It has often been said that a European night at Anfield is like no other, creating the pinnacle of the matchday experience for many Liverpool supporters.
Maybe it is the bright floodlights or the uniqueness of a match starting in daylight and ending in darkness. Perhaps it is the presence of continental supporters or talented players from across Europe who you might not ordinarily see. Or the pride in Anfield's rich European pedigree that makes the crowd raise it's game to the highest level.
Whatever it is that makes European nights so special at the famous old ground, there is none greater than a semi-final and this week both players and supporters will once again be granted the huge privilege of experiencing yet another one when Liverpool host Spanish side Villareal for the first leg on Wednesday night.
With a city population of just over 50,000 people, Unai Emery's over-achievers may lack the glamour and prestige or teams like Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, but they will playing a leading role in the cast of what is sure to be another fascinating contests played out in one of Europe's most respected auditoriums.
Liverpool's European success is world-renowned, but since the top prize was reinvented as the Champions League, the Reds have appeared in five semi-finals, each as dramatic as each other. And with a record that reads four wins and one defeat after extra time, the probability of Jurgen Klopp taking his mentality monsters to Paris at the end of next month seems like a good one.
Here we take a look back at the six times champions' previous last-four encounters and how Anfield has impacted them.
Ghost goal sends Reds to first final in 20 years amid a ring of fire
If one generation of Liverpool supporters constantly refers back to Inter Milan and Saint Etienne as the benchmark of European Cup nights to remember, then perhaps the next will always consider the 2005 semi-final with Jose Mourinho's Chelsea as the Kop's finest hour. Even if other games have been more dramatic or goal-laden, this was arguably the greatest atmosphere at Anfield in the past 30 years.
Rafa Benitez' Liverpool, who were humiliated by exiting the FA Cup Third round at the hands of Burnley in January of the same year, produced a series of stirring performances to set up a last-four encounter with new Premier League Champions Chelsea. Backed by cash cow Roman Abramovich, the West London club finished 37 points clear of the Reds, a statistic that was reportedly stuck on the dressing room wall by Mourinho to remind his players of their superiority.
The first leg at Stamford Bridge would prove to be a cagey affair, with very few chances at either end, but when the two sides reconvened the contest at Anfield for the second leg, a cauldron of noise was to take a grip of the stadium like never before. With the atmosphere around the stadium reaching fever pitch even hours before kick-off this duel exploded in the fourth minute when Milan Baros nudged the ball past Petr Cech before being brought down by the Chelsea goalkeeper.
As the crowd appealed on mass for a penalty, midfielder Luis Garcia stabbed the ball towards the goal line and wheeled away in celebration as Williams Gallas' attempt to hook the ball off the line. But in an era of no VAR, it was left to the linesman and referee to decide whether the ball had crossed the line and in front of a baying Kop the goal was given, creating pandemonium in the stands.
What followed was largely a solid rear guard action from Liverpool who to a man defended like their lives depended on it for the rest of the match amid deafening whistles, fraying supporters nerves in the process. Anxiety was to reach intolerable levels deep into six minutes of time added on when Chelsea's Icelandic star Eidur Gudjohnsen tried to capitalise on a poor punch from Jerzy Dudek, but as 42,529 collectively held their breath, he arrowed the ball just wide of the post, with the thud against an advertisement hoarding greeted like a goal.
Liverpool hung on for one of their most famous Anfield victories and were heading to Istanbul oblivious to the knowledge that they were about to play in the most remarkable European Cup final of them all and lift the trophy for a sixth time.
To this day, Mourinho has struggled to accept the result.
Reina rules the roost in penalty shoot-out
After the drama of 2005, Liverpool and Chelsea would play a rematch in identical circumstances two years later. The Blues were by now the dominate force in English football, but Benitez now had a much better squad at his disposal and with previous in the bank, fancied his side to do another number on the team from the capital.
This time, Chelsea held a 1-0 lead from the first leg thanks to a first half goal from Joe Cole, who would later go on to play for the Reds. Crucially Liverpool were able to stay in the tie thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who twice denied Frank Lampard, while Chech produced a world class save at the other end to keep out Steven Gerrard's long range effort.
With Anfield once again bouncing at dusk, it took the Reds only 22 minutes to pull the tie level when centre-back Daniel Agger side-footed home Gerrard's clever freekick. With no further goals, the game headed into injury time and Dirk Kuyt looked to have given the Reds a 2-1 lead only to his close range effort ruled out for offside.
Instead the game had to be settled by spot-kicks and as Benitez sat crossed-legged watching the penalties on the Anfield pitch, Reina saved efforts from both Arjen Robben and Geremi, handing Kuyt the chance to book a trip to Athens. Always the man for the big occasion, the reliable Dutchman made no mistake, slamming the ball into the corner and sending Liverpool to their second Champions League final in three seasons.
Fortune would not favour the Reds in the final against AC Milan this time, but once again Benitez had got one over his fierce rival Mourinho.
Chelsea get their revenge after gut-wrenching own goal
By the time Liverpool and Chelsea faced other again in the 2008 Champions League semi-final, both sides were pretty much sick of the sight of each other. But this time Anfield would be the setting for the first leg, followed by a concluding trip to Stamford Bridge.
Buoyed by the previous two semi-final victories, Liverpool took the lead at Anfield shortly before half-time, when Dirk Kuyt latched pounced on hesitancy in the visitors' defence to latch onto a high ball and steer the ball past Cech for 1-0. The Reds had more opportunities to put the tie to bed but found Cech to be in inspired form.
Brazilian left-back Fabio Aurelio left the field on a stretcher just past the hour mark and was replaced by John Arne Riise, who was to play a major unwanted part in the match narrative. With the first leg in the 95th minute, the Norwegian unwittingly diverted a speculative Salomon Kalou cross into his own net, silencing Anfield in an instant. Riise was left face down on the turf, wishing the ground would swallow him up.
In the second leg Chelsea took control, when Reina saved a fierce shot from Kalou, but Didier Drogba slammed home the rebound, beating the Liverpool goalkeeper at his near post. Avram Grant's side looked to be on their way to the the final, but in the 64th minute, Yossi Benayoun thread a pass through to Fernando Torres, who slid the ball past Cech to send the match into extra time.
But Liverpool's energy - and their luck - deserted them in the additional half an hour and they fell behind when Michael Essien slammed the ball home after just four minutes. And the Blues' advantage was doubled when Sami Hyypia gave away a penalty, allowing Lampard to convert a third goal from the spot.
The Reds weren't done however and were handed a lifeline when substitute Ryan Babel's seemingly harmless long range effort was uncharacteristically flapped into his own net by Cech late one, but the hosts hung on and had finally beaten Liverpool in a Champions League semi-final.
Five star performance stuns Roma
This isn't Liverpool's most famous encounter with Italian side Roma, but over the two legs it is certainly the highest scoring. Anfield would be the venue for the opening match and if supporters had got used to the idea of first leg semi-finals being cagey affairs Jurgen Klopp had a shock in store for them.
With the trusted trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane now in place, Liverpool ran riot against the Giallorossi, blitzing them with two first half goals from Salah. Smelling blood the Reds went for it after the break and added a further three goals in the space of 12 minutes, courtesy of Mane and a brace from Firmino. But with the tie seemingly dead and buried, Klopp's men left the back door open by conceding twice late on. Edin Dzeko pulled one back for the visitors before a Diego Perotti penalty offered Roma a glimmer of hope for the return leg.
As things would turn out, the match in Italy was as gloriously bonkers as the one at Anfield. Mane put Liverpool ahead on the night in the ninth minute, to reaffirm a four goal lead, but James Milner's own goal five minutes later made the aggregate score 6-3. Another 10 minutes passed before Gini Wijnaldum ensured that the Reds had restored their four goal advantage by half-time.
Dzeko got another one back for Roma early in the second half but it wasn't until the final stages of the match that Liverpool's nerve was tested to its limit. Radja Nainggolan scored Roma's third of the night with four minutes of regulation time remaining and deep into injury time the hosts were awarded the softest of penalties allowing Nainggolan to score again in the dying moments. Despite the late drama, the Reds had done just enough to hold for a wild 7-6 aggregate win that set up a 2018 Champions League Final in Kiev against Real Madrid.
Origi seals legendary status in mother of all comebacks that stunned world football
If any of Liverpool's Champions League semi-finals sums up the power of Anfield perfectly it is the unforgettable encounter with Barcelona in 2019. Inspired by the legendary Lionel Messi, the Catalan giants took complete control of the tie in the first leg with a seemingly irreversible 3-0 victory in the Nou Camp. Klopp's side had performed well in the opening leg but where made to pay by Barca in an exhibition of ruthless finishing.
Anfield old boy Luis Suarez opened the scoring in the first leg after 25 minutes with a typically instinctive finish. The lead was double with quarter of an hour to play when Suarez hit the bar but Messi was on hand to bundle the ball home from close range and after the Barca legend bought himself a freekick, Messi completed the rout with a dead ball strike of the highest quality that left Alisson clutching thin air.
Liverpool's task looked well beyond them but anything is possible at Anfield and with Klopp still believing that his players could pull off a miracle, the stage was set for the greatest comeback ever witnessed at the famous old ground.
Divock Origi has only ever been a fringe player during his Anfield career, but his knack for a big goal would prove priceless here. The Belgian gave Liverpool a 1-0 lead early in the first half and that is how the score remained until half time, with the Reds still requiring two goals to pull the tie level. Wijnaldum had been furious at not being selected to start the match but was introduced at halftime and his impact would be devastating for Barca.
Just 12 minutes into the second half the tie was level at 3-3 after the Dutchman twice found the net, side-footing home his first on 54 minutes before heading in a glorious aggregate equaliser two minutes later. Anfield rocked. The Spaniards were stunned. Liverpool continued to live dangerously, knowing that any goal for the visitors would as good as kill their hopes on the now abolished away goals rule, but Trent Alexander-Arnold had other ideas.
With eleven minutes to play, the young right-back caught the Barca defence unaware by firing a quickly-taken corner into the penalty area. Only one man reacted - Origi - diverting the ball into the net and putting Liverpool 4-0 ahead on the night and into a 4-3 aggregate lead. Anfield and the millions watching on television could barely believe what they were witnessing.
Roared on by the crowd, Klopp's side held on to produce possibly the most remarkable result in the club's history and in doing so sent Liverpool to Madrid where they would face Tottenham Hotspur and ultimately lift their six European Cup. Origi the unlikely hero again.
Yellow submarines next
Liverpool go into Wednesday night's semi-final against Villareal as overwhelming favourites, but nothing is certain in football, as Anfield has witnessed so many times before.
But regardless of how the match and overall tie pans out, it will once again be a memorable occasion that the club's supporters have had more than their fair share of since Benitez reignited Anfield's love affair with the European Cup 17 years ago.
