Champions League: 4 reasons why Barcelona beat Liverpool 3-0 

#3 Valverde’s tactical brilliance

Valverde made some brilliant changes

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.