Liverpool pulled off an absolutely stunner of a comeback in the second leg of its Champions League semifinal with Barcelona on Tuesday, winning 4-0 at home to advance with a 4-3 aggregate score. And Liverpool did it in stunning fashion, too, scoring the fourth goal on a tricky corner-kick play and also scoring twice in two minutes in the second half. While Liverpool’s comeback was insane, many Barcelona fans, and soccer fans in general, weren’t happy with Lionel Messi’s play in the match. Because the great one was unable to do anything in the match to help his team advance. Which is something fans are tired of seeing from him, on both the club and international level. Cannot believe what I’m witnessing. It’s been years since Messi has showed up in a big international moment – club or country. He has 5 minutes to get the ball in back of the net. — Darrel Wilson (@SpitsGame) May 7, 2019 Lionel Messi needs to hold this L pic.twitter.com/xkuw7meFLM — Pogbaology (@Pogbaology) May 7, 2019 Liverpool Announcer: Messi, Lionel Messi….has anyone seen Lionel Messi tonight? Messi: pic.twitter.com/9p22lgul9N — Nkem A (@MrKonam) May 7, 2019 FROM LIONEL MESSI TO LIONEL MISSING 😭 — Yoann Arsenal (@YoannArsenal) May 7, 2019 Lionel Messi once again .. showing he has no class outside Camp Nou 😂 — godfather (@amancio_9) May 7, 2019 Lionel Messi will forever be a bottler in the biggest stages. Terrible performance 😂. Liverpool made me so happy today — Jay ♠️ (@jaymeall_b) May 7, 2019 Move over Lionel Messi, there's a new GOAT in town. pic.twitter.com/5J1WMLXmTg — Señor (@EnRouteAnfield) May 7, 2019 And that is why Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Lionel Messi. Bottled it under pressure. — Will.B (@WillB1717) May 7, 2019<doc-sep>Don't wait around for updates - sign up for our daily football email newsletter today! Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice After Barcelona beat Liverpool 3-0 at the Nou Camp in the semi-final, many fans were already looking towards the showpiece in Madrid. But Messi, who netted two goals on the night, was angry that his side had not scored a fourth goal at the death. The Argentinian spearheaded a counter-attack in the 96th minute of that game, unselfishly passing up the opportunity of a hat-trick by squaring the ball to Ousmane Dembele to make it four. The former Borussia Dortmund winger spurned the glorious opportunity by hitting a tame effort straight at Alisson just seconds before the final whistle. Messi smacked the ground with his hand after the miss, despite knowing his side were taking a healthy 3-0 lead to Anfield this week. And it appears the Barca icon predicted that the Dembele miss would come back to haunt his side. “It was very clear, it would have been better to finish with four than with three,” said Messi after the first-leg win. “We know the game isn't over. (Image: Getty) (Image: Getty) (Image: Getty) "We know we're going to a very difficult stadium with a lot of history, where the fans are really behind their team." The reason for Messi's prediction may be down to the fact Barcelona suffered a similar fate last year. The Spanish side were 4-1 up after their quarter-final first-leg with Roma, before losing 3-0 in the reverse fixture weeks later and going out on away goals. And Ernesto Valverde is not happy that history has repeated itself. (Image: Getty) "It’s happened again, it happened last year," he said this week. "It’s true that it has been different games, the first leg and second leg. "I think that we conceded two goals and then they really kind of got on top of us after those two quick concessions. We haven’t managed to get on the scoresheet tonight. "They scored two in two and they kind of rolled us over, really. "They have been really strong, they played really well. We’ve got to congratulate them on the performance they put up in the tie as a whole. "It is a terrible result for our fans and for ourselves. We didn’t expect a situation like this. "This is what has happened to us. It is really, really unfortunate but credit is due to Liverpool."<doc-sep>Don't wait around for updates - sign up for our daily football email newsletter today! Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice That’s according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague. Barcelona are taking on Liverpool at Anfield tonight in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final tie. Messi scored twice in a 3-0 win, sealing the victory with a stunning free-kick. But it wasn’t just his goalscoring antics that caught the eye. The 31-year-old stepped up when his side needed him, encouraging his team-mates and employing gamesmanship when necessary. And Balague was impressed with the way he handled the occasion. “It was captain Messi, almost like a superhero title, captain Messi that day, ” he said on his YouTube channel. Balague’s praise comes amid news that: (Image: GETTY) (Image: GETTY) “He did a lot of things in that game that I hadn’t seen before in just one single game from him,” Balague continued. “Not only the free kick, that was amazing, not only the goal that he scored, the fact that he was actually more alert to that rebound from when that ball hit the ball than [Virgil] Van Dijk, who he admitted himself should have done better. “There was more - the talk that he did to the huddle, the Barcelona players, just after the warm up for the game. “The fact that he had a go at Arturo Vidal because he should have shot instead of squaring it in one of the chances and had a go at [Marc Andre] ter Stegen because he was playing too long and too quickly. (Image: GETTY) “He tried to influence the pace of the game by, for instance, rolling around when he was pushed by [James] Milner. “Things that he made sure tried to break the pace of the game and the rhythm of the game. “For instance, walking back very slowly after the goal and even telling the referee ‘what, what’ when the referee was saying ‘come on’, because Liverpool had to restart the game. “All that was basically a Messi who realised he had to do something, wanted to do something because the game was played at the style and the pace that Liverpool wanted, and that just doesn’t suit Barcelona at all.”<doc-sep>Lionel Messi-led Barcelona were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after Liverpool managed to mount a sensational comeback at Anfield last night. The Catalan giants blew away another three-goal lead, just as they did against Roma last season, with the Spanish champions succumbing to a 4-0 humiliation on Merseyside. The 31-year-old's brace in the first leg of the semi-final tie was not enough to help the Blaugrana reach the Champions League final. Two goals apiece from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum helped Liverpool to find the back of the net four times send Barcelona home. The Reds were without two of their best players- Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino due to injuries but evidently, they were not missed. Messi is enjoying one of the best campaigns in his glittering career as he leads the race for the European Golden Shoe with 34 goals in La Liga and also tops the Champions League goalscoring charts with 12 goals this campaign. It goes without saying that the Argentine played a pivotal role as the Spanish champions knocked out Lyon and Manchester United in the previous rounds of the continental competition. The defeat aagainst Liverpool marks another failure for Barcelona in the Champions League. Having already secured La Liga for the eighth time in the past 11 years, Messi and company had their sights on the Champions League but they failed to even reach the final. Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde accepted that Liverpool were the better team after the game. "They were better and we have to accept it," Barcelona boss stated after the match. "The scoreline was 4-0 and when that's the case there are no excuses. Their second goal hurt us massively and the third one came in straight after that. They played well, and we have to congratulate them for reaching the final." "The most painful thing is that this has happened before. It's very painful for us, especially for our fans. It's the second year in a row they've experienced this. We want to really concentrate to avoid this." Barcelona were the firm favorites to reach the final but Messi was unable to help his team in the second leg. And here's how twitter reacted: Ronaldo didn’t even need to play tonight to prove he’s the Goat. Probably told Salah last year, “You’re not winning this. Try next year when you face Messi though ✌🏻” pic.twitter.com/4gwYgMu6c3 — M|CHAEL (@mac_dee__) May 7, 2019 Messi vs Liverpool at Camp Nou vs Messi at Anfield. pic.twitter.com/ppaNQIGAEw — FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) May 7, 2019 Messi vs Liverpool tonight: — 0 goals — 0 assists — 4 fouls — 19 balls lost — 2 chances missed — 1 big chance missed — pocketed by VVD — out of the CL Simply not a big game player pic.twitter.com/AlGgEkJnVP — Robin (@FutboIRobin) May 7, 2019 Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in Champions League Semifinals since 2011/12 Ronaldo - 2011/12 - 2 Goals 2012/13 - 1 Goal 2014/15 - 2 Goals 2017/18 - 3 Goals Messi - 2011/12 - No Goals 2012/13 - No Goals 2015/16 - 1 Goal 2018/19 - 2 Goals We need to start a dialogue. pic.twitter.com/3Uzv4q1OIZ — Hamza (@Ronaldoversesx) May 7, 2019 Anfield swallowed Messi up whole. Unbelievable football cathedral. — RG (@registability) May 7, 2019 This has to be the biggest choke job of Messis career Oh and Roma Oh and Atleti (14&16) Oh and Chelsea 2012 Oh and Copa America 15 Oh and Copa America 16 Oh and World Cup 14 — Zeus (@KeylorinhoW) May 7, 2019 Don’t EVER compare Messi to the Great Cristiano Ronaldo! There’s levels to to this. Ronaldo would never allow this. pic.twitter.com/ZkK2NGQ0U2 — Jezuz (@iJezuz) May 7, 2019 Cristiano Ronaldo promised it and delivered it. Lionel Messi promised it and failed yet again. Levels. pic.twitter.com/yZ0T1d1a6G — TeamCRonaldo Fans (@TeamCRonaldo) May 7, 2019 Messi is the best player I’ve seen but give his chances tonight to Ronaldo and he buries them. That’s why Ronaldo is the greatest player I’ve ever seen. — The Boi (@ChuBoi) May 7, 2019 We saw the difference between Messi and Ronaldo right there in that match. Messi misses three first-half opportunities to kill the tie, then almost disappears second half. These are the stages when the greatest player has to deliver. #LIVFCB #ARG #PORhttps://t.co/0l3rK9OvRq pic.twitter.com/yNWoUSVodH — Duncan Castles (@DuncanCastles) May 7, 2019 Useless moments & celebrations in football pic.twitter.com/euDS8Uu30Z — OMAR. (@Omaaar96) May 7, 2019 Ronaldo in Anfield Vs. Messi in Anfield pic.twitter.com/ygsGwUZSzs — S (@NumeroSie7e) May 7, 2019 🐐. The Only One with 5⃣🏆. hahahahhahahhaahhahahhahahahah hahahhaahhahahhahahahhahaaaaah hahahhahhahahhahhahahahhahahha pic.twitter.com/78VgyGC7dX — Twitugal💫 (@Twitugal) May 7, 2019 In 2012, Ronaldo said he owes Real Madrid fans the Champions League... He won us 4 of them in 5 years, 3 of them back-to-back-to-back. In 2018, Messi promised Barcelona fans the Champions League. He went on and bottled it to Liverpool. Levels. pic.twitter.com/qMDOFufvgq — Cristiano Ronaldo ⬜⬛ 🐐 (@Cr7Fran4ever) May 8, 2019<doc-sep>
What's the story? Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has recalled how he felt after Lionel Messi's masterclass against them in the first leg of Champions League semi-finals. In case you didn't know... Barcelona took a major step towards their first Champions League final in four years as they inflicted a huge blow to Liverpool. The Catalan giants enjoyed a 3-0 win against Liverpool, leaving Jurgen Klopp and his men with an uphill task in the second leg of the semi-finals. Former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez opened the scoring while Messi took the game away from the Reds despite their valiant efforts. The Blaugrana captain struck twice in 75th minute and 82nd minute of the game to give his side a major lead to go with into the second leg. There is no doubt that Messi is enjoying one of his best seasons with Barcelona. The Argentine genius currently leads the Champions League goalscoring charts with 12 goals and also leads the race for European Golden Shoe with 34 league goals so far this campaign. Messi also remains one of the leading assist providers in Europe. Messi also netted his 600th club goal, which came in a sensational manner from a free-kick. With his brace, the Argentine has now scored 26 goals against English sides. Thanks to his exploits, the Spanish giants will be eyeing another historic treble as they are firm favourites to win the Champions League and Copa Del Rey. The heart of the matter Klopp revealed how he felt when Messi's exploits crushed Liverpool's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League and what he said to the Barcelona talisman. In the pre-match conference, Liverpool manager said, “I don’t know if I said something, really. At that moment, I might have said ‘why did you do that? !’” Despite Barcelona's lead, Klopp insists that there is hope for his team. “There’s hope and it’s football. We are not in a situation where we say it will happen 100 per cent but it’s football." “The character of the boys....two of the world’s best strikers are not available and we have to score four goals to go through in 90 minutes." What's next? Liverpool will host Barcelona for the second leg of Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday night.