Villarreal v Liverpool: Champions League semi-final, second leg – live! | Champions League

That’s it! Liverpool are through to their tenth European Cup final, and will play either Manchester City or Real Madrid in Paris on 28 May. They were given a helluva fright by Villarreal, who deservedly led 2-0 at half-time, but Jurgen Klopp’s half-time teamtalk and the introduction of the wonderful Luis Diaz turned the game on its head.

Liverpool dominated the second half even more than Villarreal did the first, with Fabinho, Diaz and Sadio Mane scoring the goals.

90 min Two minutes of added time.

89 min Liverpool break four on two. Mane picks out Salah, who is off balance and shoots wide.

86 min The disappointment is all too much for Villarreal. Etienne Capoue, who made both goals in the first half, has now been sent off. He was on a yellow card and took out Curtis Jones, a challenge born of frustration. It was a clear bookable offence. The home fans applaud him off the field nonetheless.

84 min Pau Torres is booked for a late, ultra-cynical tackle on Mane. Liverpool want him sent off; the referee ignores them. It was somewhere between a yellow- and a red-card offence.

84 min Fabinho, whose goal dragged Liverpool away from the precipice, is replaced by James Milner.

82 min “For 45 minutes that was more exciting than it needed to be,” says Bill Jones. “It’s good to see things returning to just one more boring Champions League win.”

If it stays like this, Liverpool will have won all six away games in this season’s competition. That can’t have happened too often (though Bayern definitely did it two seasons ago).

81 min Lo Celso is booked for Fabinhoing Fabinho.

81 min Rulli makes a fine save with his legs to deny Curtis Jones after a mistake from Pau Torres. Villarreal’s collective noggin has gone.

80 min And two changes for Liverpool. Boulaye Dia and Raul Albiol are replaced by Serge Aurier and Manu Trigueros.

79 min Multiple changes for Liverpool, whose attention now turns to Spurs on Saturday. Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones and Konstantinos Tsimikas replace Keita, Thiago and Robertson.

77 min Parejo’s free-kick from the left flashes just wide of the far post. I think it took a slight touch, possibly off the head of Robertson, though a goalkick was given.

77 min Alexander-Arnold is booked for pulling back Pedraza. Yellow cards don’t matter at this stage, unless you get two of them.

Rulli, who has had a bit of nightmare, charges 40 yards from goal to challenge Mane but only manages to tackle fresh air. Mane moves away from him, withstands Lo Celso’s desperate challenge and rolls the ball slowly into the empty net.

Liverpool’s comeback is complete!

74 min Villarreal know it’s over. And though they have ultimately been beaten by a better team, they will forever wonder what might have happened had they not started the second half so cagily. Their approach, though understandable, invited trouble, and they got it.

71 min He doesn’t play in the same position. But in his skill, improvisation, charisma and sheer irrepressibility, Luis Diaz reminds me so much of Luis Suarez. He’s an incredible find; this time last year he wasn’t even a regular at Porto.

70 min That was a really good header from Diaz, who was backpedalling and off balance but strained his neck muscles to power a header towards goal. He has done unto this game as Vinnie Jones did unto Gazza.

69 min Two changes for Villarreal: Alfonso Pedraza and Samuel Chukwueze replace Gerard Moreno, who has been struggling with his hamstring since around the half-hour mark, and Francis Coquelin.

Diaz’s introduction changed the entire match, and it’s fitting that he should score. Alexander-Arnold curled a superb inswinging cross with his left foot, and Diaz ran beyond a static defence to force a downward header through the legs of Rulli. Both goals have gone through the legs of Rulli, though there was nothing much he could do about that one.

Liverpool are heading to Paris, and they have Luis Diaz to thank!

67 min The resulting corner is headed not far wide by Konate. It’s all Liverpool now.

66 min: Diaz hits the post! This fella’s a magician. He wriggles away from Foyth and Capoue, improvising all the while, before hitting a shot that brushes Albiol and deflects onto the outside of the far post!

65 min Dia, who has done very little apart from score the opening goal that changed the entire mood of the tie, has a chance to play Moreno through but hits it straight at Konate. The angle wasn’t great but that was still an opportunity for Villarreal.

63 min Capoue overruns the ball, lunges at Fabinho and is booked. For a split second I thought he was going to be sent off, but a yellow card was the right decision.

That goal has been coming since half-time. Fabinho had a rare wander forward and found Salah on the right. He poked the ball back infield to Fabinho, in space on the right side of the area, and he thrashed a shot that went straight through the legs of Rulli. That’s a pretty bad mistake from the keeper I’m afraid.

Liverpool are back in front in the tie!

60 min Diaz has looked sharp and full of purpose since coming on at half-time. £37m my foot; he’s already worth twice that.

59 min Liverpool have been better since half-time but I also think Villarreal have become more cautious. I know it’s human nature, especially when you are the underdog, but their aggressive approach worked so well in the first half.

57 min Diaz shins a scissor kick over the bar. That looked a decent chance, though I’d like to see a replay before judging him unfavourably.

56 min A corner is half cleared to Thiago, who shoots straight at Rulli from the edge of the area. Liverpool look the likelier scorers at the moment.