Put yourself in the Liverpool dressing room at half-time and think of what was at stake: a trip to Paris was slithering through their fingers and so, too, was history.
Such enormous opportunities carry a huge emotional burden. Had Liverpool capsized in Villarreal, the ramifications would have been felt in the Premier League and, potentially, the FA Cup final. You don't tend to recover quickly when you have been embarrassed with the world watching.
So there you have it: these were the highest of high stakes, all or nothing depending on which way the dice fell after the break.