LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Real Madrid has at least earned one trophy this season and become a European champion again on Monday.
Madrid won the UEFA Youth League final — effectively the Champions League for under-19 teams — by beating Club Brugge in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw on a sun-splashed evening in Switzerland.
Madrid goalkeeper Javier Navarro was key to a 4-2 shootout win, saving from Brugge’s Naim Amengai and Tian Koren.
The Spanish power’s second title in the 12-year history of the UEFA youth competition came five days after elimination in the Champions League quarterfinals, where Madrid fielded no homegrown academy players in the starting lineup against Bayern Munich.
Club president Florentino Perez was present on Monday at the stadium of Swiss club Lausanne-Sport alongside UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. Two months ago, Madrid and UEFA settled a years-long dispute over the failed breakaway Super League project driven by Perez.
Ceferin presented the players’ medals and put his right arm around the shoulders of his fellow Slovenian Koren to console the tearful 16-year-old.
Madrid defender Diego Aguado scored the decisive spot kick beyond the dive of Brugge goalkeeper Argus Vanden Driessche. The teams went directly to a shootout without playing extra time.
It was the second shootout win for Madrid in three days, after Navarro’s saves helped the team beat Paris Saint-Germain on Friday in the semifinals, which also finished 1-1 on Lausanne’s artificial turf.
On Monday, Madrid dominated the early play and influential winger Daniel Yáñez came close to scoring three times.
The lead came in the 23rd minute when center forward Jacobo Ortega scored from a deft flick with his right heel in the goalmouth. The Brugge defense was in nervous turmoil and Madrid twice had chances in the next 90 seconds to double the lead
Brugge leveled in the 64th when Tian Koren’s surging run and low cross across the goal was met by Tobias Lund Jensen.
Madrid joined Chelsea with two UEFA Youth League titles. Barcelona has three, including last year.
Barcelona has a clear lead over Madrid in Spain’s La Liga, and Real Sociedad won the Copa del Rey on Saturday, leaving Madrid’s star-studded first team trophyless for a second straight season.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
