4 Key factors which helped Real Madrid to win their record 14th UCL

The Spanish club giants Real Madrid created a new history in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) after winning the latest 2021/22 edition, which was their 14th UCL title.

Real Madrid are the only club to win more than 10 European Cups. It was a very competitive tournament, but Los Blancos ended the competition as the fittest.  

Last Saturday (28th May) night, Real Madrid faced the English Premier League club Liverpool in the final of the UCL 2021/22 at Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France. The Spanish club won that game by a 1-0 margin, thanks to the 59th-minute goal of Vinicius Junior.

Here, we are pointing out four key points which helped Real Madrid win their record 14th UCL title.

Never give up. Always believe in the team

In the UCL 2021/22 season, Real Madrid set up a great example of the unshakable team spirit and never-give-up attitude on and off the field. Los Blancos were majorly under pressure during the knockout stages of this competition, where they always faced challenging teams and situations. However, the Whites incredibly opened up themselves as the strongest team at the right time of every match.  

The never-give-up attitude is undoubtedly one of Los Blancos’ main reasons for winning the latest UCL title, and the strong team spirit was the key factor to shape this attitude.  

Carlo Ancelotti – The UCL master

The Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti became the first manager to win more than three UEFA Champions League/European Cup titles as he has recorded four such trophies (twice for AC Milan and twice for Real Madrid).  

While Real Madrid failed to win a trophy in the 2020/21 season under another great manager Zinedine Zidane, the club completely changed in a season under the manager Ancelotti. Apart from winning the La Liga 2021/22 title in dominating way and also winning the Supercopa de Espana, the Ancelotti boys created a new history by winning the latest UCL trophy.

Ancelotti is a big match manager who is an expert at holding his nerve till the end of the game. In this UCL season, we have experienced this expertness again and again.    

Unstoppable Karim Benzema and his young partners

Real Madrid’s French star Karim Benzema was completely unstoppable this season by recording 44 goals and 15 assists in his 46 appearances.

Undoubtedly, the 34-year-old Benzema finished the UCL 2021/22 season as the leading goal-scorer with 15 goals, the joint third-most goals in a UCL season. In this UCL season, he also scored in the crucial moments of the matches as his form never put the opposition defence in a relaxed zone.  

Meanwhile, the Brazilian youngsters Vinicius Junior and little-surprise package Rodrygo also properly supported the experienced French striker to make the opposition defence clueless in deciding periods.

Apart from scoring four goals, the left-winger Vinicius Junior also finished the UCL season as the joint second-most assists provider with six assists. He scored the only goal in the final of this competition to secure the Whites’ 14th UCL trophy.

On the other hand, the right-winger Rodrygo scored five goals and provided two assists in this competition. The most memorable moment for him was scoring two back-to-back stoppage-time goals in the second leg of the semi-finals against Manchester City, which forced the game to enter the extra-time period. Ultimately, Los Blancos won that after Benzema’s successful score from a penalty in the first half of the extra time of the game.  

In a simple sentence, it was a dream forward combination for a team.

Thibaut Courtois – the safe hands

The Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois finished this UCL season with five clean sheets in 13 appearances, while he conceded 14 goals. Moreover, he saved 61 shots in this tournament, including one penalty. Apart from ending this competition with most saves and joint-most clean sheets, the Real Madrid goalkeeper was outstanding in the final against Liverpool.

Courtois’ hands played crucial roles for the Whites to stop conceding goals in that final as he made nine saves that night. In fact, the latest UCL final was one of the best matches in his career as he won the Man of the Match award for his extraordinary performance in that final.