RIGHT ON THE MANE

Relentless Reds can eye place in the final now as Sadio's strike makes it grim for returning Emery

- ANDY DUNN

AFTER checking the assistant referee's flag remained pointing at the ground, Sadio Mane's smile lit up Anfield.

And in that moment - the moment when Mane doubled Liverpool's lead and effectively put the outcome of this semifinal tie beyond reasonable doubt - everything about this Liverpool was there for all to see.

Relentless, irrepressible, effervescent, unstoppable.

If they get one, they are likely to get another because no team plays in European bursts quite like Jurgen Klopp's side do. The red super-tanker was always going to crush the yellow submarine. And in a spell of a couple or minutes or so early in the second half, Paris in late springtime was booked.

Allez, allez, allez, and all that.

As commendable as their run to the semi-finals has been, Villarreal showed nothing at Anfield that suggests they will be able to overhaul Liverpool next Tuesday.

Liverpool's first goal was fortunate and their second too simple for Unai Emery's defensive liking. But, in truth, Liverpool were operating on a different level...and they were not even operating in top gear.