Champions League final: Liverpool crowned kings of Europe after beating Tottenham
Written by News on 02/06/2019
Liverpool have won the Champions League after beating Tottenham 2-0 in the final in Madrid.
Mo Salah, who scored the first goal from the penalty spot in the second minute, said it was “unbelievable for me”.
Defender Trent Alexander-Arnold said the achievement was “hard to put into words”.
He said the team “deserved it” after their fantastic season, which saw Manchester City edge them by a point in the Premier League.
“I’m just a normal lad from Liverpool whose dream’s just some true,” said Alexander-Arnold, 20.
The first goal came not long after kick-off, in a game that ended up lacking the dazzle many had hoped for.
Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko was judged to have handled the ball in the penalty box and Salah stepped forward to smash the ball into the back of the net.
Substitute Divock Origi – who scored two in the epic triumph against Barcelona in the semis – secured the trophy in the 87th minute with a perfectly placed shot into the bottom right of the goal.
Liverpool have now won the Champions League – or the European Cup as it used to be known – six times, and will parade the trophy back home on Sunday.
It will get under way at 4pm at Allerton Maze, south Liverpool, and travel northbound on Queens Drive towards the Fiveways roundabout and Rocket flyover.
From there it will journey along Queens Drive, Mill Bank, West Derby Road, Islington, Leeds Street and The Strand before finishing at Blundell Street, along the city’s UNESCO World Heritage waterfront.
Manager Jurgen Klopp was unable to contain his excitement after the game, as he asked: “Did you ever see a team like this?”
“What a night,” he added, saying that his family “suffer for me”, and “deserve it more than anybody”.
It was the third time Klopp had led a team into the Champions League final – and his first win.
His Reds team lost to Real Madrid in Kiev last year. He was also a runner-up when he was managing Borussia Dortmund in the 2012-13 season.
It was a frustrating night for Spurs fans however, as their team failed to hit the highs of their semi-final performance.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said they would be hungry to follow up their success.
“When you live this experience you want to repeat it,” said the Argentinian.
“It’s the best game in the world after the World Cup and we want to be there in future,” he added.
Spurs performed their own amazing comeback against Ajax in the semis, but could not repeat that in the sapping Madrid heat.
But none-the-less reaching the final of Europe’s top club competition for the first time is a landmark success for the north London club.
The match was not the best advert for the excitement of the Premier League but still capped an extraordinary year for English clubs, after Chelsea beat Arsenal in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
(c) Sky News 2019: Champions League final: Liverpool crowned kings of Europe after beating Tottenham
