Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona - 6 Reasons why Liverpool completed the 'remontada'

Liverpool pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in footballing history when they overturned a 3-0 first leg deficit to triumph 4-3 on aggregate and progress to the final where they would come up against either Ajax or Tottenham on June 1st in Madrid.

The fact that Barcelona had within its ranks the great Lionel Messi who has been in pristine form this season had many fans writing off Liverpool before a ball was kicked in anger in the second leg.

The Reds’ woes were further compounded when two-thirds of their attacking trident was ruled out of the match as Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino suffered injuries which saw them fail to make the starting lineup.

However, football is very much a game where anything can happen and even though majority expected Barcelona to progress, there was a little number who forewarned Barcelona to be wary of the threat posed by Liverpool.

Liverpool dominated proceedings for most of the match and were good money for their value, with the result justifying the progress they have made under Jurgen Klopp. In this piece, we shall be highlighting six factors which saw Liverpool complete this most unlikely of remontadas.

#6 The Anfield factor

To the uninformed football fan, Stadia are just surface representations of where the game of football is disputed, with lines and dimensions signifying the various partitions on the field.

However, to those who truly know what football is all about, a stadium is much more than a field, as it serves as the home ground for football clubs and holds the very essence of the soul of the teams.

There are stadia and there are truly legendary stadia, with there being a select few stadia that have achieved a historic standing as mythical grounds and Anfield very much belongs in the latter category.

Built in 1884, Anfield has been the home of Liverpool since then and in the intervening 135 years, generations of Liverpool supporters have seen numerous historic feats achieved on the hallowed ground and the comeback against Barcelona is sure to rank high up there with the best of them all.

Prior to kickoff, 54,000 Liverpool faithful belted out a heart wrenching rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone which gave everyone watching the match goosebumps and must have boosted the morale of the Liverpool players.

For 90 minutes, they were there all through, lifting their team and giving them that extra support to go all the way.

It came as no surprise that Liverpool got an early goal given the immense support they received, while the second half brought about the three goals needed to progress.

The support received by the fans at Anfield played a huge role in seeing Liverpool through and this much was evident as everybody associated with the club from players down to technical support gathered at full time to pay tribute to the Kop end.

Fans play a crucial part in football matches and nowhere was this more evident than at Anfield last night and ultimately, the importance of home support was illustrated in Liverpool’s victory over Barcelona.

#5 Super Gini and Divock

Gini Wijnaldum was signed from Newcastle in the summer of 2015, with his energetic displays and box-to-box abilities making him a shoo-in for Klopp’s tactical demands.

The Netherlands international has seen his creativity stifled since making the switch to Anfield, but even from his withdrawn role, he continues to impress and has been a key cog in the progressive wheel at Liverpool under Klopp.

Having starred in the first leg, the 28-year-old was a surprise omission from the starting lineup in the second leg as Klopp preferred a midfield trio of James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.

There must have been groans by Liverpool fans all over the world when ever reliable left-back Andrew Robertson pulled up with an injury, but they very much benefitted from this misfortune, as it offered the opportunity for Wijnaldum to step off the bench in his stead.

Within nine minutes, Gini had made his mark, as he struck a shot from just outside the box which nestled into the net to give Liverpool a crucial second goal.

Just two minutes later, he was at it again, rising highest to nod home a Ronaldo-esque nodder into the post and level the tie on aggregate.

He stated that he was ‘angry’ at being on the bench in his post-match interview and he showed the folly in Klopp’s decision by stepping off the bench to make a massive impact on the tie.

For his part, Divock Origi has never been a mainstay in the Liverpool setup ever since his 2014 arrival, having to settle for a spot on the fringes which was compounded by the terrific form of Liverpool's front three.

Having made just 19 appearances in all competitions so far this season (with most of those coming off the bench), it would have been scarcely believable that Origi would be starting a Champions League semifinal in the colours of Liverpool.

However, he was the beneficiary of the unfortunate injury to Roberto Firmino as it handed him a rare chance to start a match.

It was an opportunity that the 24-year-old grabbed with relish, as he proved decisive in the tie, showing great predatory instinct to turn the ball into the net for the opener after Stegen had parried into his path, while he was also on hand to benefit from the ingenuity of Arnold's quickfire corner kick which caught the Barcelona backline off guard and put the tie to bed.

# 4 Andre ter-Stegen’s gaffe

Marc Andre Stegen has proved himself to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world ever since he completed his transfer from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2014 and the 26-year-old was an instrumental factor in Barcelona’s ultimately futile quest for a treble this season.

The German international is usually a very reliable presence in between the sticks for the Blaugrana, but on the night against Liverpool, he uncharacteristically performed beneath his usual high standards, first parrying a Henderson shot into the path of an unmarked Divock Origi before letting a harmless and speculative shot from Gini Wjnaldum slip under his arms and into the back of the net.

While Ter Stegen might have been dependable for most of the campaign, his unfortunate mistakes in this crunch match saw Liverpool go two goals up which gave them the impetus to spark the unlikely comeback.

#3 Quite simply, they wanted it more

Liverpool players showed more determination

With La Liga already wrapped up and the final of the Copa Del Rey to look forward to, Barcelona were in the position of having already won a trophy this season and all but guaranteed to win another within the month.

By contrast, Liverpool find themselves depending upon others in their quest for league glory and had the Champions League as the only available trophy in which their destiny was in their hand.

The Reds have been arguably the standout team in all of Europe this season, losing just one game in the league while also winning plenty admirers for their exhilarating style of play.

It would almost be football at its cruellest of Liverpool failed to win a trophy to show for their efforts and this must have played into the minds of the Liverpool players, with it reflecting in the way they played.

They were first to every second ball for 90 minutes, while also throwing themselves into all tackles and basically left everything on the field of play.

For all the talk of Barcelona’s desperation to win the Champions League, it must be remembered that they won it as recently as 2015. By contrast, Liverpool have not tasted domestic glory since 1990, while their last Champions League trophy came over 13 years ago.

They are also without any form of silverware since 2012 and ultimately, this extra hunger to go all the way proved to be the difference between them and an already achieving Barcelona side.

#2 Alisson Becker in inspired form

Alisson was made the most expensive goalkeeper (albeit briefly) when Liverpool signed him from AS Roma for the sum of £66.9m in the summer.

The Brazilian international had been described as the ‘Messi of goalkeepers’ by Roma sporting director Monchi and he has gone some way in justifying both the hype and the huge outlay to get him.

So far this season, he has played a huge role in helping Liverpool post the best defense in the league with his 20 clean sheets coming in very handy, but he arguably saved his best performance in a Liverpool shirt for the biggest game of his career till date.

Coming up against an attack spearheaded by the unplayable Lionel Messi and supported by the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suarez is no mean task and having conceded three in the first leg, the 26-year-old would have been forgiven for having any pre-match jitters.

However, in keeping with his inspired form, the former Roma man was unbeatable between the sticks, producing a total of five quality saves to keep his side in the tie, with his parry from a Jordi Alba shot being the pick of the bunch.

Given Barcelona's convincing first-leg advantage, they had the luxury of needing just one away goal to make Liverpool's task more arduous, but they came up against an Alison Becker who was in the form of his life and having failed to find a way past him, the Bluagrana had to return home empty handed.

#1 Lionel Messi failed to provide a spark

Lionel Messi was made Barcelona's official captain at the start of the season following the departure of Andres Iniesta and in his first speech in his new role, the 31-year-old stated that it was his mission to bring the Champions League trophy back to the Nou Camp.

Throughout the course of the season, the Argentine has played like a man possessed, as though using the criticisms levelled at him for his performance last season and at the World Cup as extra motive to silence his critics.

Messi was at his most destructive best this season, while he also proved decisive on more occasions than one and was the principal driving force behind Barcelona's quest on three fronts.

Given his high level of performance, many saw Barcelona as firm favourites for the Champions League and Messi's brace in the first leg only further strengthened their claim.

However, on the night Liverpool found a way to shackle the mercurial maestro, denying him space and making sure his impact in the final third was limited.

The five time Ballon d'Or winner was forced to drop deep to influence proceedings and rarely had a sniff at goal, gut floundered one of the best opportunities of the night when he was the beneficiary of a brilliant cutback by Jordi Alba with the Barcelona number 10 attempting to beat his man when the better option was to shoot at goal.

Barcelona have been extremely dependent on Messi for success this season, with coach Valverde stating as much and while the Catalans have largely benefited from this dependence, against Liverpool, Messi failed to find his mojo and Barcelona found themselves paying heavily for it.