The Sunday Times - UK (2022-05-29)

2 May 29, 2022The Sunday Times

Football Champions League

JORDAN 6/10

HENDERSON

31, English

Took up clever

positions on the

right in tandem

with Salah.

Also worked

hard

defensively.

TOTAL

72/110

Substitutes Diogo Jota (for

Díaz 65min, 5), Naby Keïta

(for Henderson 77), Roberto

Firmino (for Thiago 77)

ANDREW 6/10

ROBERTSON

28, Scottish

Caught upfield

when Valverde

broke down right to

deliver the cross

from which

Vinícius Júnior

scored.

LUIS 6/10

DÍAZ

25, Colombian

Real defended

deeply so there

was little space

for forward to

run in behind.

Replaced by

Jota late on.

VIRGIL 7/10

VAN DIJK

30, Dutch

The direct battle

between

Dutchman and

Benzema

rarely

materialised.

Not troubled.

SADIO 7/10

MANÉ

30, Senegalese

Dropped into the

space between

Real’s defence

and midfield

and caused

problems. Hit

post with shot.

IBRAHIMA 7/10

KONATÉ

23, French

Selected for his

pace and ability

to cover.

Some

anxious

moments,

but did well.

MOHAMED 7/10

SALAH

29, Egyptian

Had several

shots on his

revenge mission

for the 2018

final but

Courtois was

equal to them.

ALISSON 6/10

BECKER

Age 29 Nationality Brazilian

Was always alert

to Real’s

attempts to play

a long ball

over the top.

No chance

with the goal.

FABINHO 7/10

28, Brazilian

With Benzema

staying up top,

Fabinho was

usually free

and had time

to think on the

ball. Booked.

TRENT 6/10

ALEXANDER-ARNOLD

23, English

Was unaware of

Vinícius Júnior

at the back post

for the goal.

Up to then a

real menace

in attack.

THIAGO 7/10

ALCANTARA

31, Spanish

Looked like he

had a fitness test

in the warm-up,

with physios

anxiously

monitoring

him. Subbed.

ality Brazilian

rt

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LIVERPOOL

PLAYER

RATINGS

By Paul Joyce

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I

t’s their trophy, it’s his competi-

tion, and all the rest are just pre-

tenders when it comes to the

Champions League. That’s how it

seems: Real Madrid, Carlo Ancel-

otti, rulers of Europe again. There

are few Liverpool yield to in

terms of history, but they had to

in Paris, on a taut evening at the end of

which they were losing finalists to

their opposition for the second time in

four years.

And Real Madrid were victors again

— for a 14th time. And Ancelotti had

immortalised himself — the first man-

ager to win the Champions League

four times and indeed a six-times win-

ner, when you include his two victo-

ries with AC Milan as a player.

Madrid deserved it. For Liverpool

that was as harsh as anything, given

their superior possession, their 24

shots to Real Madrid’s three, and the

typical courage and effort they

showed in the game. However, sport

often comes down to whose strategy is

more decisive — and Madrid executed

Ancelotti’s counterattacking game

plan with an efficiency that eluded

Jürgen Klopp’s team when it was their

turn to get to scoring positions.

Madrid almost scored just before

half-time, after soaking up Liverpool

then striking with a lethal break. Only

the very fine margins of VAR ruled out

Karim Benzema’s ‘goal’ for offside.

But, in the 59th minute, came a goal

that stood and which was Real Madrid

in a nutshell: the most canny, cruelly-

lethal counter-punchers since Muha-

mad Ali came off the ropes to drop

George Foreman in Zaire. Liverpool

had plodded forward, taking the game

to the opposition, as they did for most

of the evening but lost possession and

Real Madrid broke on them.

With Dani Carvajal charging up to

join Federico Valverde Madrid sud-

Salah touch teed up Alexander-Arnold

but he blazed over. A few minutes

later, Mané received the ball and

twisted away from Eder Militao to turn

and reverse a terrific low shot towards

the far corner of Courtois’ net. It

seemed destined to go in but, with

great reflexes, Courtois got down and

across to touch it onto the post.

Salah headed straight at Courtois

from Alexander-Arnold’s cross and

Henderson whistled a shot close but,

with half-time approaching, like a

boxer coming off the ropes, Real

Madrid launched a sudden, stinging

attack. David Alaba lofted a long diag-

onal to where Karim Benzema was

peeling intelligently into space in the

box. Benzema controlled but, unchar-

acteristically caught in two minds,

fluffed his next touch allowing Konaté

to intercept. Konaté had things under

control but Alisson was spooked,

lunged in and knocked the ball away

from his defender. Fabinho slid for it

with Federico Valverde and Fabinho

knocked it to Benzema, who was in an

offside position when he slotted in.

There was a very long and, for Liv-

erpool, very nervous VAR check

before it was decided that before Fab-

inho’s touch, Valverde had played the

ball, rendering Benzema in an illegal

position. It showed just how canny,

just how dangerous, Real Madrid were

and the second half began with them

absorbing more of that Liverpool pos-

session until their foes got frustrated.

Diaz, Salah, even Thiago were twitchy

on occasions when they needed to be

calm in attacking positions and tem-

pers went when Eder Militao pulled

Diaz down on top of him then success-

fully presented it as a foul, to the Clem-

ent Turpin, the French referee.

Then Vinicius Jr struck and though,

soon after, Salah hit a fine, curling shot

from the edge of the box, Courtois was

up to it. In the 68th minute, when

Diogo Jota — who was on for Díaz —

headed back across goal and Salah

tried to score at the far post, Courtois

was up to it again.

And that was Real Madrid, these

perennial, magnificent champions –

up to it against Klopp’s more fancied

team.

denly had an overload on the flank

and, found by Casemiro, Valverde

drove into the box with defenders

backing off. Virgil Van Dijk was among

those slow to engage the Uruguayan,

who played the ball through his legs to

send it to the far post where Vinicius Jr

timed his run expertly to stay onside

as he got behind Trent Alexander-Ar-

nold. Then, with poise, the young Bra-

zilian side footed in.

Uefa’s initial announcement put the

delayed start down to “the late arrival

of fans” – a shameful attempt to shift

blame. Supporters who got off trains

at the stadium station a whole three

hours before kick-off were among

those who struggled to get in. That

said, there were also reports of sup-

porters without tickets adding to the

chaos by trying to get in.

When the teams finally lined up –

with fans booing the Uefa anthem –

Thiago Alcântara was in Liverpool’s

ranks. Nursing an achilles issue, the

midfielder had warmed up with a

physio away from other players and

was then seen deep in talks with his

potential replacement, Naby Keita,

prompting speculation he would be

pulled out of the game, despite being

on Liverpool’s team sheet. But there

he was, when the match began, those

socks down, that sauntering mien, set-

ting Liverpool’s tempo with soft-

footed passes.

The opening spell was all about Liv-

erpool possession and Real Madrid’s

game plan, which was to absorb it and

counterattack. Ancelotti had his men

lurk in a compact 4-5-1, and wait for a

Liverpool error, then look for a quick

ball to release Vinicius Jr.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold often

advanced, there was space in behind

to exploit and Liverpool looked vul-

nerable when Vinicius Jr sped down

the flank, onto a through ball, after

Luis Diaz gave it away. Yet Ibrahima

Konaté powered across and, nerve-

lessly, picked it off the Brazilian’s feet

and then had the confidence to drive

upfield, into Real Madrid’s half.

A theme among Liverpool players

in pre-match teamtalks is: ‘which one

of us is going to set the tone today?’ –

and the team’s youngest player had

TOP-CLASS COURTOIS

Courtois

Mendy Alaba Carvajal

Vinícius

Junior

Valverde

Militão

Kroos Casemiro Modric

Benzema

4-3-3

Alisson

Alexander- Konaté Robertson

Arnold

Salah Díaz

Fabinho

Mané

Van Dijk

Henderson Thiago

4-3-3

01

LIVERPOOL REAL MADRID

Vinícius Júnior 59

JONATHAN

NORTHCROFT

Football Correspondent

At Stade de France

0

The number of

shots on target

Real Madrid had

before Vinícius

Jr scored in the

59th minute

done it. 15 cat-and-mouse minutes

gave way to Liverpool seizing the initi-

ative and for the next quarter-hour,

Real were hanging on.

Found beautifully by Thiago, Jor-

dan Henderson – who became the first

Englishman to captain a team in three

European Cup finals – poked a clever

ball to Alexander-Arnold, who drib-

bled into the area and shaped to shoot

before squaring to Salah and Courtois

had to drop quickly to save Salah’s

first-time shot. Then, quick, percep-

tive interplay between Díaz, Andy

Robertson and Sadio Mané, there was

a shooting chance for Salah and

though Courtois saved the cleanness

and confidence of Salah’s strike

encouraged notions that it could be

an evening where he’d take revenge,

for Sergio Ramos bashing him out of

the 2018 final.

A nimble Mané pass and lovely