Danny Rose was overcome with emotion as he admitted the Tottenham players watched Liverpool’s heroic comeback against Barcelona and used it as inspiration to upset the odds and defeat Ajax.
Spurs, who trailed 1-0 from the first leg, soon had a mountain to climb after going behind by two goals in the Dutch capital.
But after digging deep, determination and resilience came through, meaning Spurs will now go up against Liverpool in an all-English final in Madrid.
Speaking to BT Sport immediately after the final whistle, Rose opened up on how himself and his team-mates were able to believe anything was possible.
‘We saw Liverpool last night and it just goes to show it’s not over until it’s over. There were a few words said at half-time and we then played like that,’ said the full-back.
W’e can beat anyone when we play like that. The gaffer mentioned it at the hotel before we left and said that’s the right attitude.
‘How we started against Ajax in the first leg was not right and now we’re looking forward to the final.’
Toby Alderwiereld, playing against his former club, outlined how his side simply approached the near impossible test ahead of them logically.
‘If you concede two goals, you have to score three,’ he said.
‘[It has been a] Difficult season for us but it shows our mentality. After the first leg everybody was saying “Ajax Ajax” but we showed today we wanted it more.
‘Of course it was mentally difficult but then we started playing better, playing football and that changed the game for us.’
Tottenham and Liverpool will go head to head inside Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium on Saturday, June 1.