Real failure can drive us on to Euro glory
HENDO’S IN IT TO WIN IT
JORDAN HENDERSON admits Liverpool have unfinished business in the Champions League.
The Reds restart their European campaign tonight when they host German giants Bayern Munich in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
They fought hard to get out of a tough group, beating Napoli in their final game to finish second to Paris St-Germain.
But Reds midfielder Henderson admits they are still smarting from last year’s final, when they lost 3-1 to Real Madrid, and says it has made them more determined to go one better this time.
Dream
“When you lose in a final, it always stays with you... always,” said skipper Henderson.
“You always want to use that as motivation to try and get back there and maybe put that right.”
Jurgen Klopp’s side were in the game until star man Mo Salah was forced off with a shoulder injury following a controversial clash with Real defender Sergio Ramos.
Kop keeper Loris Karius then gifted Real an opener when he threw the ball at Karim Benzema before Sadio Mane equalised.
But Gareth Bale’s wonder goal, before another Karius howler handed the Welshman a second, ended the Reds’ dream of a sixth European Cup. “I feel as though we used the Europa League Final defeat (against Sevilla in 2016) in the right way,” said Henderson.
“We progressed from there and we need to do the same with the Champions League.
“We need to use that as determination to get back there. And if we get back there, hopefully we will go one step further.”
Liverpool’s run to the final last term did not cost them their place in the top four of the Premier League as they held off a late challenge from Chelsea.
But the Reds did drop 10 points on the domestic front in games immediately following European knockout ties while they were on the road to Kiev.
A similar dip in league form this term would be catastrophic to their chances of winning their first league title since 1990.
The Reds are currently behind leaders Manchester City on goal difference, but have a game in hand on the defending champions.
The players held a team meeting at their training camp in Marbella last week to urge each other not to take their eyes off the ball in either competition.
Liverpool travel to Manchester United on Sunday in the league and Henderson said: “We have got a good enough squad to cope with the games when they are coming thick and fast. It is down to us to keep performing, no matter what competition it is. “We will give everything and just be mentally ready for the next few months.
“It is why Marbella was such an important week for us to get ready.”
The fact he was even fielding questions about going for a domestic and European double shows how far the side has come under Jurgen Klopp since 2015, according to Henderson.
“You take the questions as a positive because we have been doing so well this season,” he added. “Of course,naturally, people will expect more but for us as a team, it’s about taking it game by game, no matter who it is, and playing to the best of our ability.
“If we do that and win all of the games, then I’m sure we will be champions of both. “We know football doesn’t work like that and there will be a lot of ups and downs. “We need to be prepared for everything, which I am sure we will be.”