Joe Gomez insists Liverpool will not get giddy at the prospect of another potential quadruple tilt, but has acknowledged there is a fire in the squad to achieve this season.
The Premier League leaders continue to battle on four fronts after they progressed into the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday with a 2-0 win at Arsenal.
Next on the agenda for Jurgen Klopp’s team is Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at home to Fulham, but Gomez says there is no prospect of complacency creeping in.
He said: “We don’t want to get giddy. We’re all just full of desire and want to make the best out of the season.
“All we can do is take it one game at a time. I know it’s a cliche, but there’s desire and we have a platform to build on.
“We can’t take that for granted, as we know with last season it’s not always plain-sailing and we went through rough patches but we built from it and learnt from it. So, we have to keep at it and see where it takes us.”
Gomez only made 31 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool last season, but is already up to 26 this term and has recently been used at left-back with Andrew Robertson absent.
While the unorthodox position has been a challenge for the London-born defender, he relished another battle with Bukayo Saka and hailed a big team effort at the Emirates.
“He’s a top player, a direct winger. It’s not often the case these days but he’s one that will stay wide to pick up the ball and drive at you. It was tough. I knew it was going to be having played him so recently but yeah, great team performance, we all dug deep,” Gomez added.
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“It’s different at left back! It’s been a challenge to adapt. Small, minor differences that maybe aren’t noted, maybe how you receive the ball and so on.
“But people at the club know me now, they know I will give my all. I’ve been here long enough now but I’m grateful to play for the club.”
Liverpool were on the ropes for long period in the capital before Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free kick produced Jakub Kiwior’s own-goal and a late Luis Diaz strike made it four wins in five for Klopp’s men.
The victory was all the more impressive considering the club’s lengthy list of absentees with captain Virgil van Dijk ill, while Mohamad Salah is away at the African Cup of Nations.
Nevertheless, Gomez hailed the togetherness of the squad and backed them to take another step towards silverware in this week’s cup tie with Fulham at Anfield.
“There’s definitely a good bond in the team. There’s definitely a freshness and fire about the team,” he added.
“We’re not over-analysing who we lost and who we don’t have. We’ve got top players who we’ve missed this year.
“Thiago, Robbo, Kostas (Tsimikas), Mo going, but the gaffer keeps reiterating we can all do a job defensively and we can all defend.
“It means we don’t have to worry about who’s missing. We have to keep that mentality.
“We’ve got a bit more of a spring in our step. Another big game on Wednesday. We want to get to another final, (it’s) over two legs but we’ll go for it.”
Tuchel and Bayern fume at 'absolute disaster' after contentious offside call
Thomas Tuchel and Bayern Munich were left fuming after Matthijs de Ligt's contentious late strike was disallowed in their semi-final defeat to Real Madrid.
Bayern crashed out 4-3 on aggregate at Santiago Bernabeu after a dramatic double from substitute Joselu saw the hosts snatch victory to advance to the final on June 1.
Tuchel's side thought they had forced extra-time when De Ligt had the ball in the net, but the referee had already blown his whistle after the linesman raised his flag, so VAR could not intervene.
The replays showed that the original decision was closer than first thought, and the head coach bemoaned the lack of consistency after Madrid's second goal was awarded following a VAR review.
"I think it's pretty clear and there is no doubt that is against the rules of modern football," he said. "A disaster. An absolute disaster.
"With Real's second goal, they let the play continue. The clear rule is that the scene must continue. The first mistake was made by the linesman, the second by the referee."
Bayern had taken the lead through Alphonso Davies at the midway point in the second half, before Joselu's late intervention denied them a crack at a seventh title against compatriots Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
De Ligt said the linesman had apologised to him after the game.
"[It is] very difficult. Of course, as sportspeople, we accept it," Tuchel said. "But it is a semi-final, it's not for two such mistakes.
"Everyone has to be at their limit. The referees have to be there as well. That is what we expect, so the apology does not really help."
Super sub Joselu 'the perfect reflection of Madrid', hails Ancelotti after Bayern brace
Carlo Ancelotti saluted Joselu after the striker climbed off the bench and scored twice against Bayern Munich to send Real Madrid through to their 18th Champions League final.
Following Alphonso Davies' earlier strike at Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid trailed Bayern 1-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate when Joselu replaced Federico Valverde with nine minutes of their pulsating semi-final tie remaining.
The 33-year-old, who is on loan from second-tier Espanyol, turned the tie on its head with two dramatic late goals.
First, he pounced on a rare mistake by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer to stab in an 88th-minute equaliser, before volleying home Antonio Rudiger's cross in the first minute of stoppage time.
This was Joselu's eighth substitute appearance in this season's Champions League and Ancelotti praised the professionalism of his striker, who has now netted 17 times across all competitions, despite spending much of the campaign on the bench.
"He's a player who's contributed a lot this season, even if he hasn't played many minutes," the Italian said.
"But he's the perfect reflection of what this squad is: players who contribute a lot without losing confidence [if they're not playing] and the idea that they can offer the team something."
Ancelotti, whose side will play Borussia Dortmund in his sixth Champions League final as a manager on June 1, also hailed the character demonstrated by his players during another "magical" Madrid performance.
"It's happened so many times now, it's something inexplicable," he added. "It's happened again [thanks to] fans that push [us], a fantastic atmosphere and players who never stop believing that they can do it. It's something magical, there's no explanation for it."
Journeyman Joselu takes long, winding road to Champions League final
Real Madrid striker Joselu was in dreamland after he came on in the dying moments of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich on Wednesday and turned the game on its head with two goals to snatch a stunning victory.
Joselu, whose journeyman career has included spells at clubs such as Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hannover 96, Stoke City and Newcastle United, only touched the ball a few times in their 2-1 second-leg win, but it was a night he is likely to remember for a long time.
He pounced on a rare mistake by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer, stabbing the ball into the net to equalise for Madrid in the 88th minute, and just under three minutes later, he volleyed them into the lead from a cross by Antonio Rudiger.
"I don't know anything about being a hero, but I'm very happy... You can imagine," he said. "It was incredible, something spectacular. This team never gives up, it's in its blood to fight to the end and that's what we've done.
"You always dream of this kind of performance, but not even my most beautiful dreams are as big as what happened today."
On loan from second-division side Espanyol, Joselu's journey to becoming the semi-final hero has been long and winding in a career involving a dozen clubs across Europe.
He began his career at Celta Vigo before being bought in 2009 by Madrid, where he excelled in their B team but rarely made it to the first team.
He was sold to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in 2012 and then loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt before joining Hannover 96 in 2014.
In 2015, he moved to Premier League side Stoke City, playing 27 times and scoring four goals, before spending two seasons at Newcastle United. He returned to Spain with Alaves, where he scored 36 times in three seasons.
He signed as a free agent with Espanyol in the summer of 2022, and a year later was loaned to Madrid and has scored nine goals in 32 appearances this season in LaLiga.
Joselu, born in Stuttgart, Germany, made his debut for Spain aged 33, coming off the bench against Norway to score twice in two minutes in March 2023.
"I don’t think Joselu will be sleeping much tonight, he’ll be useless in training tomorrow!" team-mate Jude Bellingham said. "He deserves it all, he’s been an amazing member of the squad all season, and it’s his night."
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