‘BEAUTIFUL VIBE DID IT’

DANIEL STURRIDGE has lifted the lid on the candid players’ meeting that helped Liverpool realise their European dream.

The Reds striker provided crucial back-up and support to the team to help them reach the Champions League final.

And he believes it is that sense of togetherness – “there’s a total lack of egos, it’s a beautiful vibe” - is one of the key factors.

The meeting was called by skipper Jordan Henderson last Wednesday, without any of the coaching staff involved, and each player had the chance to talk through their hopes and fears and discuss where it had gone wrong in three previous final defeats.

For Sturridge that was a crucial element in managing Saturday’s final against Tottenham, and holding on for victory. “We had a long talk as a group of players,” he said.

“We were all in there and if anyone wants to say anything, anyone can say what they want. It was just like: ‘Look, it’s our time, we’ve prepared ourselves as best we can’.

“It was just about: ‘If we go behind, how do we deal with it? If we go ahead, how do you deal with it?’ And we haven’t had those conversations before. Maybe before the Europa League final we didn’t prepare as well.

“Last season, we said: ‘We didn’t prepare well the season before and we have learnt’. This year we have had two finals now, so you have learnt so much more. That’s what makes teams so successful. They have experienced it.”

Sturridge believes the pain of those three defeats – in the League and Europa League Cup finals in 2016, and the Kiev heartbreak against Real Madrid last season – all contributed to the way they beat Spurs. He added: “All the things when you lost, you take – all the pain and all the heartache.”