Liverpool were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid in an eventful Champions League final in which little went right for Jurgen Klopp’s team. Character could only carry them so far amid such setbacks, writes Adam Bate.
Gareth Bale came off the bench and scored a spectacular bicycle kick on the biggest stage as Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 to win their third successive Champions League.
One of many frustrations on a night full of them in Kiev was that Liverpool started so well. They harried and hassled the reigning European champions just as so many had anticipated they might. Real Madrid looked rushed. They lost possession of the ball eight times in the first 20 minutes, unsettled by Liverpool’s pressing. The Reds had nine shots to Madrid’s two.
But Salah’s injury, pulled to the ground in a tussle with Sergio Ramos, altered the flow of the contest. Having restricted Madrid to 57 per cent of the ball up to that point, it rose to 70 per cent afterwards. Liverpool sat back, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos began to control things, and Madrid had a further 12 shots on goal in the final hour. Liverpool mustered only four.
The accusations that Liverpool was a one-man team had been a feature of the build-up to this final. Zinedine Zidane called Salah a great player. Jurgen Klopp naturally agreed. Marcelo was asked leading questions about the task of marking him. Ramos, perhaps inadvertently, found the answer. He stopped Salah and it did the job of stopping Liverpool.
But still Liverpool kept going, finding an equaliser through the ever dangerous Sadio Mane when he diverted Dejan Lovren’s header beyond Keylor Navas just minutes after falling behind. Both players were impressive on the night and so was the team’s character. Having been undermined at both ends of the field they still dared to keep their dream alive.
Was Gareth Bale’s amazing overhead kick the greatest ever Champions League final goal? Re-live some other crackers and have your say.
Karius’s future is likely to be the subject of much speculation now. Klopp had stressed in the build-up that if things go right it is the players who deserve credit and if things go wrong then it is his responsibility. This stretched the theory but if there is any suggestion that he has shown too much faith, it is worth considering the full consequences of that approach.
