Kieran Trippier has admitted that he and his former Tottenham teammates were confident heading into the Champions League final against Liverpool in 2019 but insisted the early penalty awarded to the Reds killed the game.
Liverpool were awarded a penalty less than a minute into the final at Madrid after Sadio Mane’s cross hit Moussa Sissoko’s outstretched arm.
Mohamed Salah stepped up to convert from the spot and Jugen Klopp’s men decided to defend with men behind the ball from that point on and made it difficult for Tottenham to open them up.
Divock Origi then came off the bench to find the back of the net in the 86th minute to put the game beyond the Lilywhites.
The defeat in the Champions League final proved to be a major setback for Tottenham, with Mauricio Pochettino being sacked just a few months later and the club failing to qualify for the Champions League in the two seasons since.
When asked if Spurs felt confident going into the final in 2019, Trippier said on the True Geordie Podcast (1:18:00 onwards): “We thought we were going to win. I’m not going to lie, we thought we were going to win.”
He added: “100 per cent. Just because of the way the City game went and the Ajax game.. we thought… We felt confident!
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“And then two minutes into the game or whatever it was, (Liverpool) get a penalty and that just killed the game. I’m being honest.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Many people forgot that the final in Madrid was the turning point for not just Spurs but also Liverpool. Just like Spurs under Pochettino, the Reds had not won any trophy under Klopp until that point.
The two clubs have had completely different fortunes since then, with Liverpool going from strength to strength while Tottenham, in many ways, still have not recovered from the heartbreak of the final loss.
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