Mohamed Salah returned to haunt his former club as Liverpool put one foot in the Champions League final by blowing away Roma at Anfield. The Egyptian scored with an outstanding finish into the top corner and an impudent dink over Alisson to make it 2-0 by half time.

Salah also set up the third and fourth goals for Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, before Firmino headed in number five as Liverpool put on one of their trademark goal blitzes which demolished many teams in Europe last season.

Liverpool fans were already looking up flights to Kiev at that stage, but late goals from Edin Dzeko and Diego Perotti put their plans on hold and kept the tie alive. Roma made a good fist of it at the Stadio Olimpico, eventually losing 7-6 on aggregate.

Liverpool returned from Madrid with a 1-0 advantage given them by Yossi Benayoun, and it was expected that this would be another tight affair decided by the odd goal or two. Instead, Liverpool blew away the nine-times winners with a scintillating attacking display on home turf. 

Fernando Torres stabbed home the nerve-settling opener before Steven Gerrard made it comfortable with a penalty before half time. Gerrard added another soon after the break as Real Madrid crumbled, and even Andrea Dossena got in on the act to compound Los Blancos’ humiliation.

Arsenal gave Liverpool an almighty scare in this 2008 quarter final, but it was a predictable hero who came to the rescue at their hour of greatest need. Sami Hyypia and Fernando Torres had scored to turn the match around after Abou Diaby’s opener, but Emmanuel Adebayor’s equaliser put the Gunners within touching distance of the last four.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Steven Gerrard converted a penalty after Ryan Babel had been hauled down in the box, before Babel himself raced clear to add gloss to the final scoreline and set up a third semi final against Chelsea in four years.

This was a hugely emotional night as Liverpool and Juventus met for the first time since the Heysel tragedy in 1985. Liverpool had not reached another European Cup final since then, but this was the night when they started to believe that they could.

Juventus had only conceded two goals in their eight previous Champions League matches but Liverpool doubled that tally within 25 minutes as Sami Hyypia and Luis Garcia produced memorable volleys to send Anfield wild.

Fabio Cannavaro gave Juventus hope but Liverpool held on for a memorable win before holding Fabio Capello’s team to an heroic goalless draw in Turin.

Nobody was really treating Liverpool as serious Champions League contenders prior to this all-English quarter final, as they had beaten relatively modest opposition to get this far. Manchester City were obliterating all before them in the Premier League, but their only league defeat had come against Liverpool at Anfield in January.

Jurgen Klopp got the better of Pep Guardiola again as Liverpool ran riot in the first half. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s screamer was the pick of the three goals, with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane getting the others, as the Reds put City to the sword just as they had done in the league.

A resolute defensive display slammed the door shut on City’s comeback attempts after half time, with Trent Alexander-Arnold putting in a coming-of-age performance to nullify the threat of Leroy Sane. Liverpool sealed a 5-1 aggregate triumph with victory at the Etihad Stadium a week later.

Just as they had done two years previously, Liverpool and Chelsea met in the semi finals of the Champions League, with Liverpool at home in the second leg. On this occasion, the Blues took a lead to Merseyside thanks to Joe Cole’s goal at Stamford Bridge, but Anfield worked its magic to deliver another unforgettable evening.

Daniel Agger was the man who levelled the aggregate scores after a well-worked free kick, and the match went all the way to penalties. As Rafa Benitez sat cross-legged in his technical area, Chelsea crumbled under the pressure, missing two spot kicks before Dirk Kuyt scored the winner.

In December 2004, Istanbul seemed a very long way away. Liverpool went into their final group match against Olympiacos in an identical situation to the one they will face on Tuesday against Napoli, needing to win 1-0 or by a two goal margin to reach the knockout stages.

When Rivaldo opened the scoring after 26 minutes, Liverpool were crestfallen. They now needed three goals, so Rafa Benitez threw caution to the wind. He threw on Florent Sinama Pongolle, and he scored immediately. He threw on Neil Mellor, and he scored immediately.

Liverpool needed just one more, and there was only one man who was going to provide it. It was Roy of the Rovers stuff as Steven Gerrard latched on to Mellor’s cushioned header and fired a sensational half-volley into the net. Anfield – and Andy Gray – went ballistic.

The narrative for this match could not have been more perfect. Chelsea were the best team in England at the time; Liverpool weren’t even the best team on Merseyside. Rumour has it Chelsea had already booked a venue for their post-match celebrations, which only served to fuel Liverpool’s motivation.

Luis Garcia’s ‘ghost goal’ remains one of the most iconic in Champions League history, and we may never know if it crossed the line. Eidur Gudjohnsen’s shot whistled across the face of goal in the dying stages of the match as Liverpool held on to reach the final, and the full time chorus of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ remains spine-tingling all these years later.

1. Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona (2018-19) – Liverpool Champions League best matches

The Reds had been comprehensively beaten in the first leg at Nou Camp by a margin of 3-0. To make matters worse, they had also lost Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino to injury. Nobody gave the Reds any chance to win the match let alone complete a comeback.

However, a magical Anfield believed them and it ended 4-0 with goals from back up players thrusting Pool to overpower Messi and Co..