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The UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool drew curtains as the Spanish giants defeated the Reds to lift their third consecutive title on Saturday.
The mega event started with controversies and injuries, which left fans of both the clubs in tatters. An early controversial tussle between Sergio Ramos and Mohamed Salah ended with the Egyptian leaving the pitch in tears, which eventually halved Liverpool’s chances to humble the Los Merengues. The tackle by Real Madrid’s skipper triggered a huge social media outrage but that is a different story all together.
After Salah’s injury, the Champions League final witnessed Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal leave the pitch with pain and tears. The injury which the right back suffered was not a result of any controversial tackle but sheer bad luck and the 26-year-old right back was substituted for the versatile Nacho Fernandez.
The injuries did impact the game on a tactical point of view but both the teams still fought their hearts out for the ultimate prize in club football.
We take a look at top 3 players who left their mark in the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev and earned plaudits from the fans all over the world.
#3 Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale had witnessed a topsy-turvy season with injuries and Zidane preferring other players over the dynamic forward, however, the Welsh turned his form around by scoring goals regularly for Real Madrid in the final stages of La Liga. That was not enough for manager Zinedine Zidane to put his name in the starting line-up in the final, though.
The Welsh wizard came on in the second half and won the game for the Spanish club single-handedly. His insane overhead kick restored Madrid’s lead just after his introduction.
The final goal by the 28-year-old was a powerful strike but Liverpool’s Lorius Karius should have dealt with it easily. That does not take anything away from the former Tottenham Hotspur man’s effort, however. He changed the dynamism of the match when Zizou’s men were looking clueless in the final third and left fans from all over the world awestruck.
The impact that Bale made was simply outrageous and his game-changing efforts will be talked about for years to come.
#2 Sadio Mane
Sadio Mane had a fabulous Champions League campaign alongside his Liverpool partners Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, but the final was more or less overshadowed by the Egyptian’s injury and the blunders which Karius made.
The Senegalese still silently left his mark in the grand finale, which saw him hit the only goal for Liverpool. The flashy winger scored his tenth goal of the European campaign to hand Liverpool the equalizer to Benzema’s freak opener in the first half.
After Carvajal’s injury, Mane grew into the game and kept on terrorizing the right flank, which was occupied by substitute Nacho. The former Southampton man kept on taking on and beating Fernandez even after Bale’s wonder overhead strike.
The 26-year-old forward was unlucky to hit the woodwork, which could have eventually handed the Reds a second equalizer of the night and if that effort had went in, then the ending of the story could have been different.
#3 Andrew Robertson
Andrew Robertson was the silent hero of the night for Liverpool. He was bombing up and down throughout Liverpool’s left flank and his superb link-up play with Sadio Mane troubled the Los Blancos’ defense line throughout the night.
The Scotsman stole the spotlight when his last-ditch tackle stopped a free Cristiano Ronaldo from scoring his 16th of the campaign. The tackle showed the fearlessness, the brave heart and the determination which Robertson possesses.
The former Hull City left-back was arguably the one of the finest left backs in the Premier League this season and the brave performance against Real Madrid has only improved his reputation as one of the best emerging left-backs in the world.
There were definitely some big question marks over Robertson’s ability to handle such a big pressure game but the gritty performance which he displayed must have surely cleared all the doubts over the fact that the 24-year-old is the right man to take up Liverpool’s left-back spot for years to come.
