Georginio Wijnaldum says he will use the disappointment from Liverpool’s failure to win the Premier League as motivation in the Champions League final.
The Reds take on Tottenham in Madrid next weekend in their second Champions League final in as many years, and it will be the club’s final chance to win silverware this season, having lost out to Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
Despite winning 97 points in a season that only saw the club lose on one occasion, City pipped them to the title with a one-point advantage, which saw Liverpool break numerous records for having one of the most successful seasons without winning the title in Premier League history.
Netherlands international Wijnaldum, who featured in 35 Premier League games for Liverpool during the campaign, claims he will make the most of the disappointment and use it to his advantage to remain motivated for the club’s final game.
Talking to Liverpool’s official website, as reported by Standard Sport, Wijnaldum said:
Everyone is really focused and determined to win a trophy, especially because we’ve had a really good year.
It was a great year with 97 points in the league, but unfortunately, we didn’t end as champions, so that’s why we want to finish this season with a trophy.
In the last game of the season, we couldn’t control things [in the league] because it wasn’t in our hands.
Now, it’s different, it’s a final, so we’re going to try to make the best of it and try to win the game, but we know Tottenham are a really tough opponent.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has taken his squad to Marbella to best preparing them for their upcoming game, which he also did before last season’s Champions League final.
And Wijnaldum believes that the Costa del Sol is the perfect place to ensure his side are as sharp as possible for the final. The midfielder continued:
It’s been good so far.
It’s a little bit hot and not the weather we’re used to, but the training sessions have gone well for everyone. We have to come back into rhythm again after the few days we had off and so far it’s been good.
Normally, you’re in a rhythm of training and playing games, but now we don’t play a game for three weeks, so we have to find a rhythm again.
At this training camp, we train hard, the circumstances can be tough with the weather, but you learn to get used to it. It’ll probably be the same in Madrid, so it’s good for us to have a camp like this.
