Georginio Wijnaldum Insists Liverpool Deserve UCL Trophy After Impressive Premier League Season

Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum​ has claimed that winning the Champions League over Premier League rivals Tottenham would be a 'deserved' end to their 2018/19 season. 

Having produced an emphatic comeback against Barcelona in the semi-final, Jurgen Klopp's squad prepare to face Tottenham in the final in Madrid on June 1. However, with Spurs also demonstrating a breathtaking comeback against Ajax in early May, Wijnaldum has insisted that the Reds need to take their Premier League form into the fixture if they want to come out on top.

The ​Merseyside club were on track for domestic success as they beat ​Wolves 2-0 on the final day of the 2018/19 ​Premier League season, but the result was not enough to thwart the impressive performance of ​Manchester City who claimed a second successive title. 

Although they failed to clinch the league's highest honour, ​Wijnaldum suggested that the Reds have a proven formula for victory which they will do their best to deploy as they face Mauricio Pochettino's ​side.

Reflecting on Liverpool's end of season Premier League results, as quoted by Liverpool's official website, he said: "The last couple of games were basically games where we could only win and look at what City were doing. They won also, so fair enough that they are champions.

"But now we have a game that we can control, so we have to bring that to a good end.

"It would be really special, especially because this season deserves an end like that. We're going to do everything to bring it to that end, but it's going to be tough."

Wijnaldum's involvement in the 4-0 victory over Barcelona was integral to the historic margin of the scoreline, the Dutch midfielder scoring a quick-fire brace as he came on as a substitute for Scottish left-back Andy Robertson just after half-time.

With the anticipation building for the Madrid final, Wijnaldum also praised his ​Liverpool side for their ability to overcome hurdles in their domestic pursuits of the league title. He added: "We put everything in, everything we could.

"If you look at the games where we still managed to win - Everton at home, Fulham away, Newcastle away and I probably forget five or six more difficult games that we still managed to win.

"We gave it our all but in the end it wasn't enough."