'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The first leg of the highly anticipated Champions League semi-final fixture between Barcelona and Liverpool took place at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night, with the Catalan giants posting a convincing 3-0 scoreline to establish themselves as the firm favorites to progress to the final in Madrid.
A goal from Luis Suarez and a Lionel Messi brace were enough to give Barcelona the victory and keep their quest for a historic third treble alive.
That scoreline, however, did not fully reflect how the match went as Liverpool gave a good account of themselves for most of the match and perhaps, deserved something more. In this piece, we shall be taking a look at four reasons why Liverpool lost the match to Barcelona.
#4 Barcelona’s incredible home form
Prior to the start of the match, Jurgen Klopp stated that the Camp Nou was no fortress and while this might hold true anywhere else, in the Champions League that is a farfetched statement, as the facts and figures show otherwise.
Incredibly, the Catalans have not lost at home in the Champions League since Bayern Munich condemned them to a harrowing 3-0 defeat in the semi-finals of the 2012-2013 season en-route their treble win in that campaign.
This entails that the Blaugrana have remained unbeaten at the Camp Nou in the Champions League for six years – a run encompassing 32 matches which has seen the Spanish giants draw just three matches in that sequence and which is also the longest stretch of unbeaten home games in the history of the Champions League.
To put this in perspective, the last time Barcelona lost at home in the Champions League, current Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah was still cutting his teeth with Basel in his first season of European football, while Trent Alexander-Arnold was just a 15-year-old academy prospect, three years away from making his first team debut.
Nearly 100,000 fans descended upon the rafters of the Nou Camp to cheer their beloved team to victory in Europe once again, and they definitely were not disappointed as the players showed great determination not to disappoint them, and on the night, the Camp Nou indeed proved to be a fortress which got Klopp eating his words.
#3 Valverde’s tactical brilliance
Ernesto Valverde was announced as the Barcelona coach in 2017, having done some brilliant work at Athletic Bilbao. The 55-year-old won a domestic double and almost went a full La Liga season unbeaten in his first campaign in charge at the Camp Nou.
His team’s capitulation in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Roma, however, saw some sheen rubbed off his spectacular achievement, and with another domestic double almost sealed, it was always going to be in the Champions League where his legacy would be made.
Pep Guardiola is easily the Gold standard when it comes to coaching in Barcelona’s history, but Valverde actually has a better win percentage than him. He has lost just three La Liga matches across two seasons and is on course to guide Barcelona to a third treble.
However, for all of his achievements, Valverde does not actually get the recognition he deserves, although being actually tactically savvy in his own right.
In the game against Liverpool, Barcelona found themselves on the backfoot for most of the first half as their backline struggled to keep tabs on the impressive Mo Salah and Sadio Mane.
Valverde’s response was brilliant as he replaced the ineffectual Philippe Coutinho with Nelson Semedo at half-time, allowing Sergi Roberto to be deployed further up the field, while still maintaining his defensive priorities.
This enabled both men to keep tabs on Mane, while also allowing Arturo Vidal to be deployed on the left flank vacated by Coutinho and from this position, the Chilean was able to do what he does best – break up the threat offered by Salah.
This little tactical tweak made all the difference in the match as even though they did not entirely curtail Liverpool attacks, the Barcelona defenders were able to do their duties more effectively after the break.
#2 Liverpool failed to take their chances
A first glance at the 3-0 scoreline suggests that Barcelona absolutely blew their opponents away and were largely the better team in the contest, but most times, scorelines barely reflect the true story of matches and this was one such occasion where this held true.
For most of the match, the hosts found themselves hanging on for dear life as Liverpool absolutely flew out of the blocks and had the Barcelona defense on the backfoot. Gerard Pique and company struggled to keep up pace with Mane and Salah, with the Merseysiders being very much the better of the two teams for large spells.
The Reds deserved to take something from this match, and the stats underline just how impressive they were.
Klopp’s men incredibly beat Barcelona at the possession game, seeing 51% of the ball while they had 10 shots in total, out of which four were on target, while Barca had five.
Some of the best chances of the game fell to the Premier League title hopefuls, with Mane blazing high over the bar when put through by Jordan Henderson’s delightful ball, while James Milner could only hit Marc-André ter Stegen when he could have found the corner and Salah somehow, inexplicably hit the post with the gaping goal at his mercy.
At this stage of the competition, ties are decided by incredibly small margins and while Liverpool and Barcelona were largely inseparable in terms of play, the Catalans were far more clinical with their chances and this proved to be the telling difference on the night.
#1 Lionel Messi
If there was anybody anywhere in the world who still doubted Messi’s incredible brilliance, then they must have been convinced after another brilliant display by the Argentine maestro.
Heading into the match, much was made about how PFA Player of the Year winner Virgil Van Dijk had turned Liverpool’s backline into a fortress and how Messi would find it difficult to break down the meanest defense in the Premier League.
However, as Messi has shown time and again throughout his career, impossible is nothing and the bigger the stage, the higher he rises.
This was Barcelona’s first semi-final appearance in the Champions League since 2015 and just like in that tie against Bayern Munich, Messi was extremely decisive, weighing in with two goals to all but seal Barcelona’s passage to the final.
His brace took him to 600 goals in club competitions – just four days after his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo achieved the milestone. It also means he has now scored 28 goals in total against Premier League teams which makes a big mockery of those who suggest that he would not perform in England’s top flight.
There could also have been a handful of assists on the night but for profligate finishing by his teammates.
In total, Messi has scored 48 goals this season from just 45 matches and with the European Golden Shoe all but a foregone conclusion, he also seems set to win the Champions League Golden Boot, while he is the undoubted forerunner for the 2019 Ballon d’Or.
Unstoppable is the word Klopp used to describe him in his post-match comments and with Messi having stated last August that his mission is to return the Champions League to the Nou Camp, there could be no stopping him from achieving his aim as Liverpool sadly found out.
