The Latest: English fans fill Madrid ahead of CL final
MADRID (AP) — The Latest on the Champions League final between Tottenham and Liverpool (all times local):
10:57 p.m.
Liverpool has defeated Tottenham 2-0 in the Champions League final to win its sixth European title.
Mohamed Salah opened the scoring by converting a penalty kick in the second minute and substitute Divock Origi sealed the victory with a low shot from inside the area in the 88th, securing Liverpool the title a year after it lost the final to Real Madrid.
The triumph at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid gave Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp his first Champions League title after losing two previous finals — with Liverpool last year and with Borussia Dortmund in 2013.
Tottenham lost in its first-ever final appearance, keeping Mauricio Pochettino without a title in his coaching career.
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10:49 p.m.
Substitute Divock Origi has given Liverpool a 2-0 lead over Tottenham in the 88th minute of the Champions League final.
Origi rifled a left-footed shot inside the far post after Joel Matip set him up inside the area with a short pass.
Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead in the second minute from the penalty spot after Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko was called for a hand ball in the area.
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9:50 p.m.
Liverpool was beating Tottenham 1-0 at halftime in the Champions League final after Mohamed Salah converted a second-minute penalty kick at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Salah scored with a left-footed mid-height shot after Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko was called for a hand ball inside the area when Sadio Mane’s pass hit his chest and arm.
Tottenham started pressing forward immediately after conceding but couldn’t create any significant scoring opportunity.
Liverpool eventually evened the match again, but the half ended without either team threatening much.
Liverpool’s only chance was an Andy Robertson long-range shot that Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris pushed over the crossbar.
Liverpool is seeking its sixth European Cup after losing last year’s final to Real Madrid.
This is Tottenham’s first Champions League final.
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9:20 p.m.
Play was momentarily stopped in the 18th minute of the Champions League final when a scantily dressed woman streaked onto the pitch.
The fan reached midfield before stewards swarmed to escort her off the pitch and play resumed.
Liverpool leads 1-0.
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9:05 p.m.
Mohamed Salah scored the opening goal in the second minute from the penalty spot for Liverpool in the Champions League final.
Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko was called for a hand ball in the area when Sadio Mane’s pass hit his chest and arm.
Liverpool is seeking its sixth European Cup after losing last year’s final to Real Madrid
This is Tottenham’s first Champions League final.
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8:10 p.m.
Desperate Liverpool and Tottenham fans are out-bidding one another to scalpers outside the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium to get into the sold-out Champions League final.
“I was negotiating with this guys for 2,000 euros, but some guy from Malaysia jumped in and offered 3,000,” said Richard Wall, a Liverpool fan. “It is frustrating, but we knew the risks were big when I and my mates decided to come.”
Brazilian tourist Alfredo Nunes says he paid 3,000 euros for a VIP ticket he gave to his son.
“If I find another ticket for a price that is not outrageous I will buy it, but it is impossible not to feel sorry for those that support the teams that are in the final but won’t be able to get in,” Nunesa said. “I saw the 2016 final at the San Siro, prices were not this absurd then.”
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8 p.m.
Roberto Firmino will start for Liverpool and Harry Kane is back for Tottenham in the Champions League final lineups.
Firmino missed the last three matches because of a thigh problem. He hadn’t played since the team’s loss to Barcelona in the first leg of the semifinals.
Divock Origi, who had been playing in attack in the absence of Firmino and Mohamed Salah, is back on the bench.
Salah, who missed the second leg of the semifinals because of a concussion, is set to start as well. The Egyptian forward had to be replaced before halftime of last year’s final against Real Madrid because of a shoulder injury.
Kane hasn’t played for Tottenham since injuring his left ankle in April during the quarterfinal against Manchester City. He missed the semifinal against Ajax and was a doubt for the final.
Lucas Moura, who scored three goals to power Spurs past Ajax, was on the bench.
The lineups:
Liverpool: Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino.
Tottenham: Hugo Lloris, Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose, Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Heung-Min Son, Harry Kane (captain).
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6:55 p.m.
Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris can become the first player in 45 years to lift the Champions League trophy after also winning the World Cup as a captain.
Franz Beckenbauer was the last player to do that, back in 1974, when he won the European Cup with Bayern Munich and then the World Cup with West Germany the same year.
Lloris won the World Cup with France in Russia last year.
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5:45 p.m.
The Champions League says a moment of silence will be held in memory of former Spain midfielder José Antonio Reyes before the final kicks off.
Reyes was killed early Saturday in a traffic accident in Spain. He was 35.
“UEFA and European football are deeply saddened by the terrible news that José Antonio Reyes has passed away today and I would like to express my sincerest condolences to his family and loved ones for their loss,” UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said.
UEFA says Reyes is the only player to have won the Europa League five times, with Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.
Reyes also won the English Premier League with Arsenal, and a Spanish league with Real Madrid.
Last season he played in Spain’s second division.
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3 p.m.
Thousands of Liverpool and Tottenham fans are gathering under the sunny and clear skies in Madrid hours before their teams face off in the all-English Champions League final.
More than 30,000 English fans are expected to travel to watch the final at the 68,000-capacity Metropolitano Stadium. Liverpool and Tottenham were each allocated nearly 17,000 tickets, but Spanish authorities expect many thousands more to make the trip.
“I came out here. I flew on my own, I do not have a ticket,” said Liverpool fan Frank O’Leary. “I just came to be with all the beautiful Reds fans and sing my heart out and watch the game in a bar.3/8
Hundreds of mostly Red-clad Liverpool fans also arrived by train from as far away as Barcelona on Spain’s eastern coast early on Saturday. Available hotel rooms are practically non-existent. Weeks before the final the few rooms remaining were running for over a thousand euros.
More than 4,700 security personnel are being deployed by Spanish authorities in what they say are unprecedented measures to guarantee safety at the sporting event.
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9:05 a.m.
Liverpool is looking to become European champion for a sixth time and Tottenham is chasing glory for the first time.
Tens of thousands of English fans are descending on Madrid for the first all-English Champions League final in 11 years on Saturday.
Tottenham and Liverpool didn’t make it to Madrid the easy way on the field. Both had to overcome 3-0 deficits in their Champions League semifinals, with Liverpool stunning Barcelona and Tottenham defeating Ajax with almost the last kick of the second leg.
Tottenham hasn’t reached any continental final since winning the now-defunct UEFA Cup in 1984. And this season has been only the north London club’s sixth appearance in the European Cup — with five qualifications coming since 2010.
Liverpool is England’s most successful side in the European Cup, lifting the trophy five times — most recently in 2005. But the Merseyside club lost the 2007 final and again last year to Real Madrid.
That was the sixth successive final Juergen Klopp has lost, with the Liverpool manager yet to win a trophy since joining the team in 2015. The team only missed out on a first English title since 1990 when Manchester City defended its title by one-point.
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