"It's the best phase of football. There are more important things in the world but creating this kind of emotional atmosphere together is so special."
The words of Jurgen Klopp in the moments after his side fought back from 3-0 down on aggregate to beat Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield on this day – 7 May – in 2019.
Liverpool, without Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, found a way to reach the Champions League final, where they would secure the title for the sixth time.
Klopp added: "We had to be serious but we needed to be cheeky as well. All the predictable things they defend well. We said before the first game, you need to be unpredictable in moments."
Liverpool were indeed unpredictable in the most spectacular and memorable way.
In The Independent, journalist Jonathan Liew would write: "This is Liverpool's gift: to rip up what you thought you knew about football and footballers, to take you – mentally and physically – to a place you don't know and never wanted to go. To make your eardrums ring and your sinuses twang and your heart thump to the point where it's all you can think about.
"A night when Anfield heaved with the heft of the impossible, when a crowd of thousands and an audience of millions lost itself in the mad, dangerous intoxication of football."
