The first leg of “finals before the finals” is behind us, and it left us all wondering what future lies ahead of the Reds, who will welcome Barcelona at Anfield on May 7th in hopes they can overcome the 3 goal deficit.
BARCELONA, SPAIN – MAY 01: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona scores a goal to make it 3-0 during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final first leg match between Barcelona and Liverpool at the Nou Camp on May 1, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
The long-awaited match between Barcelona and Liverpool finally happened on Wednesday night, when the two football giants meet at Camp Nou, and while it was unsure who of the two would come out as a winner, we knew we were in for a football spectacle. And the teams did not leave us disappointed.
The match as a whole was worthy of being played in the finals, as it was one that seemed like it could go either way. The first half alone saw a lot of action and great chances from both sides, but it was Suarez, the former Liverpool player who scored the game opener only 26 minutes in. The goal, while being a spectacular one, the goal came off as a surprise for many, as we could argue Liverpool were very strong and did not seem like a team that would end up losing, let alone by 3 goals. This is sadly a big part of football and even more so a big part of Liverpool’s performances this season. Numerous times have we seen them playing extremely well, but they somehow fail to utilize their strengths. At Camp Nou, we were looking at a similar story with Liverpool being only a hair away from scoring a goal on several occasions, but no matter how hard they pushed, again and again, it simply did not happen.
No matter the first goal, there were 45 more minutes left in the 2nd half, which could potentially see Liverpool equalizing. Despite being the dominant side in the opening minutes of the 2nd half, Liverpool suffered the same faith as in many other matches they played this season. The Reds simply couldn’t score a goal. Chances were there, but ter Stegen was seemingly always standing at the right place. The match slowly ran out of minutes, with countless excellent opportunities on both sides, however, it was Messi who scored the 2nd goal in the 75th minute, to which he added another goal only 7 minutes later from a free kick. With two goals in quick succession, Messi singlehandedly defeated Liverpool and got his team into a great spot to reach the finals of UCL. Should Liverpool overcome the 3 goal deficit, they better prepare a miracle at Anfield, and while it’s possible the chances of that happening are rather slim.
At Camp Nou, Messi once again proved to the world why he is considered to be one of the best footballers that ever lived, as he singlehandedly sunk Klopp’s ship with 2 goals in the dying moments of the match. In the same game, Barcelona also proved to Klopp that Camp Nou is a temple of football and not “just a stadium”. This goes back days before the match when Klopp was asked about the upcoming match against Barcelona. In an interview he stated the following:
“The Camp Nou is just a stadium. It is pretty big, but it is no temple of football”
“It had to arrive at some point. You see the other teams who have a bad time when they play there and now we will experience it. Although of course, we hope to play well.
“If you play against Barcelona, you are certainly not favourites. This is a fantastic game for all football supporters.”
The statement of Camp Nou not being a fortress is directly linked to FCB video they posted on Twitter ahead of the match.
