Triumphant Liverpool team back home

The victorious Liverpool football team touched down on home soil today after their dramatic European Cup victory.

The team arrived at Liverpool John Lennon Airport at 4.24pm to be greeted by dignitaries including the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Alan Dean.

The players were cheered wildly by airport ground staff, who had gathered to meet the team after their dramatic penalty shoot-out win over AC Milan in Istanbul last night.

The team will be taken by a black coach to an open-top bus for a victory parade around the city in which thousands of fans are expected to turn out.

Gerrard held aloft the trophy with manager Rafael Benitez.

The pair were dressed in regulation tracksuit trousers and red fleeces, with Gerrard wearing a pair of flip-flops.

Staff climbed on fire engines and baggage trucks to get a better view of their heroes.

Particularly wild applause was saved for keeper Jerzy Dudek, who thrilled the crowd by demonstrating his “wobbly legs” technique.

One of the last players to emerge, to a loud cheer, was defender Jamie Carragher, who grew up in Bootle.

He laughed and waved as he descended the steps of the plane and stopped to sign a fluorescent jacket worn by a member of the ground staff.

The team officially accepted an invitation from Lord Mayor Alan Dean, an Everton FC supporter, to take a victory parade of the city and they were quickly whisked away in airport buses.

The black Liverpool team coach, with blacked-out windows, left Liverpool John Lennon Airport at 5.25pm.

Hundreds of fans had ignored official advice not to go to the airport and instead flocked to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

Some fans climbed advertising billboards for a better view and dozens ran after the coach as it passed.