Three things we learned from Barcelona v Liverpool

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona beat Liverpool 3-0 in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

Here AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from the Camp Nou clash:

600 up as Messi escapes Van Dijk’s shadow

After three successive quarter-final defeats, Lionel Messi is on a mission to lead Barcelona to their first Champions League final appearance since they last won the tournament in 2015.

Messi, Barca’s incomparable striker, made a promise last September to ‘bring that beautiful trophy’ back to the Camp Nou and his late double — which took him to an incredible 600 career goals for the club — was a huge step towards achieving that dream.

The Argentine had failed to score in his two previous appearances against Liverpool and for long periods he was held in check by Reds centre-back Virgil van Dijk and his fellow defenders.

But Messi is too talented to be subdued for long and he finally escaped Van Dijk’s clutches to score from close-range after Suarez’s effort hit the bar in the 75th minute.

Messi was just getting warmed up and in the 82nd minute he left Liverpool stunned when he curled a superb 25-yard free-kick into the top corner.

It was another frustrating evening in the Camp Nou for Van Dijk, who was given a rough ride on his last visit in 2013 as a 22-year-old Celtic defender in a 6-1 defeat.

The Dutch international has improved dramatically since that night and arrived back in Spain as the newly crowned PFA Player of the Year, but even he was no match for the peerless Messi in the end.

Klopp’s fears come true

Jurgen Klopp feared Liverpool would “suffer” against a team of Barcelona’s quality, and the German’s nightmare scenario came true as they crumbled in a cruel finale.

Klopp’s side fell behind in the 26th minute when former Liverpool forward Luis Suarez produced a predatory finish to convert Jordi Alba’s cross.

But Liverpool, hoping to reach successive Champions League finals after losing last year’s to Real Madrid, were unbowed by that setback and went on to deliver a solid display that could easily have brought them an equaliser with better finishing and a less inspired show from Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Only when Messi made his devastating contribution in the last 15 minutes, did Liverpool look overwhelmed and even then they should have snatched a priceless away goal when Mohamed Salah hit the woodwork.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2V6OBnC