Jose Mourinho gave a hugely ironic analysis of Liverpool’s performance in the Champions League final, almost suggesting Jurgen Klopp parked the bus.
The Merseysider’s got the game off to the perfect start when Liverpool‘s Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah, slotted home from the penalty spot after Moussa Sissoko was contentiously adjudged to have handled the ball in the area within the first 30 seconds of the game.
Their sixth European Cup triumph was confirmed when man of the hour and super sub, Divock Origi, slotted past Hugo Lloris in the 87th minute to seal a 2-0 win over Spurs at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid.
However, in honesty, it won’t be a game that goes down in history as a classic, and former Manchester United and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho had this to say about Liverpool’s performance…
“I think the three midfield Liverpool players, if we are going to see the wave of their positioning, they played on a straight line in front of a back four,” he told BEIN Sports.
“You don’t remember Henderson, Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Milner being close to the three attacking players, to have one arrive in the box, nothing. They stayed in a block of seven, they were very pragmatic, very solid defensively.
“I think also that if this match is not the Champions League final, if it is a Premier League match, or the final of the League Cup, we would all say the game was not good.”
“Because it is a Champions League final, it has this emotional side of it, but I think the quality of the game was not good, and Tottenham have to be frustrated, because they lost and they feel that they are better than this. These big moments are when you have to be at your best level.”
Mourinho’s comments about the quality of the game are somewhat ironic of course, especially considering he made much of his managerial career out of parking the bus, including winning two Champions League titles with Porto and Inter Milan in precisely that way.
It seems almost fitting to remind you why Jose was nominated for our ‘Pr*ck of the Year’ award on our recent podcast…
