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What's the story?
Lionel Messi slammed Blaugrana fans for whistling Philippe Coutinho during their match against Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League semi-final last night.
In case you didn't know...
Barcelona took a major step towards reaching the UCL final after their huge win in the first leg of the semi-finals against Liverpool. The Catalan giants inflicted a crushing 3-0 defeat at the Nou Camp, leaving Jurgen Klopp's men with an uphill battle in the second leg.
Former Liverpool striker opened the scoring in the 26th minute of the game with a sublime finish after receiving a majestic through pass from Jordi Alba. Despite Liverpool dominating proceedings initially in the second half, Messi took matter in his own hands and scored twice in the span of seven minutes to increase Barcelona's advantage.
The Blaugrana captain's 600th goal came in the form of a majestic free-kick which left Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson helpless. The brace against Liverpool took Messi's tally to 48 goals in all competitions so far in this season.
The 31-year-old leads in the Champions League goalscoring charts with 12 goals in this campaign and also leads the race for European Golden Shoe with 34 league goals. Thanks to his exploits, Barcelona are eyeing their third treble in club's history as they remain favourites to lift the Copa del Rey and UCL.
The heart of the matter
Despite their comfortable 3-0 win, Barcelona fans jeered Philippe Coutinho who gave another lacklustre performance. The former Reds midfielder started the match but was substituted early for Nelson Semedo. There is no doubt that Coutinho is failing to justify his price tag but Messi slammed the Blaugrana fans for criticizing the Brazilian midfielder, claiming that the gesture was ugly.
Speaking after the match, Messi said:
"This is a time when we have to be more united than ever, both as players and fans," he said at full-time."
"It is not the time to criticise anyone. The whistles against Coutinho are ugly. We have to be together."
Judging by the fans' reactions, it is clear that Coutinho has not impressed the crowd since his move to Spain in January 2018. However, Messi has called for everyone to be united.
What's next?
Barcelona will face Celta Vigo next in the LaLiga before facing Liverpool at Anfield for the second leg of semi-finals.
