‘Don’t be sad’: Liverpool fans pack city streets to welcome heroes home

Hundreds of thousands turn out for nine-mile victory parade despite defeat to Real Madrid

A victory parade planned three weeks in advance always promised to be a hostage to fortune. In the end though it didn't matter that Liverpool had won two trophies instead of four, nor that they fell agonisingly short of European glory on Saturday night, as hundreds of thousands of fans welcomed their heroes home on Sunday.

Liverpool's players danced alongside the DJ Calvin Harris as their open-top bus was met with fireworks, flares and flags on a raucous lap of honour around the city, where fans hung from traffic lights as helicopters hovered above.