James Milner has admitted he believes Liverpool's early goal against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League played a major role in their low-key performance.
The Reds went on to win the match 2-0 after Mohamed Salah had scored from the penalty spot after only two minutes.
Divock Origi sealed the victory with less than five minutes to go but the game was a relatively subdued match, with neither side producing vintage displays.
However, Milner believes that, despite holding a players' meeting the week previous, Liverpool's previous defeats in major finals and scoring so early played against them on the night.
"We had a players' meeting the week before and we'd been in the finals before and not got the right results," Milner told BBC Radio 5Live.
"We discussed it and we made a point of saying, in finals if you score a goal, it's just as important as going behind, your reaction. It's easy to go into your shell and protect what you've got. So we actually had a players' meeting about that, if we scored go again, play on the front foot, lift it again.
"The biggest thing that affected us was scoring that early. People say, scoring early is never a bad thing and it isn't and it worked out but I think if we didn't score that earlier, our performances would've been much better.
"Nobody cares about performances in a final, it's about getting the trophy. We always looked like we were going to win it, especially when we got the second, it never looked like it would change.
"In terms of performance, I think the goal did affect us, even though we talked about it we still couldn't manage that. Whether that's wounds from previous finals and wanting it so bad.
"Again, it's amazing character from the lads. Losing in a Champions League final and then to go again and get there again the following year, I don't know if there was scars from the other finals and we just wanted to get over the line."
