Mohamed Salah scored one of the fastest ever goals in a Champions League final and Divock Origi struck late as Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in Madrid on Saturday to clinch their sixth European Cup.
Less than two minutes had been played in this all-English contest when Salah smashed in his spot-kick after Moussa Sissoko had been penalised for handball in the area.
A disappointing final never truly got going after that, but Liverpool will not care. Alisson Becker made several confident saves in the latter stages before substitute Origi drilled in the killer second in the 87th minute.
That led to an explosion of joy from their supporters inside the Wanda Metropolitano stadium as Jurgen Klopp’s side made up for their defeat in last year’s final against Real Madrid and the deflation of missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City.
Salah has his redemption after injury ruined his night against Real in Kiev, and Klopp has his first trophy as Liverpool manager. The German ends a run of six straight defeats in finals.
More importantly, Liverpool have their sixth European Cup, further cementing their status as one of football’s most storied clubs.
They now have more than Barcelona or Bayern Munich, and twice as many as their great rivals Manchester United.