Mohamed Salah scored one of the
fastest ever goals in a Champions League final and Divock Origi struck late as
Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in Madrid and won the trophy for the sixth
time. Less than two minutes had been played when Salah smashed in his spot-kick
after Moussa Sissoko had been penalized for a handball in the area.
A disappointing final never truly
got going after that, but Liverpool will not care, as they saw Alisson Becker
make several confident saves in the latter stages before substitute Origi
drilled in the killer second in the 87th minute. That led to an explosion of
joy from their supporters inside the Metropolitano Stadium as Jurgen Klopp's
side made up for their defeat in last year's final against Real Madrid and the
deflation of missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City.
Salah has his redemption after
injury ruined his night against Real in Kiev and the revered Klopp has his
first trophy as Liverpool manager, three and a half years on from his arrival
at the club. The German ends a run of six straight defeats in finals. More
importantly, Liverpool has their sixth European Cup, further cementing their
status as one of football's most storied clubs.
They
now have more than Barcelona or Bayern Munich, and twice as many as their great
rivals Manchester United. Perhaps the occasion was just too much for Tottenham
in their first-ever appearance in the Champions League final. Beating Liverpool
was always going to be a big ask, and they have now lost all three meetings
with these opponents this season, winning just one of their last 15 encounters.
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