Result: FC Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool
Date: 01 May 2019
Venue: Camp Nou
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez grabbed all the
headlines as FC Barcelona romped to a 3-0
victory over Liverpool in the first leg of their
UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suarez lined up
against their former side, while Naby Keita
was drafted in to the side as Roberto Firmino
was only fit enough to make the bench.
The Catalan giants looked threatening going
forward at every attempt, although they
were thwarted by some stern defending by
the Reds led by Virgil van Dijk.
Twenty four minutes into the half, Jurgen
Klopp was forced to re-shuffle his pack as
Keita picked up a groin injury and was
replaced by Jordan Henderson.
Barca were ahead two minutes later as Jordi
Alba’s superb cross from the left found
Suarez for the close-range finish and the
Uruguayan did not hold back with the
celebration.
With the hosts dominating, Liverpool carved
out an opening out of nothing as Henderson’s
superb pass sent Mane through on goal, but
the Senegalese forward fired over the
crossbar with only Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
The Reds came out firing in the second half,
but they were met by an alert Ter Stegen who
pulled off a few fine saves to deny Milner and
Salah in the opening 15 minutes.
However, it was the home side who got the
got the next goal on the counter that ended
with Messi tapping into an empty net after
Suarez’s effort crashed against the upright.
Messi was not done there as the Argentine
completed his brace in the 82nd minute with
a stunning free-kick from 30-yards out that
left Alisson Becker with no chance.
The Reds pushed for a late goal to restore
some hope for the second leg, but the
defence held out until the final whistle as the
Catalan giants take a 3-0 lead to Anfield next week.
