The game
One team came to play.
Liverpool “stormed” for about thirty minutes, stealing the ball, creating good scoring chances, looking much sharper than Real Madrid.
Madrid’s thuggish captain, Sergio Ramos, ended this by yanking Mohamed Salah to the ground by his arm and falling with full force upon him. He injured Salah’s shoulder. Thus, Liverpool’s best player was made to leave the game.
Liverpool unraveled after Ramos’s brutal act.
Shortly after halftime, Madrid scored a flukey goal. Loris Karius, Liverpool’s goalkeeper, threw the ball off the foot of Karim Benzema, and it rolled into the net.
Liverpool rallied well enough to tie the score after a few minutes.
But, characteristically, Madrid resolved the matter by calling upon a substitute from its well-funded bench. Isco, who’d been struggling, was brought off for Gareth Bale (once, the world’s highest-priced signing).
Bale, the super-sub, scored with a bicycle kick.
Then he scored with a shot that swerved off Karius’s palms. It was a bad night for Karius.
The final score, 3 to 1, was as I’d predicted.
It could have been 4 to 1, but Cristiano Ronaldo, who’d been tepid all night, had his last scoring chance derailed by a spectator who invaded the field. The referee ended the game a few seconds later.
None of Madrid’s goals involved much constructive effort. All depended on isolated moments of individual brilliance (or good fortune) …
… made possible by a prior act of deliberate, ruthless thuggery.
See, this is why neutral spectators such as I cheer against Real Madrid. Madrid has great players, yes. But these players cheat. They don’t win by playing constructively (even Luka Modrić, who gave one of the best performances, did nothing but defend).
What’s the point of having these stars, if this is how they win?
The point, their supporters will say, is simply to win.
Then let them have their victory. This was a game that would have made Franco proud.
Liverpool “stormed” for about thirty minutes, stealing the ball, creating good scoring chances, looking much sharper than Real Madrid.
Madrid’s thuggish captain, Sergio Ramos, ended this by yanking Mohamed Salah to the ground by his arm and falling with full force upon him. He injured Salah’s shoulder. Thus, Liverpool’s best player was made to leave the game.
Liverpool unraveled after Ramos’s brutal act.
Shortly after halftime, Madrid scored a flukey goal. Loris Karius, Liverpool’s goalkeeper, threw the ball off the foot of Karim Benzema, and it rolled into the net.
Liverpool rallied well enough to tie the score after a few minutes.
But, characteristically, Madrid resolved the matter by calling upon a substitute from its well-funded bench. Isco, who’d been struggling, was brought off for Gareth Bale (once, the world’s highest-priced signing).
Bale, the super-sub, scored with a bicycle kick.
Then he scored with a shot that swerved off Karius’s palms. It was a bad night for Karius.
The final score, 3 to 1, was as I’d predicted.
It could have been 4 to 1, but Cristiano Ronaldo, who’d been tepid all night, had his last scoring chance derailed by a spectator who invaded the field. The referee ended the game a few seconds later.
None of Madrid’s goals involved much constructive effort. All depended on isolated moments of individual brilliance (or good fortune) …
… made possible by a prior act of deliberate, ruthless thuggery.
See, this is why neutral spectators such as I cheer against Real Madrid. Madrid has great players, yes. But these players cheat. They don’t win by playing constructively (even Luka Modrić, who gave one of the best performances, did nothing but defend).
What’s the point of having these stars, if this is how they win?
The point, their supporters will say, is simply to win.
Then let them have their victory. This was a game that would have made Franco proud.