The Last Word - Sports Blog (Sean Simara)

A hell of a game this one and one that would be remembered for years to come. It was Liverpool’s turn to try and topple Real Madrid as they faced up in Kiev, Ukraine. This match had some outstanding goals, controversy, drama and some hilarious mistakes. Liverpool were looking for their 6th European Cup while Madrid were hoping to make it 3 in a row. Both teams came out of the blocks very fast creating a lot of chances. The major moment of the first half though came around the 25-minute mark. Remember Sergio Ramos and his shithouse antics in Cardiff last year? Well here he got himself into a tangle with Mo Salah which sadly saw the Egyptian star forced off with an injury. I thought it was a fair challenge and Ramos landed on Salah’s arm by accident while rolling up on his shoulder with his full body weight. These things happen in the game. The first half did in fact end 0-0 but it was in the second is where all the entertainment came. Madrid took the lead through Karim Benzema but i

To the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff now for another sensational final as Juventus faced the tough task against defending champions Real Madrid. Los Blancos were looking to become the first team to retain the cup under the Champions League era. Juventus headed into the final hoping to finally get their hands on the trophy since 1996. The Old Lady were also looking to lock down their own treble. Juventus had a much-changed team since their last appearance in the final against Barcelona 2 years ago. Real Madrid were pretty much the same team as they were last year. The closed roof of the Millennium made a cracking atmosphere and Juventus started the game much stronger and were unlucky not to take the lead early doors through a couple of strikes from Gonazlo Hugain. The break-through did finally come from Madrid’s talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. His sweeping right foot effort nicked off Leonardo Bonucci into the bottom corner. Juventus were the better side in the first half and their h

A repeat of the 2014 final now as Real Madrid faced city rivals Atletico. This time the setting was the San Siro in Milan. Zinedine Zidane was now the head coach of Real Madrid taking over the side in early January 2016, with pretty much the Champions League the only hope of success. This game was not as open as their encounter two years ago, but it still had its drama. Real took the league through fan favourite and one of my favourite players ever Sergio Ramos. The captain managed to get a touch on Gareth Bale’s flick on which saw it just go past Jan Oblak in goal.  Atletico had the perfect chance to level it up from the spot but their star Frenchman Antoine Griezmann’s penalty smashed off the bar and bounced out. Chances in this were few and far between with an excellent display in goal for Atletico by Oblak. With just over 10 minutes left on the clock Atletico finally found the net. A cross from Juanfran on the right-hand side was smashed in by the substitute Yannick Carrasco. A

Off to Berlin now for this year’s final between Juventus and Barcelona. Both sides here chasing their own treble for the season after wrapping up their domestic leagues and cups.  Could Barcelona get any better from the Pep era? Well yes, they sort of did. They added Luis Suarez to the mix the summer of 2014 boosting their fire power to untouchable heights. ‘MSN’ Messi, Suarez and Neymar racked up a remarkable 122 goals that season. Coming into this game Barcelona were the heavy favourites but Juventus had a cracking team themselves. A midfield four of Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Claudio Marchisio & Arturo Vidal had talent and creation. The pair up front was Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata who can get goals on their day. This should have been quite a game and maybe a little more even. Well to the match and Juventus plan to keep it tight at the back was blown out of the water as Ivan Rakitic scored after only 4 minutes. This brought Juventus out on the attack and played into the Ba

What a game this was and one of my favourites looking back. The stage was set as Real Madrid took on city rivals Atletico Madrid in the capital of Portugal, Lisbon for the 2014 Champions League Final. Real Madrid were on the hunt for ‘La Decima’ (their 10th European Cup) and Atletico looking for their very first. Atletico came into the game having recently won La Liga.  This game had it all from start to finish, with some of the best on show they all turned up for the main event. You might have forgotten main man for Atletico Diego Costa was forced off early with an injury, could things have been different if he were fully fit? It all added to the drama of a great game. Atletico took the lead with a trademark set piece goal Diego Simeone’s side were well know for. Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas was caught in no man’s land and Diego Godin’s looping header caught him out. What we saw next was some sensational defending from Atletico putting everything on the line as Real went ultra-a

The first ever all German final at the home of football Wembley Stadium saw Borussia Dortmund face Bayern Munich in Der Klassiker which is the German Classico.  In their respective semi-finals they took out Barcelona and Real Madrid, so this was sure to be a cracker and yes our boy Arjen Robben played a massive role here again. In a very open game both sides had chances, but the breakthrough came after the hour via Mario Mandzukic who scored for Bayern. Dortmund leveled it up via the spot with a penalty from Ilkay Gundogan. A familiar face in English football now as he’s at Manchester City. (Side note Dante should have got a second yellow & been sent off for Bayern for giving away the penalty)  The chances still came at both ends during the second half and just as extra time loomed up stepped our familiar face. After fluffing his lines last year Robben found the net with only 2 minutes remaining rolling in his one on one with his famous left foot.  Wembley exploded with nois