Lionel Messi news: 'I don’t envy any defender who has the task of stifling Messi,' says Liverpool legend

What's the story?

Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish has hailed Lionel Messi as one of the "finest footballers" in the history of the game, adding that he does not envy any defender who has the job of stifling the mercurial Argentine.

In case you didn't know...

Fresh off La Liga glory, the Barcelona captain is now looking to help the Catalan giants secure a place in the Champions League final when they face Liverpool in the second leg of their semi-final fixture later tonight.

The Spanish champions have one foot in the final after having registered a comprehensive 3-0 win over the Reds in the first leg of the fixture last week. Messi found the net twice to add to Luis Suarez's early opener, taking his overall club goal tally to a record 600.

The 34-year-old has scored 48 goals in all competitions so far and will hope to increase his tally at Anfield later tonight.

Liverpool, who are also in the midst of a tight Premier League battle, now have a massive task at hand if they wish to take the next step towards European glory.

The heart of the matter

Dalglish, speaking to the Sunday Post, revealed: "In Lionel Messi, Barca also have one of the finest footballers the world has ever seen."

"He will turn 32 next month but shows no signs of letting up. Messi continues to break record after record, and his hunger to succeed looks every bit as strong as it was 10 or 12 years ago."

"The way he just glides past players as if they aren’t there is unbelievable. I don’t envy any defender having to try to stifle him. In footballing terms, it’s as close to being as an impossible task as you could get."

Sir Kenny Dalglish: It's hard to see any team scoring four against Barcelona but I'm not ruling out a fantastic Liverpool comeback - The Sunday Post https://t.co/1aQ19frT9U

— UK Sports News Bot (@UKNewsBot1) May 6, 2019

What's next?

Liverpool welcome Barcelona to Anfield later tonight for the second leg of their Champions League semifinal fixture. Without a number of their key players, it looks unlikely that the Reds will be able to overcome the 3-goal deficit in the second leg.