Incredible Liverpool reach CL final

Divock Origi scored the fourth and decisive goal at Anfield

Liverpool completed one of the greatest comebacks in football history, beating Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield and 4-3 on aggregate to reach the Champions League final.

Looking to become only the third team in the competition’s history to come back from three goals down after the first leg of a semi-final, Liverpool took an early lead through Divock Origi’s tap in (7) to give Anfield hope, before two goals in two second-half minutes brought them level.

Half-time substitute Georginio Wijnaldum first saw his low drive sneak past Marc-Andre ter Stegen (54), and the Dutchman took the roof off Anfield as his precise header from Xherdan Shaqiri’s cross found the corner of Barca’s net (56).

Sub Georginio Wijnaldum struck twice in two minutes to pull Liverpool level on aggregate

And the comeback was complete in bizarre and jaw-dropping fashion as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cheeky corner caught Barcelona off guard, allowing the unmarked Origi to turn home his second (79), having played most of this season as a bit-part player.

The unprecedented and sublime comeback means Liverpool will play in their second successive Champions League final on June 1 in Madrid, facing either Ajax or Tottenham.

How Liverpool completed mission impossible

Liverpool had a mountain to climb, but the frantic opening worked in their favour as Jordi Alba’s poor header allowed Sadio Mane to feed Henderson, who drove into the area and forced a low stop from Ter Stegen, only for Origi to follow up and finish from close range.

Divock Origi tapped home Liverpool’s opener

Anfield erupted as Barca’s defence cracked, but they eventually settled after 15 minutes as Lionel Messi forced a good save from Alisson from 12 yards, and the Liverpool goalkeeper was again at his best to parry away Philippe Coutinho’s placed effort from the left of the box.

Luis Suarez, once a hero at Anfield, was soon being roundly jeered by the home fans for creating mischief among Liverpool’s defence, with replays showing he may have kicked out at Andrew Robertson as the two ran beside each other.

Robertson had to be replaced at half-time by Wijnaldum, after Alisson had again kept the score at 1-0 with a fine block from Jordi Alba at close range following Messi’s sublime through ball.

The breakneck speed continued after half-time as Ter Stegen showed fine reflexes to block Virgil van Dijk’s backheeled volley from a corner, before Alisson made yet another smart save from Suarez’s low drive.

Liverpool are through to their ninth European Cup/Champions League final

It began to feel like another of those European nights at Anfield as Wijnaldum doubled Liverpool’s lead with a low drive from 12 yards from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross, although Ter Stegen should have done better with the effort.

And just 122 seconds after his first, Wijnaldum struck again, meeting a Shaqiri cross from the left with a fine header, but Liverpool weren’t settling for extra time.

While Barcelona re-organised for a corner, Alexander-Arnold drilled a quick corner into Origi’s path, eight yards out, and the Belgian made no mistake, glancing into the top left corner with his right foot.

Liverpool weathered the storm in the final stages, sending Anfield into a frenzy on yet another historic night for the five-time European Cup winners.

Opta stats

• Liverpool have reached their ninth European Cup/Champions League final – only Real Madrid (16), Milan (11) and Bayern Munich (10) have reached more.
• Liverpool are the first English side to reach back-to-back Champions League finals since Manchester United (2008 and 2009).
• This was just the fourth time a team has overturned a 3+ goal deficit from the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie to progress. Barcelona were also on the receiving end the last time (last season vs Roma).
• Barcelona have now been eliminated from three of their last four Champions League semi-final ties.
• Barcelona suffered their heaviest ever defeat against an English side in all European competitions.
• Full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has provided 14 assists in all competitions this season, more than any other Liverpool player.

When is the Champions League final?

The Champions League final, the 27th in its current format and 64th of Europe’s elite-club competition, will take place on June 1, 2019.

Kick-off is at 8pm (BST), 9pm (CEST).

Follow Ajax vs Tottenham in our dedicated live blog on the Sky Sports app and SkySports.com on Wednesday evening.

Title race final day live on Sky Sports

The last act of The Run In will be shown live on Sky Sports on a defining final day of the Premier League season.

Manchester City’s trip to Brighton is live on Sky Sports Main Event from 2.30pm, while Liverpool vs Wolves at Anfield is live on Sky Sports Premier League from 2pm on Sunday, May 12. Kick-off for both games is at 3pm.

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