My thoughts pretty much match this. I think we got to mention Alba who was IMMENSE covering the entire pitch and of course assisting the first Suarez goal that put us ahead. Vidal added a lot of physicality and won lots of aerial duels. The decision to put him and not Arthur was the correct decision in hindsight although it was heavily criticized. All in all I don't mind admitting that we were also lucky in this one. That Mane chance, that Milner chance, and that crazy shit at the end with Salah hitting the post could have all easily ended up as Liverpool goals. We were arguably outplayed at least for large stretches of the match. We bent but we didn't break... Great team effort! I know Messi will gets most of the headlines and deservedly so because he just took over but everyone pitched in. And yes the wall on the FK wasn't so well positioned but that was a far far one to score on. So much that before he took I joked about it going in. When he did, I jumped out of my chair!!
I watched the game again alone without being piss drunk and how the hell this game finished 3-0 is beyond me. EV need to tighten up a bit or it will be Istanbul all over again.
what a save from Ivan! What a beautiful blonde man he is. https://t.co/aXGTyvrV6a— total Barça (@totalBarca) May 2, 2019
Player scores 1 goal in 3 CL seasons in a SF playing at home and people expect him not to celebrate a goal because he played for the other team. Fuk that Suarez had some good years at Liverpool, but it's not like they have some special tie or something. Not sure he will celebrate if he scores at Anfield, but at home ... he owes it to Barca fans to celebrate !
Damn-bele Also let's get some love for Valverde, his weirdest decision seemed to be sitting Arthur for Vidal but Vidal was a beast in this game, a 3 lunged beast all over the pitch on offense and defense, aerials and challenges, and he wound up Sane too after a gorgeous tackle in the box. Poor Arthur not only did not play but his house was robbed with his brother in it during the game. Another decision, Coutinho over Dembele was less conclusive, Coutinho was actually good in the first half, and the video above shows how wasteful Dembele was (and I don't buy the he would have made one of those shots had he been in the game longer argument some have made); and Valverde was quick to pull Coutinho in the 2nd half after he lost a couple balls, but went with Semedo instead with Roberto pushing up. Semedo helped a bit on D but also made a defensive error which showed D is not just about speed. Meanwhile Roberto in midfield was a big part of the build up to Messi's first goal. Liverpool certainly had chances and we were lucky they did not get an away goal, but a 3-0 home win doesn't happen without his tactics (more 442 than 433) and lineup paying off.
Yeah, I'm a little nervous for the first 10-15 minutes of the second-leg. There's a potential it could go like the second leg in Chelsea in 2005. Especially since we have a habit of starting games slowly. If we get through those 15 minutes unscathed then we should progress fairly comfortably.
lol. when has Barca ever done anything the easy way? always has to be drama. Liverpool will probably go up 2-0 before Messi eventually shuts them down.
I may lose another 6 months off my life if that happens. The last time we were in this position it was fairly stress-free. Bayern got an early goal to cut it to 3-1, but a few minutes after that Barca got the away goal and it was essentially over. Then another away goal at it was truly over.
They will have Firmino back and fit next Tuesday , playing at home and they know what they have to do .. An early goal from them and it could all go pear shape .. On their day , if they start fast , they are scary ..
Agreed on most points but don’t agree regarding Semedo. He was very good after he came in and helped calm our defenders/midfielders with his speed. Before he came in, every ball over the top towards Mane felt like a potential goal as SR was comfartably beaten by Mane’s speed. Regarding the lineup in Anfield, I want to see both Semedo and SR starting. I have long advocated for Dembele’s inclusion in the lineup for these match, but seen his performances lately, I don’t want to see him start the match at Anfield. Liverpool will no doubt come out guns blazing for the first 15 mins, so we need to start with players with speed and good organization. I will start the game like this: ——————Mats— ———— Semedo—Pique—-Lenglet—Alba SR———Rakitic—Busquets—-Vidal ——————-Messi——-Suarez Semedo and Alba has speed on the flanks to defend, SR and Vidar has speed to help our slow midfielder (Rakitic and Busquets) and at the same time these two are very good at making offensive runs and has work ethic to defend. We will get counter attacking chances and should try to make most of this but at the same time, we should not over-commit. Messi, Suarez, SR, Vidal and Alba should be instructed to go all out if counter attack chance arise. However, one important thing is that EV should not wait for too long this time if his tactics are not working. If we are getting pegged in our own area ala Roma, he must bring Dembele before its too late to stretch Liverpool’s defence.
That was a great Save. Watching this live, I felt Alba would have cleared the ball anyway . But looking at the video now, Alba might not have been able to steer the ball as far as Rakitic did. The way Rakitic not just cleared the ball but pushed it further away forced Salah to use his weaker foot to finish. So, well done Raki
I am ok with losing 4 x 2 for example if the go as the 2nd leg at Bayern in 2015. If we go up 2 x 1 or something like that. If they go up 2 x 0, I'd already start getting nervous. We all know we are much better at home than away. And Liverpool can score in bunches and quickly as they've shown before.
the only club that Luis would potentially not celebrate against would be Nacional... it's like when Pool fans got upset at Torres going to Chelsea (not Everton or Man Utd). I mean he did leave his childhood team behind why wouldn't he leave liverpool?
Only way Valverde gets some recognition in some circles is if he wins the Treble. Even then he might get criticized.
Yes! I'll be one of them, don't tell me letting Barca defend on their knees is a Valverde tactic? Or that Milner, Firmino Salah chances were part of the plan or that he made two subs again in 90+ min? He's a clueless one with a weak approach.
Clueless Klopp could have gone home 5 0 down I find it unbelievable that some fans are not satisfied at being 3 0 up Shit can hit the fan of course it can. But enjoy the moment at least for this week.
So, we played with a tactic (positioned lower: not giving Pool endless chances of exploiting space behind our defence, giving ourselves a chance to attack using empty spaces) that suited the match/opponent, and got a great result. Fantastic job! Of course Anfield is tricky, and three goals gap doesn't mean we're in the final already. But two heavyweight teams went for it, and one left the stadium with a 3-0 lead in the pocket, the other with a 3-0 loss. Yes they had chances, but that's nothing special. Teams always have chances. We had the ability to put them in, they did not. All the respect to Pool, they're one of the best three teams in the world right now, but huge respect to the whole Barca team. Three real matches left this season!
Exactly I cant think of any team that can deny a team like Liverpool chances to score. On the flip side they also couldnt keep us out and were also lucky to not concede more. It would seem to some people Liverpool who lost 3-0 played the perfect game...Barca who won 3-0 is lucky to still be in the tie.
I dont believe its luck MATs is a good keeper. If you say we got lucky with Salahs chance then they got lucky with Dembele. Velarde got it right with Vidal and I hope the same midfield repeats at Anfield. almost as important as the 3 goals is that we managed to keep a clean sheet
I believe we were more tired in the first game than Liverpool, we had tough time with Levante and one day less rest, and they coasted their game 5-0. Next game we'll have the advantage of resting all players, when they need to win against Newcastle so the advantage is turned. And this time there isn't Liga bothering us like against Roma last year.