Why Dortmund was Anfield's greatest European night

Forget the fact it was only the Europa League, forget the fact that it was only a quarter-final.

Now the dust has settled there can be no doubt - Liverpool’s triumph over Borussia Dortmund stands up to scrutiny against all the other celebrated tales of the past half century.

The Champions League semi-final second leg against Chelsea in 2005 was momentous. Of course there was more at stake back then with Liverpool battling to reach a first European Cup final for two decades.

However, progress was achieved courtesy of a gritty backs-to-the-wall display as Rafa Benitez’s side clung on following Luis Garcia’s early goal. They rode their luck.

Thursday night was very different. Once again Liverpool upset the odds to beat superior opposition but this time they did it in contrasting fashion.

Not once, but twice, Jurgen Klopp’s side looked doomed. Not once, but twice, they somehow dusted themselves off and wrestled back the initiative. Their powers of recovery were awe-inspiring.

When Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired Dortmund into a 2-0 lead inside nine minutes, the tie looked over. Just when Liverpool had secured a foothold in the contest early in the second half courtesy of Divock Origi’s goal, Marco Reus appeared to have put the tie out of reach.

This wasn’t akin to having half an hour to score a third against St Etienne in 1977 or overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Auxerre in 1991 or beating Roma by two goals in 2002 or needing to score three against Olympiakos in the second half in 2004.

Just to put it into context Dortmund hadn’t lost a game in which they had led by two goals for some 21 years.

What Liverpool, who needed penalties to get past Carlisle in a League Cup tie seven months ago, achieved in that chaotic final quarter on Thursday was breathtaking.

It defied logic. This was a Dortmund side unbeaten in 18 games who had ruthlessly swept Premier League title contenders Tottenham aside 5-1 on aggregate in the previous round. Bayern Munich keeper Manuel Neuer had hailed them as one of the top five club sides in world football and Klopp agreed.

Boss Thomas Tuchel had given up on the Bundesliga title, resting all his key stars last weekend in order to maximise their chances of winning the Europa League. Tuchel boasts a team packed full of world-class talent - the type of players used to holding their nerve when under extreme pressure.

Yet somehow, energised by an atmosphere which shook Anfield to its foundations, Liverpool produced a devastating late rally. Caution was thrown to the wind and the rewards were thrilling as Dortmund buckled.

It was a night that had everything, including two unlikely heroes. Mamadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren had scored two goals between them in a combined total of 146 appearances for the Reds. Sakho hadn’t found the net since December 2013 and Lovren since October 2014.

Yet, remarkably, their respective droughts were broken in quick succession with Lovren making the decisive contribution in stoppage time. It truly was an evening when the stars aligned.

Trevor Hicks, president of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, looked at Klopp and his players during Friday’s memorial service at Anfield when he said: “We think you might have just got a bit of divine help last night.”

Klopp had vowed that the Reds would honour the 96 against his former club and they certainly did that. The emotion surrounding the 27th anniversary added another dimension to proceedings.

It was a tie between arguably the finest two sets of supporters in Europe. Dortmund were a class act both on and off the pitch and added so much to the occasion.

Even in defeat, Tuchel showed great dignity. “We congratulate Liverpool, they deserved it,” he said. “We should behave like champions.”

The stories surrounding Liverpool’s 3-1 win over mighty Inter Milan at Anfield in 1965 are epic but ultimately that result counted for little as they were cheated out of it in the second leg.

Liverpool have got their reward for beating Dortmund - a semi-final tie with Villarreal for the right to march on to Basel on May 18. Glory is within sight.

Whatever Klopp achieves at Anfield in the months and years to come, he will be hard pressed to oversee a spectacle as extraordinary as Thursday night.

Source: Liverpool Echo

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