At The End, Real Remain Kings of Europe

And so this year's Champions League final in Kiev came with Spanish giants, Real Madrid, again coming out on top with a handsome victory over premier league side Liverpool.

The 3-1 defeat of Jurgen Klopp's exciting side proved that their hunger for success remains unquenched and insatiable. They may have been disappointing this season in La Liga after finishing a distant 3rd but in Europe, they have always found a way to win.

In just two and a half years, Zidane has won the Champions League trophy 3 times thus surpassing the likes of Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and even the great Sir Alex Ferguson who have all won the the trophy twice. A fantastic achievement.

As for Zidane's opposite number, Jurgen Klopp, it is yet another disappointing final loss. Klopp has now lost six of his seven major finals as a manager. 

While in charge of Borussia Dortmund, he lost 2 German Cup finals, 2 Champions League finals (Dortmund and Liverpool), one League Cup and one Europa League final (both with Liverpool). His sole Cup triumph is the German Cup in 2012.

His critics will consider him a serial under achiever at the biggest stage. In this year's Champions League final loss to Madrid however, it will be harsh to lay the blame on Klopp's game management. 

Even though many have identified the defence as Liverpool's biggest problem this season, an issue Klopp partially fixed with the signing of Dutchman, Virgil Van Dijk, from Southampton in January in a deal worth £75M Pounds. 

He has however, failed to correct the other part of the defence problem which turned out to be their Achilles heel- buying a decent goal keeper. 

Loris Karius' 2 goalkeeping errors in last Saturday's final proved pivotal and turned out to be gifts for a Madrid team who showed their experience and class at this level. A level Karius seemed out of his depth.

The first half was by no means a classic with Madrid wary of the pace of Liverpool's front 3 of Mane, Firmino and Salah. A trio that prior to this game had scored 29 goals in the competition. Madrid were in no mood to afford them the space to wreak havoc and so kept it tight.

The turning point came in the 31st minute when Salah had to come off after he injured his shoulder in a tumble with Sergio Ramos. Prior to his departure, Liverpool had been on top and were the better team. 

But after his exit, Real Madrid grew into the game and had a goal chalked off for offside after Benzema put the ball into the back of the net after Karius had saved well Ronaldo's header. Benzema was correctly adjudged to be offside. 

Benzema would not be denied however, as he in the 51st minute blocked Karius's poor throw with the ball rebounding and rolling agonisingly for the Liverpool faithful, into an empty net.

The lead didn't last long though, as Sadio Mane gave Liverpool hope by bundling home the equaliser after he met Lovren's header from a corner kick. It was his 10th Champions League goal in 11 games. He also became the fourth African player to score in an European Cup Final after Rabah Madjer, Samuel Eto'o and Didier Drogba.

Zidane sent on Gareth Bale in place of Isco and with his fourth touch, scored what is considered one of the best goals if not the best in Champions League finals history. An overhead kick which team mate Ronaldo would have been proud of was how Bale put Madrid back into the driving seat.

It was game set and match for Madrid in the latter stages as Karius came up with another clanger as he failed to hold a speculative 30 yard short from Gareth Bale and the ball spilled from his grasp into the back of the net.

It left the Madrid fans delirious while the Liverpool fans in tears. Klopp was stunned and the Liverpool players unable to lift themselves with defeat surely a certainty at that point.

The final whistle blew and Karius understandably was in tears. Sadly, none of his team mates were in the mood to show him any empathy. He was left alone to cry his heart out. It was the Real Madrid players, Bale inclusive, who finally went to console him. 

Karius humbly went back to the Liverpool fans shortly after in tears, hands raised in apology. How Liverpool fans, who would have been seething at that moment, would take this is left to be seen.

It is difficult to not see Klopp entering the transfer market this Summer to sign a world class goalkeeper. He was 2 goalkeeping howlers away from winning a famous Champions League title. 

A day in which many Liverpool fans believed was going to be a glorious one for the 5 time European Cup winners quickly become a nightmare. The omens were there, they had an entertaining team and they had the best player in the Premier League, Mohammed Salah. Sadly, it was not to be their night.

As for Karius, whether he remains the number one for Liverpool or not next season, he needs to bounce back from this disappointment and not let these mistakes define his career. 

Klopp is a few good signings away from really challenging for the premier league title and taking on Europe again. After this season's adventure, he seems most likely and best equipped to challenge Pep next season.

As for Madrid, a topsy turvy season has ended on another high. They have 3 UCL titles on the spin and their 4th in 5 years in a period that has had the best Barcelona team in generations. 

Zidane becomes the third manager to win the European Cup 3 times but the first to win it in 3 consecutive seasons.

He has a new challenge off the field though. Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo have hinted that they may want to leave the club. If this happens, a lot of rebuilding job would be required to maintain the level they are at the moment. 

Will we see the likes of Salah or Hazard moving to Spain if these noise (which we have heard before) turn out to be true?

 

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5 Reasons Why Gareth Bale is in Trouble

It is no longer news that the world's most expensive player, Gareth Bale, has been having a difficult last few weeks if not months at his club, Real Madrid. He has been criticised mercilessly from several quarters of the media both in Madrid and in the UK for his recent poor performances on the pitch. Bale was practically held responsible for Madrid's loss to Juventus in the first leg of the champions' League semi final by pundit, Roy Keane who said Real were effectively playing with 10 men because of Bale's poor showing on the night which made it difficult for Madrid to get a more positive result.

When you play for a club like Real Madrid and with the tag of being the most expensive player on the planet, criticism for any lame performance is likely to come your way on a regular basis except of course, you are a Cristiano Ronaldo or a Lionel Messi.

But are Bale's troubles entirely his fault? Is he not being made a scapegoat by sections of the Spanish media and Real Madrid for recent collective poor performances of the team? A player who has scored 17 goals in 46 appearances for Real Madrid so far this season playing from the wings surely deserves more respect, right?

This week I intend to look at 5 reasons why Bale is having a difficult time at Real Madrid and why he has not been fully accepted or appreciated by the Madrid supporters.

Language barrier issues

It has been reported that in the Real Madrid dressing room, the lingua franca is Spanish (which is not unusual after all,Real Madrid are a Spanish club) and that is the language Real boss, Carlo Ancelloti uses to address the players and pass instructions. Well, Mr Bale is a Welshman and has not come to grips yet with the Spanish language after nearly 2 years with the club. Spanish must be very hard to learn... 

Anyway, his team mates have complained about this obstacle and it probably affects the way he relates with many of his team mates on and off the pitch. This has left him increasingly isolated. Ancelloti is a good coach but he of all people in my opinion should be able to bend the rules a little and as much as possible translate most of what has been said to English so that Bale could be carried along. After all, he is the club's most expensive player and it is to their advantage that they get the best out of him.

Player power rearing its head

Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett, has claimed that the Madrid players have not been passing the ball to his client and that he has the stats to prove it which he indeed has. Barnett added that his client could go on to be the best Madrid player if they could pass the ball to him more often so that Bale could express himself, as if we didn't know what Bale can do. Well, what did we expect from his agent? A tongue lashing?

On a more serious note though, if his agent is correct in his claims then the logical question that we need to ask is why are his team mates afraid to pass the ball to Bale? The language barrier thing could be one reason but the paranoid ones amongst us will not rule out the influence of Ronaldo on his team mates since they are heavily dependent on Ronaldo's goal scoring and are always trying to play to Ronaldo's strengths.

Bale is short on confidence

Since Bale's troubles started this year, he has looked short of confidence. He has not been deadly, not taken many players on, and his shooting has not been at its best. These are Bale's strongest qualities. 

And as long as Bale doesn't regain his form and confidence in front of goal, the Real Madrid jury will remain out on him. Bale's admirers know that form is temporary but class is permanent and will expect Bale to return to his best next season.

Real Madrid fans are fickle

Real Madrid fans like most fans around the world who support big clubs are fickle. When you do well, they love and adore you but when you flop or make some mistakes, they boo you and unleash vitriol at your direction till you improve. If you doubt it, ask Bale's team mate and captain, Iker Casillas. 

Iker has been a worthy servant of Real Madrid since he became a regular in the first team squad in 1999. But some high profile mistakes has made the Real Madrid fans turn against him. If you look at Casillas' achievements for both club and country, the attacks on Casillas is shameful. You suspect that if the Madrid fans can do this to one of their own, then Bale a Welshman is fair game. Just imagine if Bale were black...

Being played out of position

This is not the biggest of excuses for Bale's recent troubles after all, he scored 22 goals last season and has already notched up 17 this season from the right wing but it could partly be the reason why we have not seen the best of Bale in a Madrid shirt and his current low confidence levels.

People forget quickly that the reason Bale became such a hot property is because of his performance from the left wing and later on from the centre. Bale is being played on the right because the left wing is Ronaldo's favourite position since he loves to cut in to his favoured right foot and shoot. And of course, it would be ridiculous to play Bale as a central striker where Benzema occupies since he is not a natural striker.

Bale should be allowed to have freedom to roam behind the central striker since it was there he flourished in his last season at Tottenham Hotspur where he scored 24 league goals which persuaded Real Madrid to pay a reported 85 million pounds for his signature. 

The 85 million pound question is, will Carlo Ancelloti upset the present order and allow Bale to play in a more central position or on the left wing where World player of the year, Cristiano Ronaldo, is currently occupying? 

Your guess is as good as mine.