Roberto Firmino became just the fourth Liverpool player to score 20 goals in the Champions League or European Cup after his brace against Benfica on Wednesday evening.
The Brazilian's goals were the difference, handing the Reds a 6-4 aggregate victory against the Portuguese giants. Jurgen Klopp's side will now face Villarreal in the next round for a place in the final, set to be held at the Stade de France in Paris on May 28.
Liverpool's leading scorer in the competition's history - which includes those who scored in the old European Cup - is Mohamed Salah with 33 goals. Sadio Mane has 22 in Europe's most prestigious competition, while Steven Gerrard - the first man to reach 20 - has 21.
It's important to note why other Liverpool legends didn't reach the landmark. Before the 1997-98 campaign, only the winners of each domestic league entered the Champions League - and the Premier League only had four qualifying spots from 2001-02 onwards.
Teams also played fewer games during the seventies and eighties. Liverpool only played nine games to win the competition in 1984, four fewer than today's total. Two-time winner Ian Rush, for example, scored 14 European Cup goals - yet only played 25 games.
And Wednesday's landmark is unlikely to be the last Firmino achieves this season. The 30-year-old needs just two more goals to reach his century for Liverpool. He's still some way off joining the Premier League's 100 club, however, currently sitting on 71 goals.
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Firmino isn't known for being prolific in front of goal, with critics often lauding his link-up play with the likes of Salah and Mane. His best return was the 27 goals he scored during the 2017-18 campaign, yet he found the back of the net just nine times last season.
The forward has been pivotal to Liverpool's success since joining the club in June 2015. Klopp was appointed manager four months later and they've gone on to win the Premier League, Champions League, EFL Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup.
Firmino, who was part of Brazil's triumphant Copa America squad in 2019, often doesn't receive the praise he deserves - failing to win a Premier League Player of the Month award to date. Yet Klopp has never doubted his importance to the team.
"He is a connector, the best offensive defender I ever saw in my life," said Klopp last October. "A very important player for us. He’s a ball-chaser, incredibly smart tactically and able to play in the tiniest spaces - to make good decisions in really quick time.
"And on top of that he can score goals, which is why we are so happy when he rewards himself from time to time... everybody loves it when Bobby scores because sometimes you think he is a bit short of getting praise for the effort he puts in.
"He is just a brilliant player and it really is a joy to work with him. It isn’t impossible to play our way without him because we do have options but when we started this [our success] years ago it was because Bobby could play the role."
