2018/19 UEFA Champions League Semi Final: FC Barcelona vs Liverpool FC

unique vs Harmonica gonna be the best special olympics match we will ever see. Who is going through?

Will be close, we keep them to a draw in the first leg, we're going through.

No doubt in my mind Liverpool will be far too much for them to handle. Reckon they put 3-4 past them at Anfield.

Interesting match up. Liverpool have everything Barcelona hates. But Messi is in beast mode.

VVD Vs Messi is one heck of a match up

This one is gonna be gooooood!

Please liverpool just do me the favor and eliminate Barca

Cant wait for all that superior pressing and high paced game that English teams always seem to have, to eventually be outdone by Dembele and Messi when Barca escapes the pressure. Barca eats EPL teams for breakfast. We toyed with Spurs and United - Liverpool will be next.

inb4 klopp plays a defensive pragmatic gameplan just like he did against City

RealGunner wrote:Interesting match up. Liverpool have everything Barcelona hates. But Messi is in beast mode.

VVD Vs Messi is one heck of a match up

I don't think they do, windkick in the Barca section made a good point which I'm going to copy and paste lol....

But my only reason for not being overly worried about them is pretty simple. My logic, is if you go back and see the type of teams that usually beat us/knock us out of the UCL it's not teams that try to come out and hyper attack/counter us. Evidence by even the best Madrid sides in the last decade, we have still been able to beat them on a consistent basis.
It's been teams that had strong, extremely well drilled defensivly and technical players that ultamitley were able to not allow us to play our game and we couldn't get anything going. Chelsea, Bayern did it, Atletico has done it, Juve has done it and even to an extent Roma were able to do it.

I agree with this 100%, Barca will win IMO.

Honestly think that Liverpool will destroy Barca

No fear going into this tie. Messi aside the rest I would not have me hold my breath when they have the ball even if it is Suarez.

Suarez whom I hope they focus the camera on when we smash past this team.

Valverde is a much much better manager many give him credit for (only the ignorant do not rate him as he is) but this should be our tie.

Barcelona are not an impressive team for me.

If Liverpool eliminates Barça, thus preventing them from winning the treble, I'll forever be grateful to them.

But something tells me Barça Messi is going to end them.

I'm not seeing it tbh, their fullbacks have the mobility to stay with Liverpool's forwards and Liverpool's midfield doesn't have a lot of creativity to cause problems there.

I personally see a bad match up for Liverpool, for them to win Mane/Salah need to create offence from nothing and Fabinho needs to have the best two games of his life.

People are going to see this as i think Barca are amazing but i don't but again just like with Man Utd i feel they match up badly.

Ppl being sarcastic here? Barca gotta be the favourites, although Liverpool is the strongest opponent left, and are on top form, so we need to be at our absolute best.

Confident is we are far better in midfield, although they tirednessly press and hassle, but as long as we dont do a Roma, we should be fine. Their FBs are threats, so Im confident in that, my only worry is Salah probably, we need to keep him quite, Mane is obviously a threat but he misses so many chances

Apart from that we are good as long as we play to our level, most as many knows, dont think they got anyone to stop Messi, hes too quick, perhaps Fabinho to mark him?

One word: Busquets

Liverpool will destroy Barca already because of Busquets alone

Does anyone not agree this is the true final?

Hapless_Hans wrote:One word: Busquets

Liverpool will destroy Barca already because of Busquets alone

That's a fair response tbh if Liverpool had one midfielder who i could see consistently take advantage of that I'd agree with you.

It wouldn't even take much, healthy Oxlade would probably be enough.

Wheres the first game?

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

Hapless_Hans wrote:One word: Busquets

Liverpool will destroy Barca already because of Busquets alone

That's a fair response tbh if Liverpool had one midfielder who i could see consistently take advantage of that I'd agree with you.

It wouldn't even take much, healthy Oxlade would probably be enough.

It depends on the refereeing, also.
If Barca get a deferential referee who indulges Busquets' by now only remaining trademark move of simply falling down and pretending to be fouled whenever anyone even slightly closes in on him in midfield, they can get away with it. Because Busquets doesn't win challenges anymore and can't shield the ball under pressure anymore.

If the ref doesn't fall for this BS, Busquets will get his team in trouble in areas and situations which Klopp's Pool are pretty much the best in the world to exploit

Messi is of course factor X

I think this is very 50/50. One advantage we MAY have over Barca is that we’ve played games in highest gear and intensity this season already, whereas anytime I watch Barca their matches are in second or third gear. It may backfire on them when they need to turn the intensity full on.

Also great that first match is at Camp Nou. They always seem to really turn it on there if needing a result.

Barca have the advantage of being able to have a full week rest between the matches as la Liga is done, whereas we will have to play new castle A before second leg.

People are saying we are a gang hu team, this can’t be further from truth. This season we are a lot more defensive and pragmatic than last season. Hell we have the best defensive record in CL and even today we were just parking the bus for the first half hour before getting the first goal.

Messi is the one that can decide this time though. We need Fabinho to be in beast mode, and thankfully
His form has been amazing lately.

Barca at home first, which is not what we've been used to, we more often are at home second leg for some reason, so the first leg will be crucial for us. Although dont really think it matters that much. Messi broke the curse vs English teams. Anfield has a great atmosphere but our players are experienced enough. Lets see how Liverpool handle Camp Nou's game

Not sure how this will go tbh. I have a feeling either Liverpool just outruns them and chokes them up with their intensity and they run rampant or Barca rides out the early wave of pressure, settles down the game, and goes through with some Messi magic.

Will be one of the great CL games of all time.

Liverpool will out press barca and get this. They seem like the kind of team Barca really struggles against

Liverpool should win this. They don't make many mistakes. They clog up the centre. Barca are trash and Liverpool should see thwm away. Only issue is that Barca are playing in a mickey mouse league so they can pretty much play La Masia cadets and rest their players.

Hapless_Hans wrote:One word: Busquets

Liverpool will destroy Barca already because of Busquets alone

Barca never got "destroyed" by an English team and never will.