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The first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals delivered what was promised as the four sides went against each other while playing some mesmerizing football in the process.
Ajax managed to take a slender lead over Tottenham through Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek after working around the Spurs defense with slick passing. They were then able to hold on to their lead after withstanding a barrage of attacks by the English club who were without key players in captain and star striker Harry Kane and Heung Min Son.
On the other hand, a clinical Barcelona side led by captain Lionel Messi left Liverpool needing a miracle during the second leg at Anfield after securing a 3-0 victory at the Nou Camp.
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Messi yet again proved to be the difference by scoring a brace on a night his club expected him to lead them to the promised land. Here are a few key talking points from the two matches:
#1 Magical Messi at it again
It is sporadic that you get to witness pure genius at work and this was another night that football fans all over the world got to witness moments of sheer brilliance along with childlike enthusiasm from Lionel Messi as he ripped an in-form Liverpool side to shreds.
Rarely do you see someone who mixes an artist's skillsets with the precision of a surgeon and that is precisely what Messi has been doing on a nightly basis while giving it his all for the badge that he has been representing since he was a kid.
There is not a defender nor a defense in the world that can stop the diminutive genius once he gets going as a Liverpool defense, led by PFA Player of The Year, Virgil Van Dijk, learned the hard way. Liverpool did an excellent job in the first half containing him and yet he still managed to find pockets of space as he weaved his way around despite being met with crunching tackles every step he took.
That rare combination of grit and mastery over his art is what makes Messi arguably the greatest ever to play the game. We are truly blessed to have lived in an era where we have been left mesmerized by his exploits and can relay them to future generations like the previous generations have told us about players such as Pele and Maradona.
#2 Ajax's young squad continue strutting their stuff on the big stage
Having a young squad with an average age of 24 can backfire due to the lack of experience but Ajax more than make up for it by playing some of the best football that fans and analysts of the game have witnessed in a while.
Their brand of expansive football has managed to break one of the best defenses in Juventus at Turin and also managed to annihilate Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu and have now added Tottenham at the new White Hart Lane to their growing list.
The effort showed by experienced players such as Daley Blind and Dusan Tadic along with the guile showed by youngsters such as Frenkie De Jong and Hakim Ziyech guided Ajax to gain an advantage in the first leg. After some slick passing near Tottenham's box, Donny van de Beek was sent through on goal and had the composure to slot it past a helpless Hugo Lloris calmly.
The composure shown by their young stars along with the grit and determination to press high and chase after every ball is what has taken Ajax this far into the tournament and what might guide them to the finals.
Their inverted pyramid formation might backfire against a more clinical side such as Barcelona but has produced some of the best football the club has played since Louis Van Gaal's 'Total Football' era which revolutionized the game at that point.
#3 Jurgen Klopp gets his tactics wrong
It is on rare occasions that a tactical genius such as Jurgen Klopp gets his tactics wrong and unfortunately for Liverpool, this was one of those nights, and it might have cost them a spot in the Champions League finals.
Klopp set his side up in their usual 4-3-3 formation but with Gini Wijnaldum taking the place of Roberto Firminho in the False-9 role to enable Liverpool to press higher in a rapid manner to force Barcelona's defense to make silly mistakes which can be capitalized by the deadly duo of Mane and Salah.
The plan backfired as Wijnaldum proved to be ineffective and was comfortably managed by Barcelona's center-backs Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet till he was substituted during the 79th minute.
Roberto Firminho not only offers a more potent outlet to finish moves than Wijnaldum but also provides good link-up play with both Mane and Salah along with making timely runs to offer more space for the duo to work with, something Liverpool desperately missed.
Another error which might have cost them is Klopp's preference to start Joe Gomez, who has recently recovered from a lower leg fracture, over Trent Alexander Arnold as Jordi Alba and Coutinho found more space down the right due to his lack of pace.
Alexander Arnold has put in good shifts during the period that Gomez was injured and could have handled the pace and guile of Alba and Coutinho hence putting less pressure on Matip and Van Dijk.
#4 Heung-Min Son's suspension proved costly for Tottenham
Mauricio Pochettino got his tactics wrong initially but adjusted accordingly which later allowed Tottenham to create a flurry of chances, but their usually potent attack looked lost without their star strikers.
The chances were there to take but there was no one to take them, Llorente looked out of sorts as he missed multiple opportunities which could have led to Tottenham outscoring their opponents. Both Harry Kane and Son provide clinical finishing to a side which lacked that final touch during a tiring performance.
It was known information that Harry Kane was going to miss both legs and would only play if Tottenham went through to the finals, and hence Son's suspension hurt more, making him the bigger miss of the two currently.
Son's ability to make late runs into the box would have served as a perfect target to pick out for the likes of Lucas Moura who dominated the game by running the spirited Ajax wing-backs ragged. Son coming back is indeed a massive boost for the players not only on the pitch but in terms of their confidence going into the second leg at Amsterdam as reiterated by Spurs wing-back Kieran Trippier.
#5 Clinical finishing proved to be decisive in both games
Clinical finishing is what separates the good sides from the great as both Barcelona and Ajax were hit with a barrage of attacks from Liverpool and Tottenham in their respective matches but withstood the tide due to the latter's lack of ability to finish chances.
Liverpool, despite creating good opportunities could not finish their chances as players like Mane and Salah who possess deadly accuracy failed to find the net. Barcelona, on the other hand, were clinical with their finishing as Messi and Suarez yet again proved why they are a cut above the rest as they took their opportunities when they got them.
Tottenham also struggled with this aspect and were made to pay the price as Van de Beek showed maturity and composure to calmly slot the ball past Spurs' World Cup-winning goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Fernando Llorente, who was bought to provide backup to star striker Harry Kane failed to live up to the billing yet again as he missed a handful number of chances to put his club ahead.
The beauty of the game of Football is such that the side which takes risks and finishes the opportunities that they create clinically is the side which goes through irrespective of the number of chances they create or the players that they possess.
