Liverpool ends the season on a high after triumphing over Tottenham Hotspur in a tepid affair in Madrid thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi.
The U.K. Government is considering adding species other than elephants to its 2018 Ivory Act, amongst which are rhinos, hippos and mammoths.
It’s a rare thing indeed to find mammoth ivory during a trip down Oxford Street.
It’s also rare to see four teams from the U.K. in the finals of the Europa League and Champions League in the same year. Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 to claim the Europa League earlier in the week, and last night Liverpool faced Tottenham Hotspur for the right to be crowned the Champions of Europe.
One more rarity.
You rarely watch a cup final, and think afterwards, “That was entertaining.”
Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Spurs was tepid, tedious and tiresome. BT Sports co-commentator, Jermaine Jenas, said, “There is no worse feeling than losing a match when you know your opponents will rarely play as badly.”
Liverpool played with all the spunk of a human being who has spent too much time resting on a beheading block in Winterfell. Spurs controlled the game, enjoying 68% of possession, but lacking the killer instinct that’s seen Liverpool score over 100 competitive goals this season.
The game started in the best possible way for neutrals when Damir Skomina awarded Liverpool a penalty after Moussa Sissoko was judged to have handled the ball in the area in the first minute.
Liverpool was returning to the Champions League Final 12-months after losing to Real Madrid, and nobody hurt more on that night than Mohamed Salah, who had to leave proceedings early through injury. It didn’t take him long to make up lost time, slamming home the penalty.
Spurs reacted brilliantly, taking control of the football, and ending the half with 65% possession, but the slim pickings went to Liverpool with full-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson both coming close with equally powerful screamers.
The same pattern continued in the second half with Spurs controlling the ball without threatening Alisson in the Liverpool box. Mauricio Pochetino’s decision to start with Harry Kane looked a mistake, as the England captain lumbered through the game ineffectually.
Jürgen Klopp restored Roberto Firmino to the lineup, and like Kane, the Brazilian was way off the pace. Pochettino stuck with Kane, Klopp replaced his Brazilian striker with Divock Origi. One move failed, and the other paid off spectacularly.
Both sets of players looked like a locksmith had screwed their bedroom doors, with all 22-players having slept in the garden next to the garbage cans for the past three weeks. It wasn’t until the 69th minute that a chance presented itself when James Milner pulled a shot wide from the edge of the box.
Liverpool’s defeat last term was largely down to the ineptness of Loris Karius. Alisson is a different type of butter dish, and with five minutes remaining, he showed why he is so highly rated keeping out a free-kick from Christian Eriksen, and a rifle from Son Heung-min.
Then with time running out, Spurs failed to clear their lines from a corner, Joël Matip poked the ball to Origi, and the semi-final hero scored the winning goal with a neat finish.
As a neutral, it’s hard to begrudge Liverpool this moment, despite how awful they played. They went through the English Premier League (EPL) season losing out to Manchester City despite losing only one game, and they came back from a 3-0 defeat against Barcelona to win 4-3 in the semi-finals.
It’s the sixth time that Liverpool has won the Champions League/European Cup. Only AC Milan and Real Madrid have won more. It was also Klopp’s first cup win, and that’s as rare as mammoth ivory considering he had lost his previous six.
Final result
Liverpool 2 v 0 Spurs
