Mountain To Climb For Liverpool; Barca 3-0 Liverpool
Barcelona versus Liverpool is a match between 2 former champions, these 2 European giants have shared 10 titles between them, 5 each for either of them, it was expected to be a firework at the Camp Nou. Barcelona, newly crown La Liga champion paraded 2 former Liverpool in their ranks, Philipe Coutinho switches Merseyside for Catalunya during winter of 2018, while Luiz Suarez left quit longer, and was hoping to get a 1st home win over Liverpool having previously played 4 times, drew 2 and lost 2, while last year's finalist, Liverpool aimed to keep their decent record at Camp Nou.
It was a really scrappy match, both sides closing down each other so rapidly. An early disrupt to Liverpool ranks as an early injury to Liverpool midfielder, Naby Keita meant a change of tactics. Liverpool seems to be edging the home team until they were cut napping when marauding left-back, Jordi Alba found Luiz Suarez who dinked the football above Liverpool goalkeeper, Alisson in the 26th minute for the opening goal. With clear cut chances hard to come by, the half ended 1 nil in favour of the home side. More of the same in the 2nd half, Liverpool really probing for an equalizer but were not afforded space by Barca defence. With all the Liverpool's hard work on the night, they were caught in possession and were made to pay through Barca's mercurial striker, Leo Messi in the 75th minute, after an initial Suarez's shot came off the crossbar. It was all Barca from there on, and in the 82nd minute, Barca extended their lead through a delightful 30-yard freekick from Leo Messi for his 2nd of the night, 3 nil Barca lead at the Camp Nou, and it ended that way.
Talking Point;
• It took a while before the referee finally got hold of the game, 1, 2 many fouls went by unpunished, Jurgen Klopp would especially be unhappy with the referee.
• Klopp's decision to start Roberto Firmino from the bench seemed to have backfired, as Firmino is the anchorman in Liverpool's attack.
• Failure to score an away goal will probably be Liverpool's undoing, they sure have a couple of chances to put 1 into the back of the net.
• Liverpool's defence chose a wrong time not to turn up, apart from left-back, Robertson who put in a decent show, others were below their usual par.
• Leo Messi proved to be the difference in a game controlled by Liverpool for the majority of the game. A 30-yard free-kick summed up his night.
• Ter Stegen in Barcelona's goal made some match-winning saves against James Milner, and then Mo Salah. A Liverpool goal would have changed the whole scenario into Liverpool's favour.
The prospect of an all-EPL final is seriously in danger now, with Spurs' lost at home to Ajax and now Liverpool going down 3 nil. However, overturning a 3-goal lead seems to be an easy feat in modern day football, whether Liverpool can make history by turning the scoreline at Anfield Stadium is a big ask.
First Blood Ajax; Spurs 0-1 Ajax
Ajax amazing run in the 2018-19 UCL campaign continues with a crucial 1 nil victory at White Hart Lane, the young Dutch side's display in the 1st 30 minutes of the tie was enough to finish off the 1st leg tie. Coach Erik Ten Hag tutored side will finish off the 2-leg contest if they avoid defeat in the reverse fixture in coming weeks.
Ajax has grown from the underdog team to the team to beat after their extraordinary results against the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus. The Dutch team have yet to taste defeat in this year's competition, such as the assured performance they have displayed so far.
Tottenham Hotspurs, on the other hand, though getting out of the group stage by the whisker, have grown stronger as the competition progresses. Spurs came out victorious in an intriguing quarter-final matchup with fellow EPL team, high-flyers, Manchester City, and after the match, Poch called his lads heroes, however, he did not saw a home defeat against Ajax coming. In Poch defence, he went into the tie with a depleted team, 2 of his influential players were missing for the match, Harry Kane and most importantly, Heung-Min Son did not make the team list, while Dele Alli was rushed back into the starting lineup, Moussa Sissoko could only make the bench. Nevertheless, Poch was banking on the frenzied atmosphere at the White Hart Lane to intimidate their opponent, and why not, the 12th man did work against Manchester City in the 1st leg of their quarter-final tie.
The tie was lost and won in the midfield as Ajax made their 1st 30 minutes of the 1st half counted. Spurs midfield led by Victor Wayama ran ragged by the trio of Frankie De Jong, Lasse Schone and goal scorer, Donny Van De Beek(15 min), and the attack led by former EPL and Southampton player, Dusan Tadic also stretched Spurs wingbacks. Spurs soon gained control of the match, that wasn't until Moussa Sissoko came on for the injured Spurs defender, Jan Vertonghen few minutes to half time. Sissoko impact on the Spurs team since the turn of the year was highlighted yet again, as he steady Spurs midfield, but it was too little too late, as the damage was already been inflicted in the 15th minute. Both teams kept things really tight at the back, in a game that saw a combined shot on target to be just 3 all evening, 1 for Spurs and 2 for Ajax. There was a match-winning block from Ajax's 19-year-old captain, Matthijs De Ligt to prevent Dele Alli from scoring an open goal. Spurs probed and prowled but couldn't find the opening needed, it ended 1 nil to the away side. It's now a back-to-back defeat at White Hart Lane for Spurs having lost a league match at the weekend to West Ham.
In his Post-match comment, Spurs boss admitted to getting his tactics wrong, should he be reminded that in a game of this magnitude and at this stage of the competition, there is no room for error.
The tie is not lost yet, far from it, a 1 nil scoreline at Ajax will extend the tie into extra-time, while a 2-1 victory will see Spurs qualify for the final.
Thank you all for your time.
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