Liverpool stun Suarez and Barcelona with outstanding display
After a shock triumph for Klopp’s men, Sam Wallace answers the big questions emerging from Wembley
Did Liverpool really beat Barcelona 4-0 at Wembley Stadium yesterday?
Yes, and at the start of the second half they tore through them to score twice in the space of two minutes with the kind of pressing high up the pitch and turnover of possession that Barcelona once made their trademark. The sight of Kevin Stewart robbing the World Cup-winner Sergio Busquets and playing in Divock Origi to run beyond the defence and score the third was something to behold. Apart from some moments from Messi and Luis Suárez, who combined in the first half for the former to have a shot that hit the post, Barcelona were well below their usual standard, and did not have all the regulars in the first team. Having said that, even playing at that level they are often still too good for a lot of teams. Liverpool are not even playing in the European competition next season.
Have Liverpool found a new way of playing?
They moved the ball so quickly in the opening stages of both halves that Barcelona were not in the game by the time they found themselves one goal behind. It started when Adam Lallana nipped in to steal Arda Turan’s short pass and moved it on quickly. What was notable was the pace with which Liverpool moved the ball around Barcelona’s area via Roberto Firmino, Lallana again and then on to Sadio Mané, who got his shot away quickly. They attacked quickly with Philippe Coutinho stationed on the left instead of the centre where he has played in the past. In the first half, Emre Can anchored midfield and that allowed Lallana and Georgino Wijnaldum to break forward and ensure they overwhelmed their opponents in advanced areas. Mané played on the right wing and his pace is key to the way Liverpool want to play. Their second was an own goal from Javier Mascherano and substitute Marko Grujic got a late header on the break.
Where does Daniel Sturridge figure in all this?
The Englishman missed the game with an ankle injury and therefore did not face his former strike partner Luis Suárez, with whom he had an occasionally difficult relationship. In the first half Jürgen Klopp opted for Firmino, his current centre-forward of choice to lead the line. The Brazilian looks more physically resilient than in his first season at the club, although it is hard to imagine him as the long- term solution in that position. Klopp has a lot of options at striker, including Origi, who came on for the second half and scored within three minutes, and Danny Ings, working his way back to fitness and a late substitute. Given Sturridge’s injury problems, it feels that position is up for grabs, with Christian Benteke almost certain to leave this summer. Origi did his prospects a great deal of good.
Can James Milner play at left-back?
He may have to, given the competition for places among the front six and with no European football to give the squad irregulars a run-out. Once famously nutmegged by Messi in a Champions League tie for Manchester City, the Englishman did struggle at times against the greatest footballer in the world – but who doesn’t? There was one excellent moment when Denis Suárez tried to deceive Milner but lost the ball and then had the Yorkshireman drop a shoulder and go past him. Milner went off in the first half with a heel injury that Klopp says will require a scan today as the rest of the squad head for the friendly in Mainz. Alberto Moreno came on for him and during one attack early in the second half was the furthest advanced Liverpool player. Barcelona won the ball and immediately attacked down Liverpool’s left.
How did Liverpool shut out Suárez and Messi?
Neither was at the top of their game, and Messi did hit the post, but generally Ragnar Klavan and Dejan Lovren looked very solid. Suárez was given a standing ovation when he came off by a 89,845-strong crowd that was mainly supporting Liverpool, but he knew that, one brilliant pass to Messi aside, he had barely laid a glove on his former club.