First leg of the Champions League quarter finals are now complete. A shocking first half at Anfield followed by a comfortable 4-1 victory for Barcelona at the Camp Nou. Comfortable three goal leads for both home sides. What went right and wrong for each team? Can City and Roma come back?
Liverpool vs Manchester City
Liverpool: They’re City’s kryptonite this season. Liverpool tore City apart within the first 45 minutes at Anfield and took a commanding 3-0 lead to remind the future champions of England who ended their league unbeaten run. Liverpool’s up tempo ball movement in the final third along with the interchangeable front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah caused numerous conflicts for City. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored a banger to make it 2-0 following an early tap in by the Egyptian Messi himself. They took their foot off the accelerator in the second half and suddenly looked like a team coached by Mourinho himself. Klopp was tactically better than Pep Guardiola (again) and the scoreline showed it.
Manchester City: One of City’s biggest problems this season has been the space left behind the midfielders and the defensive line. The massive gap allowed Liverpool players to receive the ball comfortably, turn and attack. Poor marking in the first and third goals allowed Liverpool to carry that momentum for the rest of the game. Sane and Sterling did a much better job of taking players on 1v1 on the wing but Liverpool’s defensive stand gave them 0 room to create danger. City will now have to go after the game from the start in the Etihad but they have to be aware of the spaces left behind knowing Mane, Firmino and Salah could make it a bloodbath.
Barcelona vs AS Roma
Barcelona: Unconvinced. Another unconvincing game by Barcelona who, despite the scoreline, did not show much offensively. Meaningless possession and often disposessed in the last 20 yards by a suffocating Roma. Messi was actively participating but was a bit selfish at times where he should’ve looked to pass the ball quicker. On a bright note, Suarez snapped his 10-game scoring drought in Champions League and Pique also got on the score sheet for his first Champions League goal since 2016. Denis Suarez looked promising in his few minutes and Nelson Semedo made a strong case to be a starter with a fantastic game. Massive stops by Ter Stegen prevented the game from being closer than it should’ve been. Again, solid defense but lack of creativity.
AS Roma: Roma was incredibly unlucky. Two own goals including De Rossi’s opening own goal that gave Barcelona the freedom to dictate the tempo of the game even more. Clogged the middle and did not allow any combination plays inside the box from Messi and Suarez or Messi and Iniesta. Forced Barcelona to play with their wingers who seemed to have no interest in going forward. Dzeko’s goal ended up being a positive ray of sunshine on an otherwise dark score.A 3-1 seemed much more at reach than a 4-1. Smartly played but unlucky to get the result they got.
