Champions League: 3 Tactics from Ernesto Valverde which won Barcelona the game against Liverpool
Barcelona overcame Liverpool's challenge in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-finals at the Camp Nou last night, with the home team winning 3-0, thanks to a brace from Lionel Messi and a Luis Suarez goal.
The first half of the match was an even contest with both sides pressing high and creating openings. But it were Barcelona who went in front after Jordi Alba picked out Suarez from the left and the Uruguayan made no mistake in front of goal. The first half ended 1-0 in Barcelona's favour.
In the second half, Liverpool had a brilliant phase of 20 minutes in which they were really troubling Barcelona's defense. They did everything apart from finding the back of the net. But against the run of play, Barcelona scored their second through Messi after Suarez' rebounded shot fell perfectly at the Argentine's feet.
The third goal was a trademark Messi free-kick and the match ended 3-0, which leaves Liverpool with a tough task of overcoming a huge deficit in the second leg at Anfield next week. In this slideshow, we take a look at the three tactics from Ernesto Valverde which won Barcelona the game:
#3 Picking Arturo Vidal over Arthur in the starting XI
Many fans were questioning the selection of Arturo Vidal over Arthur for the match against Liverpool as the latter has been in brilliant form off late. But as it turned out, Valverde was absolutely right to pick the Chilean.
Vidal added that much needed bite, energy and tenacity to Barcelona's midfield, and especially in the second half, his defensive positionings were mind blowing. Vidal is much better at defending than Arthur and that is exactly what aided Barcelona against Liverpool. It was a trademark box-to-box midfield display from the former Bayern Munich star.
The Chilean, in the last couple of months, has been proving his worth, and after last night's performance, he has elevated his chances of being selected in the second leg.