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AS Roma beat Liverpool 4-2 in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. However, the win wasn't enough for the Italian side to advance to the final, as Liverpool held on to a 7-6 aggregate win.
The goalscoring began swiftly when Sadio Mane's opener was cancelled out by an own goal by James Milner before Georginio Wijnaldum restored the Reds' lead in the 25th minute, before Edin Dzeko's equalizer early in the second half gave Roma a glimmer of hope of staging another comeback.
But the Romans couldn't capitalize on their momentum and left it a tad too late as a Radja Nainggolan brace in the final 10 minutes of the game proved to be futile since AS Roma ran out of time and Liverpool subsequently booked their ticket to Kiev for the final of the Champions League against Real Madrid.
On that note, here is a look at some key stats from the game:
#5 Liverpool reach 40 Champions League goals this season in record time
Two goals on Wednesday night from Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum in the semi-final of the Champions League ensured that Liverpool took their goal tally to 40 goals in Europe this season.
It took the Reds only 12 games to accomplish this milestone, making them the quickest team in Champions League history to set this new record. Similarly, Liverpool became only the third in the history of the competition to reach 40 goals in a single season and are only one goal behind second-placed Real Madrid, who scored 41 goals in their triumphant 2013/14 season.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have now scored 130 goals in all competitions this campaign - the second time they have accomplished this in their history.
#3 Roberto Firmino sets a new record
Roberto Firmino set up the first goal for Liverpool by playing in a beautiful through pass to Sadio Mane as it provided his team with an edge early on in the second leg. Not only was his assist important as the Reds took the lead, but it also meant that the Brazilian set a new record.
Firmino became the first player of this decade in UEFA Champions League history to register a minimum of seven goals and seven assists in a single campaign. Nonetheless, the 26-year-old has a tally of 10 goals in Europe this season and has been the X-Factor on Liverpool's journey to the Final.
On the other hand, Firmino's tally is up to 16 assists in all competitions, making him the second-highest assist provider from a Premier League club behind Manchester City ace Kevin De Bruyne.
#2 Roma and Liverpool produce a goal fest
The semi-final clash between AS Roma and Liverpool was not been short of goals. Both teams, put together, scored 13 goals across both the legs, setting a new milestone in the semi-final round of the Champions League, breaking Bayern Munich's record when they trashed Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate in the last four of the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League edition.
Edin Dzeko and Sadio Mane scored in consecutive games while the tie produced a total of thirteen goals, as Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, and Radja Nainggolan registered a brace each over the two games.
Roma produced a comeback towards the latter stages of the game in both the legs, scoring two goals respectively in the final 10 minutes in Anfield as well as in Rome, but Liverpool managed to avert a late comeback in the second leg and were eventually able to secure a 7-6 aggregate win.
#1 Salah, Firmino and Mane overtake BBC
Sadio Mane's opening goal was his ninth of the UEFA Champions League this season. However, it was the 29th goal scored in the competition between the trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Mane.
Salah and Firmino are Liverpool's joint top scorers in Europe but Mane's goal meant that the trio broke the previously set record of 28 goals by Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2013/14 season.
Liverpool's attacking front three have established themselves as one of the deadliest attacks in Europe. They complement each other excellently, possessing similar traits and without a doubt, have been the most important ingredient in Liverpool's success in Europe.
Astonishing!
