This  year’s Champions League final had the makings to be one of the best finals in recent times.

Two attacking powerhouses, showcasing their very own versions of full throttle football.

It was certainly living up to expectations early on, though, 30 minutes into the game- the dynamic altered significantly.

Liverpool’s star man Mohamed Salah was forced off the field after a rather unorthodox Sergio Ramos challenge.

Make no mistake about it; this was no coincidence.

Ramos, who has amassed an eye-watering 24 career red cards knew exactly what he was doing.

The 32-year old wrapped his arm around Salah before hurling him to the ground to cruelly end the Egyptian’s evening-which was only just getting started.

Salah was the obvious threat being posed to the Spanish side- and what better way to extinguish this problem by single-handedly removing him from the picture.

Old habits die hard.

Up until this point, Jurgen Klopp’s side had been the dominant of the two and were asking questions of Madrid’s backline.

However, as Liverpool’s top scorer fled the field with a relentless downpour of tears streaming down his face, this was without doubt the turning point.

Real were feeling uplifted, Liverpool were simply deflated.

Salah initially got back up off the floor to continue playing, but moments later he found himself clutching his shoulder, begging for assistance.

What a terribly cruel way this was to end a campaign that has been filled with so many high points and moments of magic. An ugly and cynical challenge broke the conventions of what is typified as ‘ the beautiful game’.

This was a piece of skulduggery that was anything but beautiful.

From this moment onwards, Real gained the upper hand and began to grow into the game, while the dejected and despondent Liverpool players couldn’t seem to find a way to pick themselves back up.

As the half-time whistle sounded with the scoreline at 0-0, it was evident that this had been a close encounter, but as the teams re-emerged from the tunnel for the second-half,  you could sense that this game was slowly slipping away for one, while the other was about to strike a killer blow with their new-found confidence.

This was indeed the case when Los Blancos captured the lead before the hour mark. A moment of madness gifted Zinedine Zidane’s men the lead.

Toni Kroos’ attempted pass forward to Karim Benzema was unsuccessful, as Loris Karius came off his goal-line to comfortably collect and avert any danger. With the ball safely in Karius’ hands, everyone assumed the Reds would now kick-start an attack of their own- they  instead ended up placing the ball on the centre circle to restart play, after an error of judgement that will haunt the German shot-stopper forever.

The 24-year-old intended to roll the ball out to a teammate at the back, though, as he carried this out, the outstretched leg of Benzema saw the ball slowly creep into the bottom corner of the goal in unfathomable circumstances.

But despite staring in the face of adversity, Liverpool responded rapidly.

A James Milner corner kick was met by Dejan Lovren, who rose above Ramos and sent a towering header into the path of Sadio Mane, who was on hand to prod home from close range. Parity had been restored some four minutes after a goalkeeping howler.

Liverpool had been sleepwalking after Salah had exited proceedings- Benzema’s goal oddly was what they needed; something to wake them up from the nightmare that was unfolding around them.

Klopp’s men briefly overturned their horror-show story when they equalised, to rekindle hope and show signs of continuing their love affair with European’s elite competition. However, substitute Gareth Bale had a tale of his own to tell.

Having been left out of the starting eleven in a season where appearances have, again, been hard to come by, the Welshman was eager to make a statement to his manager in regards to his playing time; or rather lack of it.

Bale did just that, and lit up the final with a superb bicycle kick that flew into the upper echelons of the goal. Fingers couldn’t be pointed at Karius on this occasion.

The question now being put forward was: after falling behind once already and clawing their way back into things, could Liverpool do it once more?

Mane- who was the Reds’ standout performer by a country mile- came closest to throwing the game back into contention when he struck the post with a low, driven shot.  But five minutes from time, the match was settled.

Madrid’s opener was hard to put into words. A mistake of this magnitude on the biggest stage was relatively unheard of, but twice? This was simply incomprehendible

As Bale let loose from 30 yards out, it seemed laughable that he was even trying his luck from this kind of distance, but as Karius misjudged the flight of the shot and palmed the ball into the back of his net, it was anything but funny for the Liverpool players and the dejected German keeper.

The mistake for Benzema’s goal had obviously been trapped in the mind of Karius for the remainder of the game.  Liverpool’s keeper ends this Champions League season  with the most clean sheets to his name out of any other shot-stopper in the competition, though, it’s likely this will be the last thing on his mind, as he now faces an uphill battle and uncertain future at the club.

Although the goals shipped by the Reds’ number one were indeed moments of madness, there was an air of familiarity attached to these mistakes in a game whereby mistakes are simply not an option.

Liverpool’s goalkeeping troubles saw Simon Mignolet lose his place in the Premier League after his disaster afternoon in the Reds’ 4-1 debacle at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur in October.  And while Karius has come in and, for the most part, has impressed- there has still been a sense of uncertainty regarding the matter.

The thing that hurt most for Reds fans alongside the fact that the chance to claim a sixth European Cup had gone up in flames, was the aforementioned feeling of déjá vu as Karius looked up to the skies praying for redemption.

Defensive blunders have been something that Liverpool as a club have become associated with.

Admittedly, the acquisition of Virgil Van Dijk has undoubtedly added depth and quality to a back-four lacking in confidence. And this was certainly not an evening for the Liverpool defence to be ridiculed, Cristiano Ronaldo was a bystander for the entirety of the match, as he failed to gain the upper-hand over Trent Alexander-Arnold. Lovren, who has had his fair share of critics, was also immense.

The backline was breached by a moment of brilliance and two freak moments. Though, the question marks surrounding the goalkeeping department certainly remain ever-present.

On a deeply damaging and soul-wrenching night in Kiev, Liverpool had their hearts broken by the Galacticos- who have now won four of the last five Champions League titles. The Reds can be proud of the outstanding campaign they have produced- what a shame for it all to end in this manner. Madrid, on the night, did not depict a side who had just conquered all standing in their way to lift yet another European title. Zidane’s  players called upon past experiences and know-how to get over the line. It was not emphatic but instead effective. Old habits die hard.

Liverpool bow out once again at the final hurdle, though heads can still be held high. Klopp’s men had their chances  of success downplayed even before they had exited the group stage.  The wounds suffered in Kiev will have cut deep in this Liverpool side, that’s for sure. However, the team spirit that Klopp has assembled with both the players and fans is something that looks impossible to break.  Make no mistake about it- the Reds are destined for greatness. It’s now just a matter of time for dreams to become a reality.

Tom Cavilla.