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The Independent UK

Ben Burrows

Champions League final: TV channel, kick-off time tonight and how to stream Tottenham vs Liverpool online

Welcome to our live coverage of the 2019 Champions League final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.

Mohamed Salah gave Liverpool the perfect start when he hammered home a second minute penalty after Moussa Sissoko was adjudged to have handballed the ball in the area. A streaker interrupted proceedings before Divock Origi sealed the win late on with a smart finish.

Re-live all the action from Madrid:

2019-06-01T13:25:47.493Z

Welcome

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the Champions League final!

The day is finally here, so it's time to stop slamming Jurgen Klopp for his failures in these kind of games, stop asking Mauricio Pochettino about his weight and get on with the actual game.

Well, not without a touch of high-octane build-up first.

Liverpool are in their second successive Champions League final and are looking to make up for last year's defeat against Real Madrid. This season has been a joyous one at Anfield, but finishing the year with 97 points, not winning the league and falling short again in the European final might end it on a slightly sour note.

The challengers, if you like, seem to be Tottenham. They were second away from being knocked out in the semi-final by Ajax, but Lucas Moura scored in the final seconds to send Spurs through.

Stay right here for the latest team news, analysis and interviews as we look ahead to the 8:00pm kick-off.

2019-06-01T13:33:59.583Z

The big preview

Destiny, a one-country final, the three-week break, Harry Kane's fitness and a first trophy for the managers are all topics covered by Miguel Delaney in his Champions League final preview.

"For two clubs that have gone through the most riotous of routes to Madrid, the mood in both camps over the last few days has been surprisingly - if portentously - serene.

"Perhaps that’s what football events like miracle comebacks from 3-0 down really do to you. They give you the faith of true believers. They give you the faith that the moments you have come through are of such magnitude that they simply have to mean something more and lead somewhere greater."

All that and more is available here

2019-06-01T13:38:54.956Z

Predictions

Find out how our writers think tonight's game will go, including who predicts that "Jurgen Klopp dedicates Liverpool’s win to Greta Thunberg and the oppressed peoples of the world everywhere. Pochettino leaves for Chelsea."

Click here for that and more top-banter.

2019-06-01T13:45:29.263Z

One-country Champions League finals

"The greater knowledge of the opposition, in such a final, ironically gives them so much more to think about," writes Miguel Delaney as he delves into what one-country Champions League final so unique.

“No player likes it,” Santiago Canizares tells The Independent, the goalkeeper having played for Valencia against Real Madrid in the very first one-country final back in 2000. “You never like it, not in normal knock-outs, but especially not the final. It’s an international competition, and you prefer to play teams from other countries, but then you’re facing a side you know well.”

One-country Champions League finals

2000 Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia

2003 AC Milan 0-0 Juventus (Milan win 3-2 on penalties)

2008 Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (United win 6-5 on penalties)

2013 Bayern Munich 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

2014 Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid

2016 Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid (Real Madrid win 5-3 on penalties)

2019-06-01T13:48:02.176Z

The atmosphere is building

There may be five hours until kick-off in Madrid, but these Tottenham supporters have already found their voice ahead of this evening's final.

2019-06-01T13:55:25.303Z

Will Kane play?

Both sides have a fairly good bill of health ahead of the final.

Harry Kane, however, has not played since the quarter-final first leg against Manchester City in April when he suffered a "significant" ankle ligament injury.

Kane has declared himself fit and took part in training without any problems at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Friday night.

"We have one training session now and then we're going to decide," said Pochettino, who admitted he will have a "painful" decision about who to leave out if Kane is fit.

It is likely that the forward will replace semi-final hat-trick hero Lucas Moura if Pochettino thinks he is ready.

2019-06-01T14:09:24.303Z

How Mauricio Pochettino revitalised Spurs’ squad through emotional flexibility instead of money

Now, it may not have escaped your attention that this Tottenham team have got to the Champions League final without a single penny being spent on their playing squad this season.

Liverpool meanwhile, have been bolstered by Alisson, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri, costing around £170m, and that's without Virgil Van Dijk, who was bought for £75m in January last year.

Jack Pitt-Brooke looks at how Mauricio Pochettino has matched Liverpool in Europe this season without adding a single player to his squad.

2019-06-01T14:20:19.363Z

The tactics

Strap in everyone, it's time to talk tactics.

Games between Tottenham and Liverpool are very often tight affairs decided by the smallest margins in small moments.

Lawrence Ostlere takes a look at the decisions that Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino will have to make as well as examining where the game will be won or lost.

2019-06-01T14:27:27.750Z

Jurgen Klopp: It's "silly" to judge managers on trophies

Jurgen Klopp's relationship with silverware has been a bittersweet affair that leans more on the bitter side.

He has reached seven finals and won just once since 2012 and says there is too much importance on managers winning trophies.

“The thing is, you – the outside world – it is your right to judge us by what we win and what we don’t win.

“Look back in 20 years and nobody will talk about our brilliant season unless another team comes close to 97 points, or has more or less. Then yes, we maybe [will be] mentioned again, but nobody will really speak about that.

“But for me, as a person, it will stay forever. I will probably have 20 or 30 years career as a manager and then it is easy to remember it. I can really respect that and that is probably what Poch is like as well.

“The outside world is like this and we have to accept that. But to judge a coach by what he is winning is a silly thing because we all have different circumstances. We all have different teams, different clubs, we have to fight with or against different things, but nobody is interested in that.”

2019-06-01T14:36:52.400Z

Jose Antonio Reyes will be remembered at tonight's final

Following Jose Antonio Reyes' death, UEFA have confirmed a "moment's silence" will be held before Tottenham vs Liverpool.

Reyes was a Champions League finalist with Arsenal in 2005/06 and won the Europa League five times during spells with Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.

“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,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin. “He had a glittering career and won numerous honours wherever he played and I am shocked and saddened that his life has been so tragically cut short.”

2019-06-01T14:49:59.486Z

Levy has grown in emotion in Champions League run

Daniel Levy has become more emotional during Tottenham's run to Champions League final, Mauricio Pochettino revealed.

The Tottenham owner is known for his stern personality, but he has been opening up to the players ahead of the final.

“The people and the players know him very well, and he was at the training ground, talking with the players and all of us,” Pochettino revealed.

“He said: ‘Thank you, we’re living a dream and it’s amazing all we’re achieving until today’.

“Some of the players said: ‘It’s amazing, Daniel is more human!’

“It’s a side he never showed too much. He was always more distant, trying to keep the emotion inside.

“Now, I don’t know why, but his improvement is like, ‘If the manager is crying, why can I not show more my emotion? It’s not so bad’.

“But sometimes people in business believe they cannot show that. He was like a little bit this type of person who cannot show his emotion.

“He was believing it was a show you are weak. Now he is believing on the opposite side.

“This transformation of the club, that we feel very well, he is a good example of how it is changing.

“It’s not that he’s going to give us more money now – this area is not going to change, he’s going to be strong – but of course in the personal relationships he’s improving a lot from when we arrived here.”

2019-06-01T14:59:07.063Z

This is the greatest show!

The Champions League has produced enough drama, thrills and shocks to make the latest season of Game of Thrones look like a school production.

Real Madrid's early exit, Manchester United's late comeback against Paris Saint-Germain, that game at Anfield, that game in Amsterdam. It's been a blast.

But why, with so many other sports and competitions thriving, does the Champions League remain in a league of its own when it comes to this kind of quality.

Migeul Delaney takes a look.

2019-06-01T15:09:37.990Z

Moussa Sissoko interview

Tonight Moussa Sissoko is playing in a Champions League final. He didn't get there as a supporting member of the cast, but as a integral part of a quality team.

To think that this statement would be true three years after he joined Tottenham from Newcastle in a £30m transfer would be bordering on deranged,

But he's here now, and Jack Pitt-Brooke spoke to him to find out how he made it,

2019-06-01T15:12:07.123Z

A memorial plaque has already been placed outside the Wanda Metropolitano for former Atletico Madrid, Arsenal and Sevilla forward Jose Antonio Reyes, who died earlier today.

2019-06-01T15:20:13.783Z

Jurgen Klopp: ‘Life is a present. We have to deal carefully with it and have fun with it’

Ahead of the Champions League final Jonathan Liew went to visit Jurgen Klopp - proof below - to find out what makes him tick.

2019-06-01T15:27:14.416Z

Austin shows his support

Southampton forward, yes Southampton, Charlie Austin has made it clear which side he is backing tonight.

In fact, Austin is not along in briefly ditching his club loyalties and dusting off a Liverpool shirt. Crystal Palace team doctor, Dr Zaf, who worked at Liverpool, is also showing his support.

2019-06-01T15:35:12.346Z

'Are we on air?!'

Someone's had a long night

2019-06-01T15:39:52.736Z

'Don't worry lads, it's Spurs'

It's the Sir Alex Ferguson quote that nailed the 'Spursy' tag that has clung onto Tottenham like a nasty rash over recent years.

But victory tonight, says Christian Eriksen, will finally rid them of their unwanted nickname.

"Spurs as a club, if you look from a historical point of view from Tottenham at how many trophies they've won before, where they've been before, it's new.

"It's something that will change the club, how people look at the club, how people think about us players at Spurs.

"We're not going to be Spursy, or whatever they call it. As a player you just go for the moment and hope it falls your way."

2019-06-01T15:43:41.020Z

Is this a sign?

A horse called Anthony Van Dyck has just won the Epsom Derby, will Virgil Van Dijk follow his racing namesake and produce a win tonight?

2019-06-01T15:51:40.130Z

Liverpool in good voice

The Liverpool supporters in Madrid have found their voice ahead of tonight's match

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