TEN THOUGHTS ABOUT THE 2018 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
Sean O'Conor
1. GOLIATH BEAT DAVID
The old master beat the young pretender. He usually does.
There was no nirvana, no fairytale ending to the odyssey from Merseyside to the Ukraine taken by the red-shirted thousands channelling the spirit of Shankly and JFT96 to the chords of You'll Never Walk Alone and the Fields of Athenry (Anfield Road).
The Liverpool supporters who had paid an arm and a leg, seen their flights cancelled in horror, had entry denied at the Polish border and even found promised tickets had vanished upon arrival yet still made it to the stadium in Kiev to be a part of a historic happening, just ended up being part of a tragedy instead.
Both Real and Liverpool exhibit Pavlovian reflexes to the mention of the European Champions Cup, a trophy both clubs feel somehow belongs to them, like the America's Cup does to the US in sailing.
When it comes to statistics, then Real have much the greater claim to it, with 13 wins.
But the Reds have probably the greater emotional attachment, as Liverpool is the most effusive city in Britain and possibly in the world of football too.
Carried to Kiev with a tsunami of hope in their hearts, Liverpool fans felt the strength of their collective passion was enough to usher their team to victory.
But all the Scouse attempts to manipulate fate through cosmic ordering came a cropper.
Yet Sergio Ramos' arm wrestle on Mohamed Salah and Loris Karius' double nightmare should not make us forget the abiding truth: Real were the better side.
That does not mean they deserved to win or that natural justice was done, merely that the odds were stacked against a Red victory from the start.
Real's back four, aided by their solid defensive midfielder Casemiro, were just too mean, too tight, too savvy and too well-drilled to allow Liverpool to steamroll them like they had swarmed over their previous opponents.
Liverpool had played the most exciting football in the competition on the way to the final, but fell awkwardly and painfully at the last hurdle.
Their fans and players' anguish was personified by Salah, who visibly invoked God on the field as he always does before kick off, but collapsed in agony with his shoulder blade twisted and his dreams shattered.
The way he was muscled out of the game by the sly Señor Ramos was a scandal on a par with Hungary kicking Pelé out of the 1966 World Cup.
Yet added to that, the fact the accursed Karius in effect gifted not one but two goals to the opposition was a Hardyesque twist of fate no Liverpool player or supporter deserved.
How could anyone, anywhere have foreseen such a double howler on the big night? Fate is not just unpredictable but sometimes excessively cruel to boot.
2. THE CUP WAS REAL'S TO LOSE
The factors for Real victory were stacked up before kick off.
Zinedine Zidane's team had won the Champions League for the previous two seasons and the nucleus of that team had been at the Bernabeu for yonks: Luka Modric for six years, Cristiano Ronaldo for almost a decade, Marcelo for 11 seasons and Ramos for 13.
Against that realm of telepathy, Liverpool was still a mere spring chicken, a work in progress and a band of youthful brothers still learning a common language.
When it came to the substitutes' bench, the chasm was clearer: Real could bring on Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio while Liverpool's subs were the less than match-sharp Emre Can and Adam Lallana, neither of whom could hold a candle to the Welshman when it came to game-changing.
Indeed, Real's squad had a total transfer value of €963 million versus Liverpool's €549 million, a less than fair fight from the off.
It really needed a dreadful show from the holders for Liverpool to win and Real did not actually impress that much.
They were on the backfoot for the opening twenty minutes and later gave away a goal; in previous rounds against Bayern Munich and Juventus the whites had been second best too but advanced on aggregate.
Winning while playing badly is an oft-forgotten mark of a true champion.
3. LIVERPOOL LOST THE MIND GAME
Football matches have phases which are often hard for a side to control.
So while Liverpool were clearly the more positive side for the opening twenty minutes, attempting in vain as it turned out to repeat their Anfield power-play demolitions of Manchester City and Roma, their tactics did not triumph because they conceded the mental space to Real.
Where in Kiev was the spirit of Istanbul where Liverpool had overturned a much larger 3-0 deficit to win the Champions League under Rafael Benitez?
Salah's cruel exit from the contest certainly changed the game but Liverpool were still good enough to equalise and hit the post. Yet once their Egyptian talent had left the field, their phase of power-play attacking left the show too.
But they did not lose a man like Arsenal did in the 2006 final so why did their collective heads drop? Had they put too much faith in the Scouse Pharoah working his wonders to contemplate victory without him; if so then how strong was their team spirit in reality?
In losing 3-1, Klopp's men only repeated their scoreline to Sevilla in the 2016 Europa League final.
As with Mohamed Ali's winning tactic in the Rumble in the Jungle, the king (Real) was winning the mental battle while apparently losing the physical one, letting the young pretender punch himself out, before sending him on his way with a sucker punch once he had boxed himself tired.
4. SUBSTANCE BEAT STYLE
Four out of the last five and three consecutive Champions League victories is proof enough of Real's greatness but their flair-free recipe is winning over few neutrals, who were willing Liverpool to repeat the onslaught which had demolished Manchester City and Roma in a blitz of Anfield goals.
After another clinically efficient capture of the European Cup, questions are still being asked why Real seem so well, everyday in their football.
People are still pining for Pep Guardiola's Barcelona and see Zidane's Real as breaking a tradition of great footballing dynasties sporting attractive playing styles - Total Football, Tiki-Taka, 1980's Liverpool, Arrigo Sacchi's Milan etc.
Real's style by contrast is bland, flat and polished-workmanlike, yet annoyingly effective.
They do the basics well, pass crisply and quickly to feet - how often does one hear the smack of leather on leather as they circulate the ball?
They hit diagonal balls to turn defences and then move the ball into the danger zone where the fast-moving Ronaldo and predator Karim Benzema can pounce.
They rely less and less on individual wizardry from Bale and Ronaldo and more on solid attackers like Isco and Asensio to get the ball into the net.
Their best players are their three orchestrators - Marcelo, Modric and Ramos and the key is probably Marcelo, who spends an awful amount of time in the last third getting behind the opposition right back, linking the attack with killer passes.
His offensive effectiveness more than makes up for his frequent defensive lapses: Eliminate him, pressure Ramos who leads from the back and Modric who conducts through the middle and you might have a chance of beating Real.
Casemiro and Toni Kroos will never win legions of fans because they only do the mopping up and water-carrying but those are necessary jobs. The other unsung hero is Benzema, who opened the scoring in Kiev and lacks the star factor but is a complete striker.
Real are not huge gegen-pressers or counter-attackers; they keep possession and eschew balls into space or the channels and are also blessed with some talented individuals to paper over any cracks.
In an era where scoring on the break has become such a weapon of choice, the fact Europe's finest plays more in tune with the 1990's makes their dominance doubly impressive.
Liverpool have the scant consolation of being the most stylish team in the tournament as Monaco and PSG were the season before, neither of whom made the final.
5. 90 MINUTES HURT LIVERPOOL
Two-legged ties are often loaded in the favour of the team who plays second or who can call upon a cauldron of a home ground as a 12th man.
So a one-off match in a neutral ground with equal numbers of opposing fans should therefore be a level playing field. But Liverpool missed Anfield more than Real did the Bernabeu.
Home and away legs would have allowed Jurgen Klopp's men to repeat their Anfield surge and pile up the goals. Outside that environment they failed to work their magic, despite their best attacking efforts.
6. HAVE A WORD WITH RAMOS
Whether you think Ramos intentionally tried to dislocate Salah's shoulder or not, and it should be noted that pundits Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard opined at half time that it was probably an accident, the evidence of his play-acting to get Sadio Mane cautioned and his elbow into Karius' head suggest otherwise.
Once more the debate over 'Latin' gamesmanship reared its head. Stan Collymore for one defended Ramos for being a 'ruthless winner' the like of which most fans would want in their side. The Egyptian lawsuit against him should be an interesting space to watch.
The Andalusian-born defender understandably has been a focus of much Merseyside wrath as it would seem wrong for Scousers to uniquely blame Karius who was simply inept, not Machiavellian, and at the end of the day he is one of their own.
Ramos is a past master in the dark arts, of course, but one should not blame the officials for not spotting his gamesmanship, which included faking an injury and elbowing Karius in the head. The best thieves have perfected the art of not getting caught in the act.
There is an argument for VAR to address such incidents but we have only just begun to take that road.
All the same, cheating must be eradicated where it can be.
7. IS KLOPP CLAPPED OUT?
Forget the rock star, he is a serial loser: One win in seven finals and counting.
Extremely likeable though he is, the Mainz native's record just does not stack up against the best coaches in the game. How many more chances does he need or will he get?
There is surely a danger in over-eulogizing Klopp, who occupies an adulatory chapter in Simon Critchley's acclaimed new work What We Think About When We Think About Football for instance.
Remember the way his Borussia Dortmund side took the game to their more favoured opponents Bayern Munich in the 2013 final, playing on the front foot and attacking relentlessly, but crucially failing to find the net? Plus ça change.
He might have brought 'gegenpressing' into the footballing lexicon but could he not also bring a cup or two into the Anfield trophy room?
If you don't win cups or leagues then you are quite literally not a winner.
8. THE EXPERTS WERE WRONG AGAIN
Billed as a tale of two superstars - one well established in Ronaldo, the other almost there in Salah, the evening passed with neither of the leading men making any waves.
Ronaldo looked a little bit off the pace and at times peripheral, missed a brace of goalscoring chances and had his thunder stolen by a pair of wonder goals by super sub Bale, who used his cameo to issue an international post-match advertisement for his services, having had enough of brooding in the shadow of the CR7 brand and Zidane.
Ronaldo too made a point of using the past tense to describe his playing with Real, sparking another slew of rumours, probably in another effort to negotiate one last payday in the form of a renewed contract.
As for Salah, he did not deserve to be muscled out of his big night after only 20 minutes, but he had been ineffectual hitherto and with him off Liverpool scored, were still in the game at 1-1 and went on to hit the post.
9. BALE SIGNS OFF WITH ÉLAN & A SWAGGER
Karius' clangers and Ramos' gamesmanship are abiding moments of this final but if there was a star amid all that gloom it was Gareth Bale.
Although his exit did swing the possession and traffic Madrid's way, Salah had been ineffectual hitherto and with him off Liverpool equalised, were still in the game at 1-1 and went on to hit the post.
Neither should the the two schoolboy howlers of the patently cursed Karius, too mediocre a custodian by far to be employed for that match, be dwelt on as key reasons for defeat, as jaw-dropping as they were.
The single event which did most to hand Real the crown again was the injection of the Cardiffian wizard Gareth Bale into the fray in the 61st minute, whereupon he conjured up a piece of universally acclaimed magic.
He scored two goals and won the man of the match award: QED.
Not only was his first strike a wow moment heard around the football world, his second deserves credit too for being a long range dipper, swerving enough to force a nervous goalkeeper into another clanger.
With four Champions Leagues under his belt must now be considered as the finest ever Welsh footballer, ahead of John Charles and Ryan Giggs.
He is arguably the most successful British export too given he has bagged four Champions Leagues in five seasons, but his injuries and starts on the bench count against his record.
He stole the after-match show too, strongly implying to every reporter that he wanted out if he could not be a guaranteed starter. If this was last outing in Madrid white, then what a way to finish five golden years in Spain.
Parting shots are always bittersweet but when your goals have just bagged a trophy you fairly get the last laugh.
10. FOOTBALL WAS THE WINNER
The 2018 Champions League final served up a tasty dish for everyone except die-hard Liverpool fans, whose one night in Kiev became a nightmare they will never forget.
Four goals, two schoolboy errors, one wonder strike and a pantomime villain assassinating his rivals in the shadows. Agony and ecstasy, wounded pride and untrammelled joy, shattered hopes and fulfilled dreams.
That was fantastic drama for everyone watching.
This show had it all.
THE POSTSCRIPT
As an amazing coda to a magical evening, Zidane fooled everyone by announcing his had quit on the 31st of May.
First the battle, then the catharsis and finally the aftershock.
Nobody from owner Florentino Perez to the players saw his resignation coming and it sparked an international game of football Cluedo:
Was it Bale's ultimatum for playing time, Ronaldo demanding a new deal, Perez dictating new signings, an ageing side, a poor league finish, sheer fatigue, his family, a Pirandello-esque change of mind on Thursday morning or all of the above?
Zidane used the Spanish word 'desgaste' meaning worn out, insisting he felt he could not maintain the winning momentum.
There must be some truth in this. Last season Real won the Champions League but the common consensus was that the team would be too old to do it again, which makes the 2018 victory all the more impressive.
Staying at the top of Barcelona despite winning all the cups was too stressful for Luis Enrique and even Pep Guardiola; probably wiser to quit while ahead, when you can take the team no further.
That Klopp's name was mentioned as a possible replacement is an almighty irony after Kiev.
As Alex Ferguson said after winning the Champions League,
"Football - Bloody Hell!"