I’m not trying to blow my own whistle, but I had called the Champions League final and it went pretty much to plan.
Of course I didn’t want to upset Liverpool fans who were already living the dream and taking the piss out of Manchester United for a “k@k” season.
But however great the Reds have been under Jurgen Klopp - and they’ve been a pleasure to watch - taking on Real Madrid on foreign soil was always gonna be 90 minutes too far.
If you’re a trainspotting type, you’ll know that between the two starting XIs, Real Madrid had almost four times the amount of Champions League appearances behind them. All of them had won a European Cup final, as opposed to the inexperienced Liverpool squad.
Of course, with experienced winning teams comes players like Sergio Ramos and his ability to “get away” with “other” tactics to help win games.
Everyone is talking about his “tackle” on Mo Salah, but little is being said about the elbow he dished out to Loris Karius’ face.
Ramos is sly, slick and effective and the pre-match plan to nullify Salah worked like a bomb.
To be fair, Liverpool were more than matching Real in the opening 30, they were playing their usual high press and the Spaniards looked extremely uncomfortable.
GREATEST: Gareth Bale scored a fantastic goal in the final. Photo: ROBERT GHEMENT/EPA
When the game restarted as Mo was led off the pitch in tears, the whole complexion of the game dramatically changed.
Real took the game forward and Liverpool retreated, with the outlet of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino quashed without their third man.
It was only going to go one way despite a great equaliser, which gave some heart.
Gareth Bale’s overhead kick was probably the best I’ve ever seen not half off the ankle as most are, but clean off his boot. What a goal!
And on that stage, it doesn’t get any better than that. And poor old Karius.
Shame man, two absolute howlers, in the biggest game of his life in front of a worldwide audience.
With my son on the verge of playing professional sport, I watched his anguish from a different perspective.
While fans and the press are shredding him alive, I put myself in the stadium as his dad watching on, watching his son melting down, powerless to do anything to help him.
Guess I’m just getting old taking that viewpoint...
But I don’t think the kid will ever recover fully.
The bashing in Kiev takes poor coach Klopp’s record to 12 finals and 12 defeats, three of them after moving to Liverpool in 2015.
However, on the bright side, the Merseysiders are continuously improving and there’s no doubt (especially after the CL loss) that the board will sanction solid spending to take them to the next level.
Just one thing to clear up the perception driven by the English media that the whole country was behind Liverpool is total bollox.
No proper fans would want a rival to win a European trophy, not least the Manchester United lot.
I could almost hear the cheers out of bars and pubs around England every time Real scored it was a match that didn’t stop giving, as Liverpool were buried.
For me and my beloved Chelsea, of course it’s disappointing not to be involved in Champions League football next season, the idea of Thursday night football in Europe’s second-tier competition is about as appealing as a date with Naas Botha and Nick Mallett.
But it is what it is and we just have to live with the fact that we didn’t deserve a top-four finish given some of the performances last season.
Saying that, it’s unlikely (with regime change imminent) that it will affect any potential signings as a new blueprint looks set to be laid on the boardroom table with the fast-attacking Maurizio Sarri set to take the reins at the Bridge.
As in previous years, most of the transfer activity will probably take place after the World Cup I guess the one worry is that Gareth Bale (admittedly unhappy with the amount of bench time at Real) will end up back at White Hart Lane.
I’ll be keeping a close watch, see y’all next Tuesday...