Final lacked thrills, but Liverpool fans won’t care

By Martha Kelner, sports correspondent, in Madrid

Champions of Europe for a sixth time, Liverpools best se..

By admin , in England , at June 2, 2019

By Martha Kelner, sports correspondent, in Madrid

Champions of Europe for a sixth time, Liverpools best season for 20 years has ended in silverware.

This was only the second all-English Champions League final, but the Reds' clash with Tottenham was not a high-octane advert for the Premier League.

Mo Salah's goal from the spot after just two minutes seemed to take the sting out of the game, which at times resembled a meandering exhibition match or a pre-season friendly – possibly a victim of the long gap since the climax of the Premier League season.

Image: Liverpool supporters at home and abroad revelled in a sixth European title

Liverpool supporters celebrate his team's second goal at a hotel in Madrid during the UEFA Champions League final football match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on June 1, 2019. (Photo by CURTO DE LA TORRE / AFP) (Photo credit should read CURTO DE LA TORRE/AFP/Getty Images) — Image: Fans who could not get a ticket still enjoyed themselves at hotels and bars in Madrid

But the Liverpool fans lucky enough to be inside the Wanda Metropolitano stadium didn't mind.

As they filed out at the final whistle, many bleary-eyed from a day in the searing heat coupled with the emotion of the occasion, they cheered the name of Divock Origi, the substitute whose 88th minute goal sealed a famous victory.

Many said manager Jurgen Klopp, now in his fourth year on Merseyside, had secured his place in the club's rich history alongside the likes of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.

The German had previously lost six major finals, including two in the Champions League, first with Borussia Dortmund in 2013 and last year with Liverpool in Kiev, when they were soundly beaten by Real Madrid.

Victory in the Spanish capital was an emphatic dismissal of anyone who might have considered him a nearly-man.

Klopp is building a legacy at Liverpool, as well as a squad which nobody wants to leave, and the affection towards him among his players was clear to see as they threw him into the air in the centre of the pitch.

"Did you ever see a team like this, fighting with no fuel in the tank? I am so happy for the boys, all these people and my family. They suffer for me, they deserve it more than anybody," he said, after winning his first silverware with Liverpool since arriving in 2015.

"It was an intense season with the most beautiful finish I ever could have imagined."

MADRID, SPAIN - JUNE 01: Jordan Henderson of Liverpool lifts the Champions League Trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on June 01, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) — Image: Captain Jordan Henderson lifts the famous trophy

MADRID, SPAIN - JUNE 01: Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool lifts the Champions League Trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on June 01, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) — Image: Virgil van Dijk played a key role in helping Liverpool keep a clean sheet in the final

There was a characteristically resolute performance by Virgil van Dijk, a rock in the Liverpool defence, and the goalkeeper Alisson, whose presence was a major factor in the team recording the third-highest points tally in the history of the Premier LeRead More – Source

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