Liverpool fans honor their team as Liverpool Football Club become the Champions of Europe
The soccer season came to a close with the UEFA Champions League Final hosted at Wanda Metropolitano on June 2, 2019. The two teams, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, had battled for the entire competition to settle in the final. Both teams had astonishing comebacks in the semi-finals that shocked all soccer fans. Ajax beat Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg, but the Spurs came back and defeated Ajax 3-2 in the second leg and advanced on away goals. The same happened to Liverpool. Barcelona FC wrecked Liverpool in the first leg 3-0, but Liverpool had an amazing second leg game and beat Barcelona FC 4-0. While the quarterfinals and semi-finals were very exciting to follow, the final didn’t give a lot of excitement. While both goals were sensational, the majority of the game was static, with both teams not being able to snatch any attacking opportunities.
On June 1st, the string quartet from Ukraine, the Asturia Girls, performed a musical score that would sound all too familiar to football fans waiting for the final. Before the actual game, the American pop band “Imagine Dragons” performed “Believer,” “Thunder,” “Radioactive,” and “On Top of the World” while supported by a display of pyrotechnics and fireworks. Unfortunately, the Spanish footballer and formal Arsenal player, José Antonio Reyes, died in a car accident earlier in the day. Before the kickoff, a moment of silence was given for the late 35-year-old. Damir Skomina, the famous elite referee, refereed this UCL Final. Crazily enough, Tottenham Hotspur conceeded a penalty within 24 seconds of the kickoff, when a pass from Sadio Mané (Liverpool) hit Moussa Sissoko’s (Spurs) arm and chest. Skomina gave Liverpool the penalty and their key player, Mohamed Salah, sent the ball into the back of the net.
With this early goal, fans were sure that this game would be an offensive one. However, that wasn’t the case.
After that penalty, the game became stagnant. There were only passes between the Spurs’ defense. There simply wasn’t any action at all when the halftime whistle sounded. But in the second half, everybody would agree that both teams played way more aggressively. All the shots from the Spurs were saved by the superb goalkeeping shown by Alisson Becker, the Liverpool goalkeeper. The Brazilian goalkeeper clearly worked harder than the French goalkeeper playing for the Spurs, Hugo Lloris, with a total of 8 saves. After a long period of time, a misplaced header from Virgil Van Dijk set up a perfect shot for D. Origi, who stirred the ball into the net with his left foot, just out of the reach of Lloris’ hand. The Liverpool fans went crazy and the Liverpool manager, Juergen Klopp, ran out onto the field and hugged Alisson. The night ended with a 2-0 victory for Liverpool.
Even though Liverpool are the Champions of Europe for 2019, all the teams from the start of the competition showed great performances, and great promise for the future, like the young team Ajax Amsterdam. While Liverpool are the champions this year, other European teams such as Ajax, Barcelona FC, Manchester City, and Tottenham Hotspur show potential to take the trophy from the Reds.
Featured Image – Liverpool’s captain Jordan Henderson lifts the trophy for his team on that special night Photo Courtesy of noulakaz.net
by Isaac Ma