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What do we say to the God of Football, Lionel Messi at Anfield? Not today.
Liverpool have not only beaten FC Barcelona but have beaten all the odds tonight as the Reds progress to the Champions League final 4-3 on aggregate, for the second year in row. The Reds were beaten in the Champions League final last season by Real Madrid.
It was a sumptuous start to the match at Anfield when Divock Origi opened the scoring in the 7th minute after Jordan Henderson stormed into the Barca penalty area and had a shot on goal, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved it just for the ball to fall to Origi who made no mistake.
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The match was still one-sided in Liverpool's favour until the 54th minute when Georginio Wijnaldum rose to the occasion in the Barca box to drill a shot past the German goalkeeper.
After the second goal, it was a roller-coaster for the Reds who started to believe in the miraculous comeback. Just before Barca could conduct themselves, Wijnaldum made it 3-0 with another header from the corner two minutes after his first goal. The assist came from Xherdan Shaqiri.
It was all over for the LaLiga champions when Liverpool's right back Trent Alexander-Arnold used his brilliant presence of mind to take a corner early while the Barcelona squad was still regrouping, just for Origi to finish the ball perfectly behind ter Stegen.
What a night for Jurgen Klopp and his men.
In this article, we take a look at the 3 men who won the game for Jurgen Klopp. Have a look!
#3 Trent Alexander-Arnold
The 20 year old right back probably won Liverpool the match and the tie when he used his best of abilities on the pitch to take that early corner which resulted into the fourth goal.
But Alexander-Arnold had much more contribution to the match than that final goal. The full back was everywhere on the pitch on the right flank, from not letting Coutinho even take a breath in the Liverpool half. He also kept Jordi Alba under control with his every run.
Not only in this match, Alexander-Arnold has been a sensation this season alongside his fellow left back Andrew Robertson who was injured in the first half of the match after a collision with Barcelona's Luis Suarez.
There is no doubt he proved his calibre tonight considering the fact that he only made it to the bench in Barcelona in the first leg when Liverpool were beaten 3-0 at Camp Nou. Certainly Jurgen Klopp made the right team decisions tonight!
#2 Georgino Wijnaldum
Gini Wijdnaldum was probably the super substitution for Jurgen Klopp tonight.
The Dutch midfielder, who has probably played on every position on the left flank this season for Liverpool, scored two crucial goals in two minutes coming in for injured Robertson at the stroke of half-time.
Wijnaldum was apparently frustrated with Klopp's decision to bench him tonight against Barcelona when the team needed to be at their absolute best, but after the way in which the things have turned out, he might not hold the grudge against Klopp for a long time.
His first goal was probably a shot ter Stegen could have saved on a normal night in Spain, but his second goal from a corner delivered by Shaqiri was absolutely unstoppable from the distance he hit the header from.
If there were two man of the match trophies for tonight's game, Wijnaldum would be taking one home too.
#1 Divock Origi
Just to get the facts right, Origi wouldn't even make the first team today if Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino weren't ruled out. With these significant absentees, Jurgen Klopp chose Divock Origi in his attack against Barcelona, and well, he did not disappoint.
Origi started the comeback for Liverpool when he opened the scoring in the 7th minute and finished the comeback when he tapped in Liverpool's 4th goal in the 79th minute.
The 24-year-old might never become a regular starter for Liverpool considering their front three right now, but definitely he has written himself into Liverpool's history with his man of the match performance tonight.
Not just the goals, Origi made his presence felt everytime he got the ball in his feet in the Barcelona half, and Jordi Alba had a night to forget defending the Belgian.
It is a very rare feat to bag a man of the match award when Lionel Messi is present in the same match in top form, but Origi has managed to achieve it, and in what style!
