Magical Messi makes Liverpool look like a class below Barcelona
Lionel Messi celebrates scoring a goal for Barcelona
With Barcelona having already won the La Liga title, the Catalan side were aiming to conquer Europe next. Barcelona welcomed Liverpool to the Camp Nou for the first leg of the semi-finals in the UEFA Champions League. Ernesto Valverde named a strong starting XI against Liverpool and Leo Messi made his 100th appearance as Barcelona captain .
Jurgen Klopp, on the other hand, made a few changes from their previous outing. Henderson, Alexander-Arnold and Lovren made way for Milner, Joe Gomez & Matip. Firmino who was back from his recent injury made the bench.
The first big chance of the game came Barcelona’s way and Coutinho went for a curled effort from the edge of the box. Alisson made a routine save to deny the former Liverpool attacker. Jurgen Klopp was forced to make a first half change when Naby Ketia picked up a groin injury. Jordan Henderson replaced the injured Liverpool midfielder and got the captain’s armband from Milner.
A couple of minutes later, Luis Saurez scored against his former club by reaching a fantastic cross from Jordi Alba by extending his leg. He rubbed salt into the wounds of the travelling supporters by celebrating! Seconds earlier, Jordi Alba embarrassed Liverpool’s captain Jordan Henderson by nutmegging him effortlessly. Barcelona went into the half-time break with a slender lead and Liverpool failed to register a single shot on target.
In the 54th minute, Ter Stegen proved why he is regarded as one of the best keepers in the world by making a fine save of Salah’s whipped shot from just outside the box. The shot was on-target and heading towards the bottom-left corner but Ter Stegen got a finger tip to the ball and made sure Barcelona’s slender lead was intact. Milner registered a couple of long-range shots on target but Ter Stegen was barely troubled.
Messi started to influence the game despite a sea of Liverpool shirts surrounding him every time he received the ball. Messi was launching balls into dangerous areas but his team-mates couldn’t apply the finish needed. Valverde made his first change around the 60 minute mark by bringing on Semedo in place of Coutinho. In the 75th minute, the crossbar denied Luis Suarez his second goal but the Barcelona captain was at the right place at the right time to extend the home side’s lead to 2.
Klopp brought on Firmino in place of Wijnaldum as the English side were desperately trying to find a goal and keep the tie alive. Messi had other ideas. Barcelona earned a free-kick 35 yards away from goal and their captain stepped up to take it. Leo Messi’s curled effort beat the wall and Alisson to reach the top-left corner of the goal. The incredible free-kick was Messi’s 600th goal in a Barcelona shirt.
Liverpool had a chance to pull one back but Sadio Mane’s shot was blocked by Rakitic and the rebound was smacked into the post by Mo Salah. Barcelona had a couple of clear-cut chances on the counter to score the fourth. Just before the end of the game, Barcelona were 3 on 1 against Liverpool but Dembele’s tame effort was comfortably saved by Alisson. The game ended 3-0 but if Barcelona were more clinical on the counter, it could have been 4 or 5.
Leo Messi’s brilliance leaves Liverpool with a mountain to climb at Anfield. The Barcelona captain marked his 100th game as captain with yet another top performance to show the world why he is regarded by many, if not most, as the Greatest Of All Time. Barcelona now have a foot in the final of the UEFA Champions League that will be held at Madrid.
LosMejor's Editorial Team includes a team of experts who cover the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. The Editorial team is headed by Deepak Selvan.
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