Jordan Henderson must have feared his chances of lifting the European Cup had disappeared after last year’s final defeat and now wants no regrets.
The skipper helped the side to Kyiv a year ago, where Liverpool were beaten by Real Madrid.
Given the difficulty of reaching the final in the most competitive environment in the sport, that might have been a huge missed opportunity never to be repeated as captain of the Reds—but one year on, the team are back there again.
It’s Madrid as the location this time around, and Tottenham instead of Real, and the No. 14 told UEFA.com that there can be no let-up now after repeating the journey.
“We’ve used that experience from last year to get to the final and now we’re there, we need to do it again against a very good Spurs who have done brilliantly throughout the competition and beaten some fantastic teams.
“We all know how good Spurs are. It’ll be a really tough final so we need to be ready. We’ve got to leave everything out on the pitch and give everything right up until the end, until that final whistle goes. If we do that, we’ll have no regrets.”
While the final is of course on neutral ground, the Reds really relied on Fortress Anfield, as it has become once again under Jurgen Klopp, to reach this stage.
Three victories on home soil came in the group stage, while the Reds didn’t concede a single knock-out goal at Anfield en route to the final.
Henderson pinpointed the big games at the stadium which have dragged the Reds through when it seemed all hope was lost, with particular regard to games against Napoli and Barcelona.
“Against Paris, it was a great night and a great start to the campaign – a big night for us.
“We knew it was possible to get through to the next round against a good Napoli side, especially with it being at Anfield. Had Napoli scored, it would have been very tough. It was an amazing performance on a big night. From that point, I feel that we kicked on and put in some really good performances.
“The home game [against Barcelona] was an amazing night that we’ll always remember.
“This is easy for me to say now but we always believed that once you get one, and then two, the game changes straight away.
“It was very emotional after the game. We left everything on the pitch and we deserved it. I feel we deserved to get through to the final and I’m not sure if Barcelona would argue with that.”
Just one further game lies between Henderson and glory, and the chance to lift Liverpool’s sixth European Cup which was denied him a year ago.
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