It was an all English Champions League final in Madrid as Tottenham Hotspurs found themselves competing for the trophy for the first time against last seasons finalists and five-time winners Liverpool. Both sides had pulled off remarkable comebacks to make the final and produced some spectacular games on the way so it's pretty typical that they would produce a final that didn't really raise the pulses. But it was Liverpool who triumphed to lift the trophy for the 6th time, banishing the heartbreaking memories of last years final defeat and ending the season with a tremendous buzz after narrowly missing out on the Premier League title.
There was quite an extensive break between the end of the league season and the cup final, which many believe may have played a part in the game not being as exciting as expected. The break did allow some of the star players chance to recover though with Harry Kane and Harry Winks both making it back into the lineups after injuries which Spurs feared may have seen them miss out while Firmino who had to miss the semi-final 2nd leg and the final league game was able to recover to start for The Reds. Kane starting did raise a few eyebrows ahead of the game with people wondering whether he would be 100% and questioned whether Spurs wouldn't have been better off sticking with Lucas Moura who was the hero of the semi-finals scoring a hat-trick to send them through.
The game had barely got going before it was halted by the referee's whistle awarding Liverpool an early penalty kick for a handball inside the first 30 seconds. After exchanging possession back and forth Jordan Henderson lobbed a ball forward for Sadio Mane to chase, he managed to collect it and brought it down just inside the Spurs penalty area. Mane took a second to look before attempting to flick it over to Salah who was open on the other side of the area, by which time Moussa Sissoko made his way to help defend and stuck out his arm which blocked the ball conceding a penalty. It seemed like a harsh one but VAR analysed the situation and confirmed the referee's decision, Mohammed Salah who left the pitch in tears last time after suffering a shoulder injury stepped up and this time was able to make his mark on the final and slotted the ball into the net from the spot.
Chances were rather limited for the rest of the half, the early goal had given Liverpool something to hang on to and seemed to ease off on their usually relentless pressing game instead they allowed Spurs to keep the ball and looked to try and catch them on the break. For all the possession Spurs weren't managing to penetrate Liverpool's defence and were limited to just 2 shots in the first half, both from long range and neither troubling Alisson in Liverpool's goal. Liverpool didn't have too many great chances either though with their best effort also coming from long range after it opened up for Robertson to have a shot, it looked to be dipping in but was tipped over the bar by Hugo Lloris.
After the half time break, Liverpool seemed to perk up a little bit and became more offensive. They created chances in the opening minutes of the half with Salah bursting into the box before having his shot blocked and then Robertson almost finding Mane with a cross before Lloris got down to snatch the ball away from him. A little later into the half Mane was on the ball again and skipped away from Dele Ali before turning away from Eriksen and carrying the ball into the Spurs penalty area. Mane handed it off to Mo Salah who took a touch setting it up for James Milner to strike, his shot managed to make its way through the legs of the Spurs defenders but wasn't on target and went just wide of the post.
As the game started to come to a close Spurs started to go for it, they had made all 3 of their allotted substitutes and had brought on Lucas Moura as well as Fernando Llorente hoping to grab an equalising goal. In the last 10 minutes, they really tested Alisson who stood strong and proved to be worth every penny of his record-breaking transfer fee. Son had a solid shot from outside the box stopped by the Liverpool keeper who then shot back to his feet in time to deny Lucas from close range. He was then called into question again when Eriksen attempted to curl in a free kick from the edge of the penalty area, it seemed to be bending into the far side of the goal but Alisson got his gloves to it and tipped it around to concede just a corner. It seemed like a crucial period of the game where Tottenham was appearing the fresher of the sides and there was genuine worry that had they scored, they could have pushed on for another.
Liverpool managed to hang on in though and in the final few minutes managed to win a corner kick, it was aimed towards Virgil van Dijk but his effort was blocked. The ball remained inside the box though and was kept alive by Matip who found Origi in space, the Belgian who had scored 2 of the goals in the comeback against Barca was on hand again for another crucial goal as he smashed it into the bottom corner past Lloris to seal it for Liverpool. He'd not been having the best performance since he came on replacing Firmino midway through the second half, he'd given the ball away and had frustratingly not found Salah during one of Liverpool's counters earlier. But he made no mistake when the chance fell for him inside the box and after already achieving cult status for some of his heroics through the campaign he assured his name will go down in history with a goal in the Champions League final.
It may not have been the thrilling goal fest people were expecting to see after these sides made it through the semi's but that won't matter to Jurgen Klopp or the Liverpool players who deserved something for their incredible efforts this season. There were emotional scenes all over the place as captain Jordan Henderson lifted the trophy and the party continued through the night into the following day as over 750,000 Liverpool fans took to the streets to welcome their heroes back parading the trophy through the streets on an open top bus. They have had to wait a long time for major silverware being paraded and brought back to Anfield but with this current group of players and Jurgen Klopp at the helm, it is hard to imagine them having to wait too long before more trophies arrive in the Anfield museum.