02 May 2019 05:53:11
Maybe I'm not as good at observing a game as I thought. I'm reading lots of headlines about Messi's "Masterclass". He scored a great free kick, fair enough. Apart from that I thought it was one of his quieter games. I'm a fan of his and think he's the best player I've ever seen, I'm almost 50, but I'm not getting all the hype. Maybe I'm wrong and need to watch the match again?

1.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 06:24:59
I’m nearly 50 so great minds must think alike. For me, Messi looked frustrated throughout the game.
There is a lot of moaning and groaning on here, I actually thought we played ok in parts, especially in the 2nd half, we just didn’t take our chances, Barcelona did.

I don’t think Alisson had the best of games again, he set up the wall wrong for Messi’s free kick and his pass out form the back also led to a goal. Why he decided to give the ball to Gomez ( in a conjested part of the pitch ) was blizzare, Robbo was free and in more space on the left.

It also highlights the need for front 3 cover, I really like Origi but he’s not good enough for me. If only we could have got the away goal, 3-1 is a different game.

I think it’s a really tall order for us now but, having sat in the stands of the Ataturk stadium back in 2005 I witnessed the nbelievable with a team no where near as good as this.

Let’s see.

2.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 06:39:04
Agree Drogie, tall order next week, but not impossible. I don't think Klopp will be playing Gini in that position again any time soon.

3.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 07:12:29
Did he not get the second goal too? I am 50 and I thought every time he got the ball the Liverpool players s##t themselves.

4.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 07:13:18
They basically cried the ref into submission so that the hatchet job Rakatic did on Nabby went unpunished, in the system we played last night Nabby is critical in holding the ball till Mane gets his body shape right, Barca knew this and made sure it was neutralised, for the first time I saw Luis Suarez as the dirty little ambassador for sewer life he really is. let's give some back at Anfield.

{Ed025's Note - the referee i thought was very good iron man, by the way...sour grapes are £1-25 a kilo in morrisons.. :)

5.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 07:50:51
Irish Rover yes he did get the second goal, but it was a tap in from 4 yards, hardly a "masterclass", that was my point.

6.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 07:54:07
Some posters are critical of Klopp for selecting Joe Gomez ahead of TAA. It seems quite logical to me - we were playing a renowned attacking team in their own stadium, TAA has struggled defensively at the start of games lately and Joe is a better defender. No doubt, if TAA had started and been exploited by Barcelona those same posters would have criticized Klopp for not selecting Joe.
The selection of Gini Wijnaldum in place of Bobby Firmino was a gamble that didn’t pay off and simply highlighted again (just as in the CL final against Madrid last season) that we do not have top class cover for the front three. But as the Eds have pointed out, it is very difficult to find someone of that class who will be happy as cover. Still, it has got to be a priority for the Summer transfer window alongside the development of Rhian Brewster next season.
Overall, I thought that we did really well to go at Barcelona and try for that important away goal. With better finishing and a slice or two of luck we could have had at least one away goal. I thought we handled Messi quite well for most of the game. But fair play to Barca, their defence and goalkeeper stood up to our attacks, they took their chances when they came along and Messi showed once again that he is the best player in the world.
Like Ed025, I thought the referee had a good game.
I will be at Anfield next Tuesday hoping for a miracle and, as I have witnessed other miracles from our team, it will not necessarily be a forlorn hope. Come on you mighty Reds!

7.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 08:31:40
The red let a lot go and I thought he didn't give in to the Barcelona fans and players, booking a couple for time wasting. Thought he had a good game.

8.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 08:32:41
I'm not yet 50, so please downgrade my views accordingly ;-) :D

Where we let ourselves down yesterday was finishing. Look at the match stats, as well as watching the game. We fluffed our chances and they took theirs.

Based on the play and watching the game, on any other night we would've got a draw or a 1-2/ 2-3 type score out of that game.

Its a massive mountain to climb, but Barcelona didn't 'batter' us, as a 3-0 scoreline would suggest.

For those of you saying "time to rebuild", "where do we go from here" etc, give yer heads a wobble will ya! We may not end up winning anything this season, but if that's the case, we were f*cking close, say 1 point in the league and a misfiring front 3 last night.

I think Klopp did make a mistake in team selection in terms of the front 3 - Gini didn't work, but how much of that could've been down to Keita's injury? Did that affect the balance of that particular team and how it was set up? We had a bad night in front of goal, that's it. They didn't over-run us or anything like that.

9.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 08:39:49
we played well but messi was at the heart of everything good about Barcelona going forward. He had a very good game and was a constant threat. How he can be the main play maker and goal score is crazy.

10.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 09:33:32
Also thought the ref was very good. Talking to a mate and was saying wonder what reception Suarez would get at Anfield we both agreed 50/ 50 that was before the game. Now after the game I think it’s welcome to the the gates of hell mr Suarez.

11.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 07:49:40
Cough cough Ed025, I don't hear Adele warming up yet :)

{Ed025's Note - she is sucking on a locket as we speak burkey mate.. :)

12.) 02 May 2019
02 May 2019 07:59:20
Oh come off it Ed025, no he wasn’t.
I’m never blaming the ref for last night’s result, Klopp absolutely lost his mind with some of his decisions, and our big players (Van Dijk, Salah, Fabinho, Gomez) let themselves and the fans down.
But, the ref had an absolute shocker from start to finish. Spanish teams are some of the dirtiest play-actors in football, and their dreadful, unsportsmanlike approaches to the game go unpunished every single season.

{Ed025's Note - no mate your wrong, he got duped a couple of times by some play acting but other than that he was very good for me lowel, pots and kettles come to mind when you are talking about play acting im afraid, salah is one of the biggest culprits in world football and mane had a dive last night as well, try watching the replay without the red tinted glasses on..