Talking pointsFeeling Fab, Luis Diaz dazzles and Reds achieve more records
Liverpool secured passage into the Champions League final on Tuesday night with a 5-2 aggregate victory over Villarreal.
Villarreal 2-3 Liverpool: Highlights
The Reds were forced to come from behind at Estadio de la Ceramica as the La Liga outfit took a two-goal advantage into the interval.
Fabinho, Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane all struck in the second 45 minutes, however, to turn the game around and seal a 3-2 win on the night and a place in European football’s showpiece on May 28 in Paris.
Here are five talking points from a memorable encounter…
Three UCL finals in five seasons
Yes, read that back again.
That’s three - three - Champions League finals in just five seasons for Liverpool under boss Jürgen Klopp.
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The Reds reached a 10th European Cup showpiece in club history, which sees them join renowned company in double figures.
Only Real Madrid (16), AC Milan (11) and Bayern Munich (11) have appeared more times than Liverpool in the final of Europe’s elite competition.
Super Diaz
The Colombian produced an inspired performance from the bench to help turn the game on its head in Spain.
Liverpool trailed 2-0 at the interval after an impressive first half from Unai Emery’s home side.
With the tie in the balance, though, Klopp turned to Diaz at the outset of the second half as he sought to change the momentum - and that the No.23 did in stunning fashion.
The tricky winger made an instant impact on the left-hand side and ended the night having completed 100 per cent of his four take-ons.
He won possession three times, had four touches in the opposition box and bagged a vital header to help the Reds achieve a comeback.
Feeling Fab with a dash of Mane magic
What a night to bag your first Champions League goal for the club.
Fabinho’s 62nd-minute low strike swung the aggregate score back in Liverpool’s favour as he opened his goalscoring account for the Reds in Europe - his first goal in the competition since 2017.
Mane’s effort, meanwhile, saw him surpass Didier Drogba as the top-scoring African in the knockout stages of the tournament with his 15th.
Klopp makes history
The boss sealed a managerial first on Tuesday night.
Klopp became the only manager to have led an English club to the finals of the League Cup, FA Cup and Champions League in the same campaign.
The Reds, obviously, earned that accolade as a team alongside their boss.
Klopp also equalled the record set by Marcello Lippi, Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti in reaching a fourth Champions League final of his coaching career.
Goals galore
Just for good measure, Liverpool also set a club record in victory.
The Reds have scored 139 goals in 57 games across all competitions in 2021-22, which is the highest tally they have ever totalled in a single season.
They have now scored 150 goals in European competition under Klopp, too.
Liverpool made it a perfect 16 occasions they have managed to progress through in Europe having won the first leg 2-0 - another impressive record.
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