Real Madrid become European champions again

Real Madrid have won the UEFA Youth League, contested by the under-19 teams of clubs competing in the Champions League, thanks to an penalty shoot victory over Club Brugge in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Madrid need penalties after missed chances

Madrid dominated the first half and should have been out of sight at half-time. However, they squandered a number of good opportunities and had only one goal, beautifully flicked in from close range by Jacobo Ortega, to show for their superiority.

After half-time, they were made to pay for their wastefulness by a much-improved Club Brugge, who levelled just after the hour when Tobias Lund Jensen converted a low cross at the back post.

There was little to separate the teams in the final half an hour, with chances to score few and far between.

With no extra time, it was Madrid who prevailed as the final of the UEFA Youth League was decided by a penalty shootout for the first time. Goalkeeper Javi Navarro was the hero, saving two spot-kicks.

Champions League success not replicated in Youth League

Soccer fans have become used to seeing the Madrid first team crowned European champions in recent years. Since 2013-14, the LaLiga giants have won the Champions League six times, taking their overall number of victories to 15 since they first won the European Cup in 1956.

They have, however, been less successful in the UEFA Youth League, which was first contested in 2013-14.

Although they have appeared in all 12 editions of the competition, Madrid had only once reached the final before this season. The Spaniards won the UEFA Youth League for the first time in 2020, when they defeated Benfica 3-2 in a final which was pushed back several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UEFA Youth League’s most successful teams

Their two victories in the competition leave Real Madrid level with Chelsea, who triumphed in 2015 and 2016. However, they trail Clásico rivals Barcelona, the most successful team in UEFA Youth League history with three wins (2014, 2018 and 2025).

Real Madrid’s incredible record in European finals

The victory continues Real Madrid’s astonishing record in European finals. In the European Cup/Champions League, the first team have won 15 of the 18 finals contested, with their last defeat coming in 1981. Los Blancos also won both of the UEFA Cup finals they played in in the 1980s. However, they were beaten both times they reached the final of the now defunct Cup Winners’ Cup.

Their 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup loss to Scottish club Aberdeen was the last time they were defeated in a European final.

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