Champions league final

[Franc Ergs 1,351]

The game will be remembered for Bale's amazing overhead kick and the goalkeepers blunders ,but that cynical challenge from Ramos is a reminder that even great teams sometimes need to play dirty to win.

[Uilleam 5,409]

An extraordinary match.

Benzema's goal was extraordinary.

Bale's 1st goal was extraordinary.

Bale's 2nd goal was extraordinary. 

 

Karius made Hart look like Shilton.

 

 

[buster. 4,808]

Thought the pitch was in danger of getting waterlogged with the amount of tears that were being shed.

 

I think Real Madrid were always relatively comfortable, even in the early stages when Liverpool had most of the play and territory but weren't really creating much in the way of clear cut chances.

 

Having watched Madrid a lot in Europe, you just knew they would gradually take control and their quality would come through.

Similar happened in the Madrid v Juventus final a year or two back. The Salah injury really blunted the English side and along with the goalkeeping howlers put it on a plate and Madrid didn't really need to go up the gears.

 

Gerrard arrives at Ibrox next week and I note that Zidane, a rookie manager is only the third ever manager to win 3 CL/EC.

[Rousseau 9,360]

That Ramos is a c*nt of a player. A winner, but a c*nt. He's the sort of guy you love if he plays for you, but hate if he doesn't. No doubt in my mind he's intentionally tried to, if not injure, at least leave one in on Salah. He had a sneaky hit out at Karius too just after half-time. 

 

Liverpool started well, but after Salah went off the confidence dropped, and they lost their main out-ball and a superb presser -- Lallana, while a good player, wasn't the same in pressing. I didn't expect him to win the game for them, but I expected Lallana to press better, as that's what Liverpool are geared to do. 

 

Nightmare for Karius. We knew about his howlers last season, but this season he has been superb. The stats suggest he hadn't made a mistake in the whole tournament, then makes two howlers in the final. He made some cracking saves in that Final too. 

 

I hope Salah is fit for the World Cup. 

 

That Bale was worthy of winning any tournament. Outstanding. Zidane's reaction said it all. 

[der Berliner 3,234]

10 hours ago, Bluedell said:

Benzema was onside. Replays showed he was played on when ball was played to him. 

Not the replay(s) I have seen, but it is history now anyway.

[buster. 4,808]

9 minutes ago, der Berliner said:

Not the replay(s) I have seen, but it is history now anyway.

How can Benzema be offside if the ball comes from what was effectively a pass from the goalkeeper ?

 

He was never getting near to the through ball and that was always the keepers ball.

[Scott7 5,139]

Salah on his current form is exceptional. He doesn’t just score goals, he creates the opportunities for himself and others by the speed of his runs in or near the box. He can change direction in an instant. Will he ge the same next season?

 

Firminio didn’t do a lot.

[Tannochsidebear 2,306]

Ramos is one of the best defenders in world football and has been for some time. The fact he can also rough it up often means his quality is overlooked.

How some can say he meant to injure Salah is laughable sour grapes. At full speed there is nothing in that at all and 99 times out of 100 both players just get up and get on with the game after that type of collision. It's just really bad luck that the way he fell he has put his shoulder out.

The first half was pretty dull I thought with one shot on target in 45 minutes as both teams cancelled each other out with high fast pressing games so neither could get any time on the ball to build anything.

Of course the second half was excellent as the first keeper flanger opened the game up and both sides threw more at the other while not being able to press as successfully as they did in the first.

Bale's wonder goal was incredible technique and ability, just sensational and on the biggest stage of all when Ronaldo and Salah were getting all the pre-game attention, Bale as usual let his football do the talking. One of the best players in the world for me, he has it all perhaps apart from that swagger and arrogance that the truly top players have.

Liverpool have never sorted out their defence and won't win anything until they do. Robertson was the only defender that looks top class to me. That boy has really kicked on and you can see how hard he is working on his game to keep improving. Hilarious that Timmy thinks Tierney is anywhere near as good, he's not on the same planet as Robertson.

3IAR of the big jug wins for Real Madrid despite fairly poor league form is incredible. That's a better return than Pep's fantastic Barca side managed. Nobody would say this looks like the best club side in 40 years but their achievement argues that they are.

[Sindarin 30]

Very happy with that game last night. 

Liverpool has been plagued by the same old problems since Klopp arrived. Zidane & Co were always going to exploit this. Couldn't be happier for Bale, he's been hammered this season by just about everyone so for him to arrive like he did last night must have felt awesome. 

As amazing Real Madrid's achievements have been this year they are a side that needs fresh legs and ideas. I expect to see a fair bit of reshuffling over the season at Madrid, superb effort though really enjoyed Madrid over the past 3 seasons. 

After watching Ramos from the time he was a scrawny wingback I feel safe in saying he is the defender of his generation, he's phenomenal. 

[Rousseau 9,360]

2 hours ago, Tannochsidebear said:

Ramos is one of the best defenders in world football and has been for some time. The fact he can also rough it up often means his quality is overlooked.

How some can say he meant to injure Salah is laughable sour grapes. At full speed there is nothing in that at all and 99 times out of 100 both players just get up and get on with the game after that type of collision. It's just really bad luck that the way he fell he has put his shoulder out.

The first half was pretty dull I thought with one shot on target in 45 minutes as both teams cancelled each other out with high fast pressing games so neither could get any time on the ball to build anything.

Of course the second half was excellent as the first keeper flanger opened the game up and both sides threw more at the other while not being able to press as successfully as they did in the first.

Bale's wonder goal was incredible technique and ability, just sensational and on the biggest stage of all when Ronaldo and Salah were getting all the pre-game attention, Bale as usual let his football do the talking. One of the best players in the world for me, he has it all perhaps apart from that swagger and arrogance that the truly top players have.

Liverpool have never sorted out their defence and won't win anything until they do. Robertson was the only defender that looks top class to me. That boy has really kicked on and you can see how hard he is working on his game to keep improving. Hilarious that Timmy thinks Tierney is anywhere near as good, he's not on the same planet as Robertson.

3IAR of the big jug wins for Real Madrid despite fairly poor league form is incredible. That's a better return than Pep's fantastic Barca side managed. Nobody would say this looks like the best club side in 40 years but their achievement argues that they are.

It's not sour grapes at all. Bale's goal alone deserved to win the game; Liverpool didn't do enough.

 

I agree Ramos is one of the best defenders in the game, but that doesn't mean he's not a c*unt. Similarly, Suarez is a c*nt while also being one of the best strikers in the game. He's perhaps not intending to 'injure' Salah per se, but I certainly believe he meant to leave one on him. It's not as if they are just falling to the ground; he's locked his arm, which in itself is not needed, and put his weight behind it. He also had a kick-out at Karius, despite the ball being miles away. Great defender, but he's also a c*nt. 

 

Yes, I don't think they are the best club side in 40 years. There's an interesting debate to be had about what qualifies a team being the best. They just won a double treble, does that mean they are the best club side as no one has done that? I wouldn't say so. Conversely, a side can't be the best if they're not winning anything.