Liverpool 2-1 Monterrey: Last-gasp Firmino strike sends Reds into World Club Cup Final

A stoppage-time winner from Brazilian striker Roberto Firmino helped propel Liverpool into the final of the World Club Cup in Doha, Qatar as the Premier League side defeated Mexican club Monterrey 2-1.

Firmino came off the bench to become Liverpool's matchwinner after an entertaining, if tetchy, encounter at the Khalifa International Stadium as Liverpool snatched a late winner to avoid the match going into an unwanted period of extra time.

Liverpool took the lead after Mo Salah played a superb reverse ball into the path of Naby Keita, who outpaced the Monterrey defenders before slotting into the net.

At that point, Liverpool were dominating the play, but their patched-up back line – featuring Jordan Henderson in an unfamiliar role at center half – was breached just two minutes later as Jesus Gallardo's blocked shot fell perfectly for Rogelio Funes Mori, who leveled the scores at 1-1.

Buoyed by the equalizer, Monterrey started to play with more confidence, and arguably looked the more dangerous of the two sides in the second half, as Reds' keeper Alisson Becker had to be on his guard to maintain the level scoreline after the break.

But Jurgen Klopp's late introduction of Firmino with five minutes to go proved to be a matchwinning call as the Brazilian hitman latched onto a perfectly-weighted pass by another super-sub, Trent Alexander-Arnold, to fire low into the net at the near post and send Liverpool through to Saturdays final, where they will take on Brazilian giants Flamengo.