Thursday 04 / July / 2024
Barcelona: Lionel Messi’s freekick against Liverpool has already racked up over one million views on YouTube, and that should come as little surprise, yet Barcelona can take comfort in the fact that when Messi leaves his mark on the semi-final, Los Cules usually win the UEFA Champions League.
It wasn’t the first time Messi has taken over a semi-final, with it also taking place in both 2011 and 2015.
In 2011, it was at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu when Messi silenced a vociferous home crowd in a match, which kicked off amidst a backdrop of sniping between both coaches, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho. At 0-0, Barcelona had a man-advantage after Pepe was sent off, yet it looked as if Los Blancos were going to get away without conceding an away goal.
Up stepped the Argentine, who scored two late goals, which proved the difference between the two teams in the tie.
Manchester United would then be on the receiving end of a crushing 3-1 defeat in the final at Wembley, a match many consider to be the Blaugrana’s best performance under Guardiola.
Bayern Munich were his victims in 2015, and it was Guardiola who was on the receiving end of a player whom he had greatly improved as a coach.
The match was 0-0 as it entered the final 15 minutes, however Messi scored two goals in three minutes, which broke the resistance of the Bavarian giants.
Rather like his stunning set-piece against Liverpool, Messi’s second goal became a YouTube classic, as his sensational dribbling left Boateng falling to the floor like an unwanted dictatorial statue, before he coolly chipped the ball over Manuel Neuer.
That year it was to be Juventus who fell at the feet of the Catalan giants in the final, and with the La Masia graduate having had as big an impact of the 2019 semi-final, both Ajax and Tottenham Hotspur can be fearful ahead of the Madrid final.
Messi has won the Champions League four times but his hunger to restore Barcelona as the best club team on the continent was evident against Liverpool, when he had to almost single-handedly quash a ferocious comeback attempt by the visitors after Suarez’s 26th-minute opener.
Mohamed Salah nearly scored a valuable away goal for Liverpool to take back to next week’s return leg at Anfield when he hit the post late.
“It is not over because we are going to a ground that is very difficult, with lots of history, that presses rivals, but we are happy with today’s game,” said Messi.
“This is the critical moment, the best moment, and we have to be more united than ever. At the start of the year, we said we would do this together.”
Messi’s double also took his overall tally for the season to 48 goals and his Champions League-leading tally to 12 this campaign.
“We know what Messi can do but he does not stop surprising us,” said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde. “He has made the difference again and pushed us to victory.”
It was a bitter loss for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, which is trying to reach consecutive European finals after losing last year’s decider to Real Madrid.
Klopp praised his side’s performance but he was not optimistic about the likelihood of a miraculous turnaround.
caption Messi’s freekick against Liverpool has already racked up over one million views on YouTube.
