Brilliant four-goal display as Klopp masterminds an astounding victory
UEFA Champions League – Semi-final, 2nd leg: Liverpool 4, Barcelona 0 (Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate)
Anfield, Liverpool. Attendance: 55,212
How on earth did they manage that? And where do you begin to try to describe it? “Football..bloody hell!” as Sir Alex once said, although that expletive doesn’t even come close on this occasion.
This was as stunning, unlikely and barmy as this wonderful game gets. Trailing 3-0 after a night to forget at the Camp Nou a week earlier, Liverpool’s prospects looked undeniably grim. All those who gave Liverpool even the remotest chance of progressing further in this competition could have fitted in a phone box – with no danger of anyone’s personal space being invaded.
It was sensational stuff. Enthralling, compulsive viewing. Liverpool put on a display of such professionalism, passion and sheer will, Barcelona just could not live with them. Of all the special nights at Anfield under the lights over the years – and there have been many – was this the best ever?
Quite who to heap praise on first is a tough one…Divock Origi and Gini Wijnaldum for their goals? Goalkeeper Alisson for his crucial saves and authority? James Milner and Jordan Henderson for their non-stop effort and drive all night? Or Jürgen Klopp, the manager who seems to be the absolute master motivator – and a shrewdly astute tactician.
Liverpool went into this game without both Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino due to injury, which seemed to be the final nail in the coffin of pessimism for their chances in this game. How wrong we were, and the tune that Klopp got out of Origi and Wijnaldum on the night was astonishing.
Anfield was rocking and Liverpool had their fans in lusty voice right from the kick-off, as they tore into Barcelona. Sadio Mané shot out of his blocks immediately, and didn’t stop running all night. His intelligent movement and excellent hold-up play were a major factor in Liverpool’s victory.
The early goal, seen as imperative if Liverpool were to have any chance, duly came in the 7th minute. Joel Matip tried a cross-field ball to Mané, only for Barca’s Jordi Alba to intercept, but his header back towards his goal was awful, allowing Mané to pounce instantly. Mané fed Henderson, whose low shot forced a decent save from Marc-André ter Stegen, but the ball was pushed into Origi’s path and the striker didn’t miss. Game on.
But as hard as Liverpool tried, they couldn’t force another first half goal. Barcelona, meanwhile, were squandering chances – Alisson dealing impressively with efforts from Lionel Messi, Phillipe Coutinho and Alba.
Luis Suárez hardly endeared himself to his former fans with what looked like a sly kick at Andy Robertson when they both running for the ball. It was a cheap shot and sadly another example of the darker, unattractive side of the complex Uruguayan. It would eventually finish Robertson’s night, with the defender replaced by Wijnaldum at half-time. Robertson himself, however, gave Messi’s head a provocative shove in the first minute, which luckily for him went unnoticed by the Referee, Cüneyt Çakir.
Liverpool started the second half knowing three goals were still needed to progress – assuming they didn’t concede. As tall order’s go, this was one of Peter Crouch-type proportions. From an early corner, Virgil van Dijk nearly caught ter Stegen out with a neat back-heeled volley, but the keeper smothered it safely. Alisson then saved a Luis Suárez shot which the former Liverpool star hit with little conviction.
As much as losing their brilliant left-back seemed like a mini-disaster for Liverpool, the introduction of Wijnaldum proved pivotal. In the space of just 122 seconds, the game turned on its head and the dream suddenly approached reality. On 53 minutes and 7 seconds, Wijnaldum’s shot beat ter Stegen for pace, although the goalkeeper won’t be rushing to watch it again, the ball going under his body…then on 55 minutes and 9 seconds, Xherdan Shaqiri’s excellent cross was superbly headed in by Wijnaldum. Cue bedlam.
This was the moment the blood drained from Barcelona’s challenge. They had no answer to Liverpool’s momentum, with the crowd going crazy and every Liverpool player growing in belief by the second.
But Barca weren’t quite dead yet. With 67 minutes gone, Messi had a great chance, hitting a powerful shot towards Alisson’s near post from a sharp angle, only seven yards out. But Alisson saved well, and Messi looked like he knew this wasn’t going to be his night.
Then a moment of brilliance from Liverpool, and Trent Alexander-Arnold in particular. Liverpool won a corner on 78 minutes, with Alexander-Arnold initially shaping to take it. Shaqiri then approached, clearly intent on taking it himself. As Alexander-Arnold walked away from the ball, he spotted the Barca defence nowhere near ready, still ambling into their positions, with Origi loitering amongst them. He quickly returned to the ball, sweeping in a delicious delivery that Origi – the only man awake amongst this sea of sleepwalkers – side-footed home expertly. It was parks standard defending from Barca, and wonderful vision from Alexander-Arnold. Four-nil. Incredible.
Liverpool held on, surviving five minutes of added-time, and Anfield basically exploded. What an achievement from Klopp and his players, roared on by their raucous fans. A collective will to win that simply blew Barcelona away. They were very poor – and also hugely irritating at times, Suárez in particular, with excessive appealing to the Referee, demanding free-kicks constantly. Perhaps it was the realisation of the challenge they were facing on the night, once they saw how much Liverpool were up for this challenge.
And they do have previous, of course. Barca were eliminated at the Quarter-final stage by Roma in this competition last season, losing 3-0 in Rome after winning 4-1 at the Camp Nou, and therefore losing on away goals. Complacency striking twice? Whatever your views on exactly how and why they’ve managed to blow a big first leg lead twice in two seasons, this result will have given their manager Ernesto Valverde much to think about on their flight home.
So Liverpool reach their second successive Champions League final, against either Ajax or Tottenham. They will fear nobody after this achievement, and why should they. This demolition of Barcelona was achieved without two of their first choice players, jointly responsible for 42 goals this season, and hopefully both Salah and Firmino will be fit for the final.
“Football – bloody hell!”, Sir Alex? More like “Football – bloody heaven!”, on nights like this.
By Chris Tribe
8th May 2019
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