Champions League: Liverpool celebrate reaching the final - videos and reactions

Roma 4 Liverpool 2 (Liverpool win 7-6 on aggregate)

Liverpool lost the battle in Rome but still won the war over the two legs of a compelling Champions League semi-final.

There were some nervy moments in the second half when the Italians threw everything they had at their visitors in search of the goals they needed. But after conceding an early goal to Sadio Mane, the Romans never looked like reproducing their heroics of the previous round against Barcelona.

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Roma equalised soon after when James Milner put the ball into his own net but Gini Wijnaldum made it 2-1 to the Reds on 25 minutes. From that moment on, the home fans sensed it wasn’t going to be their night.

Roma did score three more goals, through Edin Dzeko on 52 minutes and two from Radja Nainggolan in the closing minutes, including a penalty with virtually the last kick of the match.

The final scoreline on the night flattered the hosts, who over the two legs were clearly inferior to a Liverpool side who will meet Real Madrid in Kiev on 26 May for what is their eighth appearance in a Champions League final.

Their last was in 2007, when they lost to Milan, the side they beat two years earlier when they claimed the last of their five Champions League titles.

“We never do it the easy way unfortunately,” admitted Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson. “We knew it was important to score and get one early on. We were unlucky with their first goal but overall we have to be happy with what we have done over the two legs.

“We could have done better in this game but we’ve made it through to the final… overall we handled the situation well apart from the last ten minutes. We need to stop that but I’m delighted we’re in the final.”

Liverpool still have a fight on their hands to finish in the top four of the Premier League and qualify for next season’s Champions League, a fact acknowledged by Henderson when he answered a question about facing the reigning European champions in Kiev.

“We have another important game on the weekend against Chelsea and then we have Real Madrid in the final,” he said. “We will go there with confidence.”

Liverpool defender Andy Robertson sounded more like a supporter than a player when he was asked about the final.

“We’ll have a great day in Kiev whatever the result,” said the young defender, who was playing his first season of Champions League football. “We’ll enjoy this and think about that game another day. We’ll go in as underdogs but sometimes that can be a good thing. I’ll certainly enjoy Kiev.”

So will Jurgen Klopp, who joins a small band of managers who have guided two different clubs to the final of the Champions League.

Five years ago he was in charge of Borussia Dortmund when they were beaten by Bayern Munich and now he’s boss of the first English club to appear in a final since Chelsea won the title in 2012.

“It was a little bit exciting – more exciting than I actually wanted,” reflected Klopp, who said his side were “100% deserved finalists” although they did require a bit of luck along the way.

“You don’t come without luck,” he added. “We needed it only one time tonight. Real Madrid needed luck too. That’s how it is. The boys deserve it, the mentality, character and football they showed – it was just crazy.”