Liverpool reached the Champions League semi-finals with a 6-4 aggregate win over Benfica.
Ibrahima Konate increased the advantage for Jurgen Klopp’s side midway through the first half when he rose to convert a corner from Kostas Tsimikas.
But the visitors reduced their deficit and drew level on the night courtesy of Goncalo Ramos breaking clear and striking a powerful effort beyond Alisson.
Roberto Firmino restored the Reds’ lead early in the second half with a tap-in after Diogo Jota had seized upon Jan Vertonghen’s weak clearance attempt.
The Brazil international doubled his tally 10 minutes later, meeting a Tsimikas free kick to produce a clinical volley at the far post of The Kop’s goalmouth.
Benfica struck back in the final quarter of the match as Roman Yaremchuk beat the offside trap to round Alisson and roll the ball into an empty net.
The Portuguese outfit equalised again during the game’s final 10 minutes as Darwin Nunez burst through and drew the Brazilian off his line and slot home.
Villarreal now await Liverpool as both clubs aim to reach the showpiece of Europe’s elite club competition, starting with a first leg at home on April 27.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
Half-strength Reds get the job done
Jurgen Klopp had refused to be blinded by Liverpool’s domestic double-header against Manchester City, sanwiched either side of Benfica’s second leg visit.
Going toe-to-toe with the Premier League champions in both the title race and an FA Cup semi-final, he claimed, would not impact his side’s selection plans.
A cursory glance at a line-up containing seven changes suggested otherwise, with Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Mohamed Salah notable omissions from its spine.
Klopp conceded post-match that his four-man defence had never played together prior to this breathless Champions League quarter final second leg.
Invariably, that led to a somewhat erratic performance from Liverpool, who headed into the tie with a two-goal cushion from their earlier win in Portugal.
Passing became erratic and lapses in concentration increased as their visitors resolutely sought to overturn a previously insurmountable aggregate deficit.
Anfield could have asked for a more leisurely outing in its 200th night on the European stage but its half-strength team still ultimately got the job done.
Class is permanent for Firmino
Roberto Firmino could have been forgiven for believing he had become something of a forgotten man in Liverpool’s increasingly star-studded attack.
Its spotlight is invariably drawn to Mohamed Salah while Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and now Luis Diaz are all vying to challenge the Egyptian for top billing.
Firmino has been here once before, with many tipping the forward to be heading for the exit door just 18 months ago following Jota’s blistering start.
The Brazil international, however, offered a compelling case of his timeless qualities by plundering two second-half goals that helped settle the nerves.
His first was a side-footed finish from close range when his supposed rival had capitalised on Jan Vertonghen’s weak pass deep in the visitors’ own half.
An impressive follow-up saw Firmino meet Kostas Tsimikas’ floated free kick to the far post with a predatory first-time volley past Odisseas Vlachodimos.
Prominent first-team opportunities may have proved limited but the 30-year-old certainly knows how to seize those chances when they are offered up.
No room for semi slip-ups
Liverpool’s third Champions League semi-final in five years is testament to Klopp’s impressive body of work but also, crucially, carries a warning sign.
As in 2018, the six-time European champions have home advantage in the first leg when they take on Bayern Munich’s conquerors Villarreal on April 27.
When Klopp’s side were in an identical position against Roma, a commanding lead was reduced by a late onslaught before facing a cagey return encounter.
They clung on, only just, at the Stadio Olimpico to edge into the final 7-6 on aggregate and the Yellow Submarine threaten to prove equally problematic.
Unai Emery has already bested Liverpool in one continental showdown, when Sevilla claimed a hat-trick of Europa League titles by winning the 2016 final.
He appears to have rediscovered the Midas touch at La Ceramica, where Real Madrid and Juventus were both held this season alongside Bayern’s defeat.
Klopp has to ensure that his players are not heading into the encounter there needing to pull off a result against a man he dubbed the ‘King of the Cups’.