| Match report
The game that we have waited
for for many years ended within seconds of starting, with the
referee being the game-changer, not one of the players, as Liverpool
scored two minutes in and then three minutes from the end to win the
match.
Arriving in Madrid the night before, everywhere you went was red.
Even the flight from Gatwick was full of them, so where were all
their tickets coming from ? We were to find out later.
The day of the game was hot. Really hot. Getting to the ground was
uncomfortable in the Metro, with Spurs fans in good spirits. We saw
Stephen Mangan enjoying a beer outside a bar near the ground, with
Spurs players mixing with fans inside. Getting inside was more of a
challenge. The usual heavy handed policing combined with lack of
signage about where to go lead to confusion and frustration. Some
Police were friendly, helpful and smiley, while others looked
spoiling for a fight, as we found in Barcelona. The use of police
horses to regulate the flow of fans through the never-ending journey
to the turnstiles saw young children frightened and crying and older
supporters separated from their family or friends as they were left
bewildered by the authoritarian approach. When will they learn that
a more fan-friendly approach will diffuse the tension that these
methods cause.
Once inside, the frustration didn’t end, as there was an hour’s
queue for drinks and then, there was a limited choice when you
reached the sales point. For a new stadium, the facilities were a
little shocking and basic. Thanks goodness we didn’t go on this
model for our new ground.
The atmosphere got even hotter when UEFA’s opening ceremony helped
destroy a bit more of the ozone layer with flames and fireworks as
the temperature inside the stadium visibly rose, with the heat haze
causing it to be trapped inside the ground, with it being hot enough
already. There were also a visibly larger amount of red shirts
around the ground than white. The whole tier behind the Spurs goal
reserved for corporate ticket holders were occupied by red shirted
supporters. And this didn’t help things as the game progressed. For
an organisation who are so keen to keep fans segregated, it is
interesting that this goes out of the window when there is money
involved and some fans were allowed to be amongst the opposition’s
supporters. UEFA are an organisation who feel they need to make
statements about things by handing out fines to clubs, but there is
little internal examination and it looks as though the disciplinary
actions are only another way of funding the excesses they allow
their executives.
Anyway, when the game got underway, 21 seconds was all it took for
it to be over. From Liverpool’s kick off, Spurs headed the ball up
to halfway. Kane was thrown out of the way by van Dijk, a couple of
headers were won by red shirts and a long ball forward found Mane
beyond Trippier. Sissoko got back and held up the winger, but the
ball was played into the box and Moussa was indicating to team-mates
to cover, when the ball hit his chest and then came up onto his arm
and the referee pointed to the spot. Maybe it is the UEFA
interpretation of what handball is, but VAR confirmed it and Spurs
were put on the spot almost before the game had started. With this
sort of decision, I think players will be breaking all sorts of
scoring records if they are their club’s penalty taker in the coming
seasons. A showpiece final then turned into anything but, with one
decision.
Salah had to wait for VAR before taking the spot-kick that he
thrashed with great power past Lloris, despite the goalkeeper not
being too far away from it. The Egyptian’s goal celebration was
right in front of the Spurs fans and was unnecessary and offensive,
but he was allowed to get away with it.
It was a massive blow and one that Spurs took a while to get over.
They played the ball around, but often were playing passes too
quickly and not finding their targets. Sissoko tried to redeem
himself when Matip half-cleared a pass inside the box, but his shot
from outside the box predictably rise over the bar.
The opponents dropped back, with the intention of hitting Spurs on
the break or trying to capitalise on a set-piece. Mane tried to get
away on their left again, but this time Trippier got back to nick
the ball off him for a corner. This is when the time-wasting
started. Ten minutes in, as it took forever for a player to cross
the pitch to take it. When he did, van Dijk stood on Lloris to try
and disrupt the keeper’s across to the ball, but Hugo got something
on it to take it away from the red shirts.
The way Spurs settled was better and they looked to move the ball
forward quicker and a couple of breaks were stopped by Liverpool
legs stuck out in hope more than intention. Rose made a fine header
at the far post to stop Salah reaching Robertson’s left wing cross
and then As the ball was cleared away, the Scot threw a hand into
Trippier’s face as they chased the ball and the ref spoke to the
Liverpool defender, but did nothing more. Henderson had been giving
Pochettino a mouthful, so the referee came over to the Spurs boss to
do the same, as you got the feeling that most of the major decisions
were going to go the other way.
Alexander-Armold flashed a shot across Lloris’ goal with 17 minutes
gone, missing the post by a yard and Salah slashed a shot inside the
box off for a throw-in, as the Reds failed to play their so called
exciting, attacking football. Spurs were controlling the play
without creating too much at the Liverpool end, with neither side
doing particularly well in finding their targets with their passing.
One through pass to Son found him offside, then Sissoko’s pass for
the Korean was intercepted, otherwise he would have been through in
the box. Dele got into the box, with Kane inside him, but there were
two red shirts in the way.
It was nearly 38 minutes before Lloris had to make a save, with
Robertson driving a shot in from outside the box, but Hugo tipped it
over the bnar, reaching up with his left hand. From the corner,
Salah struck a volley into the upper tiers of the Spurs end.
The ball was falling for LIverpool and when they went forward with
Alexander-Arnold crossing the ball in, stopped by Danny Rose’s face
for a corner, but they wanted a penalty. From the set-piece, Salah
volleyed at goal and the deflection on it earned them another
corner. It was at these that Liverpool were killing the game by
taking so much time on taking them and also winning free-kicks by
going down easy, while Kane was wrestled off ball, he was given
nothing.
As the game came to added time, Son and Dele linked to find Eriksen
on the edge of the D, but his shot flew way too high. That was the
last act of the first half, with Liverpool coming out late for the
second half to delay things further. Spurs had lots of possession,
but they did not do too much with it, but early in the second half,
Tripper’s deep cross found Dele at the far post, but he couldn’t get
enough on it to take it back into the middle of the box. Then Kane
took a long ball and pulled it back, but too far away from Son, who
was in space in the area.
Matip and van Dijk were winning the high balls forward, with Spurs
being made to play that way as Liverpool closed them down, but,
still, the Merseysiders were looking to sit deep, fill the spaces
and stifle the game. Winks was playing a very good game of making
the team tick in midfield, while Vertonghen was defending well, not
diving in on Salah in the box, but standing up to block his shot.
Lloris was alert when Robertson’s low cross came in, bouncing just
in front of him, but holding at as Salah looked to seize on it. The
game looked as though it might open up, with Dele finding space in
the box before his shot was blocked by Alexander-Arnold.
Rose went inside from the left wing and Alexander-Arnold hung out a
leg designed to bring him down, but the ref played on when there was
little advantage to Tottenham, with one player taken out and hordes
of red shirts back in their box. Needless to say, the move came to
nothing. A couple of corners were won by Spurs, but the first was
fisted away by the keeper and the second headed over beyond the far
post by Jan.
The balls played forward to Kane made things simple for van Dijk and
our crossing into the box was not accurate enough, which was
frustrating, as Liverpool were not too threatening and could have
been there for the taking. The first half saw Spurs off their game,
with a lack of understanding of where players were going to run, but
the second half was a little better, but still not the fluid
Tottenham we have seen.
Salah was still throwing himself to the ground, while when Kane was,
he got nothing and then had a free-kick given against him for the
same offence. Liverpool had taken a couple of players off before
Pochettino took Harry Winks off to bring Moura on. One of
Liverpool’s subs had a chance with the ball worked up the right wing
to Milner centrally outside the box, but he pulled his shot a foot
wide with Lloris rooted to the spot.
With 20 minutes left, the ball came in from Tottenham’s left and
Matip was in the way, with the ball hitting him on the hand the
Spurs fans claimed, but there was no decision given. But Spurs
continued to go forward. Trippier crossed low from the right, but
nobody was on hand in the middle to meet it. The ball ran through to
Rose, who knocked it back in to the far post, where it was too high
for Moura to volley. Still Tottenham had the ball and Trippier
crossed in again, but this time straight into Allison’s arms. Kieran
seemed to pull a hamstring, as he couldn’t get back when Liverpool
broke away, but Sissoko covered and put Mane off enough that Toby
could stop his run into the box from the edge of the area.
A god passing movement ended with Dele trying to loft the ball over
the keeper from inside the box, but Son’s pass to him was slightly
behind him and caught him on his heels. Sonny then ran at the
Liverpool defence when they opened up their midfield, but van Dijk
got a foot in for a corner. Toby tried to find Dele with a diagonal
pass, but Allison was come out to the edge of his box to claim it.
Whether it was the heat of the occasion, but Tottenham’s movement
off the ball was not as fluent as usual and Liverpool’s players were
happy to sit in, but Spurs worked the ball right and Trippier’s
cross found Dele’s head, but his effort went over, although it might
have been given as a foul on Matip anyway.
Spurs were looking for the goal that would see them back in the game
and Son’ shot from 25 yards brought a low save from Allison, diving
to his right. The ball went to the side of the box, where Rose won a
tackle, taking the ball back into the area, where Moura took a touch
and poked a shot at goal that the keeper held to his left on the
ground. Son then nut-megged Fabinho, but couldn’t get any power
behind his left foot effort from outside the box.
With eight minutes left, Milner’s rash foul on Rose brought a VAR
review, but it was outside the box on the left hand corner of the
area. Eriksen lined it up and struck it to the far post, where
Allison dived upwards to push the ball away. From the corner, the
ball was played in by Trippier, with all the defender missing the
ball and it coming to Moura, who scuffed his shot and Son headed it
over from almost a yard out. He was offside. So it wouldn’t have
counted and then Danny Rose was defending well at the other end, as
Salah looked to sneak in behind him. From it, the ball wasn’t
cleared, but the ball was bundled into the path of Origi to the
left, from where he struck a low shot across Lloris to make it 2-0
with three minutes left.
Rose put in a low right foot shot from 20 yards that didn’t have the
power to trouble Allison two minutes into added time and then Son
brought a flying save from the keeper a minute later, with a shot
may have crept inside the keeper’s left hand post. Kane then hit the
ball straight at the keeper’s stomach from the left and that was the
last chance Spurs had.
They had given a good account of themselves after going behind so
early, but there was not the cutting edge that saw them create
chances, but not any that truly tested the Liverpool defence. The
game can’t have been great to watch for a neutral, with Liverpool
happy to hang onto the goal lead handed to them by the referee’s
handball decision, but they were looking to break on Spurs, but
failed to do that very effectively.
It was a shame, as there was only one team looking to play and the
record books will show a Liverpool win, but the nature of it shows
the weakness of the referee, who consistently spoke to Liverpool
players about time-wasting, but did nothing about it. It made Spurs
have to hurry their game and that caused misplaced passes and
anxious shooting.
The performance made the result a little easier to bear, but you
felt that one goal could have changed the game dramatically. Having
sat in, Liverpool, as Ajax did in the semi-final, might have found
it hard to then change to find a winner. In the end, the opportunist
second goal settled it and our first experience of a Champions
League final was a disappointing one.
The broken down train at the allocated station Spurs fans were going
back to didn’t help getting away from the stadium and the less than
helpful Police there meant that you had to, somehow, find a way back
to the city centre. Getting to bed at 01.00, when I had to get up at
05.00 for my flight home also made the exit from Madrid a tiring
experience. But I was glad I was there. We out-sang the Reds, who
outnumbered us. They were convinced they were going to win before
the game, so it would have been nice to send them home disappointed,
but shocked by the penalty, our first half performance was better by
the second and maybe, they will learn things from this match. The
players were lining up to watch Liverpool collect the trophy as I
left the ground. I didn’t want to see that, but maybe turning that
hurt into a winning mentality could benefit the squad. Whoever is
left next season.
Arriving back at Gatwick, I spoke to one Liverpool fan, who agreed
we had been the better side, but he assured me that we would be back
in the final with the players and manager we have. I am not so sure
it will be next season, as big changes will happen in the summer,
but one day I hope to be back watching Spurs in a CL final and
playing as we can to give it a real go.
Marco van Hip
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