MAURICIO POCHETTINO has had a great season with Tottenham — but his big calls just didn’t come off in the Champions League final. In comparison, Jurgen Klopp’s decision-making went a long way to earning Liverpool a deserved sixth European title, and ending his poor final record. I’m sure Pochettino agonised over whether to start Harry Kane but he got that one wrong. Kane didn’t look fit at all and didn’t turn up in Madrid — he was nowhere near as sharp as he could and should have been. I imagine Harry was in Pochettino’s ear all week and he has had a week to judge it based on seeing him in training. I’ve been in the same situation myself. He may never feature in a European Cup final again so he would have been desperate to play. But you have to judge him on his performance and he simply wasn’t 100 per cent fit. Harry Winks was exactly the same — he hadn’t played for over two months yet he was risked to start in such a huge game for the club. To play one was a gamble, to play two who haven’t played for that long was a huge risk and it didn’t pay off. I’m sure Pochettino will be thinking “If only”. If only he had done something different. Lucas Moura could have offered them an alternative way of playing. The big difference was Klopp had the same decision to make with Roberto Firmino, who started the game despite clearly not being fit. After 55 minutes, Firmino made one bad pass too many and Klopp dragged him off and put Divock Origi on, while Kane was left on all night and offered hardly anything. Mauricio Pochettino casts doubt over Spurs future after refusing to commit to club in aftermath of Champions League defeat to Liverpool DIDN'T GET A KICK Klopp’s decision-making and big calls in the final helped win them the game. For Klopp, going into a final on the back of losing six on the spin was a decisive moment. Liverpool had to win a trophy this season. They battled Man City and got 97 points, losing one league game all season. They didn’t play particularly well on Saturday but they didn’t have to, although there were some stand-out performances. Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk didn’t give Kane a kick. The two full-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, were impressive. And Origi produced an outstanding finish once again. I was at the semi-final against Barcelona at Anfield and he was immense. To produce another incredible finish in the final is massive credit to his drive and belief. When he was away on loan he couldn’t even get any game time — and he has it tough in this Liverpool team as that front three are impossible to budge. But what a two months it has been for him. He has written himself into the history books at Liverpool Football Club. Aerial view of Liverpool's Champions League open top bus parade Tottenham’s big players didn’t perform — Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen did not show up and they didn’t deserve to get back into the game. They basically carried on their league form, scraping into
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MAURICIO POCHETTINO has had a great season with Tottenham — but his big calls just didn’t come off in the Champions League final. In comparison, Jurgen Klopp’s decision-making went a long way to earning Liverpool a deserved sixth European title, and ending his poor final record. I’m sure Pochettino agonised over whether to start Harry Kane but he got that one wrong. Kane didn’t look fit at all and didn’t turn up in Madrid — he was nowhere near as sharp as he could and should have been. I imagine Harry was in Pochettino’s ear all week and he has had a week to judge it based on seeing him in training. I’ve been in the same situation myself. He may never feature in a European Cup final again so he would have been desperate to play. But you have to judge him on his performance and he simply wasn’t 100 per cent fit. Harry Winks was exactly the same — he hadn’t played for over two months yet he was risked to start in such a huge game for the club. To play one was a gamble, to play two who haven’t played for that long was a huge risk and it didn’t pay off. I’m sure Pochettino will be thinking “If only”. If only he had done something different. Lucas Moura could have offered them an alternative way of playing. The big difference was Klopp had the same decision to make with Roberto Firmino, who started the game despite clearly not being fit. After 55 minutes, Firmino made one bad pass too many and Klopp dragged him off and put Divock Origi on, while Kane was left on all night and offered hardly anything. Mauricio Pochettino casts doubt over Spurs future after refusing to commit to club in aftermath of Champions League defeat to Liverpool DIDN'T GET A KICK Klopp’s decision-making and big calls in the final helped win them the game. For Klopp, going into a final on the back of losing six on the spin was a decisive moment. Liverpool had to win a trophy this season. They battled Man City and got 97 points, losing one league game all season. They didn’t play particularly well on Saturday but they didn’t have to, although there were some stand-out performances. Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk didn’t give Kane a kick. The two full-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, were impressive. And Origi produced an outstanding finish once again. I was at the semi-final against Barcelona at Anfield and he was immense. To produce another incredible finish in the final is massive credit to his drive and belief. When he was away on loan he couldn’t even get any game time — and he has it tough in this Liverpool team as that front three are impossible to budge. But what a two months it has been for him. He has written himself into the history books at Liverpool Football Club. Aerial view of Liverpool's Champions League open top bus parade Tottenham’s big players didn’t perform — Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen did not show up and they didn’t deserve to get back into the game. They basically carried on their league form, scraping into
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