2019 UEFA Champions League final facts for kids
| 2019 UEFA Champions League Final programme.jpg
Match programme cover
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| Event | 2018–19 UEFA Champions League | ||||||
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| Date | 1 June 2019 | ||||||
| Venue | Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) | ||||||
| Referee | Damir Skomina (Slovenia) | ||||||
| Attendance | 63,272 | ||||||
| Weather | Sunny 30 °C (86 °F) 15% humidity |
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The 2019 UEFA Champions League final was the big championship game of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League season. This is Europe's top club football tournament, organized by UEFA. It was the 64th time this event was held.
The exciting match took place on June 1, 2019, in Madrid, Spain. The stadium was the Metropolitano Stadium. Two English teams played against each other: Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. This was Tottenham's first time in a European Cup final. Liverpool was playing in their ninth final overall, and their second in a row. They had lost to Real Madrid in 2018.
This final was special because both teams were from the same country. It was the seventh time this happened in the Champions League final. It was also the second time two English teams played for the title. The first all-English final was in 2008.
Liverpool won the final with a score of 2–0. Mohamed Salah scored an early goal from a penalty kick. Later, Divock Origi, who came in as a substitute, scored another goal. Because they won, Liverpool got to play in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. They also played against Chelsea in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup. Liverpool won both of these competitions too!
UEFA made some new rules for this final. Teams could make a fourth substitution if the game went into extra time. Also, they could have up to 12 substitute players on the bench. This final was also the first to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system.
Contents
Teams in the Final
This section shows which teams played in the final. It also lists their past appearances in the European Cup or UEFA Champions League finals.
| Team | Previous final appearances (bold means they won!) |
|---|---|
 Tottenham Hotspur |
None |
| Liverpool |
8 (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1985, 2005, 2007, 2018) |
The Stadium: Metropolitano
The 2019 final was held at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid. This was the fifth time Madrid hosted a European Cup or Champions League final. The other finals were in 1957, 1969, 1980, and 2010. Those earlier games were at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
The Metropolitano Stadium can hold 67,000 fans. It is the home stadium for Atlético Madrid. They started playing there after big renovations were finished in 2017. UEFA called it "Estadio Metropolitano" for the final. This is because of rules about stadium names and sponsors.
Choosing the Host City
For the first time, UEFA let cities openly bid to host the finals. This included the Champions League, Europa League, Women's Champions League, and Super Cup. Cities had to show interest by January 2017 and send their full bids by June 2017.
Two countries showed interest in hosting the 2019 Champions League final: Azerbaijan and Spain.
- Azerbaijan suggested the Baku Olympic Stadium in Baku. It can hold 68,700 people.
- Spain suggested the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid. It can hold 67,000 people.
On September 20, 2017, UEFA chose the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid. The Baku Olympic Stadium was chosen to host the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final instead.
Team Journeys to the Final
Both Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool had amazing journeys to reach the final. They played many tough matches against teams from all over Europe.
Tottenham Hotspur's Path
Tottenham Hotspur reached their first-ever Champions League final. They had not been in a European final since 1984. They got into the Champions League by finishing third in the 2017–18 Premier League.
In the group stage, Tottenham played against Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven, and Inter Milan. They had a tough start, losing to Inter and Barcelona. But they fought back! A late goal from Christian Eriksen helped them beat Inter. Then, Lucas Moura scored a late goal against Barcelona, earning a draw. Tottenham finished second in their group, moving on to the knockout stage.
In the Round of 16, Tottenham played against German club Borussia Dortmund. They won the first game 3-0 at home. Goals came from Son Heung-min, Jan Vertonghen, and Fernando Llorente. They won the second game 1-0, making the total score 4-0. This sent them to the quarter-finals.
Next, they faced fellow English team Manchester City. This was a very exciting match! Tottenham won the first game 1-0 at their new stadium. Son Heung-min scored the goal. The second game was a goal-fest. Manchester City led 4-3 on total score, but Fernando Llorente scored for Tottenham. This made the score 4-4, and Tottenham won because of the away goals rule. A late goal by Manchester City was disallowed by VAR, adding to the drama!
In the semi-finals, Tottenham played against Ajax from the Netherlands. Ajax had already beaten Real Madrid and Juventus. Tottenham lost the first game 1-0 at home. In the second game, Ajax scored two early goals, leading 3-0 overall. But then, Lucas Moura scored two quick goals for Tottenham! In the very last seconds of the game, Moura scored his third goal, completing a hat-trick. This made the score 3-3, and Tottenham won on away goals. It was an incredible comeback!
Liverpool's Path
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Liverpool was the runner-up in the previous year's final. They qualified for the group stage by finishing fourth in the Premier League.
In the group stage, Liverpool was in a tough group with Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli, and Red Star Belgrade. They won their first game against Paris Saint-Germain with a late goal. They had some ups and downs, including a loss to Napoli and a shock defeat to Red Star Belgrade. In their final group game, Mohamed Salah scored the only goal against Napoli. Liverpool's goalkeeper, Alisson, made a great save at the end. Liverpool finished second in their group, moving on to the knockout stage.
In the Round of 16, Liverpool played against German champions Bayern Munich. The first game was a 0-0 draw. But in the second game, Liverpool won 3-1 in Munich! Sadio Mané scored two goals and Virgil van Dijk scored one.
In the quarter-finals, Liverpool played against Porto from Portugal. They won easily with a total score of 6-1. They won the first game 2-0 at home and the second game 4-1 away.
In the semi-finals, Liverpool faced Barcelona, who were favorites to win the tournament. Barcelona won the first game 3-0 at home, with two goals from Lionel Messi. It looked like Liverpool was out! But in the second game at Anfield, Liverpool made an amazing comeback. Even without injured players like Mohamed Salah, they won 4-0! Divock Origi scored the first goal. Then, Georginio Wijnaldum scored two quick goals to tie the total score. Alisson made many important saves. Origi scored again from a clever corner kick by Trent Alexander-Arnold. Liverpool won 4-3 overall, making it one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history!
Before the Match
Final Look and Feel
The special logo and design for the final were shown on August 30, 2018. A Madrid artist named Ruben Sanchez designed it. He got ideas from Madrid's culture. This included the city's emblem, cats (a nickname for people from Madrid), a guitar, and a statue. The colors were blues and oranges, like a beautiful Madrid sunset.
Match Ambassador
The official ambassador for the final was Luis García. He is a former Spanish football player. He played for Atlético Madrid and won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005.
Tickets and Travel
The stadium could hold about 63,500 people for the final. 38,000 tickets were for fans and the public. Each team got 17,000 tickets for their supporters. Another 4,000 tickets were sold online.
After the semi-finals, prices for hotels and flights to Madrid went up a lot! Both managers, Jürgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino, and fan groups complained about the high prices. Tottenham even showed the final live at their stadium in London for fans who couldn't go to Madrid.
Opening Ceremony
The American pop rock band Imagine Dragons performed before the game started. They played a mix of their popular songs like "Believer" and "Radioactive". There were also fireworks. A Ukrainian string quartet, Asturia Girls, played the UEFA Champions League Anthem as the teams walked onto the field.
The Match Itself
Match Officials
UEFA chose Slovenian referee Damir Skomina for the final. He had been a FIFA referee since 2002. He had also been a referee in other big European finals. His assistants were Jure Praprotnik and Robert Vukan, also from Slovenia. The video assistant referee (VAR) was Danny Makkelie from the Netherlands. This was the first Champions League final to use VAR.
Game Summary
Before the game, everyone observed a moment of silence. This was for Spanish footballer José Antonio Reyes, who had sadly died that day.
Liverpool started the game and got a penalty kick just 24 seconds in! Moussa Sissoko of Tottenham touched the ball with his arm in the penalty area. Mohamed Salah scored the penalty in the second minute. This gave Liverpool a 1-0 lead. It was the second-fastest goal in a Champions League final.
Tottenham had more of the ball in the first half. But they could not create many scoring chances. Liverpool played carefully, protecting their lead. The game was briefly stopped when a fan ran onto the field.
In the second half, Liverpool had more chances. James Milner shot just wide of the goal. Both teams made substitutions around the 60th minute. Liverpool brought on Divock Origi for Roberto Firmino. Tottenham brought on Lucas Moura for Harry Winks.
Tottenham started to attack more in the last 30 minutes. They took several shots at goal. But this also left them open for Liverpool's counterattacks. In the 87th minute, after a corner kick, Divock Origi scored for Liverpool. He shot into the bottom right corner of the net.
Liverpool won their sixth European Cup! This was also manager Jürgen Klopp's first trophy with the club.
Match Details
| 1 June 2019 21:00 CEST |
Tottenham Hotspur |
0–2 | Liverpool |
Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid Attendance: 63,272 Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia) |
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| https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2019/matches/round=2000984/match=2025486/index.html |
          Tottenham Hotspur
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    Liverpool
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Match rules
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Match Statistics
These tables show how the teams performed during the game.
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After the Match
Liverpool won their sixth European Cup title! This means they have won the tournament more times than Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Only Real Madrid (13 titles) and Milan (7 titles) have won it more.
Virgil van Dijk, a defender for Liverpool, was named the man of the match. He played a great game, stopping Tottenham's attacks.
The day after the final, Liverpool celebrated their win. They paraded the trophy through the streets of Liverpool on an open-top bus. The parade was about 8 miles long. Police estimated that about 750,000 fans came out to celebrate! The parade took an extra two hours because so many people were there.
What Happened Next?
As Champions League winners, Liverpool played against Chelsea in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup. Chelsea had won the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final. Liverpool won this match 5-4 in a penalty shootout after the game ended 2-2.
Liverpool also played in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. They represented Europe in this tournament. Liverpool won their first Club World Cup title! They beat Monterrey 2-1 in the semi-finals. Then, they beat Flamengo 1-0 in the final after extra time.
See also
In Spanish: Final de la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA 2018-19 para niños
- 2019 UEFA Europa League Final
- 2019 UEFA Women's Champions League final
- 2019 UEFA Super Cup
- English football clubs in international competitions
- List of football matches between British clubs in UEFA competitions
- Liverpool F.C. in international football
- Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in European football
