Messi using his goal celebration to ask the supporters not to whistle their own players (Coutinho) https://t.co/fgy400OPdo— Samuel Marsden (@samuelmarsden) May 1, 2019 Messi asking fans to not whistle Coutinho.
Well ... I watched the game in a bar so I haven't been able to post much. Game went as I expected specially given the lineup. Liverpool pressed well and created their chances. Enough to score at least a couple of goals. Messi most of the time had too much on his hands trying to beat 3-4 players. Our weaknesses were clearly exposed ... but what counts at the end of the day is the ball at the back of the net. First goal was important of course, and then Messi is Messi. A bit fortunate 2nd goal but what a brilliant FK on the 3rd. My jaw just dropped on that FK as I thought it was a little too far for his range. MAtS was absolutely brilliant. I burned my tongue on Dembele. Kept saying he needed to come in (and start) and then he comes in and misses a sitter. Messi's reaction was priceless. 3 x 0 is a very comfortable lead but at 4 x 0, it would have truly been game/set/match. I didn't like the gameplay, but I wasn't surprised. But having a foot in the final doesn't feel bad at all.
Let me add one thing that obviously won't change ... but when you get with in 3-4m from the goal, at an angle ... SHOOT THE DAMN BALL !!! Happened 3 times this game with that damn pass back.
job is not done...but we are half way there unsurprisingly some fans will still not be satisfied But tonight we are La Liga champions Copa del Rey finalists 3-0 up with 90 mins to go in CL SF
Good point, but Valencia already needs to worry about every Liga game as they are in a big fight for the last CL spot and also for the EL spots, whereas Liga games are just practice now for the Copa and the CL for us. We literally have 3 meaningful matches left, and Valencia have 6 or 7.
Stegen made some briilant saves but like the first leg against MU , we got the victory and thats all that matters. Love to see Suarez stepping up lately on big games.
@ 2:43:20 https://www.ccma.cat/catradio/alacarta/la-tdt/barca-liverpool-el-programa-sencer/audio/1038123/ Highlight version with all three goals. https://www.ccma.cat/catradio/alacarta/latdt/barca-3-liverpool-0-els-gols-a-latdt/audio/1038121/ Rac1 commentary @ 43:30 https://audioserver.rac1.cat/get/55...barca-juga-a-rac1-22h.mp3?source=WEB&download
, I think he or Messi will score there and I really hope that both do. Then Liverpool would need 6 and I think they'll be lucky to get 3.
We should get at least 1 in first half hopefully.. just to prevent the 2005 comeback where they hit 3 in second half.
Re-watched the game. Coutinho had a pretty good first half. Had some sublime touches. It was a bit harsh to sub him out after a couple of mistakes, specially because it ended up being Roberto who moved to the mid, but it worked out. Roberto had a part in the 2nd goal. Busquets had a really good game. Barely put a foot wrong the whole game. BTW ... Rakitic was the one who saved Firmino's chance off the line after the 3rd goal. The hustle there was great even though Alba was also there. This was a major save. Messi hustled more than I've seen in a while. He also showed frustration a couple of times which shows how badly he wants this. He was pissed at Vidal for not shooting his through pass. 4-4-2 was probably the best setup even though it made the team less attacking. Liverpool had tons of energy and as expected, their physicality and speed was tough to handle. Perhaps a 4-3-3 would have been disastrous. Messi's FK took slight nick off the player on the wall's shoulder. A nick from the Gods. The wall was actually not well placed. Still an amazing goal.
I’m very confident we’ll win our 3rd treble. We are the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be.
Jonathan Wilson (new book out btw) writes up the game tactics for the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...lopp-tactics-barcelona-lionel-messi-liverpool All is worth reading but here's the conclusion: And so Liverpool ended up – as Guardiola’s Bayern had – paying for their gamble by losing 3-0. As four years ago, Messi scored twice. Back then, all three goals came in the final 13 minutes, here it was two in the final 15, but the message was similar: take Barça on and they might wobble, but the slightest slip can be punished and, whatever you do, do not get tired. In those chaotic final minutes, although Firmino and Mohamed Salah went close to scoring an away goal that might have kept the tie alive, Barça also wasted two three-on-one breaks. That is the risk teams who take on Barcelona face. Attack them and you may unsettle them, but you will also expose yourself. And when Messi is in the sort of form he has been in this season, that can be fatal. That is not to say Klopp’s approach was wrong – on the contrary, his side came close to a remarkable result – but the possibility of a heavy defeat is inherent in the approach he takes. And that, of course, is part of what makes Barcelona, particularly with this re-energised Messi, so difficult to play against.
Barca have been really focused in the tough and important matches this season and getting a bit of luck too. It does seem to be our year..
Klopp and Van Djik were bragging about their chances. Small team like Liverpool shouldn’t be bragging. Win the damn PL for Christ’s sake. Also, we ain’t done cuz we’re gonna destroy them in Anfield.