A defiant Barcelona withstood the Liverpool pressure as Messi sealed it for them

FC Barcelona vs Liverpool - UCL 1st leg Match Report

Wow! What a game! Still feeling dizzy from the action packed encounter that had everything.

Liverpool came into the game with a fearless attitude and boasting of the best defense in the world (according to PL experts) and lethal attacking players. Liverpool are a disruptive team that never lets the opposition get into any kind of rhythm. They attack and defend with lot of speed and physicality. Their well-built and young team could withstand any kind of pressure with ease. It was no different as they took on FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou. Liverpool attacked and pressed high from the word go.

Barcelona had many players who were on the wrong side of the 30s. They lacked speed and liked to possess the ball over long periods of time. They were most effective through counters against teams that play with high tempo.

Sadio Mane and Salah ran riot as they gave the likes of Roberto, Pique, Lenglet and Alba a torrid time. But the gritty Barcelona side was more than a match as they filled their box with bodies. Everyone in the midfield and defense were throwing themselves on line giving the likes of Mane and Salah very less space and time. There was a time when even Messi (he could make an excellent defender) dribbled past the Liverpool forwards to take the ball forward. It was chaotic but effective as Liverpool rarely tested Ter Stegen in the first half. For all the attacks, Liverpool were lacking that final ball

Despite all the struggles at the back, Barca also managed to counter with Messi, Busquets and Rakitic feeding Alba, Coutinho and Suarez with delicious balls. Rakitic and Coutinho missed the target while Messi had one shot saved by Allison early in the game. An injured Keita was replaced by Henderson in the initial stages of the game.

As both teams tried to counter attack, came a fantastic team move from Barcelona. Coutinho got a lovely, long ball from Vidal and he played it back to Alba who sent in a perfect cross. For once, Luis Suarez timed his run perfectly and split through the frozen Liverpool defense with a slide and sent the ball past Allison to give Barcelona their first goal (his first goal in UCL in almost an year ). While Liverpool continued to probe, Barcelona also threatened. It was 1-0 at half time. Despite the lead, Barcelona looked tired and worn out, as they dragged themselves into the dugout.

Liverpool came out with the aim of getting the important away goal and attacked with more intent but the ever alert Ter Stegen was on hand to keep the likes of Mane, Milner & Salah at bay. As Liverpool pressed, came the moment when Messi found the space in midfield to provide a lovely pass to Vidal. But the Chilean decided to pass instead of shooting and wasted the chance. (An annoyed Messi angrily urged poor Vidal to shoot instead of crossing. He had fire in his eyes.)

In the meantime, Semedo came in for Coutinho (who was becoming more of a liability giving away the balls and doing nothing much in particular. Sadly he was jeered off by the miffed fans.) With Semedo on the right, Roberto had more freedom to attack from the midfield. 

Barca managed to slow down the game as the midfield became settled. Again Messi was at the helm of things . His pass aimed at Roberto in the box, bounced off to the out of position, Luis Suarez, who did well to direct a volley towards goal with his thigh/knee. Though the ball beat the goalkeeper, it came off the woodwork. 

Messi who continued his run after starting the move, was the first to react as he darted forward, calmly chested the ball down and ran it into the empty goal to make it 2-0 (Goal No. 599 for Mr. Messi and his first against the Reds). All that the best defenders of PL, could do, was watch the Barca Captain finish it off, right in front of their eyes. 2-0 Barcelona in the 75^th minute. As Messi celebrated with his mates, he urged the crowd not to whistle his mate (Coutinho).

Even if losing, that away goal looked a huge advantage to gain at the end of the match for Liverpool. Klopp brought in Firmino to add more power to their attacks. Around the 80^th minute came a move that saw Fabinho (who got away with too many fouls) bring down Messi, about 30 yards from the goal. (There is a funny petition going around from the Liverpool fans saying that Fabinho was slapped by Messi for which he was wrongly awarded the free-kick. They seem to have overlooked the fact Fabinho was body-checking Messi with his enormous butt (LOL) which the little guy was trying to avoid and his hands went up as a reaction to that act.) Fabinho got booked and Messi had a free kick.

In came a blistering missile that went spiralling over the wall and over the out-stretched arms of Allison and stung the net in full fury (It was Messi’s 600^th goal and what a goal it turned out to be. Ironically his 1st and 600th goal were scored on the same day - May 1st - 14 years apart. What a journey it had been!). 

An ecstatic Messi wheeled to the side-lines and sat there on the turf, with his arms and legs outstretched towards his worshiping fans. He thumped the Barca crest on his chest passionately as the fans sang his name. (It was reminiscent of a young Messi celebrating after taking apart Arsenal in UCL in 2010 at the same venue.) 

Team mates huddled on to their unstoppable Captain in joy. Slowly but steadily, Barcelona were up 3-0.

Immediately there was a counter which involved Firmino, Mane and Salah. Mane’s strike bounced back to Firmino whose powerful shot was saved off the line by the defiant Barcelona (Imagine who? It was the relentless Rakitic who had tracked back to assist in defense). But the ball fell to Salah, whose high shot bounced off the post. It was the moment which could have given them the much-needed away goal – but Barcelona never let down their guard.

Soon Barcelona were on the front foot and they attacked with Messi calling the shots from the middle. Both Suarez and Sergi Roberto missed chances to score. In came Dembele for Suarez, in added time, and he missed a sitter in the very last minute, which was given to him in a platter by Messi. 

All Messi could do was fall back, smiling in disappointment as it could have easily been 4-0. Thus ended a fabulous night of entertaining football with Barcelona winning 3-0.

Match Analysis:

Redwoods and a little Sparrow: Messi was like a little sparrow that was trying to fly around a bunch of sturdy redwoods like Fabinho, Milner, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Gomez and Van Dijk. There were times when Messi would turn and would be blocked off by a wall-like defender. All he could do was run around them, trying to get the ball. He was kicked, barged into (by one Mr. Milner – probably that nutmeg still hurt) and wrestled down by a crowd of defenders, who were bent on caging him. 

But the little Sparrow was having none of it. He was more awake than ever as he kept darting among the biggies, finding space and time to create moves. He was relentless and he kept up his runs despite the hard tackles. He simply never stopped till the whistle blew. 

Messi was like a man possessed dictating his team mates and the opposition at the same time. During the post-match interview, he was of the opinion that he was lucky to have scored from the free kick (8 times this season is some luck!) and warned his team against any kind of lethargy in the 2^nd leg at Anfield. That’s one grounded guy who had been nothing short of spectacular during the match. (Unlike many, he is someone who never underestimates anyone.).

But this was not just a Messi show. It was a fantastic team effort with many players doing everything possible from their end.

Ter Stegen was not tested much in the first half. But the showstopper stayed alert and brought off some spectacular saves in the 2^nd half to deny a desperate Liverpool and came away with a well deserved clean sheet. It was a stupendous display against a dangerous opponent by the Barca superman. 

   

Pique despite being harried constantly by the Liverpool attackers and committing a few mistakes, was top notch. He tackled and passed with determination. He also came to the young Lenglet’s rescue initially when he was given a tough time by Salah. He was the leader at the back as he did everything, despite the scramble.

Lenglet had a tough time and it was a test by fire. But in the end had to give it to brave, young man for never giving up, He came up with some fantastic blocks and tackles as the game progressed.  Putting his body on line, he was battered and bruised, but wore that familiar, sweet smile as he kept going till the end. 

Sergi Roberto was run ragged by Mane. He couldn’t concentrate much on attacks as he was kept busy by Mane with his constant run ins. But the guy ran his heart out. Things worked out better when Semedo was brought in and both of them tackled the threat of Mane effectively. It also gave Roberto the freedom to advance and he found himself in the D on 3 occasions with the ball. But he failed to score from any (needs to improve this aspect of his game). One of his misses resulted in the 2^nd goal for Barca. His advanced role, in the 2^nd half, put more pressure on Liverpool’s defense.

Jordi Alba was able to keep Salah under check many times. But he was also overrun by the wily Egyptian a number of times. While his attacks proved lethal and effective, it left gaping holes in defense on the left. When he pressed forward, it put undue pressure on Lenglet, but thankfully it did not cost Barca much. But he was very effective on the left wing in attack, that made the Liverpool defense nervy.

The trio of Busquets (still woeful in defense), Rakitic (solid as ever in tough conditions. Was excellent in defense) and Vidal (the surprise starter who was a thorn in the flesh of Liverpool many a times and was everywhere. A majestic display!) had to work very hard as the physical Liverpool pressed high and upset their rhythm. Yet they kept going and added on to the defense most of the times. It resulted in the Reds fluffing a number of chances, as they had to hurry to finish.

Coutinho started in lively fashion and was an integral part of the initial attacks. Though he missed a couple of chances, he played an instrumental role in the move that led to the first goal. But he waned with time and caused more panic by giving away balls at crucial junctures. He lacked the physical game to match the hefty defense of Liverpool. It was very unpleasant to see the Camp Nou crowd booing him as he was subbed off in the 2^nd half.. (Keeping Coutinho in the team for more than 45 minutes could prove costly for Barca. Probably time for him to move to some other club next season if he is unable to improve his stamina.)

Luis Suarez was a complete nuisance as usual. He had been nowhere near his best during the past 2 years and even in this game, he missed many chances as his lack of pace and bad first touch let him down. But the determined guy was all over the Liverpool box giving their defenders constant headaches. His well timed run, splitting the stunned defense of Liverpool and the deft finish to score the first goal was one of his best goals, this season. Hope he finds his Midas touch. (Barcelona need to look for a young striker as soon as possible. )

Semedo brought in a sense of calm as he came in as the right back. He and Roberto frustrated Mane and managed to bring him under control. Ideally both of them should have started the game.

Dembele was on only for the last 5 minutes of added time and he made three runs into the Liverpool half. He managed to scuff a great chance provided by Messi to make it 4-0 for Barcelona. (If he continues to be wayward, then Barcelona should look to offload him because they have tried all they can to integrate him into the team and its not bearing the expected results, It’s not worth the time and effort if the Frenchman fails time and again. Moreover he is prone to frequent injuries.)

Reds played fantastic possession football. The early injury to Keita was a huge blow to Klopp's strategies.

In fact Valverde played right into the hands of Klopp by letting them dominate possession and attack regularly. But he filled his own box with some of the biggest warriors of football — Rakitic, Vidal and Busquets - to add on to the hard working defenders. They were everywhere giving Mane, Milner(!) and Salah, little space and time. Even when they managed to beat the defensive wall, there stood the biggest wall of Barça who did not give an inch away. Ter Stegen was at his super best denying Liverpool the crucial away goal.

Despite lesser possession, Barcelona managed to attack as much as Liverpool. While everyone are talking about the few big misses of Liverpool, no one seemed to notice that Barcelona missed many opportunities in both halves. Messi and the rest in the middle were creating a number of chances with impeccable crosses. Right from Rakitic in the first 5 minutes to Coutinho, Suarez, Vidal, Sergi Roberto to Dembele in the last minute, everyone missed. The margin could easily have been 5-6 goals instead of 3.

There was also a bit of hide and seek upfront as Luis Suarez and Messi kept the world class Liverpool defense on the edge. Suarez was standing still in offside positions many times, which forced the cautious defenders into their own half.

If you analyse the first goal where the Liverpool's defenders were accused of ball watching, they were not. Rather they were watching Messi who was on the edge of the box and ready to crowd him out as Alba was expected to tee him. But the little Barca dynamite instead picked out Suarez superbly, who luckily did what he does best. It was an unexpected move that was executed to perfection.

Similarly for the 2nd goal, the entire defense of Liverpool was totally beaten when Suarez volleyed the ball with his knee. He almost scored but missed. As everyone was watching the ball bounce back, only one guy reacted, who happened to be Messi. While almost everyone would have headed it in (which had every chance of going over) the little guy chested and walked the ball into the goal. Who does that? Only Messi — thats Barça’s trump card against whom, at times, its impossible to plan. No one can beat Leo when it comes to awareness and alertness in the opposition’s box and he proved it with his calm finish. Klopp or his defense cannot be blamed for that. After all, players are human. Even Valverde wouldn’t have foreseen it

Choosing Vidal over Arthur was a super move. The Chilean along with Suarez was on equal terms with the sturdy Liverpool defense and midfield, taking them on, at every turn. The young Arthur, though more talented, could have easily been pushed around. Similarly sending Semedo in, early in the 2^nd half, helped the team settle down better.

But by bringing in Semedo in the 2nd half instead of the ineffective Coutinho , Valverde created the perfect counter to Klopp. That was the game changer which brought Sergi Roberto into a more attacking role in the middle. It freed up Messi and he just launched himself into attacks. 

Valverde missed out by not bringing Dembele earlier. Despite his chaotic play, Dembele would have brought in an unpredictability and the much needed pace in the Barca attacks.

But still Barca managed it well. Valverde's tactics were backed by his team during the game. A combination of determination, hard work, good luck and tactics worked in favour of Barcelona and Valverde.

Overall it was a good strategy to defend deep and attack on counters. But with a number of aging and off-form players, Valverde should make the required changes on time – otherwise there could be a Roma like experience in the making. Hope he had learnt from his mistakes and goes better prepared to Anfield for the 2nd leg.

Finally the referee was very generous with physical and nasty tackles, But he was consistent in his decisions as he let both sides take it a bit too far. Despite suffering through the wrestling mania, Barca would be happy to avoid any major injuries.

As Klopp said they played as well as they could but it was not enough on the day. In the 2nd leg, Klopp will have few more aces up his sleeve and come all out in attack. Barcelona will have to dig deep and avoid any kind of lethargy. Despite the 3 goal cushion, Anfield would be a huge test for FC Barcelona in the 2nd leg. Till then the dream continues for Messi & Co. 

P.S.: If there is one thing that I learnt from experience before this game - its never to read any previews of a match. I read so many tactical previews that gave such a stark picture of things for Barcelona that I was scared like hell before the game started. No tactical previews for me, ever again. I am better off reading reviews.

Image credits: Google Images