Tottenham’s wait for silverware will go on for at least one more season.
Spurs would take on Liverpool in Madrid this past Saturday in the Champions League final.
Liverpool came away with a 2-0 victory, but if Spurs had really been at their best, they could have won the tie.
Both Liverpool and Tottenham looked a little rusty in Madrid, which isn’t too much of a surprise given they hadn’t played a competitive game for three weeks.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 07: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United and Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal shake hands prior to the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on May 7, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Kane goes missing
One of the biggest talking points heading into the final was if Harry Kane would start.
The England forward had been out of action since early April with a ligament problem.
However, Kane was able to recover in time for the final, and took his place up front from the start on Saturday.
Unfortunately for Spurs fans, Kane did not look at his best. He would manage just 11 touches in the first 45 versus Liverpool, the lowest of any Tottenham player.
After the first-half of the final, while working for beIN SPORTS, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger gave their respective assessments of Kane’s display.
When speaking about Kane, Mourinho stated:
“Harry Kane was hidden all the time.
“He normally drops back, comes in between the lines, normally he’s the link player – he receives the ball from one side, he goes between the lines, he turns, plays with the other full back, arrives in the box. Nothing of this dynamic yet.”
Wenger also had his say on Kane:
“We spoke a lot about Kane, he doesn’t look ready. Overall only Son looked dangerous, especially going in behind Alexander-Arnold.” As quoted by football.london.
Watch the full discussion below:
“We spoke a lot about Kane. He doesn’t look ready.”
“Harry Kane was hidden all the time.”
They may have had their differences but Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho both AGREED on something last night.
MESKIPUN pertarungan di antara Khabib Nurmagomedov dan Dustin Poirer belum diumumkan secara rasmi, tetapi nampaknya salah satu pihak telah pun memulakan persediaan bagi menghadapi kejuaraan tersebut.
Jurulatih Khabib, Javier Mendez dalam satu posting di laman Instagramnya baru-baru ini memberi bayangan seolah-olah pasukannya sudah pun memulakan kem latihan untuk UFC 242.
“Saya teruja untuk memulakan kem dengan ‘The Eagle’ Khabib Nurmagomedov jika ia menjadi kenyataan pada 7 September nanti di UFC Abu Dhabi menentang pencabar yang amat sukar iaitu Dustin Poirier,” tulis Mendez dalam postinya itu.
Khabib, 30 tahun, dijangka mempertahankan kejuaraannya lightweight yang disandangnya menentang juara lightweight interim, Dustin Poirier pada acara yang dijadualkan berlangsung pada 7 September di Abu Dhabi, Emiriah Arab Bersatu (UAE).
Poirier meraih gelaran juara lightweight interim UFC selepas menewaskan petarung ‘favourite’ Max Holloway pada aksi UFC 236 di Atlanta, Georgia, April lalu.
Khabib kini sedang menjalani ibadah puasa, dan sedang berehat dari sebarang aksi pertarungan seni bela diri campuran (MMA) selain digantung perlawanan susulan insiden pergaduhan yang berlaku di UFC 229.
Petarung dari Dagestan, Rusia itu didenda sebanyak AS$500,000 (RM2,053,953) dan digantung perlawanan selama sembilan bulan, manakala pesaingnya Conor McGregor pula didenda AS$50,000 (RM205,355) dan digantung perlawanan enam bulan.
LONDON – Pelatih Tim Nasional (Timnas) Inggris, Gareth Southgate, bertekad mengakhiri puasa gelar juara bagi Tim Tiga Singa yang sudah berlangsung selama 53 tahun dengan memenangi UEFA Nations League (UNL). Langkah Harry Kane dan kawan-kawan tinggal berjarak dua laga lagi dengan trofi kompetisi tersebut.
Timnas Inggris sukses melangkah ke babak semifinal setelah lolos sebagai juara Grup 4 UEFA Nations League A, mengungguli Spanyol dan Kroasia. Semifinalis Piala Dunia 2018 tersebut akan menghadapi Swiss di Estadio Afonso Henriques, Portugal, pada Jumat 7 Juni 2019 dini hari WIB.
Momentum bagus tengah didapat Timnas Inggris setelah penampilan impresif mereka di Piala Dunia 2018. Dua klub asal Inggris, Chelsea dan Liverpool, sukses menjadi juara dua kompetisi antarklub Eropa, yakni Liga Eropa dan Liga Champions 2018-2019.
Dominasi Inggris di kompetisi tersebut kian terasa mengingat Liga Eropa dan Liga Champions sama-sama menciptakan All English Final. Southgate yakin para pemainnya juga merasakan keinginan yang sama untuk mempersembahkan trofi bagi Timnas Inggris.
“Kami benar-benar tidak sabar menanti kesempatan untuk mengakhiri musim dengan baik. Saya tahu para pemain juga sangat bersemangat dan hanya tinggal dua pertandingan lagi untuk memenangi trofi. Tentu trofi tersebut akan menjadi langkah signifikan buat kami,” tutur Gareth Southgate, melansir dari laman resmi Asosiasi Sepakbola Inggris (FA), Senin (3/6/2019).
“Pekan-pekan ini sangat luar biasa untuk sepakbola Inggris. Kami akan menghadapi pertandingan besar, jadi semua pemain harus siap,” imbuh pelatih berusia 48 tahun itu.
Demi mewujudkan ambisi tersebut, Gareth Southgate sengaja memanggil 27 pemain untuk bersiap mengahadapi UEFA Nations League sejak akhir Mei 2019. Nantinya sebanyak 22 pemain akan diboyong ke Portugal guna membawa pulang trofi UEFA Nations League edisi perdana.
Liverpool and Tottenham went head-to-head on Saturday evening in the 2019 Champions League final.
No matter the outcome it would be the first time an English side had lifted the trophy since 2012 when Chelsea did so.
The final in Madrid got off to a very lively start.
Moussa Sissoko was adjudged to have handled the ball inside his penalty area less than two minutes into the final, giving Liverpool an early penalty.
Mohamed Salah would step up and convert said spot kick.
The rest of the game was actually quite poor considering it was a UCL final, it was pretty clear both teams had been three weeks without a real competitive game of football.
Liverpool would eventually kill the game off in the 87th minute through Divock Origi.
MADRID, SPAIN – JUNE 01 : Jordan Henderson of Liverpool kisses the UEFA Champions League trophy during the UEFA Champions League Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on June 1, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Chamberlain remembers Arsenal
After the game, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain spoke about winning the final for Arsenal.
Arsenal are, of course, Spurs’ biggest rivals and Chamberlain himself played for Arsenal for many years before making the switch to Anfield.
However, Chamberlain didn’t feature in any UCL games this season due to the injury he suffered in last year’s competition vs Roma.
Chamberlain was still named on the bench for the 2019 final though.
When speaking about Arsenal, Chamberlain stated:
“As former Gooners, we all know how much that one meant to all the Arsenal fans out there.
“Once a Gooner always a Gooner’ that’s what they say. I had a personal sort of feeling in that game that we needed to get it done for all the people I left at Arsenal.”