Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona: 5 Tactics from Klopp that won the game

#3 Neutralizing Lionel Messi

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

The first leg had been a learning experience for Jurgen Klopp, who is a self-admitted Messi fan. The German watched from the sidelines as his team were taken apart by a viscous Lionel Messi. Klopp saw that his team had no answers for the brilliant Barcelona skipper and even admitted his mistake in the post-match reactions. However, he had clearly studied his nemesis and hatched a plot.

At Anfield, Klopp did not allow Messi any room or time on the ball to have an impact. Whereas in Camp Nou the German had shown too much respect to the Argentinean, at home, he resorted to crowding Messi up. Every time the Barcelona Skipper had the ball at his feet, Milner and Fabinho were on his shoulders. Every time Messi ventured into the box, van Dijk kept a close watch on the Barcelona No. 10.

The Argentinean went on to have a really quiet night on the field and this crippled Barcelona. By stopping Lionel Messi, Jurgen Klopp managed to get the better of Barcelona.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written close to 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Sujith M