Rob Green went full John Terry

Great result for Chelsea. Shame the Europa league final was held in Asia but it’s all about the money.

Apparently the Chelsea fans were chanting “F%ck you UEFA, Is this what you want?”.

Onto this weekend and I hear that the Spanish police are worried about Sp*rs fans smuggling flares into the ground.

Cos that’s what they were wearing the last time they were in a European final…

Should be a belter of a game tomorrow. Two teams who play great attacking football. Its going to be tight, I reckon. I doubt it’ll be a scoreline like Chelski Arsenal the other night.

With regards to the other night, one of the commentators who worked on it said this morning that it was the weirdest match he’s ever been too because it was a European final that had the atmosphere of a pre-season friendly.

Well done UEFA

While I expect the reason EUFA held it there was more to do with back handers than fairness, I do think that all countries who are eligible to compete in the tournament should also be eligible to hold the final. It can’t be just be a stitch up for western europe to always hold the finals and treat everyone else like second class citizens.

And onto other news, with the proposed takeover of Newcastle, there is becoming a lot of competition in the market for players who won’t insist on champions league football , but who are good enough to get you there. Some clubs could be slipping down the table after failing to realise history is constantly being written and past glories don’t give them a right to current and future glories. ManU and the gunners need to get their acts together, and realise they are in a fight to stay where they are, and not just assume they are in a fight for the top 4.

Couldn’t agree more. I was only saying the other day how we’re the new Arsenal. Aiming for fourth-will-do but falling short. If Wolves, Leicester and Everton carry on improving we’re far more likely to be scrapping with them than City, Liverpool and Spurs

Anyway … tonight? Any predictions? We’re in Mallorca and heading out to watch it hopefully in a bar 50/50 full of scousers and Spurs fans.

If the form of the bonkers CL games so far continues then someone to be 3 up by half time, before a mental comeback in the second half. A final score of 5-4 with the keeper coming up to head in the winner in the 97th minute!

Don’t ask me who’ll win it though. Could go either way. It’s certainly not going to be dull

I think Liverpool will be favourites to win in most peoples minds, iirc Liverpool have won both the premiership meet ups this season (the last one needing a bit of luck), but I think spurs are good enough to get one over on Liverpool once in three games, so maybe this is their turn.

I wouldn’t put money on it though, just hope its a good game 3-4 to either team will do.

Edit: can’t do it.

Nervous.
Watching it at home with junior J and his mate.
May be tears before bedtime.i think the long break plays into spurs hands tbh.
But I’m pessimistic about everything.

Not sure if this has been posted, but there’s a free stream on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wOmcXMabYc

Wow….. not the start I expected.

That was as much a penalty as ours was against PSG. You’ll take ‘em every time

No VAR tonight?

That was a terrible penalty to be given, but consistent with quite a few I have seen given in European competitions this year.

Boring…

Until the streaker ran across yay!

The penalty was given after a VAR review. His arm was up, moved towards the ball and impeded it’s progress across the box – definite penalty by the current rules.

Liverpool are playing very direct!

His arm was already up pointing, Mane kicked the ball into his arm IMO, knowing how the rules are currently being interpreted. It shouldn’t be a penalty, but it looks like the refs have been told that any contact with the arm is a pen this year in Europe.

Is it me or is the Youtube feed awful – stuttery and blocky?

Have installed the BT App and am casting from that – that’s better.

Yeah, I have struggled to get a decent feed, but it seems to have settled down now.

Not a great first half, quite a disappointment after the excitement of the semi’s.

…and watching the half time replays, I am swinging more to that being a good penalty decision.

I have sympathy, as he wasn’t particularly ‘widening his body’ by holding his arms out, he was actually gesturing for someone to cover inside him – but as soon as you hold your arms out for any reason you invite being penalised for ball to hand.

Interestingly (ok for retired referee rules geeks) the laws actually changed today – but this game’s played under existing laws – but it’ll still be a matter of interpretation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48382254

The law remains that deliberate handball is an offence. But accidental handball will also be a free-kick if…

• the ball goes into the goal off an attacker
• a player gets the ball using his arm or hand and then scores, or creates a goalscoring opportunity
• a player’s hand or arm has made their body “unnaturally bigger”
• the player’s arm or hand is above their shoulder (unless the player has controlled the ball onto his own arm or hand)

But a handball will not be a free-kick if…

• the ball is knocked on to a hand by the player in question or a nearby player

• the arm or hand is close to their body and “has not made their body unnaturally bigger”

• if a player is falling and the ball touches their hand or arm when it is between their body and the ground to support the body – but not extended to make the body bigger

But I’m reading that as it would not have been given next year, because it went onto his (raised / unnaturally positioned) arm from his chest, not directly.

Cheers Crispin – that’s better!

Is it me or is the Youtube feed awful – stuttery and blocky?

Apparently they were filming in 30fps and streaming in 25fps. Noobs!

Pretty poor game 78 minutes into it.
Have to feel sorry for Moura not starting after that semi final hat trick

Moura missed a decent chance at 1-0 though.

Van Dijk has been immense, as usual.

That was an awful match. Not exactly an advert for the English game.

The heat, the tension due to what’s at stake and three weeks without a game contributed to the standard I think.

shortbread_fanylion

Subscriber
The heat, the tension due to what’s at stake and three weeks without a game contributed to the standard I think.

that’s a shanner of an excuse! 😆

I did qualify it with contributed…..😂

Hoddle’s a right moany fanny

Hoddle’s a right moany fanny

this.

Now the kickball has finished we can focus fully on the cricket.

Finals often disappoint. The heat was a big factor, both teams weren’t thinking clearly especially in the final third. Pochettino should have started Moura.
But I’m amazed at how Spurs just didn’t go for it, they waited too long, perhaps confident they could get a late goal. Liverpool were there for the taking…something of a Tottenham bottle job.

Alexander Arnold and Robertson had very good games tonight.
Both got forward at every opportunity.

For once I didn’t mind who won tonight. I expect that would have been the easiest game the Liverpool defence has had all season.

Congrats Liverpool.

Spurs didn’t look like they believed they could win it; all through they’ve been underdogs and I think that suited them. To be equals, albeit slightly second favourites in this game they didn’t seem to have the attitude to gamble it all for the win. They passed the ball better, they had more possession and territory, but Son aside no-one seemed to ever really run at them and threaten, and when they did get shots Allison had the ability to make it look easy (and there were a couple of decent saves in there as well as doing the routine with no fuss)

Difficult to know how the early goal affected it – if anything I thought that should have played into the ‘up against it’ position that seems to have galvanised them previously – but was largely unimpressed. Liverpool never really got into top gear but in my mind easily did enough in the areas where it mattered, I thought Allison and V-D were excellent again, Henderson does alright for a not top top player, and they took chances when they came.

And on the basis of the season, they deserve it.

( I also noted – according to BBC only 11 fouls all game, and not a booking)

Yep agree with all the above.
Not a single yellow card is indicative of what a strange game it was – almost like a friendly.
Surreal. No quality from either side, Kane unfortunately went missing for another big game as he did with England in the World Cup.
I think there is a lot to be said that Spurs don’t have the fundamental self-belief, and suffered paralysis/stage fright.

Ok, I didn’t expect it to be anywhere near as exciting as the semi finals but that was such and anticlimax and we won. Just such a poor game.

No yellow cards coz neither team are dirty gits. Glad we got the second as the penalty was soft.
Allison m.o.m. imo.
Should I go out for a pint ?
😊

We sung it in France, we sung it in Spain,
We sung in the sun, we SUNG IN MADRID! They tried to stop it, but look what it did! the best hin in life is BEING Y**! Being a Y**, Being Y**, the best thing there is is being a Y**!

Watched the game with Scouser red BIL. pround of the Spurs. not the nest game but we are building and I’m smiling and so proud to wear the shirt

being a Y**,being a y**, the best thing in life is being a y**!

Ok Binners, this year may be our year after all then??

Wasn’t a great game and in many ways a strange performance from Liverpool, but job done.

Definitely a let down as a game, given the madness that led up to it. Can’t understand why he didn’t start with Moura, given his present form, and Kane didn’t look match fit

I had a fiver on Origi to come on and score the final goal at 10/1 to in some way compensate for all the overjoyed scousers I was surrounded by 😉

I had a fiver double on Salah 1st goal and 3-0