Liverpool downed Galatasaray to reach the Champions League quarter finals.
Dominik Szoboszlai put the English champions back on level terms in the tie midway through the first half with a thunderous drilled effort from a corner.
The Reds missed a chance to seize the upper hand when Ugurcan Cakir saved Mohamed Salah’s penalty after Szoboszlai had been hauled down.
But the Egyptian atoned for his miss early in the second half by teeing up Hugo Ekitike for a clinical finish to hand the hosts full advantage in the tie.
Ryan Gravenberch extended the advantage just a minute later as he fired home the rebound after Cakir had parried Salah’s initial attempt on goal.
Salah joined the score sheet shortly after the hour mark with a sublime curled effort after cutting inside and playing a neat one-two with Florian Wirtz.
Arne Slot’s side will now face a reunion with Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight, having bowed out to the Ligue 1 giants in last season’s Round of 16.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
They say 90 minutes is a long time at Anfield, as Liverpool know all too well.
When their team is at a low ebb, the famous old stadium is as uncomfortable as it is for opponents; something bore out by Sunday’s draw with Tottenham.
Arne Slot and his players faced open dissent, yet it was Galatasaray who felt the full force of L4 on this occasion in front of an entirely partisan crowd.
The Reds’ most complete performance of the season matched an intensity in the stands which genuinely crackled for large parts of this last-16 encounter.
Other games have seen higher winning margins and even more pulsating moments but none have enjoyed unbridled dominance from the outset.
It felt like only a matter of time before the hosts’ front-footed approach flipped the one-goal deficit from their opening leg in Istanbul firmly on its head.
Rarely have the stars aligned for Liverpool this term and a rematch with Paris Saint-Germain in the next month threatens to see the recent order restored.
But the past week has shown, for both good and ill, the true power of Anfield.
Champions League nights seem to stir something in Mohamed Salah.
No matter how indifferent his overall form, the Egypt international still manages to find something within to come alive on the continental stage.
By his own incredibly high standards, this has been far from a vintage Salah campaign and fans could be forgiven for wondering if he was a busted flush.
When Liverpool’s No.11 missed a penalty deep in first-half added time, those worst fears appeared to have been confirmed – if only for 15 minutes.
Salah, however, proved there is still some magic in his boots after the interval.
Two assists were followed, finally, by a milestone 50th Champions League goal delivered in spectacular fashion in front of The Kop’s adoring masses.
All bar three of that half-century haul have now arrived in the famous red shirt and he could not have picked a more opportune setting in which to realise it.
A return to his comfort zone in Europe’s elite club competition was the perfect tonic for Salah to potentially recalibrate what has been an annus horribilis.
Throughout this season, two opponents appear to have got under Slot’s skin.
Constant references to both November’s loss at Manchester City and last season’s Champions League exit to PSG have become repetitive soundbites.
He’s still aggrieved at Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed leveller at the Etihad Stadium while the defeat to Ligue 1 giants is still held up as a reference point.
Fate has thrown the Dutchman a double whammy with an FA Cup clash with Pep Guardiola’s men and by a reunion against the European champions.
Given their season-long travails, neither would have held any fears for Liverpool’s upcoming opponents prior to events on Wednesday night.
But in the next three-and-a-half weeks, Slot could conceivably change that particular record considerably by sealing successive semi-final appearances.
If he seizes the opportunity to right both wrongs, there may still be a silver lining.