In the end, there was no treble. No seventh European Cup. Real Madrid, who probably should have been knocked out by Paris St Germain, by Chelsea and by Manchester City, and who were hanging on at the end here, indebted to the sheer immensity of Thibaut Courtois’s refusal to yield.
Vinicius Junior sprinting from Trent Alexander Arnold to meet Federico Valverde’s cross was enough. This Real Madrid team are indomitable. They have virtually appropriated this trophy, winning it here for the 14th time. Even when they’re not great, they somehow prevail.