Alberto Moreno congratulated his former Liverpool teammates after reaching the Champions League final against Villarreal.
The Reds made it three finals in the space of five years in UEFA's flagship tournament in what was a dramatic evening at the El Madrigal. It seemed a formality Jurgen Klopp's men would dispatch the Spaniards on their home turf after dominating them at Anfield last week.
But Unai Emery's side had different ideas as they raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first half with Liverpool on the ropes with the tie all square.
It was a completely different story after the break as normal service resumed with Luis Diaz's inspiring a second-half comeback as he climbed off the bench with a man-of-the-match performance. The Colombian netted the equaliser, either side of goals from Fabinho and Sadio Mane, as Liverpool s ecured a 3-2 victory (5-2 on aggregate) to reach the final.
There were a lot of familiar faces on show for Villarreal with Giovani Lo Celso, Etienne Capoue, Juan Foyth and Francis Coquelin headling the long list of former Premier League players featuring for the Yellow Submarine.
They all had plenty of experience of this Liverpool side during their respective spells at Arsenal, Tottenham and Watford, but they didn't know them quite as well as Alberto Moreno, who played at Anfield between 2014 and 2019.
The Villarreal defender, who was injured for both legs, still has a lot of affection for his former side as he paid respect to Liverpool by congratulating Alisson and Fabinho on the pitch after the full-time whistle. The 29-year-old then embraced Virgil van Dijk as he enthusiastically hugged the centre-half in a light-hearted exchange between the pair.
The left-back made the trip to Anfield last week despite being ruled out but was delighted to be back on Merseyside, tweeting after the first leg defeat: "Thanks, Anfield. Was very emotional to see you again. Always in my heart."
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Klopp hailed the return of his “mentality monsters." after Liverpool's impressive comeback. He said: "It feels so special because it was so difficult for us and in the end we deserved it. It was massive for the boys. Before the game I told the boys I wanted the headlines to be the mentality monsters were in town.
“I wanted it from the first moment but the second half was like that.”
It is the first time anyone has reached the final of the European Cup, FA Cup and Carabao Cup in the same season. And Klopp urged his side to give it their all in their bid to complete their quadruple quest as they also hunt down Manchester City in the Premier League.
He added: “It is really difficult to reach three finals and that is why nobody has ever done it before. We will make sure we are ready for these finals. We will give it a go. That’s for sure.”
