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Lionel Messi-led Barcelona were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after Liverpool managed to mount a sensational comeback at Anfield last night. The Catalan giants blew away another three-goal lead, just as they did against Roma last season, with the Spanish champions succumbing to a 4-0 humiliation on Merseyside.
The 31-year-old's brace in the first leg of the semi-final tie was not enough to help the Blaugrana reach the Champions League final. Two goals apiece from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum helped Liverpool to find the back of the net four times send Barcelona home. The Reds were without two of their best players- Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino due to injuries but evidently, they were not missed.
Messi is enjoying one of the best campaigns in his glittering career as he leads the race for the European Golden Shoe with 34 goals in La Liga and also tops the Champions League goalscoring charts with 12 goals this campaign. It goes without saying that the Argentine played a pivotal role as the Spanish champions knocked out Lyon and Manchester United in the previous rounds of the continental competition.
The defeat aagainst Liverpool marks another failure for Barcelona in the Champions League. Having already secured La Liga for the eighth time in the past 11 years, Messi and company had their sights on the Champions League but they failed to even reach the final.
Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde accepted that Liverpool were the better team after the game.
"They were better and we have to accept it," Barcelona boss stated after the match.
"The scoreline was 4-0 and when that's the case there are no excuses. Their second goal hurt us massively and the third one came in straight after that. They played well, and we have to congratulate them for reaching the final."
"The most painful thing is that this has happened before. It's very painful for us, especially for our fans. It's the second year in a row they've experienced this. We want to really concentrate to avoid this."
Barcelona were the firm favorites to reach the final but Messi was unable to help his team in the second leg. And here's how twitter reacted:
