As the home fans inside the Estadio de la Ceramica bounced with delight and the Villarreal players celebrated around him, the television cameras cut to Virgil van Dijk.
The Liverpool defender was furious, glancing around at the jubilation in the stands and his dishevelled team-mates before loudly exclaiming his frustration at what was becoming an alarming night.
Francis Coquelin, meanwhile, was doing a near lap of the stadium as he pointed repeatedly to an imaginary watch on his wrist. Less than 41 minutes in, the Spanish side had wiped out the Reds' two-goal advantage and were on the brink of a great European comeback.
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Van Dijk - wearing the captain's armband with Jordan Henderson starting on the bench - had been one of the few Reds players to approach anything like his normal level during a tumultuous first half. But even the Dutchman, while ably assisted by centre-back partner Ibrahima Konate, couldn't stop the Yellow Submarine flooding forward. Liverpool were in danger of sinking.
Coquelin, though, was right to point out the time. There was still a second half to play and, with Jurgen Klopp's personnel changes and tactical reminders thoroughly vindicated, Van Dijk's calm assurance at the back and aerial dominance provided the foundation for Liverpool to complete a remarkable turnaround.
So it was a very different Van Dijk that greeted the final whistle, thrusting his hands into the air in exhausted delight before trotting over to the away end to celebrate Liverpool's recovery and another Champions League final. It was not dissimilar to his immediate reaction when, at the penultimate hurdle, Roma in 2018 and Barcelona 12 months later were negotiated.
Small wonder. Success has come relatively late for Van Dijk, certainly in comparison to defensive colleagues Konate - still yet to lose as a Liverpool player - Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson. The Dutchman hadn't even featured in a Champions League knockout match before arriving at Liverpool in January 2018, a curious fact for a player regarded by many as the best defender in the world.
And that sense of making up for lost time has applied particularly to this season, with Van Dijk having missed most of the previous campaign due to a serious knee injury.
There was, of course, no guarantee the Dutchman, now 30, would ever recover the imperiously consistent form shown before his nine-month spell on the sidelines. And while there has been the occasional understandable dip, few can doubt Van Dijk is now approaching previous levels. That he has made 47 appearances this season underlines both his durability and importance to Liverpool's ongoing quest for an unprecedented quadruple.
There was a nice symmetry with events back in England on Tuesday evening. Nat Phillips, on loan at Bournemouth since January, was helping the Cherries secure promotion back to the Premier League, an achievement Klopp made a point of acknowledging at the end of his post-match press conference in Spain.
Had it not been for the emergence of centre-back Phillips last season in helping fill the Van Dijk-shaped hole in Liverpool's defence, there was every chance the Dutchman wouldn't have even had the chance to feature in the competition this term, let alone be preparing for a third final in five seasons.
Van Dijk would be the first to acknowledge that fact. He, like Liverpool, remains intent on making the most of every opportunity that comes his way.
