On Wednesday evening in Istanbul, the 2019 UEFA Super Cup match took place, where, as every year, the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League clashed.
Two English clubs - "Liverpool" and London's "Chelsea" entered the battle. After a fierce and penalty shootout game, Jurgen Klopp's students triumphed.
Very intriguing matches started with active play from both teams. "Liverpool" in the first half had more problems than their opponents, which reflected on the scoreboard.
"Chelsea" after several dangerous attacks finally defeated Adrian - Olivier Giroud perfectly assisting Christian Pulisic found the Frenchman in front of the goalkeeper, and he accurately sent the ball into the goal.
In the second half, J. Klopp decided not to spare player's strength and replaced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with Roberto Firmino.
This decision paid off at the beginning of the half - in the 48th minute, after a pass from the Brazilian, Sadio Mane equalized the score.
The second half progressed quite evenly - both goalkeepers had to work quite a bit, but no more goals were scored, and the match was announced to go into extra time.
There was no sign of boring play in extra time - at the 95th minute, the same S. Mane, after another pass from R. Firmino, scored for "Liverpool".
However, the players of "Chelsea" who played on Sunday and had less rest did not give up, and after six minutes they equalized. The match referee from France awarded a penalty kick to "Liverpool," which was boldly converted by the goalkeeper Jorginho.
As the extra time ended and the score remained tied, a penalty shootout was announced in Istanbul. It was a nerve-wracking moment for the goalkeepers - the first nine shots were accurate, but the fifth shot for "Chelsea" taken by Tammy Abraham was inaccurate, giving "Liverpool" the victory.
Liverpool won the UEFA Super Cup trophy for the fourth time in their club's history. Meanwhile, "Chelsea" suffered their third defeat in the tournament in the last seven years.
Result:
"Liverpool" 2 - 2 "Chelsea"
(Penalty shootout: 5-4)
36' [0 - 1] O. Giroud
48' [1 - 1] S. Mane
95' [2 - 1] S. Mane
101' [2 - 2] Jorginho (penalty)
Starting lineups:
"Liverpool": Adrián; Gomez, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Milner; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Salah, Mané.
Substitutes: Lonergan, Kelleher, Wijnaldum, Firmino, Lallana, Shaqiri, Brewster, Origi, Hoever, Alexander-Arnold, Elliott.
"Chelsea": Kepa; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Zouma, Emerson; Kovacic, Jorginho, Kanté; Pedro, Pulisic, Giroud.
Substitutes: Caballero, Rudiger, Alonso, Zappacosta, Tomori, Mount, Kennedy, Gilmour, Barkley, Batshuayi, Abraham, Willian.
