Real Madrid Stun Liverpool 3-1
Real Madrid have become the first team to win the European Cup/Champions League in three successive seasons since Bayern Munich between 1974 and 1976. |
Gareth Bale scored one of European football's great goals
to help Real Madrid overcome Liverpool and win their third successive Champions
League title as goalkeeper Loris Karius suffered a personal nightmare.
Bale made his mark on another Champions League final with
a magnificent overhead kick to put Real 2-1 up after 64 minutes.
Liverpool
had already suffered the devastating blow of losing top scorer Mohamed Salah
midway through the first half - with a shoulder injury sustained in a challenge
with Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos - when calamity struck for Karius.
Six
minutes after half-time, the German inexplicably threw the ball against Karim
Benzema, who was not even challenging with urgency, and watched in horror as
the ball rolled behind him into the net.
Liverpool
recovered from the shock to equalise through Sadio Mane before Bale stepped off
the bench to score his wonder goal.
There
was to be no comeback from Liverpool this time and Karius's misery was complete
when he fumbled Bale's hopeful 30-yard shot behind him to seal Real's win.
It
sealed Real's record 13th win in this competition, and their fourth in five
seasons to give coach Zinedine Zidane this third triumph in three years.
For
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, it was disappointment again - he lost his third
successive final since arriving at Anfield, having suffered defeats in the
League Cup and Europa League finals of 2016.
Calamity for hapless Karius
When the
story of this Champions League final is told from a Liverpool perspective, it
will be the tale of Karius' nightmare alongside that of Salah's injury.
The
24-year-old German has been shown huge faith by Klopp, who brought him in from
Mainz and made him first choice ahead of Simon Mignolet.
He has
never fully convinced and on this, the biggest night in Liverpool's recent
history, he had the sort of night to leave you wondering how he will rebuild
his Anfield career.
Karius
inexplicably threw a clearance against Benzema for Real Madrid's opener before
fumbling Bale's speculative, long-range effort into the net to snuff out any
hopes of a comeback.
The
keeper lay flat on the turf at the final whistle, being consoled by Real
Madrid's players before apologising tearfully in front of Liverpool's fans.
Klopp
clearly rates Karius but there are too many holes in his technique. That, along
with his temperament, must be questioned after a complete horror show here in
Kiev.
Salah setback shifted the balance of power
The
whole emphasis of the final shifted as Salah slumped to the turf for a second
time after realising he could not carry on with the shoulder injury sustained
in the tangle with Ramos.
Liverpool
had started well and Real's deep defending hinted at the apprehension they were
felt faced with the attacking trio of Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
As Salah
left the pitch, inconsolable and in tears, even Liverpool's fans were
temporarily hushed and it was clear Real had suddenly been given fresh impetus.
Liverpool,
with the magnificent Mane leading the fight, showed commendable heart but they
had been robbed of their world-class talisman who, before his substitution, had
scored 33% of their goals in all competitions.
It will
be the great unknown as to what might have happened had Salah stayed on but
there is no question his departure was a savage blow to Liverpool and a lift
for Real Madrid.
Bale bounces back
Bale's
Real Madrid future has been under constant scrutiny this season - a quirk at a
club that lives by its own rules.
The
Welshman did not even make the starting line-up here and only emerged just
after the hour - but within two minutes he scored one of the great Champions
League goals, an overhead kick that was a triumph of athleticism and technique,
and begged the question as to how Real could even contemplate life without him.
As for
Bale's second goal, make no mistake - when he took on that long-range shot, he
would have been street-smart enough to know Karius was living on his nerves
after his earlier error.
Bale
delivered a reminder, if it were needed that he remains a world-class player.
It may
just have been an expensive night for suitors such as Manchester United as his
display here will have added millions to any potential transfer fee.
When
asked about his future after the game, Bale told BT Sport: "I need to be
playing week in, week out and that has not happened this season.
"I
had an injury five, six weeks in but have been fit ever since. I have to sit
down with my agent in the summer and discuss it."
Zidane the history man
Zinedine
Zidane has joined Liverpool's Bob Paisley and his Real Madrid predecessor Carlo
Ancelotti in the elite ranks of managers to win this tournament three times -
but added extra gloss by becoming the first to win it in three successive
seasons.
Zidane
has often been damned with faint praise about his abilities and record, despite
his Champions League invincibility, by those who claim he simply keeps an
outstanding team on track but he makes a nonsense of that with his tactical
approach, handling of world-class players (and world-class egos) and a very
happy knack of making decisive substitutions.
Three
Champions League wins in three seasons ends all argument about his greatness as
a coach. He is in charge of a team who know how to get the job done.
Man of the match - Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
'This
team is magnificent' - what they said
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, speaking to BT Sport:
"Great emotions. To lift three Champions League trophies with this club,
this team is magnificent. We don't quite realise what we have achieved yet.
"We
are going to enjoy the moment. We had a complicated season but to finish with
this makes us really happy.
"I
have had a little bit of time to think about what this means. This is the
status of this club. It is a legendary club, one that has won 13 Champions
Leagues and I am happy to be a part of its history too."
Liverpool
manager Jurgen Klopp: "The plan is only to play to win, nothing else, not
a lot to say. We started well and played exactly like we wanted to.
"The
situation with Sergio Ramos [and Mohamed Salah] looked really bad and it was a
shock for the team, we lost the positive momentum and they immediately came up.
"We dropped deep and we could not get to Luka Modric
or Toni Kroos. We had to run and work, we did that and half-time came. What can
I say about the goals? We scored one, they scored three."
A first in 42 years - the stats
- English teams have suffered a defeat
in their past seven UEFA club competition finals against Spanish opposition
(four Champions League finals and three UEFA Cup/Europa League finals).
- Jurgen Klopp has lost six of his
seven major finals as manager, only winning the DFB-Pokal with Borussia
Dortmund in 2012.
- Real Madrid started with the same XI
as in the 2016-17 Champions League final; the first time a team has started
with the same 11 players in different European Cup/Champions League finals
(excluding replays).
- Karim Benzema has scored four goals
against Liverpool in the Champions League; no player has managed more (also
four for Didier Drogba).
- Liverpool became the first team in
history to see three players score 10-plus goals in a single Champions League
season (Salah 10, Firmino 10, Mane 10).
- Sadio Mane is only the fourth African
player to score in a European Cup/Champions League final and the first since
Didier Drogba for Chelsea v Bayern Munich in 2012. The other two were by Samuel
Eto'o for Barcelona in both 2009 and 2006, and Rabah Madjer for Porto in 1987.
- Mane became the third Liverpool
player to score 20-plus goals in all competitions this season (Salah 44 goals
and Firmino 27 goals); the last time that three players hit the 20-goal mark
for the club in a single campagn was 1981-82 (Dalglish, McDermott and Rush).
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