What will be the lasting image of Liverpool’s triumph? If not the obvious one – Jordan Henderson lifting the club’s sixth European Cup – then maybe it will be a tearful Henderson, having freed himself from a Jurgen Klopp headlock, rushing over to the touchline and weeping in the arms of his father.

Brian Henderson was diagnosed with throat cancer six years ago, just as his son was beginning to overcome a difficult start to life at Anfield and establish himself at the club. Brian kept his illness from Jordan initially, so as not to distress or distract him from a career which was slowly building momentum.

Once Jordan knew, Brian would forbid him from visiting him hospital. He felt that the sight would upset his son too much. “Towards the end, it got to a point where he didn’t want to see me at all because of how he was,” the midfielder said last year. “He didn’t want me to see him like that so I knew it was pretty bad.”

Brian recovered and Jordan established himself at Liverpool to the point of being made captain in 2015, but this was not where the young Henderson’s trials stopped. If anything, stepping into Steven Gerrard’s size ten-and-a-halves four years ago meant he became the most scrutinised player on the Anfield payroll.

Every week, his body language, mannerisms and leadership qualities were measured against fresh memories of a club great. So too were his performances. Some were good, some were average, some were poor. Generally, they left many Liverpool supporters wanting and demanding more from a player who was, without fail, giving everything he had.

Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Show all 23 1 /23 Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings <b>Tottenham:</b> Hugo Lloris - 7 His hesitation allowed Salah to score Liverpool’s first but he more than made up for it in the second half with a stupendous save from Coutinho. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Davinson Sanchez - 7 Has slotted into the centre of Tottenham’s defence with ease. Exudes class. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Toby Alderweireld - 7 Not overly troubled too often but maintained a high level throughout. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Jan Vertonghen - 7 Unlucky not to score Tottenham’s fourth after his shot was blocked on the line but can probably claim an assist after Kane tucked home the rebound. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Kieran Trippier - 7 Helped kick things off for Spurs with the assist for Kane’s early opener. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Harry Winks - 7 Understatedly good. Keeps things ticking over in the middle of the park and allows others to grab the headlines. Could be the long-term answer to England’s deep-lying midfield problems. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Christian Eriksen - 7 Outshone Coutinho in a battle of two of the Premier League’s best playmakers. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Serge Aurier - 8 Deployed at left wing-back to match Mo Salah’s pace and marshalled him well. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Dele Alli - 8 Yet to hit the heights of last season but was superb in a slightly deeper role today and scored Spurs’ third. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Son Hueng-min - 7 Always runs himself into the ground. Scored Spurs’ second and almost had a third minutes later when his well-struck effort cannoned off the crossbar from a tight angle. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Harry Kane - 9 Scored two and assisted another. He’s frighteningly good. Does anybody still think he’s not world class? Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings <b>Liverpool:</b> Simon Mignolet - 4 Might’ve done better for Kane’s opener and was fully at fault for his second after flapping at a cross. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Joe Gomez - 5 Was asked to fill in at centre-back for the last hour of the match. Wasn’t great but wasn’t solely responsible for any of Liverpool’s goals, unlike some of his teammates. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Joel Matip - 4 Suicidal defensive header allowed Alli to score Spurs’ third goal in first-half injury time. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Dejan Lovren - 1 One of the worst individual performances you’re ever likely to see. At fault for Spurs’ two early goals and hooked – without an injury – after half an hour. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Alberto Moreno - 5 He’s one of the few improved players in Liverpool’s defence this season. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Emre Can - 4 A poor day at the office for Can after a good start to the season. He was subbed late on just minutes after Alli had nut-megged him with a sublime piece of skill. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Jordan Henderson - 6 Liverpool’s best midfielder on the day and his pass for Salah’s goal was fantastic. As always, you can’t fault his work rate. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings James Milner - 5 Couldn’t deal with Son’s pace for Spurs’ second goal. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Philippe Coutinho - 5 He was quiet on a day when Liverpool could’ve done with a moment of magic to spark them into action. Was denied a second-half goal by a superb Lloris save. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Mohamed Salah - 6 Scored Liverpool’s only goal of the game but sometimes his one-footedness really counts against him. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Roberto Firmino - 5 Came up with a brilliant goal-line clearance but it ended up counting for nothing as Kane tucked home the rebound. Offered little at the other end of the pitch. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Substitutes Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 5

Daniel Sturridge N/A

Marko Grujic N/A Getty

If you had said in August that Klopp’s side would return to the Champions League final, you would not have expected Henderson to start it. Armband or no armband, the arrivals of Fabinho and Naby Keita, and Klopp’s high opinion of Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner, raised questions over the captain’s place in the pecking order.

Almost half of Henderson’s appearances in the first half of the Premier League campaign came as a substitute. Many were as a holding midfielder, a role that Henderson never felt was his best but one he fulfilled without complaint for two years or more, adapting his previous, shuttling box-to-box game for something altogether more disciplined and cerebral.

In that position, fulfilling a familiar but unnatural duty, there was always a nagging sense that Liverpool could do better. Fabinho’s arrival appeared to suggest that Klopp and other decision makers at the club felt the same. Once the summer signing from Monaco found his feet in the winter, there was only one candidate to play the deeper role on a regular basis.

This could quite easily have been the beginning of the end for Henderson’s Anfield career, but he has come through worse. He was a player considered such a poor signing that Damien Comolli, Liverpool’s former director of football, lost his job to the words: “Jordan Henderson, what a massive mistake that was”. Nonetheless, the midfielder told the club that he would not leave, but stay and earn his place. He did just.

And so as he appeared to be in danger of losing his automatic starting place, he regained it. He spoke to Klopp, he asked to be moved further upfield, and his performances in his preferred role during the final months of the campaign extracted that most rare thing from a manager to his player: an apology. “It was my fault that for one-and-a-half years he played as a number six,” the Liverpool manager said. “Sorry for that!”

The midfielder has proved to his doubters, including Klopp, what he’s truly capable of (Getty)

For what it’s worth, Madrid was not to Henderson what Istanbul was to Gerrard. It was not one of his finest individual displays in a Liverpool shirt. But neither was Saturday a night to be viewed in isolation, devoid of wider context. It was instead the culmination of work done over three-and-a-half years by Klopp; work which was often carried out to the letter on the pitch by his captain.

Shortly after Jordan and Brian’s embrace, the elder Henderson gave an interview to television. “I think if he hadn’t have picked that trophy up today, he would have had a bad, bad summer,” he said of his son. It could have been worse than that. It could have broken a player who has been tested, doubted and criticised at every turn, often unfairly and undeservedly so.