Liverpool saw off 10-man Villarreal to seal a spot in the Europa League final with a 3-0 win at Anfield on Thursday. Goals from Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and an own goal from Bruno Soriano saw the Reds beat the Yellow Submarine 3-1 on aggregate.
Here is how various pundits, players and managers reacted after yesterday’s match:
Liverpool’s manager Jurgen Klopp was thrilled with his side’s display and vowed to give it his all in the final.
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"I have not the right words for this performance so maybe you can find a few -- it is your job," Klopp said.
"It was nice to watch, be part of it, the whole performance from 6:45 when we drove through the road again.
"The first half-hour was power, the will was obvious and 15 minutes [of the first half] we lost a bit of patience. Second half we were back to the plan. We were very emotional plus very smart and scored some wonderful goals."
Villarreal’s manager Marcelino was less than amused with Jurgen Klopp’s celebrations. He accused the German manager of taking his celebrations overboard.
"Klopp is who he is," the Villarreal coach said after the game. "A great coach, but in the regards to the rest, I won't keep it to myself -- I wouldn't want to be like him. Today, he went too far with his celebrations."
However, the Liverpool manager answered back in his own inimitable style.
"I would not be like him one second in my life -- and he is a great manager."
Marcelino also said that the referees favoured Liverpool.
"In the context of this game the referee was letting a lot go so to then see a sending-off you make your own conclusions," he said. "I don't think the refereeing was quite equal for both sides."
On the game itself Marcelino added: "Things didn't work out how we had planned them. It hit us hard conceding that early goal, it was a hammer blow.
"It was tough against an opponent who played with a huge amount of intensity, maybe on the margins of the rules at times but it was allowed.
"Liverpool played better than us but for all their superiority they didn't create too many chances.
"When we got to the sending off it was pretty much game over by then."
The game’s two goal scorers Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana spoke about the amount of hard work they put in:
"It was about soaking up the atmosphere and putting on a performance," the No.15 told BT Sport at full-time.
"We had to work our socks off tonight but in the end we got the result needed, and we deserved it.
"[Pressing] is what we do when we play here, that's what the manager emphasises and that's what the boys like to do.
"We like to press and we like to be in the opposition's faces, that's our style and that's what we'll continue to do."
Adam Lallana said:
"We said at the beginning of the competition, it's a long slog and you've got to show the competition respect," he said.
"I feel we've done that throughout the length of the season and we're reaping our rewards.
"[It was] a brilliant performance tonight and the lads are looking forward to the final now."
Simon Mignolet took to Twitter to express his joy.
Respected Liverpool Echo journalist James Pearce had a go at Marcelino for his quotes before the match.
Meanwhile, VIllarreal’s star player Denis Suarez thanked the Villarreal fans for supporting their team throughout.
This tweet by the Liverpool FC official account best sums up how Liverpool have performed at Anfield in the Europa League this season
Finally there was a message from an old friend Luis Suarez for his team-mates. He wrote on Twitter:
Congratulations to all @LFC for moving to the finals!
Congratulations friends!
