and here it is the last laugh in the season-long race for the trophy millions of viewers from
around the world are tuning in for the biggest final in club football the champions league final
a warm welcome from me derrick ray joined here on the commentary box as always by the former
arsenal and west ham player stuart robson and with the atmosphere building to fever pitch we're just
minutes away from kickoff time it is liverpool facing manchester city well derek you just
wonder what those players are thinking right now some will be nervous some will be excited and
some may be anxious but once that whistle blows we're gonna be in for an absolute classic here
so
let's take a look at the liverpool starting eleven alison begins in goal trent alexander
arnold starts with andrew robertson in the wide defensive areas jordan henderson starts
alongside fabinho in the center of midfield and leading the attack today is roberto firmino
introducing the starting players for manchester city anderson between the posts how walker plays
with chihuahua cancello in the full back positions kevin de bruyne plays alongside
rodri in the center of midfield and the idea is to have just the one striker up there
trying to pose problems for the opposition and now the champions league final commences
excellent challenge well the attack will peter out keepers ball
henderson virgil van dijk
andrew robertson
here's robertson robertson
has a go and taken cleanly by the goalkeeper
promising looking attack might go ahead and the cross smuggled away
now the short corner routine
a wonderful bit of skill
robertson is in there and you need your defender to take charge
gives it a go and he's kept it down fully stretched somehow reaching it
and he's fired over the corner and a goal
liverpool strike first in the final and just listen to the fans
well here you can see it again it's a superb cross just asking for someone to go and meet it
and then the shot could not be hit any better struck with such venom great goal
yes
so city gets the match restarted can they come up with an equalizer having conceded
that's how to just possess your opponent
fabinho
van dyke with it spraying passes around almost waiting for the opposition to make a mistake
it's with fabinho
space on the flank
crossing possibilities couldn't keep it
no mistake from the keeper acting decisively well they've created very little in the game
so far unless they can show more gal in that top third of the field this is going
to be a road it's developing nicely for them here and the keeper has denied him
well i've got to say derek he was always in control of that situation brilliant stuff
now how about the short corner well they have the ball once more
grealish and he takes on the shots keeper making sure that was pushed well away from danger
and manchester city looking for inspiration at this corner
and now the delivery
flag raised for offside
well lynching towards halftime and liverpool with the advantage stewart what have you
made of the performance yes they've defended really well all over the pitch their work rate
and discipline has been excellent for any drop in tempo and this lead could easily slip away
now the corner to liverpool as they look to press home their advantage
who's going to get on the end of it oh terrific
save from the keeper well that's just a wonderful save how did he stop that
can someone get on the end of this the first half here comes to an end
battle for champions league glory alexander arnold
it's with roberto firmino fabinho
and torres on the ball
and he keeps going but quick thinking defensively
manny oh it might be well just narrowly over the crossbar good hit though
and manchester city will go to their bench
the pot
it's with gunduan
gundawan
so following the deflection a corner kit coming up here the change of the offing for city
he made it rather straight forward for the
keeper well he knows it that is a real waste of a great opportunity
and space for liverpool in the wide position
navigator well read to ease the pressure
referees are rightly praised for giving advantage but when there is no advantage
it has to be a free kick and manchester city will go to their bench can they hit on the break
they need to get bodies back and he put it in
and a goal to increase the lead in this final will they be stopped now
we'll just look at this again the speed of counter attack is so impressive
and his movement's so clever once he gets on to it there's only one thought in his head
smash it as hard as possible what a good goal
so toe nail now
somehow kept it out
and overcomes the corner not the best clearance
he'll be delighted to have won the ball having made that difficult challenge
that's what you call defending from the front possibilities here
what a lovely strike lethal piece of finishing drilled home with true conviction tremendous goal
well let's see this again he tries to run out with the ball he has the ball taken off of him
he's made the wrong decision and suddenly the ball's in the back of the net terrible defending
we're back underway here and liverpool handing out a very harsh lesson 15 minutes left for play
marres
says he unable to retain possession
alexander arnold henderson has it
gator oh that's a pass of high quality well even marginally offside is still against the
law yeah and he just needed to hold his run for a fraction longer and he would have been in on goal
bernardo silva now with jesus
another successful intervention running the ball back
nabbi kata and at first glance you would think a strong possibility of a red card let's see
well the misery continues quite simply stuart he had to go well
i think that sums up their date a complete lack of discipline from everybody involved
money
salah alexander arnold and space for the cross
gator
here's robertson
henderson keeping it moving dynamically well tremendous block another block
virgil van dyke how about this england's most successful european club
have done it again liverpool the winners of the champions league
well just look at the emotions out there joy and relief on one side despair and heartache
on the other but we've got the right winners here they fully deserved it on the night for
these players well it's the night of their lives and they're determined to enjoy every millisecond
well they have to make the most of this don't they it's a great feat what an achievement from them
well they don't need to be reminded about what comes next
it's the presentation of the coveted champions league trophy well there's
some tired players out there but what you can be sure of they'll find some energy when they
get their hands on the trophy they'll be going mad in the next few moments
the kings of european club football liverpool well this is what they wanted
what a moment for these players they've worked so hard to win this trophy
they've been fantastic and you can feel the emotion it's natural to reflect on
this final but so much hard work has gone into the entire campaign memories memories
what would a celebration be without the chance to enjoy it with your own supporters well these fans
have certainly played their part haven't they they'll savor these moments they've traveled
far and wide to follow their team they're loving every minute of this and why not they deserve it