I have recovered, it is finally starting to sink in, we did it, we won. I woke up this morning and it hit me, this 6th European Cup triumph has come as some form of anti-depressant, a weight had come off of numerous Liverpool fans' shoulders. Seven years of hurt were over, six straight final defeats for Jurgen Klopp were over, life had a new meaning, I am serious.
For those that do not feel 'Football is Religion', for those that do not understand the importance of men running up and down a pitch and kicking a leather ball around, this is not for you. This passion, the pain, the tears came to a head, and it felt so good. It was such a thin line for Liverpool, after being pipped to the league title by Manchester City, Liverpool were on the verge of unprecedented hurt and trauma, as they could have also lost consecutive Champions League finals.
As mentioned in my final prelude 'One More Sleep', Liverpool went in with the exact starting lineup, I thought they would. Joel Matip had to start because of his good form, though Joe Gomez was fit and despite James Milner's industry and experience he had to come off the bench in the second half to calm things down. Roberto Firmino was fit and had to start, there could be no sentimental value in regards to Divock Origi from Klopp. Sentiment was not the case shown by Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino either as he started Harry Kane ahead of the man who fired them to Madrid in Lucas Moura. However good Kane was, this was a risk, as if he was off pace Virgil van Dijk and Matip would eat him for breakfast. Another man who had recently been struggling for fitness Harry Winks was given the nod by Pochettino ahead of Victor Wanyama in midfield and Spurs also went with a flat back four as some thought that Poch may try to go with three centre halves to try and combat Liverpool's front three.
Liverpool took the kick off and were right onto Spurs, showing their intent, Sadio Mane tried to play a ball across the box and Moussa Sissoko who was pointing to one of his teammates as Liverpool's quick start had caught them off guard, ending up handling the ball. It did strike his side first and some thought it would get overruled after VAR had told the referee to have a look, but the decision stood. Mo Salah converted the penalty in the second minute and Liverpool took the lead, the North Londoners gameplan had gone out of the window. Lloris will be kicking himself as Salah waited for him to move and then just basically hit the ball down the middle of the goal. As the first half wore on, Spurs settled well and had good possession, but did not create anything clear cut. Liverpool had a long range effort form Andy Robertson that was beaten away by Hugo Lloris, but they overall struggled to string passes together, gifting the ball straight back to the opposition. Realising their struggles in the midfield; Liverpool decided to go direct and Mane especially made runs that caused problems and Liverpool despite having less of the ball had more corners in the first half. The game was not great for a neutral because of the lack of goalmouth action, but the Merseysiders did not care as they were ahead.
The second half was much of the same as Liverpool continued to bypass the midfield and try to get in behind Tottenham. Klopp made two good changes, Firmino after returning from injury was not at his sharpest and Origi came on for him, and then a few minutes later Georginio Wijnaldum who had been ineffective given his standards was replaced by Milner. Milner almost killed the game off within minutes of coming on, as his left foot shot went just wide. Spurs continued to dictate the tempo of the game, but it was not until Son had an effort in the 80th minute that they had a shot on target for all of their possession. They passed the ball well, but were being restricted to shoot from the edge of the box and just outside the box as Liverpool were so well organised, Alisson had a plethora of second half saves to make, but they were all at reasonable heights for a keeper of his quality. A time he could have been really troubled was when Dele Alli tried to chip the ball over him, but Alisson had a good starting position and was able to in the end easily catch the ball. The 87th minute came and Liverpool forced a corner, Spurs failed to clear the danger, and Matip found Origi who shot a well placed effort into the far corner...the Champions League was won!
Liverpool would not have been able to win this kind of match a few years ago, so all plaudits must go to Klopp, the two key words here are 'game management'. Liverpool got the early goal, however controversial some may feel the penalty was, then it was case of them saying to Tottenham, 'go on and try to break us down' and they unfortunately for their travelling fans could not do that. Liverpool showed why they had the best defence in the Premier League; there will be complaints by neutrals at how the final was an anti-climax, but Liverpool and their fans do not care, their sixth European Cup was in the bag. I spoke to my cousin Michael after the game and he described the victory as a 'Mayweather' performance. Despite Floyd Mayweather being an undefeated boxer, he is much maligned for not entertaining in his matches and he is considered by some to be too defensive. Mayweather does what he needs to do to win, this is what Liverpool did on Saturday night too. If Liverpool did not get an early penalty, then the game would have played out differently, but they did get one, they scored it and they protected their lead. Part of the reason I do not think the final lived up to expectation was a another point that I raised in 'One More Sleep'; the gap of almost three weeks from the end of the Premier League season was too wide and the final at times played out like a pre-season friendly.
For everyone involved it was a beautiful occasion, and for the football Liverpool have played over the last two seasons, it was great to see them get a reward and a stamp for their progression. For all of what he has done for the team and for the city, I was most happy for Jurgen Klopp. He has finally lifted the Champions League after losing with Borussia Dortmund in 2013 to Bayern Munich. Klopp, has also finally ended six consecutive defeats in finals, this was a huge monkey off of his back and you could juts tell by his face how much it meant to him. After the disappointment of losing out on the league, all is not forgotten believe me, but this was the perfect way to counter it. It would have been a massive anti-climax if the Merseysiders lost after their terrific semi final comeback against Barcelona. Klopp, has at times been ridiculed since being in England, and this was a massive 'middle finger' to everyone who doubted him. Fleetwood manager and ex-player Joey Barton once described him as a 'glorified cheerleader', some people said that he was not a good defensive manager. Others put Klopp in the same bracket as the man he beat in the final Mauricio Pochettino, as Klopp had not won a trophy since being in England. This was a discredit, as the German won back--back Bundesliga titles (2010-2012), and he won the German Cup at Dortmund also. Labelled as the manager who gives hugs and does not win things, this was a huge monkey off his back, an emphatic message to the football world.
Klopp may just be starting an era of great things at Liverpool, all the ingredients are there for a successful recipe. The only significant players in the squad who are over 30 are Simon Mignolet, James Milner and Adam Lallana. Mignolet, will more than likely be moved on, Milner's versatility means he can still have a huge role to play, and Lallana can also figure if he stays fit, that is a big 'if' mind you however. The average age of the squad currently is 25.8 years and that may drop even further, this gives this batch of players time to be together for many years. If they can continue to perform then who knows where they could go from here, there are no massive egos, just great dressing room harmony, and all this was built by Klopp. Klopp has not lost a two legged European tie since joining Liverpool in 2015, and this win was the icing on the cake. With just one league defeat and this cup win; Liverpool have shown they are built differently now to the side that you deliberated over whether they would win, regardless of who their opponent was.
The scenes at the final whistle were touching; a mixture of relief, jubilation and gratitude do not even cover all the emotions. Jordan Henderson's passionate embrace with his father touched the soul, as it was then made known his Dad who was in the crowd had been struggling with Cancer. Henderson deserved this retribution, a man who takes so much abuse, he had his hands on the trophy after last years debacle against Real Madrid. Liverpool lost that game, because their keeper Loris Karius, made two major errors, this year they now had Alisson, and he showed the difference it can make having a competent goalkeeper in such a high pressure match, as he made the necessary saves to help Liverpool to victory. The Liverpool squad now has the winning mentality they so badly needed, and us fans live in hope that we continue to build to great things and never go seven years without a trophy again, or for the foreseeable future anyway.
Let’s talk about six baby!...
@DubulDee
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