UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL 1 June 2019
Liverpool 2 Salah 2 (p), Origi 88
Tottenham Hotspur 0
Liverpool Alisson - Alexander-Arnold, van Dijk, Matip, Robertson - Wijnaldum (Milner 62), Fabinho, Henderson - Salah, Firmino (Origi 58), Mane (Gomez 90)
Tottenham Hotspur Lloris - Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose - Winks (Moura 66), Sissoko (Dier 74) - Eriksen, Alli (Llorente 82), Son - Kane
Referee Damir Skomina (Slovenia) ▪️ Attendance 63,272 at the Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid
LIVERPOOL lifted the European Cup for a sixth time by beating Tottenham Hotspur in a largely stodgy all-English final in Madrid.
The Reds struck at the start and the end of the contest to erase the disappointment of last season's Champions League final loss to Real Madrid.
Only two minutes had gone when Sadio Mané marauded down the left, only for Moussa Sissoko to be adjudged to have blocked his cross with his hand.
Mo Salah gleefully converted the spot-kick - although the penalty award looked harsh with the ball appearing to hit Sissoko at the top of the armpit, just below the shoulder.
Even the presence of so-called video assisted referees could not save Spurs - and so, while VAR will surely cut out the absolute howler, equally it will not end debates about referees' decisions.
Salah, of course, did not care a jot. For him, this was a golden opportunity to put last year behind him when he cut a disconsolate figure as he was withdrawn injured after only half an hour following a tangle with Sergio Ramos.
Instead, this time, it was Tottenham who had the injury worries. Talisman Harry Kane was making his first appearance since 9 April when he damaged the lateral ligaments in his left ankle in the first leg of the quarter final against Manchester City.
Unfortunately for him, it showed and he never looked like adding to his seasonal total of 24 goals, the most recent of which came in early March.
Spurs did at least enjoy plenty of the ball - and, in fact, finished with 61% of the possession - but it was not until late in the second half that they carried much of a threat.
Their push began with perhaps little more than 20 minutes left as the talented Son Heung-min began to find more space around the Liverpool box.
But, by then, the Reds' defence was set and eventual man of the match Virgil van Dijk eased the Korean off the ball just as he looked set to break through.
Son - to his great credit - was not in the mood for giving up and he brought Allison into the action with a hard piled river before Lucas Moura also followed up on target.
Allison, like van Dijk, did not come cheap but both have undoubtedly been money well spent.
Still, there was one last Spurs wave for the Reds to survive as the ball was pumped towards Danny Rose, and the left-back was fouled by James Milner on the edge of the area.
The free-kick was well within the range of Christian Eriksen and the Dane drew another decent save from Allison which resulted in a corner.
Kieran Trippier delivered an outswinger which was met by Moura but the Brazilian scuffed his shot into the ground and Son - who was offside - could only redirect the ball over the bar in any case.
Then, the inevitable happened and Liverpool doubled their lead with just three minutes left as substitute Divock Origi added to the two goals which he scored in the incredible second leg comeback against Barcelona in the semi finals.
Spurs' downfall would be a set-piece as they failed to deal with Milner's corner and Origi pounced on the loose ball to drive the ball low past Hugo Lloris into the corner.
At 2-0, the match was over and Liverpool played out the last few minutes with ease as Jurgen Klopp finally shrugged off the tag of having never brought a trophy to the Anfield club.
The German enthused: “I’m so happy for the boys, I’m so happy for all of these people, I’m so happy for my family. Did you ever see a team like this? Fighting with no fuel in the tank any more.
"And we had a goalkeeper who makes difficult things look easy. Tonight this is going to be great. This may be the best night of my life, professional wise.”
However, for Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, the frustrating wait endures. The Argentine has been at the London club for five years now and overseen the temporary residence at Wembley and the move to a new stadium.
Regular Champions League football has also been achieved against that unsettling background - but, disconcertingly, there has been a complete lack of silverware and Pochettino will need some backing from the board this summer if he is not to be lured elsewhere.
Meanwhile, by their own standards, a seven-year trophy-less spell had been long enough for Liverpool - and the pain had been ramped up even more by the events of the past 12 months.
The Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid was followed by a league campaign in which the Reds lost just once, won 97 points - and yet still could only finish runners-up to domestic treble winners Man City.
But, suddenly, that has all changed now. Klopp has joined the pantheon of managerial legends at Anfield - and the Liverpool are champions once again. Champions of Europe for a sixth time.
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UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL 29 May 2019
Chelsea 4 Giroud 49, Pedro 60, Hazard 65 (p), 72
Arsenal 1 Iwobi 69
Chelsea Arrizabalaga - Azpilicueta, Christensen, Luiz, Emerson Palmieri, Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic (Barkley 76) Pedro (Willian 71), Giroud, Hazard (Zappacosta 89)
Arsenal Cech, Papastathopoulos, Koscielny, Monreal (Guendouzi 66), Maitland-Niles, Torreira (Iwobi 67) Xhaka, Kolasinac, Lacazette, Ozil (Willock 77), Aubameyang
Referee Gianluca Rocchi (Italy) ▪️ Attendance 51,370 at the Olympic Stadium, Baku
CHELSEA cruised to Europa League glory against London rivals Arsenal as Eden Hazard signed off for the Blues with two farewell goals in Baku.
The Belgian effectively confirmed he was leaving Stamford Bridge having scored twice in seven minutes either side of a spectacular strike by Arsenal substitute Alex Iwobi.
At 3-0 with 20 minutes left, Iwobi's powerful hit from outside of the box had served to give the briefest of hope to the Gunners.
But Hazard almost immediately snuffed out any chance of that, once again tearing apart the Arsenal defence by playing a one-two with Olivier Giroud and firing home Chelsea's fourth goal.
Giroud had earlier opened the scoring four minutes into the second period with a neat diving header - and, consequently, the match eventually opened up following a horribly sterile first half.
For, there can be no doubt that this showpiece contest was not helped by the flat atmosphere in the Olympic Stadium as, understandably, only the hardiest fans of both clubs made the difficult 2,500-mile journey.
Indeed, neither of the two clubs was able to sell even their measly allocations from UEFA - and those fans who did make it found their view restricted by a covered-up athletic track which formed the perimeter of the pitch.
The match had an official attendance of 51,370, making it the third-largest crowd for a Europa League final ever - but it was simply impossible to hide the large sections of empty seats from the television cameras.
Certainly, these were not fitting surroundings for a major European final.
At least, after a dreadful first half, the match itself did pick up, thanks in no small part to Giroud and Hazard with the former notching against the club at which he had previously been six years.
Pedro made it 2–0 on the hour mark when he steered a low shot past former Chelsea man Petr Cech from 12 yards out after Hazard had crossed from the left.
Then, five minutes later, it was 3-0 as Hazard converted a penalty following an extremely clumsy foul by Ainsley Maitland-Niles on Giroud.
It was beginning to look more than a little bit embarrassing for Unai Emery's men so it was probably just as well that Iwobi stemmed the tide.
However, Hazard was always going to make sure he had the final word - and, in fact, in his post-match interview, he said: "I think it is a goodbye, but in football you never know."
Chelsea thus picked up their 16th piece of major silverware under the ownership of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich - but have also picked up a few headaches on the way back from Azerbaijan.
After all, when Hazard presumably leaves, it will be impossible for the Blues to replace him due to their FIFA-imposed transfer ban.
Meanwhile, following a turbulent season debut season at Stamford Bridge, manager Maurizio Sarri also looks set to depart.
To his credit, the Italian has led the club to third place in the Premier League, a fifth European title, and the final of the League Cup.
But, of course, nothing is ever as straightforward as that at Chelsea.
Conversely, at Arsenal, things are somewhat calmer at the Emirates despite the comprehensive nature of this defeat.
It is widely accepted that manager Emery was always going to need more than one season to plug the gaps left in the squad - and he also enjoyed a decent unbeaten run in the first half of the campaign.
Away form was less clever, however, after the Christmas break - and, although the Gunners finished one place higher in the league and won seven more points than last season, they conceded more than 50 goals for a second year in a row.
Put simply, the Arsenal defence is still not good enough for a club with ambitions to play in the Champions League - while, by contrast, Chelsea will take their place in the elite UEFA competition.
The imminent departure of Hazard and the transfer ban, though, make it difficult to see the Blues being too competitive next season, regardless of whether Sarri remains in his post, or not.
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ROLL OF HONOUR 2018-19
ENGLAND
Premier League| Champions | Manchester City |
| Runners-up | Liverpool |
| Champions League | Chelsea (third place), Tottenham Hotspur (fourth place) |
| Europa League | Arsenal (fifth place), Manchester United (sixth place), Wolverhampton Wanderers (seventh place) |
| Relegation | Cardiff City, Fulham, Huddersfield Town |
Championship
| Champions | Norwich City |
| Runners-up | Sheffield United |
| Playoff winners | Aston Villa (won 2-1 v Derby County) |
| Relegation | Rotherham United, Bolton Wanderers, Ipswich Town |
League One
| Champions | Luton Town |
| Runners-up | Barnsley |
| Playoff winners | Charlton Athletic (won 2-1 v Sunderland) |
| Relegation | Plymouth Argyle, Walsall, Scunthorpe United, Bradford City |
League Two
| Champions | Lincoln City |
| Runners-up | Bury |
| Also promoted | Milton Keynes Dons |
| Playoff winners | Tranmere Rovers (won 2-1 v Newport County, after extra time) |
| Relegation | Notts County, Yeovil Town |
National League Premier
| Champions | Leyton Orient |
| Playoff winners | Salford City (won 3-0 v AFC Fylde) |
| Relegation | Gateshead, Braintree Town, Havant & Waterlooville, Maidstone United |
National League North
| Champions | Stockport County |
| Playoff winners | Chorley (won 4-3 on pens v Spennymoor Town, after 1-1 aet) |
| Relegation | Ashton United, FC United of Manchester, Nuneaton Borough |
National League South
| Champions | Torquay United |
| Playoff winners | Woking (won 1-0 v Welling United) |
| Relegation | Truro City, East Thurrock United, Weston-super-Mare |
Domestic Cup Finals
| FA Cup Final | Manchester City 6-0 Watford |
| League Cup Final | Manchester City 0-0 Chelsea, aet. Manchester City won 4-3 on penalties. |
| FA Community Shield | Manchester City 2-0 Chelsea |
| EFL Trophy | Portsmouth 2-2 Sunderland, aet. Portsmouth won 5-4 on penalties. |
| FA Trophy | AFC Fylde 1-0 Leyton Orient |
| FA Vase | Chertsey Town 3-1 Cray Valley Paper Mills, aet |
SCOTLAND
Premiership| Champions | Celtic |
| Runners-up | Rangers |
| Europa League | Rangers (runners-up), Kilmarnock (third place), Aberdeen (fourth place) |
| Relegation | Dundee |
Championship
| Champions | Ross County |
| Runners-up | Dundee United (not promoted) |
| Relegation | Falkirk |
League One
| Champions | Arbroath |
| Runners-up | Forfar Athletic (not promoted) |
| Relegation | Stenhousemuir, Brechin City |
League Two
| Champions | Peterhead |
| Runners-up | Clyde |
| Playoff winners | Clyde (won 2-1 on agg v Annan Athletic (0-1a, 2-0h)) |
| Relegation | Berwick Rangers (lost 0-7 on agg v Cove Rangers (0-4a, 0-3h)) |
Domestic Cup Finals
| FA Cup Final | Celtic 2-1 Hearts |
| League Cup Final | Celtic 1-0 Aberdeen |
| Challenge Cup Final | Ross County 3-1 Connah's Quay Nomads |
WALES
Welsh Premier League| Champions | The New Saints |
| Europa Lg | Connah's Quay Nomads (runners-up), Barry Town United (third place), Cardiff Metropolitan University (playoff winners) |
| Relegation | Llandudno, Llanelli Town |
Welsh Cup Finals
| FA Cup Final | The New Saints 3-0 Connah's Quay Nomads |
| League Cup Final | Cardiff Metropolitan University 2-0 Cambrian & Clydach Vale |
NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Premiership| Champions | Linfield |
| Europa Lg | Ballymena United (runners-up), Crusaders (cup winners), Cliftonville (playoff winners) |
| Relegation | Ards, Newry City |
Irish Cup Finals
| IFA Cup Final | Crusaders 3-0 Ballinamallard United |
| League Cup Final | Linfield 1-0 Ballymena United |
EUROPE
UEFA Finals | Champions League | Liverpool (Eng) 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) |
| Europa League | Chelsea (Eng) 4-1 Arsenal (Eng) |
| Super Cup | Atlético Madrid (Spa) 4-2 Real Madrid (Spa), after extra time |
Major European league champions
| Spain | Barcelona |
| Italy | Juventus |
| Germany | Bayern Munich |
| France | Paris Saint-Germain |
| Portugal | Benfica |
| Netherlands | Ajax Amsterdam |
| Belgium | Racing Genk |
| Greece | PAOK Thessaloniki |
| Turkey | Galatasaray |
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