Liverpool went into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Villarreal with a two goal lead. Within the first 45 minutes, Unai Emery's side had got two goals back and it was 2-2 with one half of football left to play.
However, it took Jurgen Klopp's side just 17 minutes to get their first goal of the game and then less than 15 minutes later they were 3-2 up on the night and 5-2 up over the two legs. The win takes Liverpool to the final of the European competition, where they will face Man City or Real Madrid.
It was Liverpool who ended Tottenham's Champions League dreams in 2019 and Antonio Conte's side is who they will face up next in the Premier League. Spurs' last victory against their next opponents was in 2017, but the last time the Lilywhites won at Anfield was in 2011.
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Klopp's side had to show fight and desire to secure their place in the final, something that the 54-year-old admitted after the game. "For me, it’s the best club competition in the world, love it and love the sounds, the nights," he said.
"Before the game, I told the boys I’d like to read the headlines which is that the ‘mentality monsters were in town’. I wanted us to be from the first moment someone who goes for the win.
"Couldn’t see that, but the second half was like this," Klopp added. Liverpool's first-half performance was far from their best but Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk both explained the half-time message.
"We just needed to play how we wanted to play. We didn’t play football in that first half, never picked up any of the first or second balls at all, then they played how they wanted to and we allowed that," Alexander-Arnold explained.
"It was difficult, second half we played how we needed to, controlled the game a lot better and one bad half over the two legs, we can concede that as long as we got the job done and that’s what we did today."
Van Dijk reiterated his teammate's admission: "Play football! Play the Liverpool way how we’ve played all season! Get on the ball, have a lot of movements with the ball and in behind the last line.
"With the speed we have we need to mix that up as well, and we needed to show how much we wanted to go to the final. Second half we dominated and played so well."
Klopp explained what his side had to do, to get the win: "It’s about how you react if things don’t go your way, getting the first goal after three minutes was obviously not what we wanted," he said.
"I told the boys, get the momentum back. We needed to play in the right space and force ourselves in situations to start playing football."
Liverpool will now go into their game against Tottenham in high spirits and with added momentum. Their quality and flexibility allowed them to secure their place in the final and Spurs need to take some of that into their performance at Anfield.
Klopp's side are currently a point off Man City in the league, as they continue to battle for the title. Meanwhile, the Lilywhites are two points off fourth placed Arsenal and it's therefore a massive three points up for grabs on Saturday.
Tottenham will be preparing in the coming days for the battle and will have had a few extra days of preparation. Conte needs to ensure his side produce a strong performance to have any chance of securing a win against Liverpool.
