Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona: 3 players who cost Barca the Champions League final
Barcelona have completely emulated their disastrous collapse against AS Roma from last season's Champions League after Liverpool successfully hammered the Catalans by four goals to nil at Anfield. The La Liga champions had every advantage at their disposal even before the match began.
Except for Ousmane Dembele's injury case, the club had a fully fit squad who were well rested because they have secured the La Liga title. Ernesto Valverde's side also had the upper hand knowing that Liverpool were without Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino in the match. Surprisingly, they were outclassed in every aspect by heroic Jurgen Klopp's men.
Lionel Messi and Arturo Vidal seemed to be the only Barcelona players who were willing to win the match while the rest of the players showed a highly uninspiring display. Barcelona have now failed to clinch a single European title in 4 years and, they have only themselves to blame for the disaster.
Here are 3 players who cost the Blaugrana the game:
#3 Philippe Coutinho
The Brazilian has been Barcelona's biggest disappointment this season as he has failed miserably to justify his €142 million price-tag. He might be the Catalans' most expensive player but his display on the pitch has been one of the worst recently.
Valverde has done his best to give Coutinho chances despite the player letting him down time and time again. Once more, he failed to make a considerable impact for Barcelona's attack as his one shot on target was arguably his only meaningful contribution in the match.
He did nothing noticeable to help his team in defense while missing a considerable 22 percent of his passes. He also lost the ball once, failed to create even a single key pass, and could not deliver a single successful corner despite attempting to take the kick 3 times.
Valverde quickly reacted to the player's uninspiring display by substituting him early in the second half.