Gareth Southgate’s trip to Madrid was rushed. A delayed flight out of Heathrow on Saturday and a quick return on Sunday morning to prepare for the Nations League which begins in a few days.
Short-term, a Champions League final with seven English starters and eight more on the bench wasn’t ideal preparation for an international clash against Holland on Thursday.
But long-term, having so many Lions involved in the world’s biggest club game is another significant step for English football 12 months after a groundbreaking World Cup semi-final.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was one of 10 English players in Champions League final
Before Saturday night, no English player had lifted the Champions League since 2012, a drought which exposed the lack of experience our players have gained at the highest level.
Yet the times are a changin’. Jurgen Klopp had no qualms giving the Liverpool captain’s armband to Jordan Henderson and put his faith in 20-year-old local lad Trent Alexander-Arnold, possibly aware that no Liverpool team had ever won the European Cup without having a Scouser in the side.
Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino was even more ‘patriotic’, selecting Harry Kane, Harry Winks, Kieran Trippier, Danny Rose and Dele Alli to start.
Tottenham including five English players in their starting line-up, including midfielder Dele Alli
Five Englishmen, all of whom bar Winks went to the World Cup last summer.
Putting British political turmoil to one side, English football is at the heart of Europe like never before, and not just on the pitch. Seventy thousand ‘migrants’ from London and Liverpool travelled by planes, trains and automobiles, many without match tickets, to give Madrid a distinctively St George’s feel under a blazing hot sun.
Spain and Germany have provided both finalists in the past decade but this was England’s turn, the first all-Premier League clash since the only other one, Manchester United-Chelsea in 2008.
Why the revival now? It’s been a feature of Klopp and Pochettino’s time that they believe homegrown players have the talent and match intelligence to work alongside the world’s best like Mo Salah and Christian Eriksen.
Strangely, this final was the ultimate vindication of their faith even though the stifling evening heat and early penalty converted by Mo Salah made the game more cautious and less thrilling than expected for the neutral.
Instead of the blood-and-thunder semi-finals, it became the kind of slower and more thoughtful game that has traditionally caught out English players.
Trent Alexander-Arnold put in an assured defensive display to help Liverpool to victory
Not this time. Alexander-Arnold, generally regarded as a better attacking right back than a natural defender, got forward at the proper times without leaving himself exposed.
His reading of a Tottenham break and perfectly-timed tackle on Heung-min Son in the first half kept Liverpool ahead. Only when England team-mate Rose got forward with more purpose for Spurs was Alexander-Arnold troubled.
On the other flank, Tottenham’s right-back Trippier, shrugged off dodgy end-of-season form to emerge with credit from his individual battle with the flying Sadio Mane.
Trippier, surprisingly axed by Southgate for the Nations League but not written off by the England boss, saw Moussa Sissoko concede a first-minute penalty to Mane on his side. But he didn’t lose concentration against Mane and got a slap in the mouth for his troubles from the flailing hand of Andy Robertson.
Pochettino’s big decision wrested with starting the two Harrys, Kane and Winks, after their injury lay-offs.
Winks’ intelligence in midfield to cover ground and keep the ball rotating marks him out as a sure thing for Spurs and England for the next decade even if this summer’s international tournament has come too early. He got a big ovation when he was replaced by Lucas Moura midway through the second half with Spurs chasing the game.
On his return from injury, Harry Kane looked leggy and was unable to really impact the game
Kane, a bona fide national talisman, looked as leggy as you’d expect from a striker who hadn’t played since April and failed to take a shot or create a chance in the opening 45 minutes.
Kane failed in his bid to become the first English player since Wayne Rooney to score in a Champions League final as Henderson and substitute James Milner helped control the game for Liverpool out of possession.
Milner replaced Gini Wijnaldum because of his tactical capabilities. When Sissoko departed for Spurs, Pochettino turned to Dier for the same reasons, the ninth Englishman on the field. The introduction of a tenth, Gomez, equalled the number for English participants set in 2008.
Like the Golden Generation, Southgate has England players dining at the very top level of the club game again. A national dividend could be reaped next year at Euro 2020.