Lallana: I was sure I had hit the winner
Adam Lallana was convinced until the last second that his fizzing, left-foot half-volley toward the Kop on Tuesday night was going to hand Liverpool an advantage in their semi-final with Chelsea.
Anfield was the arena for an enthralling first leg of their last four tie in the Capital One Cup, a match that the Reds dominated for much of the 90 minutes and deserved more than a 1-1 draw from.
They had been undone by an Eden Hazard penalty in the early stages, which altered the scoreline but did nothing to stem the tide of attacks from Brendan Rodgers' effervescent side.
The passing was crisp, the invention unlocking the Blues' staunch defence and everything just required a finish - Raheem Sterling provided it in thrilling individual fashion after the interval.
From that moment, Liverpool camped in the opposition half. Philippe Coutinho's dazzling footwork teed up Steven Gerrard to place a shot into the corner, but the captain was thwarted by a post.
Then Lallana strode onto a loose ball around 20 yards from the Kop goal and simply walloped it. The substitute was practically celebrating a winner, only for Thibaut Courtois to stretch out his palms.
"I can't believe the 'keeper saved it, I was halfway on my celebration," the Reds' No.20 told Liverpoolfc.com after the first leg concluded.
"It was a fantastic save and probably one of the reasons why he got Man of the Match. He is world-class and Chelsea are a world-class team.
"We come off the pitch disappointed but still in the game. We'll go to Stamford Bridge and we're fully confident we can go through to the final.
"I thought we played well in the first half but gave away a pretty soft penalty. The lads showed great character to get back into it. We said at half-time to be patient and that we were going to get chances.
"Being on the bench for the first hour and especially for the first 15 minutes of the second half, we knew we were going to come back and get chances - eventually we got the goal."
The equaliser was evidence of exactly what Sterling is capable of, fresh back from a brief break from first-team duties to once again offer his acceleration and movement for Liverpool.
Dropping deep from his focal attacking position, the 20-year-old spun on possession, sprinted through the middle and clipped from the left channel across goal and into the net.
Lallana said: "He has shown maturity for the last three or four weeks - he has had to play in a position where he has not played so much.
"I thought he took his goal superbly; he let the ball run across the body, had a couple of touches and on his weaker foot put it into the bottom corner."
Tuesday's result extended the Reds' unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions and ensured their ambitions of trophy success this season remain strong in the Capital One Cup.
They can therefore approach next week's Chelsea return, and the FA Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers which precedes that game, in confident mood according to Lallana.
He added: "We had a difficult start to the season, but the manager has found a shape and got people on the pitch in the right areas; we're causing teams problems.
"There is great confidence flowing among the team - Philippe is at the top of his game, Raheem, and it was great to have Stevie back fit. He hit the post as well and came through it unscathed.
"Defensively, we're looking good as a shape and we just keep improving."