Former Liverpool midfielder Patrik Berger believes that the Reds’ Champions League final defeat last season will help them in the competition this time round.
Jurgen Klopp’s side suffered defeat to Spanish giants Real Madrid in the showpiece event last term, but with Zinedine Zidane’s side out of the competition, Berger believes that experience can only help Liverpool.
“The majority of the squad is the same, they experienced a Champions League final, they know what it takes to get there,” he told the Evening Standard.
“They know the feeling when you walk out and are playing for the Champions League trophy, so they’ll be more resilient, more confident, and will have the belief they can do it this year. I believe last year’s defeat can only help the boys to win it this year.”
OPINION
This is an interesting thought from Berger. He’s right, Liverpool do have the experience of getting to the final and competing under the brightest lights. The squad isn’t much different from the one that played last year, with only Alisson and Fabinho truly regular contributors out of the club’s summer singings. So there will be plenty of players in the Reds’ dressing room who know what it’s like to go out and play in a Champions League final. There aren’t too many teams left in the competition that you can say that about. There’s Barcelona, of course, but they haven’t been involved in the final for quite some time now. Juventus are the other team with that top level European experience and so they will be difficult to overcome if Liverpool end up playing them in the final. Berger’s correct, though, this could be something that makes that crucial bit of difference in the latter stages of the competition.
