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Put yourself in the Liverpool dressing room at half-time and think of what was at stake: a trip to Paris was slithering through their fingers and so, too, was history.
Such enormous opportunities carry a huge emotional burden. Had Liverpool capsized in Villarreal, the ramifications would have been felt in the Premier League and, potentially, the FA Cup final. You don't tend to recover quickly when you have been embarrassed with the world watching.
So there you have it: these were the highest of high stakes, all or nothing depending on which way the dice fell after the break. Can you imagine how Anfield would have been this Saturday night against Tottenham had Unai Emery pulled off one of the all-time great comebacks?
Liverpool's pursuit of the quadruple continues after reaching the Champions League final
Now Klopp's team will walk into an expectant furnace and have the impetus to continue their pursuit of Manchester City in the Premier League – that they are able to do that is down to a feat of escapology up there with anything they have produced in their rich European back story.
To watch the opening 45 minutes was like going back in time to another era. Liverpool hadn't played this badly in a semi-final since surrendering against Aston Villa in the FA Cup seven years ago; they were
