Liverpool have it all to do after losing the first leg of their Champions League semi-final; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez star
Thursday 2 May 2019 10:36, UK
Check out our player ratings from Barcelona's 3-0 win over Liverpool as Luis Suarez opened the scoring before Lionel Messi netted two more late on to leave the hosts on the brink of another Champions League final...
Did not have to make a save in the first half, but was called into action early on in the second as he tipped away James Milner's curling effort before getting a palm to Mohamed Salah's low strike. Three more saves ensured Liverpool would not leave the Nou Camp with an away goal.
Selected ahead of Nelson Semedo at right-back, Roberto seemed troubled by the pace of Andrew Robertson and Sadio Mane with Ernesto Valverde eventually opting to move him further forwards after introducing Semedo in the second half.
Barcelona rode their luck at times, but ultimately have a clean sheet to boast about against this Liverpool side. Pique was at the heart of Barcelona's defensive efforts, and was on hand to make eight clearances, three tackles and two interceptions.
Made a match-high 12 clearances as Barcelona, time and time again, escaped a Liverpool attack unscathed. Picked up a booking but justified his selection ahead of Samuel Umtiti.
Enjoyed plenty of space down the left as Liverpool defender Joe Gomez and his midfield team-mates struggled to keep tabs on the Barcelona left-back. Alba provided a delightful assist for Suarez's goal, and looked a danger all night, making three key passes overall.
An impressive showing from the Croatian, who was the most potent attacking threat out of Barcelona's midfield three.
The silent workhorse, Busquets was the pick of the midfielders at the Nou Camp, retrieving possession, starting attacks and enjoying more touches and passes than any other Barcelona player. A vital cog as ever in Valverde's team.
A surprise pick ahead of Arthur, Arturo Vidal was brought in to beef up Barcelona's midfield, but the Chilean endured a difficult night. He unselfishly opted to cross when a shot was the better option in the second half, a point Messi made clear immediately after.
Looked in the mood from the get go, at times dribbling past Liverpool players for fun, and as the visitors pressed in the second half, it was Lionel Messi who delivered the double blow, reacting quickest when Suarez's effort hit the bar before scoring a vintage free-kick.
It just had to be him. The former Liverpool striker did not hesitate to celebrate when scoring Barcelona's opening goal after 26 minutes, and it is difficult to blame the Uruguayan, who finally scored his first Champions League goal of the season at the 36th attempt. Forever in the ears of Liverpool's defenders, this was a Luis Suarez who had no room for sentiment, but rather had the blinkers on - he almost scored a second after the break when hitting the bar, but it mattered not with Messi following up.
Forced Alisson into making his first save after 15 minutes, and looked eager to make a point early on against his old club after getting the nod ahead of Ousmane Dembele. However, his number was up 15 minutes into the second half as Barcelona changed to four in midfield.
Replaced Coutinho as Barcelona reverted to a more defensive-minded setup.
Horribly wasteful late on when put in by Messi. That really could have ended the tie.
Another late introduction.
Brought out some of his usual ambitious footwork but could do little to stop the opening goal from Suarez or Messi's first goal. Some will say that the free-kick could have been prevented given how far out Messi was for his second of the evening but it was expertly placed.
This was Joe Gomez's first start since suffering a broken leg in December and reintroductions don't come much tougher. He tucked in much tighter to his centre-backs than Trent Alexander-Arnold would have done but that was no doubt the idea. A steep learning curve.
Came up with an important block on Rakitic very early on and then got another in to prevent Messi from getting a shot in on the quarter of an hour mark. Suarez nipped in behind him for his goal but Joel Matip could have done with more help from his partner.
Van Dijk was on the wrong end of a thrashing here during his days with Celtic, and while this was nowhere near that bad, it was similarly testing. It was billed as a battle with Messi but the PFA Player of the Year will be wishing he'd tracked Suarez run for the breakthrough goal. Delivered one fine long pass in the second half but couldn't stop the goals going in at his end.
Given the opposition and the occasion it would have been easy for Andrew Robertson to stay back and seem stifled but he still got forward with pace and purpose, appearing to have the beating of Roberto. Unfortunately, his tackle on the same player at the other end saw the ball run kindly to Suarez in the build-up to Barca's second goal.
Tasked with protecting Liverpool's defence, he did the job well for much of the game but then saw two key incidents go against him. He got the tackle in on Messi in the build-up to the second goal but saw Barcelona get the run of the ball then conceded the free-kick that was to make it 3-0. It was cruel on him.
The quietest of Liverpool's midfielders, Georginio Wijnaldum had fewer touches than both Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita in the first half despite spending much more time out than either of them. Did a lot of work away from the ball, including a nice dummy to set up James Milner.
Was named in the team for his energy and showed plenty of it in an intense first half. He put a vital challenge in on Messi on the edge of his own box and looked determined to stop Barcelona's star man by fair means or foul. Tested the goalkeeper in the second half but should have done better.
Keita's selection was a matter of much intrigue beforehand but he did not have too much time to make a difference in the Camp Nou, going off injured after 20 minutes of the game.
Liverpool showed that they had a left-footed wizard of dribble of their own with Salah really troubling the Barcelona defence and getting Lenglet booked inside the first half. Forced a good save from Ter Stegen early in the second too but the big moment was his missed chance late on when he could only hit the post. An away goal would have been huge.
Had a decent penalty shout inside five minutes and looked Liverpool's biggest threat for much of the game. He should have done better than loft a chance over the bar with 10 minutes of the first half remaining though. That was a big moment and the moment passed Sadio Mane and Liverpool by.
Will feel understandably annoyed to have been left out of the starting line-up but didn't have to wait long to get involved and produced one wonderful pass to put Mane through. That could have turned things Liverpool's way, but he might have done a bit more to stop Alba's cross for Suarez's goal at the other end too.
An injury doubt coming into the game, there was clearly a reluctance to risk Roberto Firmino for the full 90 minutes. Unfortunately, the tie is now surely beyond the Brazilian.
Introduced late on as Liverpool realised they desperately needed an away goal.
