In years to
come, this Real Madrid team will not remember the details of how it
moved from mere greatness to genuine legend, of how it etched its name
in history alongside the very best club teams soccer has ever produced.
They will not matter.
Like the
Ajax of Johan Cruyff, the Bayern Munich of Franz Beckenbauer and the
Real Madrid of Alfredo di Stefano, this is now a team that has won the
European Cup three times in a row. In 2016, it saw off Atletico Madrid
on penalties, in 2017, Juventus, in a 4-1 romp; and now, in 2018, a 3-1
win against Liverpool. That is what counts — the victory, the trophy,
the glory — for a club that measures its worth in silver and in gold.
They are what will remain:
everything else will fade. True, the second of its three goals will be
talked about for some time, whenever an argument emerges about the best
goal scored in the Champions League final. Gareth Bale’s gravity-defying
overhead kick merits a place alongside the volley scored by his
manager, Zinedine Zidane, in 2002 final. It was a goal worthy of a place
in history.
The other
two, though, will not feature much in Madrid’s collective memory. They
will, however, haunt Liverpool — and Loris Karius, its goalkeeper — for
some time. One mistake, in a game of this size, would have been
harrowing enough; to make two, and for them to prove so decisive, may be
too much for Karius to bear.
The first
was scarcely believable, the German goalkeeper rolling the ball on to
Karim Benzema’s foot and then watching, horror-stricken, as the ball
trickled over the line. A few minutes later, Sadio Mané equalized for
Liverpool; Karius, more than most, owed him a debt of gratitude.
If there
was little he could do about Bale’s first strike, he might certainly
have stopped the Welshman’s second, the one that finished the game, a
long range effort that Karius misjudged and wafted into the goal. From
that moment on, Real’s place in history was secure. Karius’s ignominy,
too. At the end, he lay on the floor, face down, a picture of misery. It
was two Real Madrid players, Nacho Hernandez and Marco Asensio, who
went to him first, to try to offer some solace. The gesture was kind;
the effect, surely, minimal.
That is not
the only what if that will linger with Liverpool: so, too, the question
of what might have happened had Mohamed Salah, its star, not been
forced off with an injury sustained in a tussle with Sergio Ramos — the
latter very much doing most of the tussling — after 30 minutes. Before
that, Liverpool was in the ascendancy; after, its confidence drained,
Real grew in belief, its sheer confidence enough to carry it over the
line, for the third time in three years, to victory, and to history.
The Final Whistle: Real Madrid 3, Liverpool 1
Gareth
Bale’s two goals off the bench — one a wonder, the other a blunder —
gave Real Madrid a 3-1 victory in the Champions League final on
Saturday.
The victory
was Madrid’s third in a row in the tournament, a feat unseen in the
competition since Bayern Munich won three consecutive European Cups from
1974-76. It gave Madrid 13 titles over all, extending its Champions
League record, and four in the past five years.
Liverpool,
playing in the final for the first time since 2007, lost its star
striker Mohamed Salah to a shoulder injury in the first half hour, and
while it gave a game effort — tying the score at 1-1 early in the second
half — Real Madrid’s relentlessness and unmatched depth simply wore
them down.
Poor Karius
You really
have to salute Bale, who has scored two wonderful goals in yet another
Champions League final. But you also have to feel for Loris Karius, a
24-year-old German who wrested the starting job away from Simon Mignolet
this season.
It’s tough to live down a gigantic mistake in a Champions League final. Imagine what it’ll be like to live with two of them.
He Just .... Dropped It
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL DO REAL! Bale
Real Madrid 3x1 Liverpool
Bale arriscou de longe e Karius aceitou... Real Madrid 3x1 Liverpool
Oh Dear: Another Karius Mistake
Bale tries a
what-the-heck attempt from about 35 yards on the right, and the
knuckling ball slips right through the hands of Karius. No other way to
say it: that’s an all-time howler, a blunder that may have cost
Liverpool the Champions League title.
It’s 3-1 Madrid in the 82nd minute, but you just get the sense that was the dagger that delivered Madrid’s third straight title.
Mané off the Post!
Mané is
rolling over, and neither is Liverpool. His left-footed shot beats Navas
butpings the left post. He’s got his hands on his head, and so do many
of Liverpool’s fans.
I Mean, C’Mon.
Bale did this on purpose. He launched himself into the air thinking, Yeah, this’ll work.
Gareth Bale with one of the best goals in Champions League history!. #ChampionsLeagueFinal #RealMadrid
The perfect response! Sadio Mane nets his 10 UCL goal of the season to bring Liverpool level. #UCLfinal
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