Champions League: 3 Tactics from Ernesto Valverde which won Barcelona the game against Liverpool

Barcelona overcame Liverpool's challenge in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-finals at the Camp Nou last night, with the home team winning 3-0, thanks to a brace from Lionel Messi and a Luis Suarez goal.

The first half of the match was an even contest with both sides pressing high and creating openings. But it were Barcelona who went in front after Jordi Alba picked out Suarez from the left and the Uruguayan made no mistake in front of goal. The first half ended 1-0 in Barcelona's favour.

In the second half, Liverpool had a brilliant phase of 20 minutes in which they were really troubling Barcelona's defense. They did everything apart from finding the back of the net. But against the run of play, Barcelona scored their second through Messi after Suarez' rebounded shot fell perfectly at the Argentine's feet.

The third goal was a trademark Messi free-kick and the match ended 3-0, which leaves Liverpool with a tough task of overcoming a huge deficit in the second leg at Anfield next week. In this slideshow, we take a look at the three tactics from Ernesto Valverde which won Barcelona the game:

#3 Picking Arturo Vidal over Arthur in the starting XI

Barcelona v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League Semi Final: First Leg

Many fans were questioning the selection of Arturo Vidal over Arthur for the match against Liverpool as the latter has been in brilliant form off late. But as it turned out, Valverde was absolutely right to pick the Chilean.

Vidal added that much needed bite, energy and tenacity to Barcelona's midfield, and especially in the second half, his defensive positionings were mind blowing. Vidal is much better at defending than Arthur and that is exactly what aided Barcelona against Liverpool. It was a trademark box-to-box midfield display from the former Bayern Munich star.

The Chilean, in the last couple of months, has been proving his worth, and after last night's performance, he has elevated his chances of being selected in the second leg.

#2 Playing Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic in deeper roles than usual

At the start of the match, Liverpool were having the better of Barcelona's midfield as Ivan Rakitic and Vidal were playing much higher up the field. But after 20 minutes or so, Rakitic was asked to play in a much deeper role and he, alongside Sergio Busquets, almost operated as two defensive midfielders.

But this tweak worked wonders as it allowed Barcelona to keep hold of the ball in their own half and didn't allow Liverpool much space at their end. In the second half, when Liverpool came at Barcelona with everything, Rakitic and Busquets were holding their ground and coming in the oppositions' way.

Rakitic was almost with Mohamed Salah for most of the second half and Busquets kept Georginio Wijnaldum out of the game. Valverde will be proud of his midfield after this mature display against one of the better attacks in Europe.

#1 Bringing in Nelson Semedo for Phillipe Coutinho in the second half

This was an inspired decision from Valverde in the second half as Liverpool were threatening to score. All of Liverpool's positive play came from the left side where Sadio Mane was making life difficult for Sergi Roberto.

In the second half, when Liverpool were on top, Valverde brought on Semedo and shifted to what looked like a 4-4-2, with Roberto playing as a right midfielder. This not only helped Barcelona get much more control on the proceedings, but it also helped in keeping Mane and Andy Robertson quiet.

There were numerous occasions in the first half when Mane found himself one-on-one with Roberto and the Spaniard was struggling to keep up with the pace of the Senegalese, and Semedo's fresh legs helped in keeping Mane's pace at bay.

Valverde might be thinking to start both of them together in the second leg as Barcelona would look to keep Liverpool quiet at Anfield.