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Jordan Henderson reveals Liverpool’s team meeting which inspired Champions League triumph in Madrid

Captain Henderson gathered his team-mates together last Wednesday, three days prior to their 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid

Mark Critchley
Monday 03 June 2019 09:35 BST
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Klopp speaks of his 'relief' after Liverpool's Champions League win

Jordan Henderson has revealed that he held a midweek team meeting to inspire Liverpool to victory in the Champions League final.

Captain Henderson gathered his team-mates together last Wednesday, three days prior to their 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid.

Henderson was desperate to avoid a repeat of the 2018 final, and instead learn from the experiences of Liverpool’s chastening defeat in Kiev at the hands of Real Madrid.

And the 28-year-old ultimately led Liverpool to a sixth European Cup, thanks to Mohamed Salah’s early penalty and Divock Origi’s late clincher.

When asked about the team meeting called last week, Henderson said: “I think as a group we would've regretted it if we didn't have it. I felt it was important to speak as a group before the final.

“It was an important conversation with the group. A few of us said a few things. Hopefully it helped.

"[We spoke] just about the game really. What we could experience in the game and how we could deal with those different situations, and to use the experiences that we've had to use tonight."

By lifting the European Cup as captain of Liverpool, Henderson has joined an elite club of Anfield greats including Emlyn Hughes, Phil Thompson, Graeme Souness and his predecessor in the role Steven Gerrard.

It is the first trophy Henderson has lifted as skipper and he said on Saturday night that the achievement would take a while yet to sink in. He also expects more success in the years to come.

“Probably it will [sink in] after I finish football, but there is still a lot way to go,” he said. “I am 28, I want to achieve a lot, keep improving as a player, I want the team to keep improving, I want to win more, that is all my focus is on now.

“That’s the idea, we hope this can give us a lot of confidence. The big trophies, the big nights. I want to enjoy this moment but also when we come back pre-season we will be focused on looking in the future.

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