The Anfield Magic
Liverpool completed the greatest Champions League comeback ever last night against one of the best teams in football history. The Barcelona core of Messi, Suarez, Pique and Busquets have won so much together and one of the most experienced campaigners in Europe. However, they were knocked out by Liverpool in a thrilling comeback which saw the Redmen win 4–3 on aggregate without Mo Salah (concussion) and Bobby Firmino (muscle strain). The scoreline does not tell the story of the game, Liverpool dominated the game and smacked Barcelona in the face. The Blaugrana seemingly could not cope with the intensity and aggression that Liverpool displayed.
Barcelona seemingly went to Liverpool trying to defend the 3–0 advantage that they accrued at the Nou Camp. Ernesto Valverde set the team up defensively with a midfield that did not scream creativity but was deeply experienced. Rakitic, Vidal and Busquets have all played thousands of minutes in pressure situations but they were taken apart by the Liverpool midfield. The much maligned Jordan Henderson showed his worth and proved why he is such an important part of this current Liverpool side. His energy and indefatigable running did not give Barcelona’s midfield anytime to get comfortable on the ball and play the passes into Messi that will eventually open the rest of the offence. Henderson led a midfield press with James Milner and Gini Wjinaldum that was relentless in terms of forcing Barcelona into a type of game that they are not used to.
In La Liga, the style of play is vastly different to the intense, aggressive style of football that is common in the Premier League. Spanish teams such as Rayo Vallecano and Leganes will sit off the ball and maintain a defensive shape in order to frustrate Barcelona and nullify their offensive threats. Because of this, the play slows down and there is much less movement on and off the ball. Liverpool play a pro-active defence that is designed to win the ball back at every single opportunity and prevent Barcelona from being able to play their style of football. It dragged Barcelona into a style of football that was frenetic and tiring, they are not conditioned to keep up that intensity for 70 minutes. Barcelona were tired out and it killed them off on offence.
The defence of Pique and Lenglet resorted to playing long balls up to Messi and Suarez who will never win the ball against centre backs who are much taller and stronger in the form of Joel Matip and Virgil Van Dijk. In the second half, Barcelona were nullified offensively as they played this inefficient style of football and could not create anything down the wings. Moreover, the other important factor in Barcelona being sub-par defensively was that there was a concerted effort on Messi in which Liverpool refused to give Messi any space at all.
Lionel Messi is one of the best players on Earth, he has the ability to create out of nothing and just devastate opponents. In the first leg, in the Camp Nou he produced one of those magician moments when he scored an absolute peach of a freekick which seemingly put the game out of sight. However, he was poor against Liverpool, Van Dijk and Fabinho did incredibly well in reading the game and stopping Messi from creating any dangerous chances that would have resulted in point-blank opportunities. He was bullied off the ball by Liverpool defenders and seemed to crack mentally when it mattered most. In the last ten minutes, when Barcelona needed a goal to beat Liverpool and make their first Champions League Final since 2015, Messi couldn’t deliver. His head dropped and during Barcelona’s last five minutes of pressure Barcelona did not create a clear-cut chance.
At the Nou Camp, Messi is God, he is invincible. But away from his home ground, he is mortal and cannot win a game on just sheer force of will. The losses against Atletico, Roma and now Liverpool in the Champions League prove that Messi cannot play in a system where he is the dominant creator and also the team leader. The Messi dominant system outlined by Ernesto Valverde has not been as successful as the Ronaldo system used by Real Madrid and Zidane in European competition over the last three years. It must be said that some of this blame has to go to Ernesto Valverde for not designing a diverse offence that does not solely rely on one player and can create goals from other places. Players such as Ivan Rakitic and Jordi Alba are renowned for being able to spot a killer ball that Barcelona can strike with. In the current system, Barcelona’s main aim is to pass to Messi and let him work. In some ways, it is similar to how Liverpool played last season when Philippe Coutinho wore red. There was a dependence on both players that is not healthy as it means that there is so much pressure on one man.
Speaking of Philippe Coutinho, he was completely anonymous. He was given any space by Liverpool to drift into space and produce the type of chances that he is known for. He had one shot on target that was weak and an easy save for Alisson Becker, the keeper who beat Barcelona in the Champions League last season with Roma. Compared to Coutinho in Liverpool, he looks like a completely different player, he is being used as a left winger and does not have the freedom to roam into central spaces and create goal-scoring opportunities. The most impressive aspect of his game, that ability to play defence-breaking passes from midfield has been taken away from him in order to make space for Messi to roam into these spaces.
I do not think that Coutinho has changed materially in terms of his ability but it is how he is being used by Valverde in comparison to his usage at Liverpool. At Barcelona, he operates on the left wing where his responsibility to put crosses in and attack the defence with pace. Coutinho is not the fastest player in the world and gets bullied off the ball due to his diminutive size, he is not suited to play on the wing as he can’t physically hold the ball up. He is ill-suited to play on the wing for these reasons and also the fact that he is not experienced with that kind of role.
For Liverpool, Phil was given a role which was perfect for him. He did not have to track back and played in a central attacking midfield position where he could create. Jurgen Klopp made sure that Coutinho had enough space offensively to create chances for Bobby, Mo and Sadio. Moreover, Liverpool had a system last season where all of the front three made runs into dangerous positions and Coutinho had to put the ball into the channels. It was an effective way of playing football as it provided as many outlets for Coutinho’s creativity as possible.
The game was not decided by Barcelona’s average game, it was decided by Liverpool’s outstanding and for me that starts with the performance of Trent Alexander Arnold. Alexander Arnold was a surprise omission from the Liverpool squad last week with Joe Gomez being a preferred option however last night he started for Liverpool and made an incredible impact. From the off, he was engaged defensively and caused real problems for Sergi Roberto who seemingly could not deal with his pace, it meant that Liverpool got in behind a few times and looked dangerous offensively. However, it was the wand of a right foot that made the difference from Liverpool and created two assists. The first assist was a low cross whipped into Gini Wjinaldum who tucked the chance away and made the game very interesting. The second assist was even better.
In the 79th minute, Alexander Arnold earned a corner and produced a moment of magic. He dummied by walking away from the ball before quickly stepping back and rolling a ball in for Divock Origi to finish. The cross caught Barcelona completely off-guard and Origi finished the goal adeptly. All of the Barcelona players were flat-footed as they watched Alexander Arnold create another sublime chance for Origi. It wasn’t necessarily the quality of the ball that was truly amazing but it was the bravery to play that kind of ball in a pressure situation. In pressure situations, players tighten up and do not play freely, they do not want to do anything out of the ordinary for the fact that it could lead to criticism from the media. Alexander Arnold took no notice of that and was brave enough to deliver the killer blow. The maturity displayed by the 20 year old who was an Academy player just two years ago was incredible.
Divock Origi played out of his mind on one of the most high-profile stages in Europe. He scored two big goals when it mattered most and was an admirable replacement for Bobby Firmino. He provided energy in terms of pressing the Barcelona defence and was rewarded with two chances that he clinically took and turned the tie on its head. For a player who is a peripheral figure at Liverpool, he has provided some hugely important moments. He won the Merseyside Derby and scored an important goal to beat Newcastle and force the title to the last day of the season. Going back further than that, he scored the important first goal against Borussia Dortmund in another famous Anfield comeback in 2016. He just scores important goals and that is such a great weapon to have for Liverpool.
Personally, Origi must be delighted with the way that the season has turned out. He went from being a player who could have potentially left in the summer to a serious option off the bench who can be relied upon to deliver the goods when it counts. He has done fantastically well and has clearly written himself into Liverpool history by scoring these important goals.
The other hugely important player for Liverpool was Gini Wjinaldum who came off the bench and scored two goals that were hay-makers. Wjinaldum’s two goals took all of the wind out of Barcelona and left them to be a gasping boxer relying on the ropes to stand up. For a player who does not score many goals, Wjinaldum is another player who scores important goals. He scored the winning goal at the Stadio Olimpico last season to get Liverpool to the Champions League Final and he scored another two crucial goals last night. However, it was not just his goals that defined the game that he played. He played with aggression and carried the ball forward into the final third on multiple occasions and made smart decisions with the ball. He found players such as Shaqiri and Mane with passes when it needed and generally played an efficient game all round. The other important part of Gini’s game was his ability defensively. He was a key part of Liverpool’s midfield that was difficult to break down and stopped Barca from being able to create chances.
As a team, Liverpool played out of their minds. The famous Anfield atmosphere seemingly enhanced every single atmosphere of Liverpool’s intense, frenetic style. Every single player came ready for battle and proved all of the critics wrong. Pundits, social media and newspapers wrote Liverpool off, it was an insurmountable obstacle that Liverpool could not beat. Yet, Liverpool won 4–0 and are on their way to another Champions League Final under Jurgen Klopp. The team walked through the storm and came out victors. For Barcelona, they need to do some soul-searching. They have had two crippling losses in the Champions League that are difficult to explain when they have one of the best squads in Europe.
