UEFA Champions League: Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool; 4 key battles that decided the game

#2 Gerard Pique vs Sadio Mane

With no Firmino in the side, the onus was on Sadio Mane to do all the hard work in front of goal for the visitors, and the in-form Senegalese almost did it for them. And he would have done it, if not for a certain meddling Spanish central defender.

This was the earliest of individual battles to adorn the tie, with an early penalty shout against Gerard Pique in the first half when he allegedly pushed the Liverpool forward to the ground. The referee, however, was having none of it and Barcelona survived an early scare.

Despite his relatively short stature, Mane has a knack for winning headers, and it was one of the early tactics used by Liverpool to exploit the Barca defense. Only, Pique was up to the task and matched Mane in the aerial tackles won section with two apiece.

In fact, the only moment when the striker got the advantage of Pique was from a long ball that opened the Catalan defenses in the first half, but the shot flew into the stands without threatening anyone.

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Shyam is a journalist and content manager who covers tennis at Sportskeeda. He has followed the sport for over two decades and considers Roger Federer the G.O.A.T. Shyam believes in accurate stories that provide detailed knowledge and insight, and strives to bring the same to his readers. Shyam has good understanding of SEO and journalism guidelines.

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Edited by Kaushik Das