Ah! Yes, it’s that time of the year again. Where the reigning champions of the two main European competitions (Champions League and Europa League) face off against each other. This was the 44th edition of the competition and there was history being made all over; this match saw two English sides face off against each other for the very first time, it also saw the first female to officiate a major men’s European match, and this was the first time VAR (Video Assistant Referee) was used in this competition. The match was held at the Vodafone Park in Istanbul and was witnessed by 38,400 people. Match referee was Stéphanie Frappart. Lineups: lineup(1) - Liverpool lineup - Chelsea                     Team news for Liverpool included the introduction of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to the starting eleven after he got back from a cruciate ligament injury and was out for 16 months and Naby Keita was declared unfit to be included in the starting lineup, suffering a muscle strain. For Chelsea, N’Golo Kanté was declared fit to be included in the staring eleven after the injury concern in their last match against Manchester United and Christian Pulisic was handed his first competitive start for Chelsea. First Half Analysis: Liverpool started off the match looking for an early goal and would’ve secured it through Mo Salah if not for a good save by Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. Liverpool kept looking for the longs balls trying to release either Mane or Salah but the Chelsea defence shut shop on the duo. Chelsea goal came after a good play from Kante who found Pulisic who found Olivier Giroud with a through ball and easily slotted it past Adrian. There was an opportunity for the creator of the Chelsea goal to extend the lead for his team but the effort was ruled offside. It looked like Chelsea had more players willing to run and/or carry the ball behind the Liverpool defence and, Liverpool kept looking for those long balls. The Ox had a poor first half and went missing after the initial 15 minutes. Second half analysis: lineup(2) - Liverpool lineup(3) - Chelsea                       Roberto Firmino was brought on by Liverpool in the second half in place of Oxlade-Chamberlain. He made an instant impact setting up Mane to score Liverpool’s first goal. Liverpool looked far more comfortable in attack in the second half, for in Firmino they had somebody to hold the ball and also linkup with the other two forwards. As the half went on the tiredness kicked in and both teams struggled to keep the ball. There was a chance for Liverpool to take the lead which was denied by a superb double save by the Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa, first to deny Salah and then Van Djik. Chelsea had another goal disallowed for offside, this time against substitute Mason Mount. Extra Time and Penalties: Liverpool brought in Alexander-Arnold replacing Andy Robertson, with Joe Gomez taking the role of a left-back. Liverpool struck first in extra time after a beautiful one-two between Mane and Firmino, with the latter setting up the former for the goal. Chelsea had an opportunity when Tammy Abraham was sent through by Jorginho only to see his effort saved by the outstretched leg of Adrian. The hero became the villain soon afterwards when he brought down the Chelsea forward in the box and the French referee awarded Chelsea with a penalty. There was a VAR check which confirmed the referee’s decision. Up stepped Jorginho to put it past Adrian and made it 2-2. The fitness levels of the players were tested and both teams made use of the allotted 4 substitutions. Extra time couldn’t separate the two teams and so the match moved onto penalties. The match was decided after Tammy Abraham failed to convert his penalty and Liverpool went onto lift the trophy for the fourth time. MOTM: N’Golo Kanté. He along with Pedro were the live wires for the Chelsea side, always willing to run to with the ball or to win it for his team. His presence was truly missed when Chelsea were humbled at Old Trafford. Things to take away:

  1. History was made when Stéphanie Frappart was chosen to officiate the match, she became the first female in history to officiate a men’s major European match.
  2. The Vodafone Park in Istanbul was covered in red even before the match had begun; most of the locals were supporters of Liverpool. It’s true what they say, there’s always a love connection between Liverpool and Istanbul.
  3. All’s not lost for Chelsea; there were lot of positives to take back for Frank Lampard. New signing Christian Pulisic showed that he was capable of returning the faith shown by his manager and played brilliantly. His Derby players Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori looked comfortable playing against a tough opposition. And there are players returning from injury for the team as well.
  4. A lot of things to be noted for the men in Red. First of all, congratulations on winning another trophy! The defence looked far better compared to their match against Norwich, maybe Van Djik and Matip might be the way to go. No disrespect to Joe Gomez who had a brilliant game at right-back and Klopp trusted him enough to play the left-back role as well, but the other two looked to understand each other better. Liverpool needs to work on holding and passing the ball well near the opposition’s box.