Liverpool rallies from 0-2 deficit to best Villarreal, advance to 3rd Champions League final in 5 years

Liverpool players stared at each other in disbelief. By the bench, manager Jurgen Klopp watched in awe.

Just like that, Liverpool had squandered its two-goal lead from the first leg of the Champions League semifinals against Villarreal, and its spot in the final was suddenly in jeopardy.

Would Liverpool be the latest powerhouse to be stunned by the modest Spanish club? Would its bid for a seventh European title end in disappointment?

Luckily for the English club, it was only a scare.

Liverpool rallied in the second half to defeat Villarreal 3-2 and reach its third Champions League final in five seasons on Tuesday. It advanced 5-2 on aggregate at the La Ceramica Stadium in Villarreal, Spain.

After Boulaye Dia and Francis Coquelin put Villarreal ahead by the 41st minute, Fabinho, substitute Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane scored in the second half to propel Liverpool into the final for the first time since winning its sixth European title in 2019. It will be Liverpool's 10th final in Europe's top club competition.

Based in a city of 50,000 people in southern Spain, Villarreal had eliminated Juventus in the round of 16 and Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

Unai Emery's team played a man down from the 86th after Etienne Capoue, who assisted on both Villarreal's goals, was sent off with a second yellow card.

The victory also keeps alive Liverpool's hopes of a " quadruple " — winning all four major trophies in one season.

The visitors were dominant in the first leg but looked lost on Tuesday as Villarreal came out pressing early. The hosts won almost every 50-50 ball and stayed near the Liverpool area without giving up much space for counterattacks.

It didn't take long for Villarreal to cut into the first-leg deficit as Dia opened