On a frenetic, nerve-shredding night at Anfield, Liverpool completed one of the great Champions League comebacks to knock out Barcelona and reach a second consecutive final.
As they attempted to take on board the enormity of their achievement, a succession of players uttered the word «unbelievable.» Klopp used a different word: «overwhelming,» he told BT Sport.
The greatest comeback?
For Liverpool to qualify for the Champions League final, it would have to eclipse every great European night Anfield had ever seen.
Liverpool fans have seen their fair share of improbable European comebacks to know that Tuesday’s second leg against Barcelona wasn’t entirely a lost cause.
There is the 2004 victory over Olympiakos and Steven Gerrard’s half volley, the 4-3 win over Borussia Dortmund in 2016 and Dejan Lovren’s header.
There is something in the air at Anfield that offers hope in even the bleakest of situations.
Once the compulsory rendition of «You’ll Never Walk Alone» had been belted out before kick-off, it would have taken somebody brave to tell those 50,000 Liverpool fans this tie was already over.
There was emotion and electricity in the air and Barcelona would have been desperate to weather any early storms and prevent the memories of last year’s nightmare quarterfinal against Roma to start flooding back.
Having earned a 4-1 lead at the Camp Nou, Barcelona traveled to the Italian capital with one foot already in the semifinals. But an early Edin Dzeko goal set the Catalan nerves jangling, before a second-half capitulation completed the most unlikely of comebacks for Roma.
As predicted, and as was required, Liverpool began at a blistering pace as their makeshift front three of Sadio Mane, Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri hassled Barcelona’s backline with the support of Jordan Henderson from midfield.
It became immediately obvious that Jurgen Klopp’s favored high press might yield success, as first Clement Lenglet and then Sergi Roberto gave the ball away under pressure.
