Holiday mood in Paris
The day had started harmlessly. At 20 degrees, tens of thousands of Liverpool fans sang and drank themselves warm at noon. The hit of the party on the Cours de Vincennes in the east of the city was the Klopp song: “Im so glad, Jurgen is a Red” to the Beatles melody of “I Feel Fine”. 200 Real Ultras took the ship across the Seine and lit Bengal fire in front of the Eiffel Tower.
The game then quickly became fast-paced. Klopp was still relatively calm at the line while his side struggled for control and seemed more determined. Mohamed Salah (16th) had the first good chance of falling, Sadio Mane, who was hotly traded at Bayern Munich, only hit the inside post (21st) because Courtois reacted terrificly for the first time.
Benzema, Benzema again and again
On the other side, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk kept the Real offensive on a short leash, and the 2014 world champion Kroos didn’t calm down at first, but later played safely as usual. The through passes to super scorer Karim Benzema or Vinicius were initially intercepted, Liverpool recorded 8-0 shots on goal.
Nevertheless: After half an hour, the royals had arrived in the final, they spread the game better. After minutes of video evidence, referee Clement Turpin (France) denied a curious ping-pong goal by Benzema because he was offside (45′).
Statistically, both teams could easily persuade each other that they hoped for the title. Real had won their last seven premier class finals – but also lost for the last time in 1981: against Liverpool. In Paris. This time St. Petersburg had been deprived of the final because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Paris stepped in with the Stade de France.
The Reds fans continued to push their team forward after the break. This time Madrid was awake from the start and built on the good final phase of the first half, but goal danger continued to radiate almost exclusively from Liverpool, Trent Alexander-Arnold was a constant source of unrest. Carlo Ancelotti therefore hit his chewing gum hard with his jaw – but then the Real coach cheered: Vinicius Junior actually scored the first shot on goal.
It was a salvation for Los Blancos. All of the colleagues rushed towards Vinicius, and the substitutes ran onto the pitch as if insane and celebrated the Brazilian. Klopp and Liverpool were challenged, they went ahead after a short shock phase – but Courtois parried three more times in a private duel against Salah (64th/69th/82nd). Real didn’t take advantage of the counterattack opportunities, which kept Liverpool in the game until the end.
Klopp: There will be celebrations on Sunday anyway
The mood in the dressing room was “very modest”, said Jürgen Klopp after the defeat at DAZN. “I can already see that we played a great season, it will take a while for the boys.”
After “a night’s sleep and maybe another speech from me, they should celebrate,” Klopp said a little later during the press conference. The season with two titles is to be celebrated in Liverpool on Sunday. “Even if nobody on the planet understands that we’re making a save, we’re going to make one. And I hope everyone who has time in Liverpool comes.”
“We just didn’t make it in two competitions, with the smallest gap that’s actually possible,” said Klopp, who had to cede the championship in England to Manchester City with his team last weekend. “Of course we can’t be accused of anything, what’s the crap?” Liverpool have won both domestic cup competitions this season.