Liverpool reached the Champions League final for the first time since 2007, advancing 7-6 on aggregate despite losing a dramatic second leg to Roma.
A journey that started on 15 August in Germany against Hoffenheim in the play-off round will end on 26 May when Jurgen Klopp’s men face 12-time winners Real Madrid in Kiev.
Liverpool conceded three times in the second half in Rome to lose for the first time in the competition this season but Klopp and his players celebrated wildly in front of 5,000 travelling fans after the final whistle at the Stadio Olimpico.
Virgil van Dijk sank to his knees and James Milner lay flat on his back in front of the travelling fans, who were kept in the ground long after the final whistle.
A delighted Klopp came back out after conducting television interviews to applaud the Liverpool supporters while the team posed for photographs with a banner in support of Sean Cox, the Liverpool supporter who was seriously injured after being attacked outside Anfield before the first leg.
Leading 5-2 after a devastating first-leg performance at Anfield, Liverpool went further ahead when Sadio Mane finished from Roberto Firmino’s clever pass.
An own goal by Milner, after Dejan Lovren’s attempted clearance cannoned off his team-mate, levelled the scores on the night before Georginio Wijnaldum’s header made it 2-1, and 7-3 on aggregate.
However, Roma scored three more times to give Liverpool plenty of anxious moments in a match which appeared to pass off peacefully inside the ground after a large scale police operation in the Italian capital.
Edin Dzeko gave the home side hope with his side’s second goal before Radja Nainggolan added two late strikes, including a stoppage-time penalty.
However, Liverpool just about kept their hosts at bay to become the first Premier League club to reach the Champions League final since Roberto di Matteo’s Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties in 2012.
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Source: BBC
