And there was never a crowd more delighted than the forty odd thousand collected at Anfield to witness what must rate as one of the greatest comebacks the famous old ground has ever experienced.
A first half performance, which was by no means average, left Liverpool trailing rather unfortunately to a Rivaldo free kick. The Brazilian finished nicely aided by some poor positioning from Chris Kirkland, and reminded us all that the boy from Brazil was once a great player. He spent much of his time last night, however, on the ground, and was the deserved recipient of the crowds displeasure following numerous dives.
And as the players trudged off after 45 minutes, it seemed another Champions League campaign would be at an end.
But this was all part of the plan. As the noisy Olympiakans taunted the Anfield Road lower tier, it seemed the stage was set.
Inspired substitutions saw both Sinama Pongolle and Neil Mellor net, as the crowd began to sense this could be one of those nights. Rafa Benitez, ever calm, gesticulated and ordered, putting the final touches to his masterplan.
And so it was, as the curtain was about to fall, that the ball fell to Steven Gerrard on the edge of the box. The crowd froze, a silence hung over the ground, and then a roar erupted into the Merseyside air, shattering the Greek dream and bringing unmountable joy to Red fans across the world.