Liverpool took a commanding lead in their Champions League semi-final with Villarreal.
Jordan Henderson opened the scoring when his cross was deflected into the visitors’ net by Pervis Estupinan’s boot just 10 minutes into the second half.
The Reds built on their advantage barely two minutes later as Mohamed Salah played Sadio Mane through on goal to slide the ball home from close range.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
Reds break down the Yellow Wall
For close to an hour, Villarreal followed their own Champions League script.
Liverpool found that the ‘Yellow Submarine’ had transformed into the amber wall which previously claimed Bayern Munich and Juventus as sizeable scalps.
Yet two second-half minutes saw the pressure finally tell for Jurgen Klopp’s side as a potentially tricky last-four clash became a more foregone conclusion.
It had always appeared to be a case of when, rather than if, the Reds would break down and then punish their La Liga visitors’ defensive stubbornness.
A second-leg upset notwithstanding, Kopites can soon look forward to their third outing in the showpiece of Europe’s elite club competition on May 28.
Not that Klopp is getting carried away with the prospect of striding out at Paris’ Stade de France as his charges aim to sweep all before them, literally.
Liverpool have one foot firmly in the final, now they have to finish the job.
Immortality beckons for history boys
Klopp’s insistence that Liverpool continue to approach their quadruple bid one game at a time could also extend to the records they will set en route.
Sadio Mane’s prodded effort helped equal the club’s previous personal best goal return of 135 under their current manager from the 2017/18 campaign.
That feat was achieved in one game fewer and with potentially eight more remaining, they are making inroads on Anfield’s all-time scoring record.
Kenny Dalglish’s class of 1985/86 remains the gold standard, with 138 goals in the 63 games propelling Liverpool to a league title and FA Cup double.
Eclipsing that long-standing milestone has now become an inevitability for a team steadily averaging two goals per game over the course of this season.
Should it lead to a clean sweep of silverware, immortality will also beckon.
Anfield delivers the Euro night noise
This season’s last European night at Anfield had to be a special one.
Only two of the five previous times that Liverpool reached the semi-finals in the Champions League era have seen the return leg played on their travels.
Home advantage would need to count double in Wednesday’s tie and their supporters did not disappoint both before and during this cagey encounter.
As Klopp’s side prepared to make the final leg of their journey to the stadium, they were welcomed by hundreds, if not thousands, of partisan well-wishers.
Flags, banners and flares all came together as the hosts’ team coach snaked its way through the narrow Victorian-era streets leading up to Anfield itself.
Even coming up against a Villarreal side determined to sit tight and grind out a potential draw to take back to La Ceramica, the crowd kept playing its part.
It was febrile, vocal and relentless; all the things that have come to be expected from a continental evening beneath the floodlights in Liverpool 4.