Liverpool won the Champions League after defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the final at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Saturday (1/6). This title is the sixth for the Reds.
Liverpool managed to lead 1-0 ahead of Tottenham when the match had not even gone two minutes through Mohamed Salah’s goal from the penalty spot. Execution of right shot by Salah which leads a little to the left side of the goal failed to be anticipated by Hugo Lloris.
The penalty was given because of Sadio Mane’s pass from inside the penalty box touch Sissoko’s arm.
Left behind 0-1, Tottenham dared to go out to attack but the discipline of the Liverpool defense made the North London team difficult to score. Score 1-0 for the superiority of Juergen Klopp’s side lasted until the first half was over.
In the second half, Liverpool became the first team to provide a threat to the opponent’s defense. Robertson’s pass was almost struck by Mane if not readily read by Lloris.
Song Heung-min returned to being the most active player in Tottenham’s camp. Individual action often makes Liverpool defender desperate.
Liverpool responded to Tottenham’s threat by entering James Milner. The hard-working midfielder almost listed his name on the scoreboard if his shot was not thin on the side of goalkeeper Lloris in the 69th minute.
Tottenham, who needed a goal to equalize the score, included Lucas Moura. The presence of the Brazilian made Tottenham more dangerous.
In the 80th minute, Tottenham even got two successive chances from Son and Moura. However, two opportunities were thwarted by Alisson who appeared impressive under the goalpost.
Four minutes later, Alisson returned to Liverpool’s savior. He brushed aside Eriksen’s free kick which was directed to the far post.
Liverpool who are often depressed actually managed to lead 2-0 through Divock Origi’s goal. A wild ball from a corner leads to Origi who releases a horizontal kick using the left foot that lodges into the corner of the goal.
Two-goal advantage was successfully maintained by Liverpool until the referee Damir Skomina blew the long whistle. Liverpool also has the right to win the sixth title as long as their participation in the European arena.
Liverpool were partying at Atletico Madrid’s stadium. But from a statistical standpoint Liverpool are clearly not champions through the game of attack and dominance of the game. Liverpool only made three shots on target compared to eight belonging to Tottenham. In addition, Liverpool’s possession lost far from Tottenham with 35 percent versus 65 percent.
Finally, Liverpool throughout the game only did 272 passes. The record fell far short of Tottenham’s 510 passes despite dominance and the attacking game of Mauricio Pochettino’s squad resulted without victory.
Reported by Opta, Liverpool’s average feedback is only 35.4 percent while becoming the first team to win the Champions League despite losing the ball to the opposing team. The last team to have a low bait percentage but become a champion is Mourinho’s Inter Milan who beat Bayern Munich in 2010.
