Mohamed Salah is out to close the book on last season’s Champions League final heartbreak with victory over Tottenham in Madrid.
And the Egyptian has revealed that Liverpool’s preparations for European football’s showpiece fixture could not have gone better this time around.
Having scored 44 goals en route to a Kiev meeting with Real Madrid last term, Salah’s dream debut campaign at Anfield was ended by injury just 30 minutes into the final.
Jurgen Klopp’s team went on to lose 3-1 in the absence of their star man, but the painful memories of that evening are serving as motivation for the Reds’ second chance at glory.
"I am so happy that I have the chance to play another final," Salah told beIN Sports. "I hope I can play the full game this time. I am very excited for that.
"I hope we can right what happened last season, get a good result, and win the competition.
"We are very excited. Of course this is our second final in a row, we lost the first but everything feels better this time around and we have more experience than the last time.
"We are all looking forward and we had a good preparation period in Spain. We are back in Liverpool, and we are feeling very motivated as players and coaching staff. I hope we can win it this time."
Unlike when they faced Real, Liverpool go into this season’s final as strong favourites having finished 26 points ahead of opponents Spurs in the Premier League.
However, Salah does not believe the odds will have any impact on what happens on the pitch.
He added: "I don't think it will change much. All we have to do is stay focused on the game to win. Who's favourite and who isn't will not change what you have to do on the pitch.
"It could give us a bit of a boost, but it won't be the main reason why a side wins a game.
"I think it will be tough. But at the end of the day, this is a final and no opponent would have been easy.
"It is harder because it is an English side, but anyway we needed to win whether it was against Ajax or Spurs. And that is the most important thing we want to do."
The Reds’ chances certainly haven’t been harmed by the return to fitness of Roberto Firmino, who has resumed training after missing the run-in with a groin injury.
Asked about his Brazilian colleague, Salah said: "He is very important for us and helps us so much in all our games.
“I'm so glad that he's back, especially for him personally. I hope he can help us again to achieve something good."
