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7 reasons why Liverpool’s win over Barcelona was so satisfying

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Yes, Barcelona collapsed, but Liverpool deserves a lot of credit, too, for their monumental Champions League win.

Tuesday night’s match at Anfield has been characterized a Barcelona collapse rather than a Liverpool triumph, and justifiably so. A team of Barca’s quality shouldn’t be losing three-goal leads. But Liverpool wasn’t gifted a place in the UEFA Champions League final, and their 4-0 win deserves some celebrating. So let’s do that.

1. The first goal was perfect for building the story of the game

It wasn’t just the result, but the build-up throughout the game that made this one of the greatest Champions League matches ever. Divock Origi’s 7th minute goal instantly turned what could have been a very boring day into an exciting one.

That goal woke up Barcelona, and for the rest of the half it looked like Liverpool could fall apart at any moment. Lionel Messi created several chances, while Andy Robertson and Jordan Henderson picked up knocks and had to play hurt. Going into halftime, a comeback for Liverpool looked possible, but still unlikely.

And then Georgino Wijnaldum entered the game.

2. This is why Gini is on the team

Robertson couldn’t continue, necessitating James Milner to switch to left back, and Wijnaldum to come on to play in midfield. Jürgen Klopp, like most coaches, likely would have waited until a little later in the match to make the change if everyone was healthy. Now, maybe Wijnaldum’s second half performance will convince coaches to make big halftime changes more often.

In less than 10 minutes, Wijnaldum made the exact play that he’s put into games to make — a late run to the top of the penalty area and a goal from 15 yards.

Two minutes later, he got into the box again and scored another.

Wijnaldum is a fairly limited player: he’s the weakest among Liverpool’s midfielders defensively, he’s just OK as a creative passer, and he doesn’t quite have Naby Keita’s burst of pace. But he’s the best of the bunch at making this exact run and finishing off chances, which is something that every team needs situationally.

It’s rarely as simple as subbing in your goal-poaching midfielder and telling him to score, though. Especially against Barcelona. And yet, it was exactly that simple on Tuesday night. Of all of the things that were bizarre about this tie, maybe we shouldn’t be so shocked that Wijnaldum went out and did the exact job that Klopp envisioned him doing.

3. Trent Alexander-Arnold has 200 IQ

A human skull barely has the capacity to contain a brain the size of TAA’s.

Of all the ways that Liverpool could have scored the winner, this was more satisfying than a 30-yard banger. Alexander-Arnold joined the Liverpool academy at six years old, and Klopp has placed a lot of trust in him. He had the awareness to look for this opportunity, the intelligence to spot what he should do, the guts to actually try it in a Champions League semifinal, and then the technique to pull it off.

Alexander-Arnold would have looked like a total dingus if Barcelona cleared the ball easily, but he wasn’t afraid of that, which is why he’s going to be playing in the Champions League final at 20 years old.

4. Liverpool Just Wanted It More™

It’s a cliche as old as the sport itself: Continental European teams just don’t have the heart, the fight, the guts, the ADULT GONADS that proper English teams do. That thinking is awful and misguided, but a broken clock is right twice a da; work rate and toughness truly were primary factors in Liverpool’s win. They attacked loose balls with intensity while Barca looked slow to react and unwilling to put their bodies on the line.

So put your chalkboards away and channel your inner Robbie Savage while you watch this video of Fabinho winning the ball a lot.

The final tackle — in stoppage time, on Lionel Messi — felt like a perfect summary of the entire match.

5. It’s very silly that Liverpool won in this fashion

With Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah in the lineup, anyone would have given Liverpool a chance to score three goals at Anfield. With Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri in the lineup? No, surely not. And definitely not if Andy Robertson gets injured in the first half, don’t be ridiculous.

But they did it.

Origi has played fewer than 600 competitive minutes this season and will probably be told to piss off to Sheffield United this summer, but he scored two goals in the Champions League semifinal against Barcelona.

Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, who thought they were too big for Liverpool, got absolutely obliterated by their replacements and ex-teammates. As poor as Barca were collectively, those two were probably the worst players on the pitch.

6. This is what depth is for!

While an injury-ravaged Tottenham Hotspur is crawling to the finish line this season, Liverpool is thriving despite losing their biggest stars. Many saw the Shaqiri signing as unnecessary, and the decision to not sell Wijnaldum or Origi as missed opportunities, but Liverpool ended up needing every last player before the season ended. Perhaps other teams (Spurs) will learn a lesson from this.

7. Is this rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone dope or what

As the great Alex Ferguson once said, “football, bloody hell.”




from SBNation.com - All Posts http://bit.ly/308hWgm
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