The task in front of Liverpool on Tuesday in the second leg of the Reds' Champions League semifinal clash against Barcelona was going to be tough enough with the services of forwards Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino. Liverpool being down 0-3 on aggregate after their loss at Camp Nou last week was a steep deficit regardless.
Then came the news that neither Salah nor Firmino would play for Liverpool against Barcelona, giving the Spanish team a significant edge in its quest to advance to the Champions League final against either Ajax or Tottenham. Still, live updates for Tuesday's match at Anfield between Liverpool and Barcelona were worth tracking. You never know ...
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LIVE STREAM:
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Sure enough, Liverpool was capable of a monumental upset. The Reds stunned Barcelona with a 4-0 victory in the match, giving them a 4-3 edge on aggregate and sending them to the Champions League final. Liverpool won by a clear four goals — a margin of defeat Barcelona had not suffered since its infamous, 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. According to Bet365, the odds of Liverpool winning 4-0 were 50/1.
This was just the fourth time a team has overturned a 3-plus goal deficit from the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie to advance. Barcelona was also on the receiving end the last time (last season vs. Roma).
WHAT A SPECIAL NIGHT!!! WE'RE GOING TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL!! https://t.co/p9JxS3cfZS
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 7, 2019
Liverpool reached its ninth European Cup/Champions League final; only Real Madrid (16), Milan (11) and Bayern Munich (10) have reached more. Liverpool is also the first English side to reach back-to-back Champions League finals since Manchester United in 2008 and '09.
Sporting News tracked Tuesday's Champions League semifinal match between Barcelona and Liverpool with live, real-time updates. Here is how Liverpool stunned Barcelona.
Barcelona vs. Liverpool: Score, results, highlights from Champions League semifinal
Liverpool: 4
Barcelona: 0
Final
90' (+5') - Game over. Liverpool wins 4-3 on aggregate and heads to the Champions League final.
90' - Substitution. Daniel Sturridge replaces Xherdan Shaqiri for Liverpool.
85' - Substitution. Joseph Gomez replaces Divock Origi for Liverpool.
81' - Substitution. Malcom replaces Ivan Rakitic for Barcelona.
79' - GOAL. Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold catches the defense off guard and fires his corner kick to the box, where Divock Origi is there to boot it into the net. There were 122 seconds between Wijnaldum’s two goals.
Trent Alexander-Arnold caught Barcelona sleeping on Liverpool's 4th goal pic.twitter.com/uWrSfug7lE
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 7, 2019
79' - Liverpool corner conceded Sergi Roberto.
76' - Barcelona's Nelson Semedo gets a yellow card for a foul.
75' - Substitution. Arthur replaces Arturo Vidal for Barcelona.
68' - Barcelona corner conceded by Alisson.
67' - Barcelona corner conceded by Joel Matip.
66' - Liverpool's Joel Matip gets a yellow card for a foul.
60' - Substitution. Nélson Semedo replaces Coutinho for Barcelona.
56' - GOAL. Georginio Wijnaldum for Liverpool again, this time with a header assisted by Xherdan Shaqiri's cross.
Liverpool scored two goals in two minutes ⚡ pic.twitter.com/GlnLElR1cH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 7, 2019
54' - GOAL. Liverpool scores when Georginio Wijnaldum pounds a right-footer into the net.
ANFIELD IS ROCKING!! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/pq2vagsENO
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 7, 2019
53' - Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic gets a yellow card for a hand ball.
50' - Liverpool corner conceded by Sergi Roberto.
46' - Liverpool corner conceded by Gerard Piqué.
45' - Subsitution. Georginio Wijnaldum replaces Andrew Robertson for Liverpool.
45' (+5') - Halftime.
45' (+4') - Liverpool corner conceded by Arturo Vidal.
45' (+1') - Barcelona's Sergio Busquets gets a yellow card for a foul.
43' - Liverpool corner conceded by Arturo Vidal.
28' - Barcelona corner conceded by Andrew Robertson.
18' - Barcelona corner conceded by Virgil van Dijk.
15' - Barcelona corner conceded by Alisson.
11' - Liverpool's Fabinho gets a yellow card for a foul.
8' - Barcelona corner conceded by Joel Matip.
7' - GOAL. Liverpool scores on a rebound when Divock Origi boots the ball home with a left-footer.
LIVERPOOL. GOAL. 👏 pic.twitter.com/3Bt5nUfKYi
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 7, 2019
6' - Liverpool corner conceded by Arturo Vidal.
2' - Liverpool corner conceded by Jordi Alba.
1' - Kickoff.