Liverpool’s remarkable Champions League run ended here on Saturday as Real Madrid won the final 3-1 to claim their third successive and 13th Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) title at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex.
Liverpool were rocked early on by a devastating injury to Mohammad Salah, which could also leave the Egyptian’s World Cup hopes in doubt. Salah got tangled up with Madrid’s defender Sergio Ramos and the result was a heavy landing on the point of his left shoulder.
#UEFAChampionsLeagueFinal : Goalless at #Kiev after the end of the first 45 minutes. #MohamedSalah's injury the main talking point at half time.#RealMadrid 0-0 #Liverpool #UCLfinal #RMALIV
— NEWS LIVE (@NewsLiveGhy) May 26, 2018
The final, however, was a nightmare for Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius. He was at fault for Madrid’s first goal, when he threw the ball onto the foot of Madrid’s Karim Benzema, who redirected it in and also for the third in the 83rd minute, when he allowed a knuckling long-distance shot by Gareth Bale to slip through.
#UEFAChampionsLeague : Karius makes another costly goalkeeping error to give #GarethBale his second goal of the match in the 83rd min. #RealMadrid on the verge of winning a hat-trick of #UefaChampionsLeague titles. At Kiev, it's#RealMadrid 3-1 #Liverpool#UCLfinal #RMALIV
— NEWS LIVE (@NewsLiveGhy) May 26, 2018
It is interesting to note that Bale was introduced into the game in the 61st minute, when the scores were leveled at 1-1. The victory was Madrid’s third in a row in the tournament, a feat unseen in the competition since Bayern Munich won three consecutive European Cups from 1974 – 1976.
