Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool: 3 key battles that decided the game

In what was a thoroughly entertaining game for the neutrals, but a complete nightmare if you were a Liverpool fan or an Egyptian, as Real Madrid cruised to yet another Champions League title - their third successive title in the premium competition.

It was more a case of Liverpool losing the game than Madrid earning the trophy, as Liverpool's new No. 1, Loris Karius, made two horrible decisions in the second half to hand Madrid the game - an absent-minded pass that Benzema was clever enough to pounce onto and a long-shot from Bale that somehow ended up in the back of the net were decisive in the game.

Bale's superhuman overhead kick quelled all the momentum Liverpool had built up after Mane's equaliser.

As always, there were a few individual battles that went a long way in deciding the outcome of the fixture. Here's a look at 3 such battles:

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#3 Marcelo vs Trent Alexander-Arnold

Marcelo was surprisingly conservative going forward, and rightly so

Real Madrid and Liverpool are more alike in their playing style than most other Champions League finalists, and one of that was their full-back's intent to attack.

Both Marcelo and Trent Alexander-Arnold move forward with the ball in possession and try to contribute in attack. It was going to be the key difference, but on this night, it was the defender who defended that actually won the game. Marcelo stayed back most of the time instead of going on adventures in search of the ball - something he has been blamed for most of the season.

In the end, the Brazilian did manage two assists - both to Bale.

Marcelo vs Alexander-Arnold - stats

Alexander-Arnold, 19 years of age, was phenomenal during Liverpool's rout of City, but has endured his fair share of bad days since then - and this was one of those bad performances. Zidane's tactics here have to be lauded, as Madrid perfectly baited the English defender into leaving his posts vacant.

#2 Andy Robertson vs Cristiano Ronaldo

A quiet night for Cristiano despite Madrid's fireworks

Where Liverpool's right-back lost the plot, their equally loved left-back put in one of the performances of the game, and certainly did not deserve to be on the losing side.

Real Madrid won at the end, but Robertson's heroic tackle to deny Cristiano Ronaldo from scoring Los Blancos' third goal will forever remain in memory as a mark of will and perseverance.

For the most part, Robertson did not venture forward and stayed within his means, and when he did, he was quick to come back to his allotted position. If not for Robertson possessing the sense and skill to get into good positions, Liverpool would have conceded more.

Cristiano Ronaldo was largely quiet on the night, his only contribution to the game being an assist to Benzema that was correctly adjudged offside. He was not able to get away easily from Robertson and into open spaces in the box later in the game, which he usually does against tired legs.

Robertson vs Ronaldo -stats

With the club season over without a clear leader, the Ballon d'Or will be decided in the World Cup and nobody will be complaining.

#1 Loris Karius vs himself

It will require immense mental fortitude from Karius to come back from this performance

It is time to address the elephant in the room - Loris Karius. Not often does a keeper make two high-profile blunders in the same game and not often in the final of the UEFA Champions League.

Karius's performance will live in infamy - along with John Terry's slip while taking a penalty in the final of the Champions League, or Steven Gerrard's slip leading to Liverpool losing the PL title.

The first error can be attributed to a clever presence of mind from Benzema - the French forward stuck his leg out to intercept Karius's ball and it luckily ended up in the back of the net.

The second error was an outright howler, as the German failed to catch or parry an audacious shot from Bale and it once again found its way into the net, the final nail in the coffin. Karius will not be forgetting both of them anytime soon, and he will not be allowed to.

He ended the game with the gesture of asking the fans for forgiveness, begging them to forgive him and tears rolling down his cheeks. Hopefully, the Liverpool board have the same kind of mercy to spare. With rumors around of Liverpool launching a bid for Roma's Allison, this might have just sped things up.