Barcelona meltdown against Liverpool puts an end to treble hopes

Barcelona suffered a horrific defeat to Liverpool at Anfield

Barcelona were expected to sail through to the Champions League final, after beating Liverpool 3-0 in the first leg at home. The fact that the Reds had a congested fixture list, and would be without Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Naby Keïta added to that presumption.

But Ernesto Valverde’s men received a rude shock at Anfield, failing to learn from last season’s humiliating quarter-final elimination at the hands of Roma. A second-string Liverpool side managed to defeat a rested Barça first-team by a margin of 4 goals.

The attack drew a blank, and failed to convert easy chances. Lionel Messi failed to hit the target on two occasions, while Alisson produced very good saves to deny former Liverpool stars Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suárez.

More from Everything Barca

• FC Barcelona tracking Belgian Wonderkid
• FC Barcelona vs Betis Player Ratings
• Barça boss Xavi to get contract extension
• FC Barcelona planning swoop for Arsenal midfielder
• Barcelona interested in €30 million wonderkid

The Barça defence also suffered a complete meltdown. Jordi Alba’s mistake led to Divock Origi’s opener, and a total lapse in concentration led to the Belgian centre-forward’s second fatal strike. The marking was at fault for Georginio Wijnaldum’s headed goal.

The usually reliable Marc-André ter Stegen also failed to live up to his reputation, and a horrendous error led to the Dutchman’s second goal. Overall, it was an extremely poor performance, and Ernesto Valverde is to blame.

It was clear that complacency had set in, and Valverde failed to counter it. In the end, Barça had to pay for this just like last season. The Blaugrana had been favourites to win its third treble, but now, those hopes are a figment of the past.

The best that Barça can hope for is a repetition of last season’s domestic double, which is now dangerously inching towards becoming a norm.