Barcelona fiasco in Liverpool: out of control

Bundesliga

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Anyone watching Sergio Busquets sees the whole game. That's what former Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque once said about Barcelona's elegant, deep-seated midfield midfielder, and he was right. The epic 4: 0 of Liverpool FC against FC Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final supported this thesis.

The 20th minute went, it was already 1-0 for Liverpool, and the game knew here already no more passes. Like the troubled sea before a storm, the attacks surged back and forth. Busquets wanted to tame her. He conquered the ball in his own penalty area. But before the 30-year-old central midfielder could think of the idea of ​​one of his usual opening games, James Milner had jumped into the ball from diagonally behind him, and Jordan Henderson was also there stepped on the instep from the front.

Busquets is a player who, due to his sense of space, hardly needs time for his art. Liverpool often did not give him any on that wondrous evening. The controller of the Catalan game was self-controlled.

"Liverpool pressed very hard, we could never rest," analyzed Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde the failure. If you do not stop the constant attacks and do not wound your opponent, then just pass what happened. "We have to congratulate Liverpool, they were really good, we are going through a difficult time in the next few days."

Now questions are asked

Tuesday night in Liverpool, Barça suffered one of the worst shipwrecks in recent club history. That the 0: 4 evolves in the wake of a monstrous fiasco, is because the Catalans are repeat offenders in this regard.

Already a year ago Lionel Messi and his colleagues failed after a lead with three goals from the first leg. Barça had defeated AS Roma 4-1 at home just to lose 3-0 in the second leg and, surprisingly, drop out of the premier quarter finals for the third consecutive time. "We've already suffered painful defeats, but this time it's especially bad," Valverde said.

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Certainly questions are being asked now: about the suitability of the trainer, for example, who was already criticized after the debacle of Rome, because at that time he set up the right side with Sergi Roberto and Nélson Semedo very defensive and paid more attention to defensive work than that was common in Catalonia. It will also be asked if Barça employs too old a team. 29.1 years was the average age of the starting eleven on Tuesday. Liverpool was on average three years younger (26.3). This does not have to be a factor in controlling the game. But it can be one, if you get involved in such a physical battle as in Liverpool. The two fast goals of Georginio Wijnaldum within 122 seconds to 2: 0 and 3: 0 in half two "have made us," admitted Valverde. In the final phase his team had hardly any reserves.

"The players have to answer for that"

Valverde is a passionate photographer, whose accessories to the Barça success of the past few months was sometimes trivialized as a photo clipper and a successful image, the motive yes, even before the clippers was there and then only had to be decently captured by this. Now he had no desire to take over the sole blame for the disastrous overall picture: "The players who were on the court, have to answer for that," said the coach.

In Spain, Valverde won the championship for the second time in a row just one and a half weeks ago and can still make the double on May 25 when they win the final of the Copa del Rey against Valencia. "We still have the chance to win the cup, but right now it just feels awful," said the 55-year-old. In the end, the success of a season in the Champions League is also measured by the Catalans.

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29 pictures

But the conclusion must not be that gloomy there. Barça conceded against Liverpool the very first defeat of this premier class season. They have not conceded a single goal in four of their previous five UEFA Champions League games and have scored the second-best odds with 26 goals (against Manchester City with 30). And against Liverpool, there were quite enough chances, the swindling opponents to take all the confidence. Let's take another look at Sergio Busquets.

Barcelona gives best chances

He had brought three players in the 16th minute with a single plum-soft pass from the ankle behind the Liverpool defensive line in final position. However, ex-Schalke player Joel Matip, who stood out that day, stopped Messi in the penalty area, although he was clearly in the lead with Luis Suárez and Philippe Coutinho.

Not to let Messi be brilliant and to score at least three goals for himself, that had been the almost impossible task for Jürgen Klopps Liverpool. It did not succeed, because Messi was still outrageously good, had chances like in the 14th and 19th minute. But when the best player in the world leaves luck, Barça currently has too few others to bring it back. "After the first leg we felt like we were better than the 0-3," said Klopp, when he was asked about Barça's performance. "Well, after the second leg, Barcelona will feel like they were better than the 0: 4 and that's true."

Barça has a team that is in the fall. But the change has already begun. In the summer comes Frenkie de Jong from Ajax Amsterdam, a new liaison. Matthijs de Ligt could follow and inherit the more and more wooden Gerard Piqué in the central defense. With the clever Feinfuß Arthur is already a player of the future in his own squad.

Regular miracles

And then there is perhaps another mitigating factor for the Barça fiasco: the fact that spectacular chase-ups in the Champions League are no longer a rarity. Barcelona itself has been involved several times: winning as in 6: 1 against Paris after a 0: 4 in the first leg of 2017 and losers as in Rome in 2018. This season also accumulate the "miracle": There was the 3-1 of Manchester United beat Paris 2-0 in the first leg, Ajax's 4-1 win in the second leg at Real Madrid after a 2-1 home win, or Juventus 3-0 3-0 at Atletico Madrid.

Maybe that suggests that in this high-performance, spectacular premier-class season, you can easily take total damage - if you lose control. Even if you have a good Lionel Messi with you.

Liverpool FC - FC Barcelona 4: 0 (1: 0)
1: 0 Origi (7.)
2: 0 Wijnaldum (54.)
3: 0 Wijnaldum (56.)
4: 0 Origi (79.)
Liverpool : Alisson - Alexander Arnold, Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Robertson (46th Wijnaldum) - Henderson, Fabinho, Milner - Shaqiri (90th Sturridge), Origi (85th Gomez), Mané
Barcelona : ter Stegen - Sergi Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Jordi Alba - Vidal (74th Arthur), Rakitic (80th Malcolm), Sergio Busquets, Coutinho (60th Semedo) - Messi, Luis Suárez
Referee : Cüneyt Cakir (Turkey)
Yellow cards: Fabinho, Matip / Sergio Busquets, Rakitic, Semedo
Spectators : 52,000