This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool: Champions League final – live!
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool: Champions League final – live!
(32 minutes later)
27 min: A Foul on Mané gives Liverpool a freekick about 35 yards out, bang central. Alexander-Arnold fancies it. But he doesn’t shoot, instead he drops a cross to where he hoped runners would be. But there was no one there.
25 min: A pause in play as Trippier receives treatment after being caught by Robertson. Nothing much to it. By the way, regarding the penalty in the first minute: if they’re going to be giving spotkicks for handballs in that situation - Sissoko could not get out of the way - then expect players to start aiming for opponents’ hands from close range.
24 min: Another Liverpool corner. Another delivery by Alexander-Arnold, this time short to Henderson, who whips it in. Winks heads clear.
23 min: Robertson sends over a fine cross from the left. His counterpart, Rose, does brilliantly to clear it at the backpost. Liverpool are improving ...
22 min: Lloris gets a good punch to Alexander-Arnold’s delivery, which was deposited right on top of the keeper. They appear to have identified the keeper as a weakness.
21 min: Salah scurries infield from the left and swaps passes with Firmino before opening fire from 20 yards. His shot is deflected behind for a corner.
20 min: Spurs are exerting serious pressure around the box now. They’ve got their passing going and are making Liverpool look a little lethargic, as if they scored too early.
19 min: Sissoko does well to get between Robertson and the ball as the Scot flew down the left. Then the Frenchman sees it out of play for a goalkick.
17 min: Fabinho wins the ball in midfield and nudges it to Henderson, who brings Alexander-Arnold into lay. From 30 yards wide on the right the youngster unleashes a stinging low drive, which whistle just past the post.
16 min: It’s quite a slow game at the minute. The onus is on Spurs to do something to discomfort Liverpool but so far they haven’t come up with anything despite having plenty of the ball. But Liverpool would be well advised to do more to get more of the ball.
14 min: Vertonghen sprays a fine 60-yard crossfield pass to Tripper, who knocks it back to Eriksen. The Dane eschews the chance to cross it into the box, where several teammates were waiting, and instead plays it backwards, losing momentum.
12 min: Matip clatters into Kane wide on the right. Not bad enough for a booking, and Spurs waste the freekick.
11 min: Mané wins a corner for Liverpool. Alexander-Arnold delivers. Lloris, surrounded by players, gets a weak punch on it, but a teammate completes the clearances, whacking it way downfield.
9 min: Dangerous dribbling by Son down the left and into the box. Lovely quick feet, almost reminiscent of Moura for his second goal against Ajax. Except that this time Henderson intervenes. When the ball breaks to a Spurs player 25 yards out, Sissoko smashes it high and wide.
8 min: Spurs are having plenty of the ball, as Liverpool decide not to press high and instead lure their opponents forward and try to strike on the counter.
6 min: Alexander-Arnold, the youngest player to start successive finals in the history of the Champions League, does well to dispossess Alli and welly the ball clear.
5 min: Tripper curls an in-swinging corner into the danger zone, where Van Dijk leaps above Veretonghen and heads clear.
4 min: Spurs win a corner after Alli nicks the ball off Alexander-Arnold at the corner of the box.
3 min: If this season’s Champions League has reminded us of anything, it’s that one-goal leads are nothing. Maybe Spurs will let in another two before they’re roused to action ...
The Egyptian hammers it past Lloris, who dived the right way but couldn’t stop it.
What a start! Sissoko unintentionally blocked a pass by Mané with his arm! It hit his chest first and rebounded on to his arm.
1 min: The 2019 Champions League final is go! Liverpool get it going, with Firmino knocking the ball backwards to Van Dijk, who spanks it wide towards the right-hand corner.
Before kickoff, there is a minute’s applause in memory of José-Antonio Reyes, the former Arsenal player who died today in a car accident at the age of 35.
Before kickoff, there is a minute’s applause in memory of José-Antonio Reyes, the former Arsenal player who died today in a car accident at the age of 35.
“I’m at the O’Hare (Chicago) *international* terminal and the restaurant with two TVs is showing a baseball game and horse racing features,” wails Gregory Crawford.
“I’m at the O’Hare (Chicago) *international* terminal and the restaurant with two TVs is showing a baseball game and horse racing features,” wails Gregory Crawford.
The players enter the arena to a soundtrack of the Champions League jingle played live by violinists flanking the exit of the tunnel. When they stop, the crowd roar their approval for everything that is about to take place. It’s nearly on!
The players enter the arena to a soundtrack of the Champions League jingle played live by violinists flanking the exit of the tunnel. When they stop, the crowd roar their approval for everything that is about to take place. It’s nearly on!
The teams are in the tunnel ...
The teams are in the tunnel ...
Fans are complaining of being turned away, despite having genuine tickets, and police heavy handed tactics. 1 LFC fan was hit and pushed by police in front of me. A spurs fan was apprehended by mounted police for allegedly stealing another fan’s ticket. Could get lively tonight.
Fans are complaining of being turned away, despite having genuine tickets, and police heavy handed tactics. 1 LFC fan was hit and pushed by police in front of me. A spurs fan was apprehended by mounted police for allegedly stealing another fan’s ticket. Could get lively tonight.
“My underwear is blue and I am regretting it,” sighs Robert Smith (I always thought he was QPR fan). “I may be commando by the 13th minute if LFC are off to a slow start.” Just like heaven, eh.
“My underwear is blue and I am regretting it,” sighs Robert Smith (I always thought he was QPR fan). “I may be commando by the 13th minute if LFC are off to a slow start.” Just like heaven, eh.
“It’s about 00:17 hrs in Mumbai, India, and my six-month old daughter has decided to stay up and chuckle at the telly,” writes Irshad Daftari. “Well, it’s going to be a long night, either way.”
“It’s about 00:17 hrs in Mumbai, India, and my six-month old daughter has decided to stay up and chuckle at the telly,” writes Irshad Daftari. “Well, it’s going to be a long night, either way.”
“I appreciate Simon McMahon’s support,” announces Matt Dony. “But I’ll level with you; I’m scared. Terrified. Like, amazingly scared. Liverpool proved in the league that they are objectively better than Spurs. But. But. But, it means nothing. It’s a night where I can’t really think for myself, and I have to rely on cliches. Anything could happen. It’s the hope I can’t stand. Argh!!!! Football!!!”
“I appreciate Simon McMahon’s support,” announces Matt Dony. “But I’ll level with you; I’m scared. Terrified. Like, amazingly scared. Liverpool proved in the league that they are objectively better than Spurs. But. But. But, it means nothing. It’s a night where I can’t really think for myself, and I have to rely on cliches. Anything could happen. It’s the hope I can’t stand. Argh!!!! Football!!!”
The atmosphere in the stadium is reaching wonderpoint. It looks close to full and both sets of fans are singing their hearts out. A far, far better vibe than for that Europa League final on Wednesday.
The atmosphere in the stadium is reaching wonderpoint. It looks close to full and both sets of fans are singing their hearts out. A far, far better vibe than for that Europa League final on Wednesday.
Pochettino is asked whether he is sure kane is 100% fit. “Are you serious?” he replies. “We believe and feel that in the last few weeks he was ready to compete. We gave him time to feel the motion and combination and yesterday he confirmed he was ready to play.
Pochettino is asked whether he is sure kane is 100% fit. “Are you serious?” he replies. “We believe and feel that in the last few weeks he was ready to compete. We gave him time to feel the motion and combination and yesterday he confirmed he was ready to play.
Klopp’s take on Kane’s selection: “We expected it. But even if Lucas Moura would have played, the quality is massive that they have up front.”
Klopp’s take on Kane’s selection: “We expected it. But even if Lucas Moura would have played, the quality is massive that they have up front.”
“Even in one family, the Champions League has gone global,” announces Keith Leslie. “I’m watching here in Portland, Oregon, one son is watching in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, while my other son is watching in Kathmandu, Nepal. Our friends glued to their tubes in Seattle, Washington, DC, Bangkok and even balmy England. I’ve been an American Reds fan since the drama of Istanbul and can’t wait for more heroics today!” Very good. I’m sitting in my underwear in my front room.
“Even in one family, the Champions League has gone global,” announces Keith Leslie. “I’m watching here in Portland, Oregon, one son is watching in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, while my other son is watching in Kathmandu, Nepal. Our friends glued to their tubes in Seattle, Washington, DC, Bangkok and even balmy England. I’ve been an American Reds fan since the drama of Istanbul and can’t wait for more heroics today!” Very good. I’m sitting in my underwear in my front room.
“I’m getting ready to watch the final with my three week old daughter,” reveals Kyle Green. “I hope she brings us luck. Come on you Reds!” You do realise that if Liverpool win, you’re now going to have to have a child before every major final they play, right?
“Not that it’s bothered me for the past 35 years, but when Liverpool won Big Cup on penalties in 1984 against Roma, it really should have been Dundee United they were facing,” sobs Simon McMahon. “Imagine that - England v Scotland in the biggest club game in Europe, in the days when you actually had to be league champions to take part. Much to admire about both sides tonight, and may the best team win, though with ex-United lad Andy Robertson a key player, I’m siding with Matt Dony’s Liverpool.”
Public service announcement: “A fan has parked his van in the square where I live in Madrid,” writes Geoffrey Goff. “Can you put out a message to warn him that it will be towed away by the police UNLESS it is moved by 7am local time tomorrow because the square is part of the huge Rastro weekly street market? If you don’t know the area, this is not at all clear… It is a company van owned by [company name redacted in case the van driver didn’t have permission to drive to Madrid in it] from Essex. It must belong to a fan and I’d hate him or her to wake up to the news that their vehicle is in the police pound, especially after driving all the way here! Thanks and I hope someone will see the message who can pass it on…”
“Not that anyone from London or Liverpool cares, but it’s impressive to see seven former Southampton FC players in the Champions League final,” notes Andrew Read. Plus a former Saints manager, of course.
“If Liverpool win I don’t like football anymore and won’t get into a conversation about it,” chirps Oliver Atkinson. “Yours sincerely, a Manchester united fan living about 20 miles south of Liverpool.” I don’t get it: who are Manchester United?
“I loved the email about lucky G&Ts,” yelps Toias Peggs. “I’m doing everything possible or to make the universe pull the same trick again. I’m a Brit in NYC and a long suffering Spurs fan. I happened to be back in England for the semi second leg - and am now sat here in my New York apartment sat in the same shirt, jeans, underwear, socks and shoes I wore on that magical night. Come on universe. And come on your spurs!”
Crystal Palace’s chairman, Steve Parish, is in Madrid today. Surely not negotiating the transfers of Wilf Zaha and Aaron Wan-Bissaka already? Maybe, maybe not, but’s also found some fan’s ticket and told how they can be reunited with it:
If you are part of a family that have lost this ticket we found and left with the Police in the van E7 gate ticket is 11 Sector 10 row 10 Seat 8 #ChampionsLeague2019 #thfc #LFC please RT pic.twitter.com/vNKpkrHYZL
big screen showing highlights of spurs knocking out city. massive cheers from both ends of the stadium
The teams are out limbering up on the pitch. Judging by the sounds, there are ore Liverpool fans in the stadium at the moment than Spurs, because there were loud boos as the north Londoners took to the field.
“Do you have a special Champions League Final routine to limber up your typing fingers or is it business as usual?” inquires Peter Oh. For special occasions like this I only wash my fingers with five-euro bottles of water. So yeah, they’re filthy. “If tonight’s proceedings were a film, I’d call it A Wish Called Wanda, with quality performances, some biting comedy and a happy ending for Liverpool. The loser will feel like they’ve had chips stuffed up their nose. I wonder if the local Atletico fans will be rooting for Liverpool, as Spurs’ white uniform has more than a faint whiff of Real?”
Let’s talk about the goalkeepers. Alisson has very occasional moments of laxity with the ball at his feet but is otherwise immaculate. He clearly gives confidence to his defenders. Hugo Lloris, on the other hand, may has had a sketchy season and a bit. He’s still capable of magnificent saves but also of odd lapses and rash decision-making. It seems silly to stay of a captain who lifted the World Cup last summer and could lift the Champions League today, but he’s a weakness in my book.
“I spent the semi-final return leg in a godawful Premier Inn room in Aintree, probably the only place in Merseyside that night where no-one appeared to be watching the match or, indeed, to be alive,” reveal Phil Sawyer. “I watched it on my laptop drinking cans of warm supermarket gin and tonic and eating cold potato wedges, and it was one of the best nights of my life. So tonight I’ve stocked up on more tins of generic supermarket G&T, and the wedges are already cooling. I reserve the right to run down to Lincoln Travelodge and make an immediate booking if, as I suspect, the Reds are three down at half time.” Admit it, you started tucking into that bargain G&T hours ago.
'We've made a shrine at home' – Liverpool and Tottenham fans, in pictures
'It's the hope that gets you': Spurs and Liverpool fans go head-to-head
Alex Kay-Jelski, sports editor for The Times, has been tweeting about his experience trying to make it to the stadium. “Spanish police scarily aggressive. Towards kids too. Creating trouble, not helping with anything #ucl. They’ll literally pushing people who are just walking down the street. Massively aggressive. I’ll be amazed if all fans in ground in time for KO. Being funneled into single file up against railings. Dangerous.”
A disturbing dispatch from a man in the stadium: “Hello Paul, it’s a disgrace in the Liverpool end - five euro for water,” emails Kris Pugh. “Everyone has been on the ale all day. Been debating with the staff they weren’t bothered.” That’s outrageous exploitation.
So Kane starts, as does Harry Winks, who has also been out of action since for the last seven weeks. Pochettino is going for it. That augurs well for the spectacle. For what it’s worth, if it’s going to be a ding-dong, I foresee Liverpool winning, possibly like in the emphatic style of old.
Liverpool have posted their starting lineup on their official twitter thing. Looks like Wijnaldum’s heroics off the bench agaisnt Barça have got him back into the XI. Good.
“Imagine boarding a plane for a three-hour flight to London RIGHT NOW,” sniffs Sam. “I don’t even support either team but the frustration is immense. My Gooner wife seems to be quite content to have her head in the clouds for a bit though.”
Spurs players are out having a stroll around the pitch, trying to familiarise themselves with the surrounds. But there are only a couple of thousand fans in their at the moment - no doubt the other 60,000 still have their snouts in plastic pint glasses. This place is going to feel very different come kickoff.
“I figure this is appropriate given both side’s rocky road to the final, and in tribute to one of the most spine-tingling voices to jump out of a set of stereo speakers,” croons Grant Tennille. “As a Gooner I can assure you I’ll be listening to their cover of ‘Baby Blue’ should things go pear-shaped for Liverpool. It’s on!”
Here come Liverpool in their bright red bus. As if to demonstrate that European finals are run of the mill to them, they’re all wearing tracksuit and trainers, including Klopp. No shirts and ties for them. They’re full of smiles and japes as they make their way to the dressing room, too. If your thinking is guided by body language, then expect Liverpool to make the more vibrant start.
How a gut decision began Jürgen Klopp’s managerial rollercoaster | Andy Hunter
The Spurs’ bus has arrived at the stadium. Pochettino and his players disembark and stride stone-faced towards the dressing room in smart black suits, shirts and ties. Guess Poch picked the outfits.
Firewalking and arrows: how Pochettino has prepared Tottenham | David Hytner
Talking of penalty shootout, that’s something we certainly have to factor into our pre-match thoughts: because English teams don’t do emphatic victories in European Cup finals. Manchester United and Liverpool got things off to a misleading start with a 4-1 victory (1968) and 3-1 victory (1977) respectively. None of the English victories since then have been by more than one goal, and the last three have been through shootouts.
Team selection pickle: Pochettino has a big call to make in his starting lineup: does he or doesn’t he start Kane? There are rumours that he has plumped for the England striker and decided to drop Lucas Moura to the bench. For what it’s worth, I’d have gone the other way on the basis that Moura’s speed and mobility are more likely to trouble Liverpool’s defence than Kane and also, if Kane starts he is unlikely to finish, given he has not played at all since suffering injury in the first leg of the quarter-final against Man City on April 9. So he probably won’t be taking a penalty if it goes that far.
Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah meet as icons craving their first taste of nirvana | Barney Ronay
A quick reminder that the Video Assistant Referee will be in use today. At least that is the plan and let’s hope things don’t go awry like they did in yesterday’s African Champions League final second leg. VAR was supposed to be used in that, too, and would have been of tremendous benefit to Wydad Casablanca after their equaliser against Espérance was chalked off for an incorrect offside. But despite intense lobbying by Wydad staff and players, the referee refused to consult Var – apparently because he couldn’t: the company that provides the technology claimed they told organisers before the game that airlines had lost some of their equipment in transit so Var would not be operational for the match, a detail that the organisers allegedly did not disclose to the teams beforehand. So after the non-goal, play was stopped as players and officials argued on the pitch and sidelines for an hour and a half before Wydad announced they had no faith in the organisers and would not play. So Espérance won on a walkover. Let’s have none of that carry-on today please!
Fans are starting to filter into the stadium. Here are some shots of them enjoying themselves around Madrid:
Here’s Danny Taylor on what victory for either team might mean:
Liverpool and Spurs face off for a priceless route past the velvet rope | Daniel Taylor
We’ve been catching up with Spurs and Liverpool fans ahead of the big day:
‘We are so close to glory it hurts’: Liverpool and Spurs fans in Madrid
'We drove for 24 hours solid': Spurs and Liverpool fans descend on Madrid
'It's the hope that gets you': Spurs and Liverpool fans go head-to-head
Let’s begin with the latest news and video from Friday’s press conferences:
Harry Winks fit and ready to live his boyhood dream for Tottenham
We will by judged on trophies, admits Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp
Hello and welcome to coverage of the 64th European Cup/Champions League final, the ninth featuring Liverpool and the very first one with Tottenham Hotspur. Not many people expected Mauricio Pochettino’s team to make it this far but now that they are here, thanks to two of the most dramatic victories in the tournament’s history – first over Manchester City and then over Ajax – they intend to make off with the big prize. Just imagine! Tottenham: European champions despite not being English champions since 1961, back when Elvis’s Wooden Heart was top of the hit parade!
For now, though, that is still just a wild dream for Spurs, and Liverpool intend to make sure it stays that way. They have been authors of some spectacular dramas themselves this season – just ask Lionel Messi – and they want this trophy badly. They came agonisingly close to lifting it last season, just as they came agonisingly close to lifting the Premier League this season, and they will be distraught if they do not leave Madrid today as kings of Europe for a sixth time. But not for one second will Jürgen Klopp’s men be anticipating a straightforward win.
It matters not a jot that Liverpool have already beaten Spurs twice this season en route to finishing 28 points above them on the domestic front. Sure, Liverpool know they can hurt Spurs but they and we are also well aware that Spurs have the tools to trouble them. This battle promises to be a belter. There are many, many ways it could be decided and many wonderful players who will play roles in tilting it one way or the other.
In a few hours the old big-eared trophy will be heading to an English city beginning with L but for now we can’t say more than that other than (1) don’t get your hopes up, Lincoln, and (2) Bring It On! Kick-off is at 8pm, BST.
