When all hope appeared to be gone, when the race appeared to be run, when the bodies seemed drained and spent, when they were 3-0 down in a Champions League semi-final with less than 45 minutes to go, then do not worry about a thing. Just as the Ajax crowd finished its traditional half-time rendition of Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”, just as they began to believe that their dream of seeing their team reach the final against Liverpool, they were silenced. Spurs scored. Spurs found a way. They had the will. A hat-trick by Lucas Moura did it as they fought their way back with courage and bravery and undying belief to go through on away goals – the same method by which they eliminated Manchester City in the quarter-finals. And this was just as dramatic with Moura’s final goal coming deep in injury-time, just around the same time as the one ruled out by City’s Raheem Sterling. It meant that over this epic tie Spurs led for just the final two minutes of added time and they are through, through to the first European Cup final in their history, through to face Liverpool in what will be only the third final in European competitions to be contested by two English teams. What a worthy final it will be. Two excellent, courageous sides led by two charismatic, remarkable managers. Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp are kindred spirits in the way they connect with their players, with the fans and the energy and soul they bring. They manage two sides who are Monsters of Mentality.<doc-sep>Tottenham beat Ajax on the away goals rule (3-2) after the teams finished 3-3 on aggregate on Wednesday to set up an all-English Champions League final with Liverpool. Just like Liverpool's miraculous comeback to beat Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate, Tottenham also made an incredible comeback against Ajax. Attacking midfielder Lucas Moura’s hat-trick sent Tottenham through after a thrilling, end-to-end game. The verified account of Tottenham shared the ecstatic mood of the players in their dressing room. While Ajax's Twitter account tweeted "No words..." to describe their disillusionment at their loss. Tottenham will now face Liverpool in Madrid on June 1 in their first Champions League final.<doc-sep>When everything changed, there were suddenly seven, eight, maybe even nine Ajax players flat out on the pitch, their faces buried into the turf, not wanting to see any more. Somehow, Spurs had done it and in those moments we were reminded, once again, about the glories of this sport, about how brutal football can be and how, every once in a while, there is a story that can make your bones vibrate. We have had two of them in quick succession bearing in mind Liverpool’s destruction of Barcelona the previous night. It will be an all-Premier League final in Madrid on 1 June and when Lucas Moura completed his hat-trick, five minutes into stoppage time, it was one of those rare occasions for every single member of the Spurs travelling party when it must have felt like the blood in their veins had been converted into the finest of red wine. Suddenly, there were players, coaches, substitutes and various members of backroom staff running across the pitch in jagged diagonal lines to join in the scrum beneath the away end. As etiquette goes, it was reminiscent of America’s Ryder Cup players trampling over the 17th green at Brookline in 1999. Yet, amid all the euphoria, perhaps the boys from White Hart Lane, as most of us would still rather call it, could be forgiven for overlooking that the game was still not, strictly speaking, over. There was still a minute to play before everything was confirmed and the Spurs fans in that far corner could start trying to make sense of a baffling, beautiful victory, having seen their team come back from 2-0 down on the night and 3-0 on aggregate. Or, to put it another way, a place where there no longer seemed to be any lingering hope. Mauricio Pochettino leads the post-match celebrations. Photograph: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images Until the ball came the way of Moura in stoppage time, it was shaping up to be a night of grievous disappointment for Mauricio Pochettino and his players. They had clawed their way back to 2-2 but Ajax were still ahead on aggregate and, with the clock ticking down, it had seemed as though the team wearing the Premier League’s badge would leave Amsterdam with so many what-ifs. What if Jan Vertonghen’s 87th-minute header had gone in rather than thudding off the crossbar? What if they had started better rather than letting Ajax build that first-half lead? What if Harry Kane had been fit, rather than watching the game in a coat, when the team needed one more goal to change everything? But then the clock ticked into the 96th minute and suddenly the ball was on Moura’s left foot. Again, Dele Alli, who chose an ideal night to rediscover his best form, had set him up. It was their final chance of an epic, lyrical night. And the ball was with the right player. All night, Moura had given the impression he was utterly determined nobody would end up blaming it all on Kane’s absence. Moura had already scored twice for Spurs in the second half and those goals, in the 55th and 59th minutes, changed the complexion of the evening. It was a brilliantly gutsy recovery and when Spurs needed a bit of luck they got that, too, in the form of Hakim Ziyech’s shot ricocheting off the post. 02:51 Mauricio Pochettino credits Spurs 'superheroes' for Champions League triumph over Ajax – video Pochettino had brought on Fernando Llorente to replace Victor Wanyama at the interval. Spurs had gambled and, for the first time, they started to pin back their opponents. Ajax were sitting on their lead and it was a mistake. It encouraged Spurs to pour forward. Moura put in his first goal, running through the middle to drill in a left-foot shot, and suddenly their hopes were invigorated. Quick Guide Tottenham v Liverpool: the Champions League final Show The venue: Estadio Metropolitano, Madrid (Saturday 1 June, 8pm) A new venue for the Champions League showpiece and it hosts the first final since 2015 not to feature at least one Madrid team. Atlético spent around £200m overhauling the 20,000 capacity Estadio La Peineta in the Las Rojas neighbourhood before moving in September 2017. It will hold 63,500 for the final, with 17,000 tickets allocated to each club. Demolition of Atlético’s former home, the Vicente Calderón stadium, began in February. This season's meetings Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool (15 Sept, Wembley) Liverpool made it five wins out of five at the start of the season with a deserved victory. Goals came from Georginio Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino either side of the break before Erik Lamela’s consolation in stoppage time. Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham (31 March, Anfield) Last-gasp drama as the match headed for a draw: Toby Alderweireld prodded the ball into his own net to hand Liverpool a vital three points after Lucas Moura’s second-half effort had cancelled out Firmino’s early strike. The history It will be the second all-English final after Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow 11 years ago. Liverpool have won the European Cup five times: 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984 and most recently under Rafael Benítez in 2005. A sixth win would lift them to third behind Real Madrid (13 wins) and Milan (seven). Tottenham have reached their first European Cup final in their fifth campaign. They won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963 and Uefa Cup in 1972 and 1984. Routes to the final Tottenham Group B Inter (a) L 2-1, Barcelona (h) L 2-4, PSV (a) D 2-2, PSV (h) W2-1, Inter (h) W 1-0, Barcelona (a) D 1-1 Qualified: Barcelona 14pts, Tottenham 8pts Last 16 Borussia Dortmund (h) W3-0, (a) D1-1 Quarter-final Man City (h) W 1-0, (a) L 4-3 Semi-final Ajax (h) L 0-1, (a) W 3-2 Liverpool Group C PSG (h) W 3-2, Napoli (a) L 1-0, Red Star (h) W 4-0, Red Star (a) L 2-0, PSG (a) L 2-1, Napoli (h) W 1-0 Qualified: PSG 9pts, Liverpool 9pts Last 16 Bayern Munich (h) D 0-0, (a) W 1-3 Quarter-final Porto (h) W 2-0, (a) W 1-4 Semi-final Barcelona (a) L 3-0, (h) W 4-0 Compiled by Benjy Nurick Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images Europe Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. The next one came four minutes later after André Onana, Ajax’s goalkeeper, had kept out Llorente’s effort from point-blank range. Moura was quickly on to the loose ball, eluding a couple of challenges, despite the close proximity of several defenders, and somehow finding a gap in which to fire the ball through a heavily congested six-yard area. More hope, again. All of which felt markedly different to a first half in which Matthijs de Ligt headed in a corner after only four minutes and Ziyech lashed in a diagonal left-foot shot to make it 2-0 and leave Spurs contemplating an ordeal in the making. Time and again, the question has been asked about whether this team can go up to the next level. The evidence of that opening half suggested they had come up short again. Hakim Ziyech lashes in Ajax’s second to leave Tottenham needing a miracle. Photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/REX/Shutterstock In those moments Ajax’s most boisterous supporters behind Onana’s goal, standing bare-chested behind their drums and their ‘F-Side‘ banners, could have been forgiven for wondering whether the strategically placed flags beneath the roof of the stadium, showing all the club’s trophies in order, year by year, might be getting a new addition. David Neres had been injured during the warm-up, meaning a shift in personnel for Ajax in which Dusan Tadic took over on the left, Kasper Dolberg was promoted from the bench to lead the attack and Ziyech switched to the right. Tadic, in particular, was a dangerous opponent and Kieran Trippier had a hard time restraining him during that opening 45 minutes, in keeping with what has been a difficult season for one of the key players in England’s World Cup adventures. Spurs had to improve and in fairness to Trippier, who had lost De Ligt for the first goal, he managed to shake the opening half out of his system. They all did.<doc-sep>
Last updated on .From the section European Football Mauricio Pochettino has guided Tottenham to a first Champions League final Mauricio Pochettino is anticipating an "amazing" all-English Champions League final after his Tottenham side took inspiration from Liverpool to stage an incredible comeback to beat Ajax. Lucas Moura scored a second-half hat-trick, and 96th-minute winner, as Spurs progressed on away goals on Wednesday. It came 24 hours after Liverpool beat Barcelona 4-0, having lost the first leg 3-0, to book their place in Madrid. "I think it's one of the most important nights in my life," said Pochettino. Tottenham trailed 1-0 after the home leg and found themselves 2-0 down at half-time in Amsterdam, before Brazilian forward Moura's dramatic hat-trick made it 3-3 on aggregate and sent Spurs into a first Champions League final. "To get the club to the final of the Champions League... I think is very close to a miracle," added Pochettino. "No one believed in us from the beginning of the season. We are so close to the top four and have the opportunity in Madrid to play the final against Liverpool." Tottenham players are superheroes - Pochettino on 'miracle' comeback Tottenham defender Danny Rose said Pochettino had mentioned Liverpool's fightback at Anfield in the other semi-final before the game. "We saw Liverpool last night, and it goes to show it's not over until it's over," said Rose. "The gaffer mentioned Liverpool's display at the hotel before the match. The gaffer doesn't mind us losing but we have to lose the right way. "We're lucky we've gone through and we look forward to the Champions League final." The final, the competition's first all-English affair since Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow in 2008, will take place on 1 June at at Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano stadium. "Allow me to relax a little bit, there is going to be time to talk about Liverpool," said Pochettino, who marks his fifth anniversary in charge of Spurs later this month. "I want to congratulate Jurgen Klopp and all the players and Liverpool, because I think they were amazing. "We enjoyed a lot watching the tie against Barcelona. They are heroes too and, of course, it is going to be an amazing final between two English teams that for sure we are going to enjoy." Tottenham scraped through the group stages and knocked out Borussia Dortmund and Premier League leaders Manchester City before the victory against Ajax. Defender Toby Alderweireld says the side will carry that belief into the final against Liverpool. "Why not? We have to believe," he said. "We had a difficult group. We went to Dortmund, who were first in the league, and beat them. City, first in the league, we beat them. Ajax, first in the league, beat them. So why not?"