a very good team, and we deserved to win La Liga and the Champions League. It was not easy." He also felt that "a lot of hard work" was the reason behind the team's success. Zidane also revealed that he had instructed his players to "keep going, but to play a bit higher up the pitch, and to keep the ball" during the half-time team talk.[40]

Ramos said he was proud that Madrid had "kept their date with history" and felt it was because of the harmonious relationship among the players. Madrid's captain said, "We are tremendously proud of this team, and this institution. We had a date with history and were really looking forward to it. For 59 years we had not achieved the double, and nobody had ever won two Champions Leagues in a row. We were able to keep a dressing room without any jealousies and that was key. Success does not come by coincidence. We are a great group, headed by a great coach in Zidane. Three Champions Leagues in four years is crazy." Kroos revealed that he did not believe that Madrid would be able to successfully defend the trophy saying, "I didn't expect it would be possible to defend this title as it's so difficult to win it once. But to do it twice in a row is unbelievable. To win it three times in the last four years means a lot. It means it's not only a good team on the pitch but off the pitch. It's like that and I'm happy to be part of the team." Kroos also pointed out that Juventus had only conceded three goals in their entire Champions League campaign, and that scoring four against them in the final was a sign of Madrid's quality.[41]

Modrić said that Madrid's performance in the first half was because they had "dropped back too much". He felt that the team's performance improved in the second half after Zidane instructed them to become "more aggressive" and "to not allow Juve to keep the ball easily".[42] Cardiff native Bale stated that winning the title in his hometown was a "great feeling". He also stated that he had no regrets about not being able to start the match, and was happy to have been able to play.[43]