It ended, as it so often does, with that familiar smile. Cristiano Ronaldo – gelled hair, dazzling teeth, magic in his boots – will never forget the night he scored the 600th goal of an almost implausible career. It was the moment everyone knew the Champions League trophy was on its way back to the Bernabéu and, once again, that the four-times Ballon d’Or winner had left his imprint on another final. Ronaldo had scored twice on another exultant night when he also leapfrogged Lionel Messi to announce himself as the competition’s leading scorer for the fifth season running. He will enjoy that, too, but the real prize here was to be part of a side that have now lifted European football’s most coveted silverware three times in four seasons. Cardiff 2017 will fit neatly with Milan 2016 and Lisbon 2014 whereas, for Juventus, this was a familiar story of regret and hurt.
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