A Hall of Three Thousand Guests Drunk on Flowers, One Sword Chilling Fourteen Provinces

2–3.

Real Madrid had taken the lead again, and Liverpool had been pushed to the brink.

Klopp stood on the touchline, a trace of anxiety plain in his eyes.

For a moment, he felt as though he were back in the UEFA Champions League final four years earlier.

He took a deep breath and gestured for his players to push forward.

One last throw of the dice!

Liverpool surged forward with nothing left to lose.

Rodri and Henderson took turns driving upfield, forcing Real Madrid's midfield line back.

Coutinho left the flank to Robertson and kept drifting inside to link up with Chen Anno.

Mane kept attacking down Real Madrid's left, pinning Marcelo back.

Real Madrid could barely breathe in their own half.

Liverpool's attacks came in wave after wave. Real Madrid cleared the ball six times in a row without once truly winning possession.

The 75th minute.

Rodri picked up a loose ball at the edge of the box and fired from distance. It went just wide.

Real Madrid broke immediately. Modric carried the ball thirty meters before Robertson chased him down and slid in from the side to take it away.

Modric sat on the turf and spread his hands. Robertson quickly offered him a hand up, and play continued.

The tension between the two sides grew thicker by the moment.

But Zinedine Zidane refused to back down.

He stood on the touchline, gesturing constantly for Isco to keep pressing forward and Cristiano Ronaldo to stay high up the pitch.

He believed Liverpool couldn't sustain this pace much longer. One chance to counterattack would be enough to deal them a fatal blow.

And he trusted Cristiano Ronaldo's speed. Once he hit full stride, no one in Liverpool's back line could stop him.

In the 77th minute, Zinedine Zidane