SAINT-DENIS (VG) (Liverpool – Real Madrid 0-1) He “wrestled” in the previous final against Real Madrid, and also this time his long sleeves relentlessly stopped Mohamed Salah (29).
But unlike former Real Madrid goalkeeper Sergio Ramos’ grip on Salah and left him injured and crying from the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv during the Champions Final four years ago, no one can accuse Thibaut Courtois of stealing at Saint-Denis on Saturday night.
That Belgian is for good for Salah, for many years one of the best players in the world. Eight of Liverpool’s eight chances were stopped by the man two meters from Genk. He went down right and left – and with a winning hand, foot and skull, Courtois avoided six pure chances just from Liverpool’s Egyptian sovereign.
Thus he never took revenge from the last defeat for the same club in 2018, and Liverpool had to repeat the 2001 company with three titles (two in the cup and one in Europe).
– That can happen. It was a world class save, to be honest. The goalkeeper was brilliant and was named the best on the pitch, which says a lot about the game. It’s not about «Mo», it’s about us as a team and unfortunately today we couldn’t score, Jordan Henderson answered VG’s question about how can the team’s best finisher get so many chances without getting the ball into the net.
Liverpool from time to time went to extremes in closing behind in finals under Jürgen Klopp, and until Vinícius Juniors’ winning goal at the Stade de France played more than four half-finals without retreating. But also at the opposite end, the scouts have been cooking donuts. The three finals in 2022 – which resulted in two trophies and one defeat – all ended goalless for Liverpool.
With the exception of the 5-2 win with Borussia Dortmund over Bayern in 2012 and the 2-0 win over Tottenham in 2019, Klopp’s side in the coach’s 12 finals have scored just zero or one goal.
– They scored, we didn’t. That’s the simplest explanation in the world of football. It’s hard to accept, but we have to respect it. And goalkeepers are the best on the pitch, said Jürgen Klopp at a press conference at the Stade de France after midnight.
He highlighted three great chances and thought they were world-class saves from Real Madrid. And he showed that it was about an inch in a situation where Salah muzzled with a velvet foot, floated past Ferland Mendy and shot with his right foot into the far corner. But even there Courtois had the ball.
– We know how often “Mo” scores in that situation. It’s a unique save, Klopp believes.
The Liverpool players come in black and are broken down one by one through the press zone. Mohamed Salah never appeared to talk about the recent failure. In recent months, he has won the league cup and FA cup, but also lost the African Championship final on penalties, sucked the Premier League title in the final draw and now the Champions League final.
Team captain Henderson tried to convey the feeling of the dressing room.
– Still hard to put it in, how the match in the end. It’s hard to talk about. We had three or four very good chances but Cortous made a world-class save. Hopefully we get a good rest to process what happened this season, concluded Henderson.
– I think maybe the most important thing was on Mané, where I had to hit him at the post, it was very difficult. I had to “push” and use my two yards to get there, and I had to turn around quickly to catch a return, today’s man Courtois replied at a press conference about which of his nine saves was technically the best.
After that, he came through the press zone in a suit, but like all his team-mates, he also wore the Real Madrid shirt with the number 14 on his back. European specialist title number 14 in the Series Winners’ Cup / Champions League will be marked.
It was made in a sensational way, even for giants Real Madrid. The club opened the tournament at home by breaking 1-2 to Sheriff of Moldova Tiraspol in the group stage and then chasing opponents through both quarter-finals (3-2 overall against PSG), quarter-finals (5-4 against Chelsea) and semi-finals (6- 5 against Manchester City).
No wonder David Alaba allowed himself to decorate the Real Madrid uniform by attaching a black tie to his collar. While Luka Modric spent so much time in interviews that his daughter finally stepped in and asked dad to stop working, Toni Kroos smiled in German while his son waited patiently in the background.
Along with goalkeepers Casemiro (30), Kroos (32) and Modric (36) have filled the midfield through Real Madrid’s last four finals. All he won. But it’s questionable whether the road to the trophy is longer than ever this year – through an indecisive knockout stage and a final in which Liverpool did everything but score.
– I have doubts, but not the players. The players believe and believe and believe. Tactically we played very well. Liverpool put us under pressure and got a lot of shots but we handled it well, Carlo Ancelotti told a news conference if he ever doubted whether they would win their 14th title in their 17 finals in the most prestigious European Cup.
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