2019 UEFA Champions League final

Did You Know?

• The Estadio Metropolitano was referred to as 'Estadio Metropolitano' in all UEFA materials due to naming rights regulations.
• UEFA launched an open bidding process for the first time to select venues for the 2019 club competition finals.
• Liverpool's victory parade in Liverpool was estimated to have been attended by approximately 750,000 supporters.

Background

Tottenham Hotspur reached their first Champions League final, becoming the eighth English finalist and the first debutants since Chelsea in 2008. It was their fifth UEFA competition final, having won the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup and the 1972 and 1984 UEFA Cups, and lost the 1974 UEFA Cup final. A victory would have made them the third English club to win all three pre-1999 major European trophies. In eight matches against fellow English clubs in European competitions, Tottenham had four wins, one draw and three losses, including wins over Manchester City in the 2018–19 quarter-finals and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 1972 UEFA Cup final.

Liverpool appeared in their ninth final, an English record, and their second consecutive final after losing to Real Madrid in 2018. They had won the competition five times (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005) and lost three finals (1985, 2007, 2018). This was Liverpool's 14th UEFA competition final, including one Cup Winners' Cup final and four UEFA Cup/Europa League finals. Manager Jürgen Klopp was contesting his third Champions League final, having lost the previous two with Borussia Dortmund in 2013 and Liverpool in 2018.

Route to the final

Tottenham Hotspur qualified directly for the group stage as the third-placed team in the 2017–18 Premier League. They were drawn into Group B with Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan. Spurs lost 2–1 at Inter and 4–2 at home to Barcelona, drew 2–2 at PSV, then beat PSV 2–1 at home and Inter 1–0 at Wembley. A 1–1 draw at Barcelona saw them finish level on points with Inter but advance on head-to-head away goals as group runners-up.

In the round of 16, Tottenham beat Borussia Dortmund 3–0 at home and 1–0 away for a 4–0 aggregate win. Liverpool, as runners-up in the 2017–18 Premier League, also entered the group stage directly. They were drawn into Group C with Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade. Liverpool won three group matches, drew one and lost two, finishing second behind Paris Saint-Germain.

In the round of 16 they defeated Bayern Munich 3–1 on aggregate, then beat Porto 6–1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, Liverpool overturned a 3–0 first-leg deficit by beating Barcelona 4–0 at Anfield to advance 4–3 on aggregate.

Pre-match

The final identity, designed by Madrid-based artist Ruben Sanchez (Zoonchez), was unveiled on 30 August 2018. It drew inspiration from local folklore, including the city emblem, cats (a nickname for Madrilenians), a guitar and a statue in Puerta del Sol, with blues and oranges representing a Madrid sunset known as a 'candilazo'. The ambassador for the final was former Spain international Luis García, who played for Atlético Madrid and won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005. Of the 63,500 tickets, 17,000 were allocated to each finalist, with 4,000 sold to the general public via UEFA.com in four price categories. Accommodation and flight prices surged by up to 683 percent after the semi-finals, drawing criticism from managers Jürgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino and supporters' groups. Tottenham announced a live screening of the final at their stadium for a full-capacity audience.

Match

Before kick-off, a moment of silence was observed for Spanish footballer José Antonio Reyes, who had died earlier that day. Liverpool earned a penalty 24 seconds into the match when Moussa Sissoko handled the ball in the area; Mohamed Salah scored in the second minute, the second-fastest goal in a Champions League final. Tottenham held most of the first-half possession but created few chances, while Liverpool had six corner kicks but played cautiously.

The match was briefly interrupted in the 18th minute by a pitch invader. In the second half, James Milner shot wide for Liverpool. Both managers made substitutions around the 60th minute, with Divock Origi replacing Roberto Firmino for Liverpool and Lucas Moura replacing Harry Winks for Tottenham. Tottenham pressed forward but left themselves open to counterattacks.

In the 87th minute, after a corner kick was not cleared, Origi scored from inside the penalty area into the bottom right corner. Liverpool won their sixth European Cup, and Jürgen Klopp won his first trophy for the club.