6–1, winning 2–0 in the first leg at home and 4–1 away at the Estádio do Dragão. In the semi-finals, Liverpool faced tournament favourites Barcelona. Former Liverpool forwards Luis Suárez and Philippe Coutinho were playing against their old club for the first time competitively since being sold to Barça for record transfer fees in 2014 and 2018, respectively. Barcelona took advantage of several missed chances from Liverpool's strikers and won 3–0 at home, with two second-half goals by Lionel Messi, including a free kick in the 82nd minute, his 600th goal for the club. With a three-goal deficit going into the second leg and preoccupation with the Premier League title race, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp asked his players to "just try" or "fail in the most beautiful way". Despite Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino being absent with injuries, Liverpool overturned the deficit with a 4–0 win at Anfield, advancing to the final 4–3 on aggregate, in what was described as one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history. Liverpool's reserve striker Divock Origi scored the opening goal in the seventh minute, followed by a pair of goals in quick succession by half-time substitute Georginio Wijnaldum to level the tie on aggregate in the 56th minute. Alisson made a series of key saves to deny Barcelona a valuable away goal, a repeat of his performance for Roma in the previous year's quarter-final as they overcame a three-goal deficit against Barcelona. Origi scored the match's final goal in the 79th minute, taking advantage of a corner taken quickly from Trent Alexander-Arnold that left him unmarked in the penalty area. Pre-match Final identity The final identity to be used in the final was unveiled on 30 August 2018 during the group stage draw. It was designed by Madrid-based artist Ruben Sanchez (Zoonchez) who drew inspiration from local folklore, including representations of the city emblem, cats (a nickname for Madrilenians), a guitar and a statue in Puerta del Sol. The colour palette includes blues and oranges that represent a type of Madrid sunset that is known as a "candilazo". Ambassador The ambassador for the final was former Spain international Luis García, who played for Atlético Madrid in 2002–03 and from 2007 to 2009, and won the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool in 2005. Ticketing With a stadium capacity of 63,500 for the final, a total of 38,000 tickets were available to fans and