‘Floodgates will open’: Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge believes more titles will follow under Jurgen Klopp after Champions League triumph as he refuses to be drawn in about his future
- Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge says the first title is always the hardest to win
- Jurgen Klopp won his first title at Liverpool in Champions League on Saturday
- Now Sturridge is confident that the Reds can go on to claim a flurry of silverware
- The 29-year-old striker has almost certainly played his last game for Liverpool
Daniel Sturridge is confident the ‘floodgates will open’ in terms of trophies at Liverpool following their Champions League victory.
Jurgen Klopp claimed his first piece of silverware at Liverpool on Saturday thanks to a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in Madrid – the Reds’ first title since the League Cup back in 2012.
Klopp had finally ended a run of six straight cup final defeats – three with Liverpool – to get his hands on the biggest title in club football and he will now be hoping to dominate within England, not just on the European front.
Daniel Sturridge celebrates with the Champions League trophy on Saturday night in Madrid
And Sturridge believes plenty more success will follow for Liverpool under the German, claiming the first title is always the most difficult to win.
The 29-year-old, who kicked Liverpool’s Champions League campaign underway with the first goal of their campaign against Paris Saint-Germain back in September, said: ‘It’s my second time [winning European Cup, having done it with Chelsea]. It’s almost similar.
‘The one with Chelsea was the first in the club’s history and this is the first under this manager, so it’s a similar kind of feeling. Once you win one, you hope the floodgates open and you continue winning. It’s that culture of getting over the finishing line. When you have been trying so hard and you have been pipped at the post many times – we have lost in three finals since the manager has been here.
I just thinking the most difficult thing is winning a trophy with a manager that you have not won a trophy with before. It’s difficult, it’s not easy. So to be able to win the first trophy and understand “we can do it”.
‘There have been so many groups of players who have tried so hard to win something at Liverpool since the last time they lifted a big trophy – it’s been over ten years – so to be able to do it, we have to say that all the preparation we have done behind the scenes has paid off.’
Liverpool’s triumph in Madrid was the perfect remedy to get over their heartbreak of losing out on the Premier League title to champions Manchester City.
Liverpool have now won their first piece of silverware under manager Jurgen Klopp
While the likes of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have yet again shone for the Reds, Liverpool’s success has come down to a spirited team ethic throughout the squad.
The former Chelsea striker, who was an unused substitution at the Wanda Metropolitano, insists the whole squad deserve credit for their European glory.
‘I contributed and even the players who haven’t played a minute’, Sturridge added.
‘There are guys who have been on the bench and haven’t played a single minute, but they have been a part of it.
‘From training, to acting like the opposition that we have been playing against, to doing a job, to sacrificing themselves and the way that they play just to train to do a job on the training field to help them prepare themselves the best way that they can. It’s amazing.’
Saturday’s victory was almost certainly the last time the striker will be involved in Liverpool’s squad as his contract expires on June 30.
Former Chelsea striker Sturridge has become a two-time Champions League winner
Sturridge has seen a huge transition at the club since his £15million arrival in 2013, becoming the first real signing of the FSG era.
It is unknown what the future holds for Sturridge, who is awaiting to find out what the FA say following his charge in relation to betting.
And Sturridge – who partied all the way through the night and spray painted his hair red following the victory over Tottenham – has remained coy over his future, insisting his only focus is on soaking up the special Champions League celebrations.
‘I don’t even want to talk about all that stuff,’ the former England international added.
‘I feel like it has been an incredible time and I am not going to talk about next season or anything.
‘What’s important now is celebrating something so momentous, something we were striving for, working for for a long time. to finally win something is amazing.’
The Reds will look to go one further next term and pip Manchester City to the Premier League