Liverpool fans set off fireworks outside Barcelona team's hotel the night before Anfield clash
What's the story?
A bunch of Liverpool fans set off fireworks outside the Barcelona team hotel in the wee hours of Tuesday morning in an effort to disrupt the Catalan side's performance in the second leg of their Champions League fixture later tonight.
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Ernesto Valverde's team was staying at the Hilton hotel as they prepare to finish the job against Liverpool and secure their place in the Champions League final.
The Catalan giants will go into the game with a big first-leg advantage courtesy of their 3-0 victory over the Merseyside outfit at Camp Nou last week. Both Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi found the back of the net to further Barcelona's hopes of winning a domestic treble this season.
Having already won LaLiga, the Blaugrana are now focused on getting to the Champions League final and winning the Copa del Rey final against Valencia later this month to achieve their goal.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have a giant task at hand if they are to book a finals spot in Europe's elite competition for the second year in a row and will hope the home advantage aids them as they fight tooth-and-nail to progress to the next stage of the competition.
The heart of the matter
Footage of Liverpool fans setting up fireworks outside the Hilton hotel have now gone viral on social media, with a lot of accounts posting videos from different angles of the incident.
According to The Mirror, one of the videos shows a man saying, "Wake-up call for Mr. Messi", before taking part in the noisy display.
This is not the first time club supporters resorted to such a tactic ahead of crucial games. Last month, Ajax fans also prevented Juventus players from getting any sleep by setting off fireworks outside the Van der Valk Hotel the night before their Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
What's next?
Liverpool are all set to host Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League fixture tonight.