Well, another Champions League final is in the bag, and Liverpool's won out over Spurs to claim the title, a year after getting defeated at this stage by Real Madrid. Real were at the end of their imperial phase of three titles in a row, and four of the last five tournaments, though we didn't know it then: when the Galácticos were still celebrating that win Zinedine Zidane was still a few days off from quitting, out of the blue, and Cristiano Ronaldo was still a month or so off from jumping ship for Juventus.
What a different 2018-19 for Real and Liverpool, though. It's been a clear season of rebuilding for Real Madrid, given the debacle of hiring Julen Lopetegui out from under the Spanish national team's nose on the eve of the World Cup last summer - he lasted not very long at all, and his replacement, Santiago Solari, also exited unceremoniously when Real dropped out of three tournaments in the same week, only for Zidane to come back.
Liverpool, on the other hand, shored up in all the right places after last season, particularly given that two of the goals they conceded came from goalkeeping blunders. While he didn't have much to do yesterday, at least until the 80th minute, Alisson showed his worth by being confident between the sticks, effectively banishing the memory of Loris Karius's mistakes/rubbery wrists. And Virgil van Dijk has come in for repeated praise all season, showing just how important he's been to Liverpool as they ran Manchester City close for the title.
It's funny to say, but winning the Champions League is almost a consolation for Liverpool after missing out on the Premier League title by a single point. It would have been even more perfect if they'd been facing off against Man City in yesterday's match, but of course that would have been a completely different game. Certainly if Liverpool had been so profligate in their passing against City, they might not be celebrating today.
Spurs had, probably, the better of most of the game - their buildup play was good, and they pressed strongly against Liverpool throughout, which implies that they won the midfield battle. Where they came up short, over the 90 minutes, was in front of goal, which is probably an indicator of how unready Harry Kane was to come back. Worse, it might indicate what kind of experience he'll have at the Nations League on Thursday.
So where does everyone go from here? For Liverpool, this hopefully means even more strengthening of the squad, and challenging again for the title. Though it's fair to say that, given the lead they frittered away over the course of the winter, there might be a mental aspect that Jürgen Klopp needs to work on next season, more than any changes in personnel.
On the other hand, Spurs will definitely need to strengthen. The fact that they held onto fourth place (with its Champions League spot) as well as getting to the final without having brought in any players speaks well to the setup and to Mauricio Pochettino's management, but this coming season will definitely be one where if they stand still they'll fall behind. And that's if Poch hangs around north London - the Real Madrid and Juventus jobs look to be sown up but there should be no shortage of clubs willing to give him the financial support that Spurs have had to be more careful about providing while they got their new stadium up and running.
It's too early to predict who'll win next year's Champions League, but it's a fair bet that it'll once again be contested by two sides from the top 4 countries - Ajax may have come within a whisker of being the first non-English, Spanish, Italian or German team to reach the final since 2004, but they've effectively cemented their role as a feeder club for Barcelona, given that starlet Frenkie de Jong was already on his way there when his team knocked out Madrid in the quarters. Others will be sure to follow him out the door this summer, particularly if the Netherlands do well in the Nations League.
Barcelona, Juventus and Man City will likely fall short in some capacity, since they've contrived to fall short most years (if not every year) recently. Much has been made of Pep Guardiola's mental block in the knockout stages of the tournament, though it's reassuring that even a Death Star full of cash and the greatest tactical mind in football can't deliver this trophy (at least, not since he last won it with Barcelona in 2011).
And that's without looking at the other English clubs - but none of them really look like challenging either. So the 2020 Champions League trophy could very well go back to Liverpool. The question will be whether Real Madrid have sorted out their problems enough to claim back the title they consider their own.
No comments:
Post a Comment