Barca face high-flying Liverpool in mouth-watering clash

BARCELONA: After dispatching Manchester United comfortably in the previous round, Ernesto Valverde’s Barcelona will now face a much tougher test when they meet Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg clash at Camp Nou on Wednesday (today).

Barcelona are playing their first Champions League semi-final since winning their fifth European title four seasons ago.They have won six of their last seven matches, beating Levante 1-0 at the weekend to secure their 26th La Liga title.

The Catalans have also kept 12 clean sheets in their last 18 fixtures across all competitions.When Valverde took charge at the start of last season, Barcelona were wounded by consecutive Super Cup defeats to arch-rivals Real Madrid.

They now sit 18 points ahead of them in the league, having finished 17 clear of them last season. But inferiority in Europe still rankles. It is Madrid’s name on the cup next to four of the last five years.

“Our objective now is the treble,” said club president Josep Bartomeu.Bartomeu knows domestic dominance has been tarnished by underachievement in Europe and, regardless of whether they win another double this term, this team’s season will be defined by them beating Liverpool, and then either Tottenham or Ajax on June 1.

And much will depend on their star captain Lionel Messi, who hit the winner in their match against Levante on Saturday.Meanwhile, Liverpool will look to extend their unbeaten run at Nou Camp.

Liverpool have won their last ten fixtures, beating Huddersfield 5-0 at Anfield on Friday.Mohamed Salah also scored twice against Huddersfield, making him the top scorer in the Premier League with 21 goals, one more than team-mate Sadio Mane.

Neither Trent Alexander-Arnold nor Andrew Robertson have Messi’s star power, but the buccaneering Liverpool defenders could also play just as vital a role as the Barcelona captainVirgil van Dijk has hogged the spotlight among Liverpool’s defenders with a superb campaign that earned the Dutch centre-back the Professional Footballers’ Association player of the year award.

Ahead of the match against Messi’s Barca, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold have emerged as essential contributors to Liverpool’s bid for Champions League glory. With 24 assists between them in all competitions, England right-back Alexander-Arnold and Scotland left-back Robertson are pivotal figures in Jurgen Klopp’s game-plan.

Without Robertson, 25, doing the job of two players with his lung-bursting runs up and down the flanks, Senegal winger Mane would not have the freedom to move infield, from where he has scored 24 goals this term.

Klopp’s bold system has reaped rich rewards as rivals struggle to find a way to turn off the supply line fuelled by Robertson and Alexander-Arnold. “I always try and go forward. Sometimes my passes don’t find people. But I do try and create. If I get two assists, I expect Trent to get three,” Robertson said with a smile.

“We all need to chip in with goals and assists. It’s not just the front three. It’s not just the defence that keeps clean sheets, either. It’s a team game.” But, while he acknowledges the threat posed by Messi, Luis Suarez and company, Robertson believes Liverpool should stick to their guns.

“We know we’ll have our hands full defensively but we all defend as a team and we attack as a team. If me and Trent have time to go forward, we will do it. It’s not going to stop us,” Robertson said. “We know that we can create goals and chances, so why change that? But look, we will learn from the game and move from that and see how it pans out. “It’s a challenge we all look forward to.”