KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTING —- Liverpool wrote one of the very greatest pages in even this club’s magnificent history by overturning Leo Messi’s Barcelona at Anfield to reach a second successive Champions League Final.

Manager Jurgen Klopp had seen his men beaten defeated 3-0 in Nou Camp last week and appeared to possess little prospect of turning the tie around. Never before had Liverpool overcome such a challenge. Even in Istanbul in 2005, in the final against Milan, Liverpool had recovered from 3-0 down to ‘only’ level the score before winning on penalties.

Teamwork . . . Liverpool's players and staff celebrate with the Kop

This time, however, Liverpool pulled one goal back in the seventh minute through Divock Origi and then shocked Barca with two goals early in the second half in 122 seconds from substitute Gini Wijnaldum.

The Dutchman had joined the game in place of Andy Robertson who had been hurt in an incident with former Liverpool favourite Luis Suarez.

With not only the game but the tie wide open a cheeky quick corner by Trent Alexander-Arnold provided Origi with the chance to strike the winner with Barcelona’s defence sleeping. It was the England fullback’s 14th assist of the season.

Against all odds
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Remarkably Liverpool achieved their European superlative without injured star forwards Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino and 24 hours after seeing Manchester City overtake them at the top of the Premier League with one game remaining.

Barcelona, newly recrowned champions of Spain, were shown up as less than the perfectionists they were hailed after the first leg.

They could not match Liverpool for energy. Too many players either have too many games in their legs or are not up to the highest standards demanded by such elite-level pressure.

This was only the fourth time in the entire history of European club football’s elite competition that a club have come back from three goals down in the knockout stage. But for Barcelona, history was repeating itself. They were eliminated in last season’s quarter-finals by Roma after taking a three-goal advantage into the second leg.

Liverpool thus reached their ninth European Champions final and are now fourth in the all-time ranking after Real Madrid (16), Milan (11) and Bayern Munich (10). They are also the first English side to reach back-to-back Champions League finals since Manchester United in 2008 and 2009.

Liverpool, watched at Anfield by Istanbul hero Steven Gerrard, will be favourites in the final in the Metropolitano in Madrid on Saturday, June 1, whether their opponents are Ajax Amsterdam or Tottenham.

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