On Wednesday, the second UEFA Champions League semi-final match took place in the capital of Catalonia. Two tournament favorites clashed in it - "Liverpool" and "Barcelona" teams.
Even dominating in the second half, the "Liverpool" team could not withstand Lionel Messi's magic - the Catalans celebrated victory with a score of 3:0 and took a strong step towards the final.
The beginning of the match was very promising - both teams played at a high tempo, although they did not create too many chances in the first 10 minutes.
The first real chance came in the 26th minute and ended with a goal from the "Barcelona" team - after a pass from Jordi Alba between the "Liverpool" center-back duo, Luis Suarez swiftly directed the ball into Alisson's goal.
After the goal, "Barcelona" completely took control and posed a threat to the visitors for at least another five minutes. Later, "Liverpool" calmed down and started to create sharper attacks, but in the first half, Marc-Andre ter Stegen did not have much work.
The second half was completely different - "Liverpool" dominated from the start and tested the "Barcelona" defense. Both Sadio Mane and James Milner struck dangerously.
Despite the fact that the "Reds" had taken the initiative, "Barca" in the 75th minute created another chance out of nowhere and turned it into a second goal, which severely shook the morale of the "Liverpool" team that had the game under control.
In a quick attack, the hosts reached their opponents' penalty area. Initially, L. Suarez hit the crossbar, but the ball conveniently bounced to Lionel Messi's feet and he directed it into completely empty goal.
In the 82nd minute, the "Liverpool" team and its fans could only hold their heads - receiving a penalty kick from about 25 meters, L. Messi once again proved that he has no equals at the moment. The Argentine almost perfectly executed the shot and the ball crossed the line of Alisson's defended goal.
Completely shattered, the "Liverpool" players could have scored a very important goal during the next attack, but Ivan Rakitic cleared Sadio Mane's shot off the goal line, and a few moments later, Mohamed Salah hit the crossbar.
In the remaining time, "Barca" could even score a fourth goal, but the visitors managed to avoid an even greater tragedy during counterattacks.
The deciding match will take place in Liverpool next Tuesday.
Result:
"Barcelona" 3 - 0 "Liverpool" 26' [1 - 0] L. Suarez 75' [2 - 0] L. Messi 82' [3 - 0] L. Messi
Starting lineups:
"Barcelona": (4-3-3) Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Arturo Vidal; Messi. Luis Suárez, Coutinho.
"Liverpool": (4-4-2) Alisson; Gomez, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Milner, Wijnaldum Keita; Mane, Salah.
