Dejan Lovren reflected on a promise kept while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson could not believe it is already a year since winning a sixth European Cup.
The Reds took on Tottenham in Madrid a year ago on June 1, as Jurgen Klopp led his side in pursuit of redemption from their heartbreak in Kyiv.
It was effectively over within the first minute, as Sadio Mane won a penalty and Mohamed Salah duly converted, with the sticky heat and long break between fixtures prompting a slower tempo to the game.
But with the ball falling to Joel Matip in the box in the second half, the centre-back played it calmly across to Divock Origi who, even cooler, was able to fire into the bottom corner to put the result beyond doubt.
Liverpool had won the European Cup for the sixth time, and Klopp and his players had etched their names into Anfield legend.
Such is the significance of the night, on the anniversary of Madrid the Reds took to social media to share their memories of the win and revel in the emotion of European triumph.
For James Milner, it was the one piece of silverware that had eluded him over the years, and the decorated midfielder posted a video on him lifting trophy in front of the fans:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4mz-6AuEx/
Robertson embraced a popular phrase from Liverpool’s run to the final as he enjoyed the journey from tragedy to triumph over successive Champions League finals:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4n9-2hBp7/
Meanwhile, Trent simply wrote “time flies,” along with a close-up of him kissing his winner’s medal—the first of many in his career with Liverpool:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4oS9ZJmkb/
Lovren, who is often criticised for speaking too soon, relished the ability to deliver on a promise, writing “don’t say something unless you mean it”:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4sNneFMeq/
Goalkeeping coach John Achterberg posted a video of the trophy parade the following day, along with a vow that “now we want to do it again”:
Great memory winning with @LFC ?????? now we want to do it again ? pic.twitter.com/MseswwjqQq
— John Achterberg (@1JohnAchterberg) June 1, 2020
Ian Rush, who was working as an ambassador for UEFA on the night—with firm ties to Liverpool—shared a throwback of him and Tottenham‘s Ledley King before the game:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4jWSaAMzl/
Speaking to the club’s official website, Jordan Henderson revealed he experienced “every emotion” on winning the trophy, saying “it was an amazing feeling I hope I’ll never forget”:
“Joy, relief, happiness, just everything that you could possibly think of.
“It was just the most special moment to hear that final whistle go, to know that all of the hard work and everything that we have done together in the past however many years, we actually got over the line and managed to win one of the greatest trophies ever, so it was everything I dreamt of and more really.
“You can’t compare that feeling with anything else. It’s so hard to explain now.
“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life. Obviously, people will say, ‘well, when you have kids’ and stuff, which again of course is a totally unique and most special feeling in the world as well, but it’s different.
“Just everything that goes in with sport, the competitiveness and everything, it’s just a different feeling to when you have kids or anything else like that.
“It is so unique and it was an amazing feeling I hope I’ll never forget.”
It was a night that meant so much to Liverpool Football Club, from the players to the staff to the fans, and it clearly stoked a fire in the squad to push them on to more success.
Achterberg’s words are perhaps the most fitting, as though the anniversary of Madrid serves as an opportunity to savour those memories all over again, the attitude on Merseyside is ‘what’s next?’.
Though the Reds were knocked out of the Champions League prior to football’s suspension, they are on the brink of a first-ever Premier League title and looking to build a dynasty that should see them repeat their heroics in Europe in the near future.
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