Diogo Jota admits a wrong offside call "killed a bit of joy" in securing Liverpool's Wembley date in the Carabao Cup final.
Jota scored twice as the Reds recovered from being held to a goalless home draw against Arsenal last week by winning 2-0 in their semi-final second leg at the Emirates on Thursday.
The Portuguese was convinced he had made the game safe in the 77th minute but was flagged offside when racing on to Trent Alexander-Arnold's pass before lifting the ball over Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
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And while the call was correctly overturned, Jota later told his team-mates the shine was slightly taken off the delayed celebrations.
“I said in the dressing room it killed a bit of joy of the moment," said the forward.
"I was going to celebrate with the fans for 2-0 and then we needed to stop. But then when you realise you are actually on, it’s not just my second goal, it’s the goal that almost killed the game, so it was a really important moment.
“I thought I was on. I was quite surprised, I was already celebrating when I saw the whistle and the linesman with the flag up. I thought, ‘No, I’m not offside I think’, because as a striker I think you have that feeling sometimes – ‘Maybe I’m off’ – but this one I was confident I was on."
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Jota admits his opening goal in the 19th minute benefited from him not connecting properly with his eventual shot after a storming run towards the Arsenal goal.
"I wanted to shoot in that corner but the ball was not really in the corner and not powerful obviously," he said.
"I kind of missed it, but I wanted to place it there in that corner. Obviously it wasn’t in the corner but I caught the keeper in the wrong foot and it was enough to go in, fortunately for me and for the team."
Liverpool will now take on Chelsea in the final at Wembley on Sunday, February 27 as they aim to win a record ninth League Cup.
And regarding the prospect of playing at the national stadium, Jota added to liverpoolfc.com: "It’s incredible.
"I played there in the semi-final with Wolves once and I know how special it is to play there, but this time it’s a proper final with a trophy to play for, so when the time arrives we go with everything to win it."
