Mo Salah, Divock Origi Goals Give Liverpool Champions League Title vs. Tottenham
June 1, 2019
Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2005 thanks to a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday's final at Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Mohamed Salah's early penalty, after Moussa Sissoko was flagged for handball in the box, and a late second-half goal by substitute Divock Origi provided ample consolation for the Reds, who missed out on winning the Premier League title to Manchester City despite earning 97 points.
Liverpool still haven't won a domestic title since 1990, but they have won this trophy six times, twice more than any other English club, in its guises as both the European Cup and Champions League.
Kane Mistake Proves Pochettino Not Ruthless Enough for Major Trophies
It was always going to be a tough decision whether to risk Harry Kane after his ankle injury. Manager Mauricio Pochettino would have been wise to hedge his bets with the striker who hadn't played since the quarter-final first leg against Manchester City back in April.
Yet Pochettino rolled the dice and played a far from match fit Kane from the start. It backfired and showed Pochettino isn't ruthless enough to win major trophies.
Kane floundered from the off, barely getting involved during a turgid first half:
Yet while Liverpool chief Jurgen Klopp acted to correct his own misjudged gamble on striker Roberto Firmino, substituting the Brazilian for Origi two minutes before the hour mark, Pochettino persisted with the out-of-sorts Kane.
Handling Tottenham's star player and his obvious desire to play in this showpiece game demanded a ruthless touch. Pochettino had to stay firm and hold Kane back to preserve the in-form partnership of Heung-Min Son and Lucas Moura.
The latter was cruelly consigned to the bench to make way for Kane, despite his hat-trick heroics to beat Ajax in the second leg of the semi-finals. It was a bonus for Liverpool, who surely wouldn't have relished tracking the prolific winger's pace in the stifling heat of the Spanish capital.
Pochettino finally summoned Moura on 66 minutes, but only for busy midfielder Harry Winks. Without Moura running through the middle, into spaces Kane was occupying, Tottenham continued to lack enough impetus in attack.
Moura and Son's pace and varied movement represented the ideal weapons to exploit Liverpool's fondness to play a high defensive line. Instead, Kane gave Virgil van Dijk a static target and a way to keep play in front.
Pochettino's failure to make the tough but necessary call spoke to the club's inability to win a major trophy. When it comes to the crunch, Spurs aren't aggressive enough, neither on the pitch nor in the dugout.
If this precocious squad is ever going to earn silverware, it might have to be without Pochettino calling the shots.