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Barcelona emerged as 3-0 winners against Liverpool at the Camp Nou in the first leg of the Uefa Champions League Semi-final. Both sides looked evenly matched at the start of the match and looked equally dangerous with the ball. However, Luis Suarez opened the scoring for Barcelona in the first half before Lionel Messi quickfire double in the second half took the tie far from the reach of the opposition.
Lionel Messi showed that even on his bad day, he is capable of taking the game by the scruff of the neck. The Argentine didn't have the best of starts to the game and failed to impose himself on the game in the first half. But the 31-year-old was too much to handle for the Liverpool defenders in the second half. He scored a simple tap-in from a rebound to double Barcelona's lead. The goal came against the run of play and was very important from Barcelona's perspective as Liverpool were dominating the proceedings at that time. The little magician completed his brace 7 minutes later with an outrageous free kick to kill the tie.
Lionel Messi's performances in this year's UEFA Champions League has been exceptional and he has scored 12 goals so far. The Argentine looks like a man on a mission and seems determined to bring the Champions League trophy back to the Camp Nou. He has been Barcelona's talisman this season and can help the Blaugrana win the unprecedented treble this season.
Football fans were full of appreciation for the little magician after his masterclass against Liverpool. Not just the fans, but fellow footballers were left awestruck by the Messi's performance. Some of these players took it to Twitter to praise the Argentine G.O.A.T. Here are reactions from some of the famous footballers around the globe:
