If you woke up today unaware of the Champions League semi-final results, and someone gave you a quick summary of what occurred in the second-legs played on Tuesday and Wednesday night, you’d tell them to stop taking the piss.

It’s no secret that Barcelona are prone to a second-leg collapse (see Roma in the quarter-final last year), but even the most hardcore of Liverpool fans would have known they needed a miracle to overcome a 0-3 deficit from their encounter at the Camp Nou.

The injured Mo Salah certainly dressed for the occasion, donning a shirt that carried a clear message for players and fans alike:

Well, Mo, thanks to an incredible performance by your teammates, and a Barcelona implosion lacking any fighting spirit, you’ll have another shot at Champions League glory in Madrid on June 1.

Sergio Ramos will be nowhere in sight, too.

Let’s watch how that unbelievable comeback ensued. You will have to click the ‘Watch this video on YouTube’ prompt to be redirected to the highlights:

Unreal scenes. It really is such fine margins, and you think back to Ousmane Dembélé’s misses at the end of the first leg:

Either one of those goes in and surely Barcelona could have hung on at Anfield.

Still, It’s clear for all to see that this Liverpool team has a never-say-die attitude, but it’s also clear to see that Barcelona are all too reliant on one man.

You can’t help but feel sorry for Leo Messi, who is singled out every time his team come up short. Whilst he didn’t excel in Tuesday’s second-leg, he wasn’t exactly terrible:

According to reports by the Guardian, Messi “broke down in tears after his dream of winning the Champions League for a fifth time with Barcelona collapsed”, and was “inconsolable in the Barcelona dressing room following the 4-0 defeat at Anfield”.

He deserves better from those around him.

Anyway, last night’s semi-final between Ajax and Spurs rolled around, and it looked like Ajax had killed off the game with two first-half goals.

Having taken a 1-0 lead into the match, that put Ajax three goals clear with just 45 minutes of football to come.

Wow, what a 45 minutes it was, as Brazilian Lucas Moura led another incredible comeback effort, scoring in the 96th minute to pip Ajax on the away goals rule.

Absolute mayhem – again, click the ‘Watch this video on YouTube’ prompt :

Looks like Harry Kane should be fit for that one, given the fact that he sprinted onto the field at the final whistle.

One can’t help but feel for Ajax, who are a young team that plays an attractive brand of football. Sadly, much of that young talent will be sold on to other clubs, and this was perhaps their best chance to conquer Europe before that happens.

Back to Lucas Moura – look at this raw emotion:

Football – what a bloody marvellous game.

Now attention turns towards this weekend’s final round of English Premier League matches, where Manchester City hold a one-point lead over Liverpool.

Surely City has enough firepower to overcome Brighton and wrap up the title, with Liverpool having to overcome ‘Big Six’ killers Wolves, but stranger things have happened.

Just make sure you’re home from Mother’s Day on Sunday and plonked on the couch by 4PM, because recent history tells us it could be a cracker.

[source:guardian]