Liverpool recorded a huge 3-0 win over Villarreal at Anfield on Thursday to clinch a final showpiece with Sevilla.
The Reds overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to Villarreal through an own goal from the Yellow Submarines skipper Bruno Soriano in the seventh minute of the game.
A corner almost led to another own goal midway through the half as Jurgen Klopp’s men continued their pressing with Villarreal struggling to deal with set-pieces.
Philippe Coutinho tested Villarreal goalkeeper, Alphonse Areola, with a cheeky near-post effort shortly after the interval and James Milner shot at the goalkeeper.
But Areola could do nothing in the 63rd minute when Daniel Sturridge, played onside by the Villarreal defence, latched on to Roberto Firmino’s clever clipped pass and struck home via the post.
The Spaniards were reduced to 10 men eight minutes later when Victor Ruiz, booked in the first half, picked up a second yellow for standing on Lallana’s foot.
Firmino then drew a flying stop from the increasingly busy Areola.
The Brazilian made a surging run down the left wing, held off one challenge, reached the byline and played a cut back pass for Sturridge, whose shot was helped in by an improvised Lallana finish.
Klopp’s side are through to their first European final in nine years and will face Sevilla in Basel on May 18.
The final presents an opportunity for Liverpool to get into the Champions League despite its current eighth-place standing in the Premier League, as the Europa League winner earns a place in the following season’s elite competition.
