Kieran Trippier has reflected on Tottenham‘s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final, claiming Mo Salah‘s early penalty “killed the game.”
After weeks of anticipation, two English sides met in the Champions League final in Madrid, played out in the heat and after a long break from the end of the Premier League campaign.
It was hardly set up to be the most high-intensity final, despite the two sides involved, and Liverpool were given a valuable cushion within 22 seconds.
A well-worked move saw Sadio Mane receive the ball in the box, and his attempted cross deflected off the outstretched arm of Moussa Sissoko, which saw referee Damir Skomina award a penalty within the first minute.
After a VAR check, Salah stepped up the hammer it home and set Liverpool on course for a 2-0 victory, sealed by Divock Origi‘s late strike.
Trippier, who is now at Newcastle, has discussed the game on the True Geordie Podcast, with the full-back claiming the decision “killed the game.”
“It was weird. Do you agree it was a penalty? Be honest!” he asked. “Because Mane chips it, Sissoko’s already made himself big.”
He added: “That changed everything. We thought we were winning, I’m not going to lie, 100 percent.
“Just because the way the City game went, the Ajax game went, we felt confident.
“And then two minutes into the game or whatever it was, you get a penalty, and I think that just killed the game.”
The 31-year-old continued to discuss the landscape of the game, admitting that it “wasn’t the prettiest” and that Origi’s goal was a death knell.
“Even in the game I thought [we had moments],” Trippier said.
“OK, it wasn’t the prettiest of games, was it really? Champions League final, you’re expecting fireworks. It wasn’t one of the best and most entertaining finals to watch.
“But I thought there were some moments where we were on top of the game, but then when Origi comes on and he bags that second goal it’s finished, done.”
There is a refreshing honesty in Trippier’s interview with True Geordie, but that a penalty awarded with over 90 minutes to play in the biggest game of their careers sucked the belief out of Spurs perhaps summed up their mentality.
It was that gulf between Liverpool and Tottenham that not only decided the Champions League final, but also set them on course for very different trajectories in the years to come.
While the Reds find themselves chasing Premier League titles – and lifting one in 2020 – Spurs continue to struggle under a series of high-profile managers including Jose Mourinho and, now, Antonio Conte.
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