Joe Molloy was joined by Bernard Jackman and Kieran Cunningham on the Sunday Paper Review to reflect on Liverpool’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.
Madrid collected an unprecedented 13th European Cup in Kiev after substitute Gareth Bale scored twice to cancel out Sadio Mane’s equaliser after Karim Benzema had given the Spanish side a second half lead.
But Liverpool were dealt an early blow when star man Mohamed Salah was forced off with a shoulder injury following an altercation with Sergio Ramos.
Salah left the field in floods of tears and the panel questioned whether being so emotional in the field of play was a hinderance to his teammates.
“With all the expertise they have in terms of sports psychology and getting yourself into the right state mentally – I would question if that’s a good state to be in, to break down immediately,” Jackman said.
“In terms of the message it sends to your teammates. Salah is obviously the go-to guy for Liverpool [but] him going off in tears wouldn’t send the right message to the rest of the team.
“What you want is someone to say is: ‘it’s no big deal, we’ll carry on’. For example yesterday, Isa Nacewa was off after 20 minutes but Leinster stuck to their process.
“For me, maybe it’s a little symptomatic in soccer, they all see it being about them.”
Liverpool’s route to the final was largely thanks to their free-scoring form at Anfield where the Reds enjoyed a raptorous support from their home crowd.
But Kieran Cunnigham believes Liverpool’s final loss should not take away from what has been an encouraging season on Merseyside.
“I think it may be a by product of the Klopp way,” Cunningham said.
“The Klopp way is based so much on emotion and passion. There’s clips of him going around with him drinking with fans this morning and singing songs, so it’s all about this bond.
“We get obsessed about winners and those who are up on the podium. But what Liverpool have done this season is very significant and it definitely gives them a platform to push on.
“It’s very unusual to get to a Champions League final from the qualifying rounds. I think Liverpool have only won it coming from the qualifying rounds in 2005.”
Written by James Hopper
