Madrid, Spain —(Map)
Liverpool has defeated Tottenham to become the 2019 Champions League winner. Liverpool took the lead early in the all-English final, and added a second goal near the end to walk away the winner 2-0.
The Champions League is a contest to decide which team is the best soccer (football) team in all of Europe.
(Source: Kevin Walsh [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
This year’s contest is unusual because both teams competing in the Champions League final are English. That’s only happened once before.
English teams seem to be leading all European soccer at the moment. The finals of the Europa League (another all-Europe soccer contest), also came down to two English teams – Chelsea and Arsenal. That means that all four teams in the finals for the top European soccer contests came from England.
This was the first time in the last five years that there has not been a Spanish team in the finals. This year, Liverpool beat Barcelona in a dramatic semi-final game. Real Madrid, which defeated Liverpool in last year’s Champions League final, was beaten by Ajax earlier in the contest.
(Source: Fabian Vidal [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
The final was held in Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, and kicked off around nine on Saturday night. Even though the game was held at night, the weather was hot, which had an effect on players from both sides.
The game got off to an unusual start when Moussa Sissoko was called for a handball less than 30 seconds into the game. Many people were not happy about the call on the ball, which bounced off Sissoko’s chest before hitting his hand. Mo Salah scored on the penalty kick, powering the ball past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. That gave Liverpool a 1-0 lead.
(Source: Kevin Walsh [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
Though Tottenham pulled itself together and seemed to control the ball more in the first half, neither side played especially well. The half ended 1-0 for Liverpool.
Liverpool seemed more focused in the second half and had a few chances. But Tottenham and goalkeeper Lloris seemed to be able to hold them off.
(Source: CFCUnofficial (Chelsea Debs) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
At around 60 minutes, Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp brought Divock Origi on for Roberto Firmino. Origi has a history of scoring late in the game and he was able to make it happen once more.
After a corner kick in the 87th minute wasn’t cleared by Tottenham, Origi got off a left-footed shot that just slipped past Lloris and into the goal.
(Source: PAUL ROBINSON [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
When the game finished, Liverpool had won 2-0. This is Liverpool’s sixth Champions League win. But it was the first Champions League win for Liverpool coach Klopp. Recently, Klopp has had a history of getting his teams into finals, only to lose. No doubt he is happy to break that habit.
(Source: Ruaraidh Gillies [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
Since Chelsea won the Europa League, Liverpool will meet them in Istanbul, Turkey on August 14 for the UEFA Super Cup. This will be the first time in the Super Cup’s 44 year history that both teams in the final are English.
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