Football's 'glorious unpredictability' – Aleksander Čeferin

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has hailed the "glorious unpredictability" of football after the remarkable events in this week's UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

Speaking about the exciting comebacks that earned Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur their places in an all-English final in Madrid on 1 June, Mr Čeferin said that the finalists had demonstrated that nothing was impossible in football.

"There is nothing quite like the drama and excitement of a major football event," the UEFA President said. "And the spectacle that we have seen this week will go down in football history.

"Football has the enduring capacity to stir people's hearts and produce moments of unrivalled emotion – and the fantastic matches in Liverpool and Amsterdam gave ample proof of the game's glorious unpredictability.

"Liverpool and Tottenham deserve the highest praise for the way in which they overcame three-goal aggregate deficits and fought back against the odds – thrilling millions of football lovers in the process. The two teams' achievements showed that anything is possible in our beautiful game.

"Football fans everywhere live for the passion of occasions such as these semi-finals, and the two matches were marvellous advertisements for the calibre and appeal of the UEFA Champions League.

"Congratulations to Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on reaching the final – and we are all eagerly looking forward to another unforgettable match in Madrid that will stay engraved in our memories."

At the end of a momentous week for European club football, the UEFA President also congratulated Arsenal and Chelsea on their qualification for the UEFA Europa League final in Baku on 29 May.

"The meeting of the two London clubs in the final promises to be a very special occasion, not only for their fans, but also for the hosts, Azerbaijan," Mr Čeferin said.