“D10s – God – in his temple,†was the headline Marca went with just seven days ago, hailing Lionel Messi’s brilliance and riding on a high after Barcelona put three past Liverpool at the Camp Nou.
But it turns out Anfield is no Barça player’s temple, and a week later, the gloating has turned to a hurried quest to find someone or something to explain the collapse that pathed the Reds’ way to Madrid.
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Georginio Wijnaldum and Divock Origi both scored twice as Liverpool stunned Barcelona
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We didn’t know it at the time, but the writing was already on the wall when Catalunya Radio analyst Ricard Torquemada noted how at the end of the first half, Arturo Vidal was the Barça player “reading the game bestâ€. “If there’s a battle, he wins it. If not, he commits the foul before it’s too late and helps Barça to reorganiseâ€. Admirable though the Chilean may be in his energetic efforts, if he was the manifestation of the overall away strategy then the Blaugrana were on a hiding to nothing. Attempting to outmuscle Liverpool was a battle they were never going to win.
As one Barcelona journalist noted, and others have throughout the season, Vidal is the symptom of something bigger. Philippe Coutinho, withdrawn in the second half to boos from his old fans that may as well have come from his current supporters, is another. “What a disaster of a game for Coutinho. What an irrelevance. Bought at the price of gold, and today on a huge stage, we’ve practically never seen him,†commentator Bernat Soler scathed.
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Coutinho cost Barcelona £142million but was non-existent against his former club
Perceived to lack both effort and clarity of mind, the Brazilian has had a rocky relationship with the Barcelona support this year, to the degree that captain Messi felt the need to remonstrate the Camp Nou fans and warn them not to boo last week. Even Messi’s insistence will likely fall on deaf ears after Tuesday night, though in truth, it would be unfair to single out Coutinho alone on an evening of flat performances from almost all of Valverde’s players.
Marca editor Hugo Cerezo dared to go for the most sacred of targets. “From Messi to Valverde, look wherever you want, it’s an historic failureâ€. Though it wasn’t the number 10’s night either, blaming him isn’t a view that will be shared by many. Messi has long been sustaining Barcelona sides with diminishing quality across multiple lines, and crucifying him for a rare instance of not being able to win a match on his own is an extreme even the typically reactionary voices in Spain will largely avoid. Coach Valverde, on the other hand, will be less fortunate.
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Messi is stunned after Barcelona concede a fourth against Liverpool
“When they come back in a tie like this against you, you don’t have many excuses,†the Barça boss noted with brutal honesty in his post-match comments. Valverde has just wrapped up a second league title in a row, yet for the second year that will be forgotten by many, all because of one match. Because of a second leg match, where half the work appeared to be done. Three nil in Roma, squandering a three goal first leg lead. Four nil in Liverpool, again squandering a three goal first leg lead. Alisson Becker, like a bad luck charm for the Spanish coach, played for the winning team on both occasions.
League title or not, Valverde’s position will now be up for question, so important is the Champions League for Barcelona. The ridiculousness of Liverpool’s fourth will only make matters worse. “Can I explain the fourth goal? No… Maybe there was a… I don’t know. With the fourth goal, honestly, I don’t know,†Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu admitted in his post-match interview. Not normally a man who is left lost for words, the club’s voting members will look to him to seek out culpibility of some kind in the coming days.
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A beleaguered Valverde looks on during remarkable Champions League semi-final second leg at Anfield
The immediate reactions were dramatic to say the least (one Catalan journalist claimed it was “the biggest disaster in the history of Barçaâ€, which the generations who lived through decades of Real Madrid dominance may be surprised to learn). The more long-term post-mortem will be of greater significance.
“At least no one will talk about Roma now,†TV3 journalist Alex Castells reflected wryly. “This is worseâ€.
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