Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the final of the 2018 UEFA Champions League in a game which saw the Reds marksman Mohamed Salah walk off the pitch in the early stages due to a shoulder injury.

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Sergio Ramos, the skipper of the Los Blancos known for his hard-tackling nature was at the centre of Mohamed Salah’s injury and he was heavily criticized for intentionally doing that to weaken Liverpool.

Perhaps one could conclude that a crucial turning point in the match was Sergio Ramos’ challenge on Salah. The Spaniard appeared to trap Salah’s arm in his armpit as they both went down, leaving the Egyptian writhing in pain. Consequently, Salah was subbed off due to a shoulder injury.

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Speaking to UEFA as seen on English news outlet Mirror Zidane who was the Real Madrid coach at the time insisted that his defenders had no ideal plan to cope with Liverpool’s front three and only focused on how they would approach the game.

This was Zidane response when asked if he’d given Ramos the duty of aggressively dealing with Salah:

"Not at all! Our game was always the same, regardless of who we were facing.”

Zidane goes on to explain how he prepared his players:

"We told players about the individual characteristics of opposing players, so that they were aware of specific things that those players did.”