Champions League 2018-19 final: 5 reasons why Tottenham lost to Liverpool

#1 Liverpool maintained their tactical solidity

Liverpool are deserved Champions League winners.

While Liverpool's vaunted attack might get much of the praise, it is pertinent to note that a key contributor to their success in the 2018/2019 season was their defensive solidity.

Having gotten a very early lead on the night, Liverpool players showed great professionalism in maintaining their compactness for the entirety of the match.

The Reds kept their defensive shape, controlling the game without really offering much threat in attack and dictating the tempo at which they wanted the match to go.

Their dominance in the first half was almost total, having almost 70% of the possession and having six corners to Tottenham's two, and two shots on target to their opponent's zero, but it was telling that their dominance did not really translate into attacking impetus (evidenced by their just three shots on target all match).

Rather, Liverpool's players kept their Tottenham counterparts at bay without having to break a sweat.

Having held off Tottenham for most of the game, Jurgen Klopp turned to his bench and brought on semifinal hero Divock Origi and the Belgian international kept with his good form by striking the killer goal in the 87th minute to effectively kill of Tottenham's hopes.

While we might be more attuned to a gung ho, no holds-barred style from Klopp's men, the severity of the occasion meant that they had to keep it compact and tight to achieve glory and this was a plan they followed to the letter at the expense of Tottenham.