Gomez eyeing 'sixth star' as 'different' Liverpool prepare for another Champions League final

Joe Gomez has his sights set on earning Liverpool a “sixth star”, with the Reds considered to be in “a different place” as they prepare to return to the Champions League final.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are heading to Madrid on June 1 after booking a spot in a European showpiece for a second successive season.

Twelve months ago, the Real Madrid of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale dashed their continental dreams.

This time around, Premier League rivals Tottenham will provide the opposition for a club that boast a rich history in European Cup competition.

Gomez believes the Reds are better placed to get back onto the top of the podium than they were in 2018, with there a desire on the part of everyone at Anfield to get their hands on major silverware after missing out on a domestic crown by one point.

The England international told Liverpool’s official website: “I definitely think we go into this final in a different place.

“It's still a Champions League final and they're always separate occasions and you have to approach it with the same mentality.

“But I think this year speaks for itself and the growth in the team has been massive.

“[The manager] shows and emphasises the fact that we're a different team and we can't go into it thinking that we're the same team.

“In that sense, we can take the confidence from that, but still have the desire to win one because we know what it means for this club and we want to get the sixth star.”

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Gomez is looking to end the 2018-19 campaign on a high, both as an individual and as a collective.

A broken leg suffered in December kept him out of action until April, with the 21-year-old admitting that he found it tough to watch on from afar as Liverpool chased down honours at home and abroad.

He added on his injury nightmare: “It's probably underestimated a bit how much it can affect us as footballers.

“Like it might just seem that you're injured and now you just watch the boys, but it hurts - especially [in] a year like this that was pretty historic.

“To watch a large majority of those games, having had a taste of it at the beginning, was difficult to take. Obviously it was nice to overcome it and get a bit of involvement at the end.

“We've just got to move on now and we've got a big game. There's a lot of ups and downs, but it's all a learning curve.”