Lionel Messi was the difference on Wednesday night as Barcelona secured a 3-0 victory over Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
The Argentine forward scored a second-half brace, including a magnificent 35-yard free-kick, to leave the Catalan giants with one foot in next month’s final.
They still need to finish the job next Tuesday – and playing away at Anfield on a big European night is never easy – but Jurgen Klopp’s side now have a mountain to climb,
So Messi punches Fabinho and that's how he got the free kick ???? pic.twitter.com/iAXmIh7ee3
— Jax (@jaxLFC88) May 1, 2019
“In these moments he is unstoppable,” Klopp admitted, per the Guardian, after the match. “We couldn’t defend the free kick. What a strike.
“The second goal was probably not the nicest in the career of Lionel Messi but it shows his skills that he is even there in that moment. I knew before that Lionel was a world‑class player and now I saw it again I am not too surprised.”