Surprised? Yes.
Unexpected? Completely.
So what did they to make this happen, that too when their top strikers Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino were not available?
For me, they just did the only thing they could have done: stay aggressive, run hard, press hard, and chase every ball.
What was surprising was, Barca looked like they didn’t expect it. They were looking for a stroll in the park. In a Champions League semifinal!
So they were stunned when Claudio Mane pounced on a back pass, cut into the box and passed the ball to a rushing in Jordan Henderson whose shot was saved by ter Stegen only for an alert Divock Origito slot it home. 1-0 in less than 10 minutes. Anfield exploded. Liverpool were all over the ground.
Barca just could not hold on to the ball as the reds pounced on everything. It took at least 10 minutes for Barcelona to find their feet. Then they managed to slow down the game and created a number good chances even as the whole of Liverpool rushed to the other half every time they got the ball.
The first half was even, but Liverpool came at them even harder in the second half while Barca seemed happy to just try pass around the ball without really looking to score an away goal and settle the issue. That was a mistake I thought. Because it seemed clear to me that a second goal for Liverpool would set Anfield on fire. That happened.
The second goal came from the boots of substitute Georginio Wijnaldum, through the armpit of ter Stegen, and once again the reds were all over the place. The third came in less than a minute, with Wijnaldum heading in.
By now Barcelona were completely done. They were too slow, and it looked like they had no plan B. They showed no fighting spirit. Messi hardly touched the ball in the second half.
This was exactly what Roma had done tothem last year, in the quarter final: overcoming a 1-4 deficit in the second leg.
They apparently didn’t learn from their mistake and paid the price.
Liverpool went one step ahead, stealing afourth to settle the issue without having to go for a penalty shootout.
Well done Liverpool!
