Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for what promises to be another special night of
Champions League action as Roma host Liverpool in the second leg of their semi-final, looking to overturn a three-goal deficit just as they did in the last round!
This match has been overshadowed by safety concerns after Liverpool fan Sean Cox was left in a critical condition having been attacked before the first leg, but hopefully it will be matters on the field which make the headlines tonight. Liverpool are very much in the driving seat courtesy of their 5-2 lead, but this season in the Champions League has been peppered with strange results and remarkable comebacks, so all is not lost for Roma just yet.
Let's start with a look at the team news...
ROMA STARTING XI: Alisson; Florenzi, Manolas, Fazio, Kolarov; Pellegrini, De Rossi, Nainggolan; Schick, El Shaarawy, Dzeko
ROMA SUBS: Skorupski, Jesus, Under, Gonalons, Peres, Gerson, Antonucci
LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Lovren, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Milner, Henderson; Mane, Salah, Firmino
LIVERPOOL SUBS: Mignolet, Clyne, Klavan, Moreno, Ings, Solanke, Woodburn
What can we make of those teams, then?
Well, we will have a look at the hosts in a short while, but let's start with Liverpool, who are able to welcome Sadio Mane back to the starting lineup after he missed the Stoke game at the weekend with a minor injury.
Mane missed a number of chances in the first leg but did eventually join the rest of the front three on the scoresheet, and while his form has not quite been at the level of the two alongside him, he is still a key element of that trio. The Senegalese winger has eight goals in the Champions League this season, which is not something to be sniffed at.
The main threat will, of course, be Mohamed Salah, though, with the Egyptian winger continuing his incredible form in the first leg with two goals and two assists against his former club.
Salah now has 43 goals across all competitions this season - including 22 in his last 20 outings for the club - which is the highest tally since Ian Rush netted a club-record 47 in the 1980s.
He has also scored in each of his past five Champions League starts for the club - a feat only previously achieved by Steven Gerrard - and has looked utterly unstoppable at times. With Roma having little choice but to throw caution to the wind tonight, he could get yet more space to do damage.
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Roberto Firmino is arguably every bit as important to Liverpool as Salah, and the Brazilian plays tonight for the first time since putting pen to paper on a new long-term contract at the club.
Firmino scored twice in the first leg and has matched Salah's Champions League tally of 10 goals this season which, coupled with Mane's eight, means that the front three have scored 28 goals just between them in this year's competition. Indeed, Liverpool are the first team in Champions League history to have three players score eight or more goals in a single campaign.
As expected,
Jurgen Klopp has made just one change to his starting lineup from the first leg, and that is an enforced one as
Georginio Wijnaldum replaces Oxlade-Chamberlain, who suffered a season-ended injury at Anfield eight days ago.
Also in that midfield trio is James Milner, whose tally of eight assists in the competition proper is the joint-best ever in a single Champions League season since the new format was introduced in 2003-04. Indeed, including qualifiers he has already surpassed Neymar's tally from 2016-17, so he can already claim to be the unlikely holder of that record.
Roma were ripped apart almost at will for much of the first leg, and it is no surprise to see
Eusebio Di Francesco change things up for tonight's match as he switches from a back three to a back four in an attempt to prevent his side from being so easy to slice open.
Juan Jesus - who was sent off at the weekend - is the central defender to make way for the new system, while Manolas, who scored the dramatic goal which sent them through against Barcelona in similar circumstances to those they find themselves in now, and Federico Fazio retain their places.
If Roma are to pull off another miracle tonight then they not only need to be a lot better defensively, but they also need to be clinical going forward, with at least three goals required to see them through to the final.
The man they will look to more than any other for the goals is Edin Dzeko, who has found the back of the net in his last four Champions League appearances - including in the first leg at Anfield as he kick-started Roma's mini-comeback. Dzeko scored three goals in 11 games against Liverpool during his time with Manchester City, but none of those goals came in wins.
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In all,
Eusebio Di Francesco has made three changes to the team that was beaten so soundly in the first leg, although one of those is enforced with Strootman failing to recover from a chest injury he picked up at Anfield.
Under - who has proven himself to be prolific in his short Roma career so far - also drops out alongside Jesus as Pellegrini, Schick and El Shaarawy come into the team. Schick, El Shaarawy and Dzeko were all on the scoresheet for roma at the weekend.
Liverpool will be keeping a particularly close eye on Alisson tonight having been linked with the Roma goalkeeper on numerous occasions in recent months, but at the same time they will want to make it as miserable an evening as possible for him.
Kolarov is a player Liverpool will know very well from his time with Manchester City, and the tie could be in a very different place right now had his thunderbolt in the first leg been an inch or two lower rather than cannoning off the crossbar with the score still at 0-0.
There are plenty of other aspects of that first leg for Roma to rue rather than Kolarov's effort, though, and entering the final 10 minutes it looked as though they were dead and buried in the tie, but those two late goals from Dzeko and a controversial Perotti penalty have just raised the question.
It is still a very tall order for Roma, who not only have to score three times but also have to stop this Liverpool team from scoring, but they have gone through on away goals in the past two rounds so those two at Anfield could yet prove important.
Roma and Liverpool have both surpassed all expectations by making it this far, although Roma would be considered the bigger underdogs, particularly considering their relative lack of pedigree in this competition.
Indeed, this is their first European semi-final of any kind since then faced Brondy in the last four of the 1990-91 UEFA Cup, and it is only their second semi-final in this competition. The previous one came back in 1984 when they beat Dundee United 3-2 on aggregate to progress to the final, where they lost to... Liverpool. On home turf too.
Roma must just win two of their final three Serie A games to guarantee Champions League football again next season, and they come into this match having suffered just one defeat in their last six outings across all competitions - in the first leg of this tie.
That run began with their rousing comeback against Barcelona too, when they produced the joint second-largest comeback in Champions League history to progress against all the odds. Eusebio has asked for a carbon copy of that performance tonight, but if anything Barcelona may have done Liverpool a favour by showing them how not to approach the game.
To overturn a three-goal deficit in consecutive rounds - and against two of the biggest names in the competition's history - would be something special from Roma, but in truth their record in this season's competition is not particularly great, despite making it this far.
The Italian outfit have not won back-to-back matches at any stage of this campaign, losing four Champions League games already this term. Indeed, looking as far back as 2010, Roma have won just seven of their last 30 Champions League outings, while losing 14.
It is their home advantage which has got them through to this stage of the competition, though, with four Champions League wins on the bounce in front of their own fans compared to four defeats in a row away from home.
Indeed, on the road Roma have won just one of their last 16 Champions games and incredibly have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 28 stretching back to 2007, yet here at the Stadio Olimpico they are yet to concede a single goal in this season's competition, keeping five clean sheets in a row.
Roma could tonight win five home Champions League games for the first time in their history, and encouragingly for them their ongoing run of four on the bounce includes 3-0 victories over both Chelsea and Barcelona - a scoreline which will see them through to the final tonight.
In all competitions, though, Roma have been beaten seven times at home this season and have only kept 10 clean sheets in their 24 outings at the Stadio Olimpico - half of which have come in the Champions League. It isn't exactly a fortress, except seemingly when European nights arrive.
Roma are the only team to have won a tie in this season's knockout phase after losing the first leg, and they have done it twice against Shakhtar Donetsk and Barcelona, so they have very recent form in doing what they need to do tonight.
However, despite that they have still lost 14 of the 22 European ties in which they have lost the first game, and unsurprisingly no team in Champions League history have ever overturned a 5-2 first-leg deficit. The last time that was a score, Valencia lost 1-0 to Roma's city rivals Lazio but still went through 5-3 on aggregate.
Liverpool come into this match knowing that they can afford to lose 1-0, 2-0, 3-1 or even 4-2 and still go through, but it would be very surprisingly if they approach the game with that mindset, especially after seeing what happened to Barcelona in the last round as they just drifted to a 3-0 defeat.
Questions remain over Liverpool's defence - and the final 10 minutes of the first leg offered a glimpse of exactly why - but they have shown already this season that they can protect - even build on - a first-leg lead.
While Roma find themselves needing to overturn a three-goal deficit for the second round in a row, Liverpool find themselves protecting a three-goal lead for the second round in a row, and there were plenty who thought they might not be able to hang on against Manchester City in the return fixture at the Etihad Stadium.
However, despite conceding an early goal Liverpool went on to win that second leg 2-1 and pull off a hugely impressive 5-1 aggregate triumph over a team many had made favourites to lift their trophy. A repeat performance of that for Liverpool tonight - perhaps without the nerves of an early goal against - would suit Jurgen Klopp just fine.
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The Reds have been scintillating in this season's competition, scoring at least five goals against every opponent they have faced and topping the goalscoring charts with 38 overall - already the most any English club has ever managed in a single campaign.
Indeed, that tally is already the third-highest for a Champions League season, with Real Madrid managing 41 in their 13-game 2013-13 campaign and Barcelona 45 in a 16-game 2002-03 campaign. Liverpool's 11-match average of 3.45 goals per game is higher than both of those, so this is a rate of scoring we have never seen before in the Champions League.
No fewer than 17 of those 38 goals have come away from home too, where they average a whopping 4.25 goals per game in this season competition. That includes a 7-0 win at Maribor and, even more impressively, a 5-0 win away to Porto in the last 16 - a result which really made the other clubs sit up and take notice of this free-scoring Liverpool team.
The Reds are now unbeaten in their last seven Champions League away games including qualifiers, which is their longest run since 2005 - which began en route to their most recent Champions League success in Istanbul.
This is Liverpool's first appearance in the semi-finals of the Champions League for a decade, and their 10th overall, winning seven of the previous nine and going on to lift the trophy five times.
Incredibly, their last three appearances in the semi-finals of this competition have all come against Chelsea, which means that this is the first time they have faced a non-English team in the last four since beating Panathinaikos in 1985.
Jurgen Klopp will, of course, have his eyes focused solely on tonight's game, but it is worth mentioning that this is a huge week for Liverpool, with a top-four showdown with Chelsea to come on Sunday.
A Champions League place for next season is still in Liverpool's hands, even if they lose at Stamford Bridge, but they could then be required to win on the final day of the season when it looked for some time as if the matter would be wrapped up before then. Should Chelsea win all of their remaining games - including against Liverpool - then Liverpool would need to win their final outing of the season to finish level on points, with their goal difference seeing them over the line.
Liverpool's win in the first leg means that they are now unbeaten in their last 15 Champions League outings including qualifiers, and they are the only remaining unbeaten team in this season's competition too.
The Reds have gone through in 30 of the 35 European ties in which they have won the home first leg and have never squandered a three-goal lead in the competition, with their worst slip-up coming in the 1964-65 semi-finals when a 3-0 defeat to Inter Milan saw the Italian side through to the final.
Incidentally, this will be Liverpool's 100th Champions League match excluding qualifiers, becoming the 18th club and fourth from England to reach that landmark.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Stadio Olimpico, which means that it is time for a prediction!
This is a tough one to call on the night considering Liverpool can still lose and go through, which may affect their tactics in the closing stages. Roma need to make it an open game, which should suit Liverpool too, so it really could go either way on the night. I cannot see Roma pulling off another miracle and progressing, though.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Roma 2-2 Liverpool (Liverpool win 7-4 on aggregate)
Liverpool have never lost in four previous meetings with Roma in the Champions League, winning two and drawing two - and one of those draws led to a penalty shootout victory in the 1984 final at the Stadio Olimpico.
Phil Neal had broken the deadlock in that match - the most renowned game between these two in the past - before Roberto Pruzzo levelled things up, but it is best remembered for Bruce Grobbelaar's spaghetti legs in the penalty shootout - a ploy Jerzy Dudek would copy in 2005 too.
The only previous two-legged tie between the teams went the way of Liverpool too, with Michael Owen scoring twice in a 2-0 Anfield win before Liverpool held on despite a 1-0 defeat in the reverse fixture to progress through to the fifth round of the 2000-01 UEFA Cup - a competition they went on to win.
The most recent meetings between the two sides came in the 2001-02 Champions League group stages, when Liverpool again won 2-0 at Anfield to progress through to the quarter-finals at Roma's expense.
Roma's record at home to English clubs is won nine, drawn three and lost four - not including that 1984 final loss to Liverpool which took place at the Stadio Olimpico, but is officially counted as a neutral venue.
However, Roma have lost their last six two-legged ties against English opposition, while Liverpool have won four and lost two of their previous six two-legged ties against Italian opposition.
Right, the players are on their way out to the field now, and we're very nearly ready for kickoff. A reminder of the team news before we get started...
ROMA STARTING XI: Alisson; Florenzi, Manolas, Fazio, Kolarov; Pellegrini, De Rossi, Nainggolan; Schick, El Shaarawy, Dzeko
LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Lovren, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Milner, Henderson; Mane, Salah, Firmino
KICKOFF! There is a deafening atmosphere inside the Stadio Olimpico here as Roma get us underway for this huge, huge match!
It has been a nervy start for Liverpool as Roma look to get at the defence immediately. El Shaarawy lifts the ball into the box and Dzeko wins the header, but he can only glance it wide with little power.
Liverpool have barely touched the ball in these opening exchanges, which won't be helping to calm any nerves in this raucous atmosphere. It has been a very bright start from the hosts.
CHANCE! It is not a clear opening, but it is half a chance for a player of Dzeko's aerial ability. A corner comes into the box and the striker sees it late, failing to get a clean connection on it. Liverpool eventually hack it clear, but that wasn't particularly convincing defending.
De Rossi lets Salah know he's there with a late challenge on the winger which draws a foul. I suspect that won't be the last challenge he is on the end of tonight.
Dzeko is causing problems here. He gets down the right channel, the wrong side of Robertson, and reaches the byline before cutting the ball back into a good position, but no-one is there.
CLOSE! Florenzi almost sends the Olimpico into meltdown with a long-range driving that is moving all over the place before whistling inches wide of the post.
PENALTY SHOUT! Liverpool get forward for the first time as Mane darts into the box to get on the end of Alexander-Arnold's pass before going down under the challenge of Manolas. He has two hands in his back, but the referee waves claims away for a penalty and is probably right to.
GOAL! Roma 0-1 Liverpool (Sadio Mane)
Dreamland for Liverpool! After being on the back foot for the opening minutes, they come forward and might well have killed this tie off once and for all!
It is a shocking error from Nainggolan which is ruthlessly punished by Liverpool, with Firmino sliding his pass to Mane at the perfect time. Mane missed some very good chances in the first leg, but he makes no such mistake this time around by slotting it past the keeper.
SHOT! Dzeko really is looking dangerous here. He beats Alexander-Arnold to reach the byline again, but his low pass into the box eludes the Roma shirts in there. It eventually comes out to Nainggolan, but he blazes his long-range effort well over.
Having just seen that penalty shout again, Manolas was taking a big risk with his two hands in the back of Mane. It ultimately didn't matter with Mane scoring moments later anyway, but it was dangerous from the Roma man.
SAVE! Salah has his first sight of goal, cutting inside onto his left foot before curling one towards goal which Alisson collects comfortably.
GOAL! Roma 1-1 Liverpool (James Milner own goal)
Now then, a glimmer of hope for Roma comes from an almighty stroke of luck as they level things up on the night in bizarre circumstances.
El Shaarawy does well to climb at the back post and nod the ball back into the danger zone, but Lovren gets there in front of Dzeko. However, Lovren's clearance cannons into the head of Milner and bounces in past a helpless Karius. That is terribly unlucky for the visitors.
SHOT! Liverpool respond to that freak goal with a good spell of possession which ends with Mane curling one wide from just outside the area. Alisson had it covered, though.
It's as you were at the start of the tie, then, with Roma again needing three goals to progress. The nerves will be starting to jangle again, but Liverpool are getting a lot of space when coming forward and look capable of scoring again here. This is very excitingly poised.
Here is that dreadfully unlucky goal from Milner. Could that come back to haunt Liverpool tonight?
Things have just calmed down a little after that frantic opening, with both teams seemingly dropping their intensity a little. Roma cannot afford to drop off for too long here, though, as they still need those three goals.
CHANCE! Brilliant play from Robertson as he bursts past Florenzi to reach the byline before pulling it back for Mane. Mane tries to turn it into the bottom corner, but Alisson pulls off a superb save with his foot to turn it behind for a corner.
GOAL! Roma 1-2 Liverpool (Georginio Wijnaldum)
Liverpool have a second at the Stadio Olimpico, and suddenly Roma need FOUR goals to go through without extra time!
It is a first Liverpool away goal for Wijnaldum, and what a time to get it! A Liverpool corner is not dealt with by Roma and Dzeko is actually the man to nod it back towards his own goal. Wijnaldum is lurking there and just nods it past Alisson to put Liverpool back in complete control.
Surely there is no way back for Roma now. Liverpool look capable of scoring more goals, and if Roma are to stand any chance then they need to throw even more caution to the wind here.
Good spell of possession for Roma, but that second Liverpool goal looks to have taken some of the fight out of them. This mountain they need to claim just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Roma have a very difficult balance to strike here. They do look capable of scoring here, but the Liverpool front three are staying up there and are ready to launch a counter straight away. It is very dangerous for the hosts.
OFF THE POST! Roma are inches away from pulling another goal back as El Shaarawy goes from goal from just outside the area. His effort comes off the hapless Milner, but this time the deflection takes it against the post rather than into the net.
Roma have looked dangerous from crosses tonight, but Karius has been decisive when it has been within his range. He has come off his line to claim a few crosses and take the pressure off his defence.
Salah suddenly finds himself one on one with Fazio after being picked out by Firmino, but the Roma defender does well to stick with him and get a block in on the eventual shot.
PENALTY SHOUT! The Stadio Olimpico erupts in unison as they appeal for a penalty after El Shaarawy went down under the challenge of Alexander-Arnold. It was a fairly convincing appeal, but the referee is in no doubt that it is no penalty.
SHOT! Half a chance for Roma as Nainggolan nods the ball into the path of Florenzi, who snatches at his half-volley and slices it wide of the target.
YELLOW CARD! Lovren is the first name in the book this evening for a foul on El Shaarawy on the left side of the area.
Pellegrini tries to go for goal from the resulting free kick, but you won't see many worse free kicks than that one. He blasts it closer to the corner flag than the goal.
There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.
HALF TIME: Roma 1-2 Liverpool (Liverpool lead 7-3 on aggregate)
The first half comes to an end at the Stadio Olimpico, and it is pretty much all going to plan for Liverpool so far as they take a 2-1 lead into the break on the night and a 7-3 lead on aggregate.
Both sides have looked dangerous coming forward, but Liverpool have punished Roma's mistakes while Roma's game came via a huge slice of luck. It is very hard to see the hosts coming back into this tie now.
The opening goal arrived after only nine minutes when Sadio Mane gave Liverpool a dream start - particularly after Roma had come out of the blocks flying before that.
A dreadful pass from Nainggolan gifted possession to Firmino, who timed his pass to Mane perfectly to send the winger through down the left side of the area. Mane then made no mistake with his finish, sweeping the ball past Alisson to leave Roma needing four more goals.
Roma's glimmer of hope was restored just six minutes later, though, and it came in bizarre fashion with Milner the unlucky scorer of a bizarre own goal.
A cross to the far post saw El Shaarawy nod the ball back into a dangerous area, where Dejan Lovren beat Dzeko to it. However, the Liverpool man's clearance cannoned against the head of Milner and bounced past a helpless Karius to level things up again on the night.
Liverpool reacted well to such a calamitous setback, though and they regained the lead on the night with their second away goal after 26 minutes.
Georginio Wijnaldum - who hadn't scored a single away goal for Liverpool before tonight - was the unlikely man to get it as he hung about in the area to nod his finish past Alisson after Dzeko's attempted clearance had taken the ball into his path.
KICKOFF: Liverpool get us back underway for the second half at the Stadio Olimpico!
Karius is a little lucky here. He comes flying out of his goal and brings Dzeko down, which would have resulted in a penalty and perhaps a red card. However, the Liverpool keeper is saved by the offside flag, although the replays show that it was very tight indeed.
A long pass forward picks out Salah, who knocks it into the path of Firmino. Firmino gives it to Mane, but his touch is heavy and Roma win it back.
GOAL! Roma 2-2 Liverpool (Edin Dzeko)
Mistakes have been the order of the day in these Champions League semi-finals, and that is what costs Liverpool again here as Roma level things up again on the night.
First Alexander-Arnold misses the ball when he could cut it out to allow El Shaarawy to race through behind him. The Roma wingers cuts inside and goes for goal, and his effort is parried out by Karius straight to the feet of Dzeko. The striker takes his time, but then finishes with aplomb to spark up that tiny bit of hope once again.
ROMA SUB: Eusebio has made a change in the wake of that second goal, with Cengiz Under replacing Pellegrini.
Roma still need three goals just to force extra time here, but they have the wind in their sails again. Dzeko wins the hosts a free kick right on the edge of the area...
Kolarov whips the cross to the back post, but the angle is heavily against Dzeko and he can only loop it over the crossbar.
This one is far from over yet too!
CHANCE! Chance for Roma as Under races behind the defence to latch on to a lofted ball over the top. The 20-year-old watches it all the way and gets his toe to the ball, but Karius is there to make the save.
Almost a chance for Liverpool as they finally keep the ball for a prolonged period of time. Mane is found by a cross in the middle and looks to have a sitter, but the linesman's flag it up.
CHANCES! My word, Liverpool are not making things easy for themselves here! They fail to deal with another cross into the box and incredibly it is almost very similar to the Milner own goal as Alexander-Arnold blasts his clearance straight at Dzeko in his own six-yard box. The ball then drops to El Shaarawy, who looks certain to score, but Alexander-Arnold redeems himself with a last-ditch block. The replay shows that it was a handball from the youngster, though, so Liverpool got away with one there!
Just 25 minutes remaining now and Roma still have not given up hope here. The hosts need three goals to force extra time, remember.
CHANCE! Another chance for Roma as they continue to pile the pressure on. Dzeko plays the ball through for Kolarov, who drives a dangerous low cross into the middle which Liverpool scramble away between them. The danger is not gone yet, though, and Dzeko then fires one wide moments later.
There is still work for Liverpool to do to close this tie out here. Dzeko has another sight of goal as he meets a volley, but he blazes it well over.
CHANCE! Liverpool finally hit back with a chance of their own as Milner starts the move. Mane and Salah are then involved to find Firmino, whose low drive across goal is saved by the foot of Alisson.
ROMA SUB: The hosts make their second change of the night as Maxime Gonalons replaces De Rossi.
SHOT! Dzeko has been a real handful tonight. He holds the ball up well before rolling it back to Gonalons, who blasts his long-range effort comfortably over the crossbar.
Liverpool are seeing some good possession now, just knocking the ball around amongst themselves, with Roma beginning to tire. It is all about game management for the Reds now.
ROMA SUB: A third and final change for the hosts sees El Shaarawy replaced by Mirko Antonucci, who comes on for his Champions League debut.
YELLOW CARD! Florenzi goes into the book for a rash challenge on Mane from behind.
SHOT! Fazio strides forward from defence before knocking the ball into the path of Schick, who just barely seems to have any back lift but still gets good power on his curling effort which flies just a yard or so past the top corner.
SHOT! Dzeko loves a good volley, and he almost pulls a Van Basten-esque effort out of the bag here, connecting sweetly with Nainggolan's corner but firing his effort wide of the far post.
CHANCE! Yet another opening for Roma as Dzeko steals in behind Alexander-Arnold, who gets caught under the ball. Dzeko takes it down well and gets a shot away which Karius gets a hand to, but is then grateful to see Lovren as the man following in to clear the danger.
LIVERPOOL SUB: Mane has been Liverpool's best player tonight, but he goes off here to be replaced by Ragnar Klavan.
YELLOW CARD! Manolas goes into the book for an angry reaction against Robertson, who had just clashed with Florenzi.
GOAL! Roma 3-2 Liverpool (Radja Nainggolan)
They can't, can they? Roma pull another goal back with four minutes remaining as Nainggolan drills a pinpoint finish in off the inside of the post.
Kolarov was the creator, cutting inside before picking out Nainggolan, who was able to wait for the ball to run across his body before firing his crisp finish past Karius.
Liverpool are just two minutes and stoppage time away from the Champions League final, but they still have to see this one out now. One more Roma goal makes things very interesting indeed.
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match. That's how close Liverpool are to the final!
LIVERPOOL SUB: Another change for the visitors as Alexander-Arnold is replaced by Clyne.
PENALTY TO ROMA!
GOAL! Roma 4-2 Liverpool (Radja Nainggolan, penalty)
Roma move to within one goal of a memorable comeback via a hugely controversial penalty as Klavan is very harshly penalised for a handball. Nainggolan steps up and blasts it down the middle to give Roma hope, but it is surely too late now.
FULL TIME: Roma 4-2 Liverpool (Liverpool win 7-6 on aggregate)
LIVERPOOL ARE IN THE FINAL OF THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!
Another breathless night of Champions League football comes to an end, then, and ultimately it is Liverpool who are celebrating at the final whistle despite being on the end of a 4-2 defeat here at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma launched a valiant fightback in the second half, but ultimately that first-leg defeat proved too much to overcome as Liverpool progressed through 7-6 on aggregate - the highest-scoring Champions League semi-final of all time.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's game as Liverpool book their place in the final of the Champions League despite a late scare at the hands of Roma. There was too much action to summarise here, so be sure to check out our match report and stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
