Barcelona 3 Liverpool 0: Lionel Messi magic stuns Reds in Champions League semi-final rout at Camp Nou

Lionel Messi scored twice, the second an outrageous free-kick, to help give Barcelona a commanding but scarcely deserved Champions League semi-final lead over Liverpool.

The double took the brilliant Messi to 600 career goals for the Catalan club, and earned a 3-0 first leg win over Jurgen Klopp’s side - who were the better side for large spells of the contest - after Luis Suarez had opened the scoring against his former club.

Ernesto Valverde gave Philippe Coutinho the nod ahead of Ousmane Dembele to join Suarez in facing his old employers, with the inclusion of Chilean veteran Arturo Vidal over Brazilian youngster Arthur the only real surprise.

Surprise, however, was the order of the day for Jurgen Klopp as Joe Gomez was handed a first start since early December in place of Trent Alexander-Arnold at right back.

With Roberto Firmino only fit enough for a place on the bench, Klopp opted against selecting a direct replacement, and instead employed Georginio Wijnaldum in a more advanced role, pushing on between the split forward pair of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane.

Jurgen Klopp had dismissed the notion that this clash was a final before the final, but those claims did not look quite so outrageous in a first half that left you wondering how either Tottenham or Erik Ten Hag’s universally adored young Ajax side are supposed to live with the victors of this tie in Madrid a month today.

Liverpool’s fans, though notably not their players, wanted a penalty on five minutes when Gerard Pique gave the first indication that he would struggle to live with the menace of Mane, clumsily toppling the Senegalese forward inside the box.

At the other end, though, Barca were up and running, and after Ivan Rakitic had threatened with some intricate interchange with Coutinho, Liverpool needed a trademark piece of covering from Andy Robertson to thwart Lionel Messi.

Liverpool lost Naby Keita after little more than twenty minutes, but the introduction of Jordan Henderson, unlucky not to start, only helped maintain their early advantage in midfield, despite Vidal’s typically chaotic disruptive presence.

Any time Barcelona’s forward got involved, however, there was trouble, and when Jordi Alba – to all intents and purposes a left winger – swung a peach of a ball in between Virgil Van Dijk and Joel Matip, Suarez was alive, darting in to find the net before showing no qualms about celebrating.

Liverpool were unperturbed, and might have been level when Henderson displayed the creative edge that has been a welcome addition to his game in recent weeks with a wonderful arced ball into the path of Mane, but he could only lift over the bar.

For all their good play, Liverpool had failed to ask a serious question of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, but they righted that immediately after the break as Salah and James Milner both forced the German into good saves with well-placed efforts from the edge of the box.

Where the first half had been ebb and flow, the opening period of the second saw only wave after wave of Liverpool attack, Salah’s immaculate control and Wijnaldum’s dummy almost teeing up Milner.

Valverde sacrificed Coutinho, sending on Nelson Semedo to double up with Sergi Roberto in trying to stem the Robertson-shaped tide, and shifting Vidal to the opposite flank, where he immediately found space to receive Messi’s pass inside the box, only to make a mess of the cut back.

Matip had to make up for his own tardiness in stepping up, getting back to thwart the ever-lively Suarez after playing him onside, but it was a rare moment of trepidation for the visitors, as Barca looked like adopting the kind of ‘we’ll take this’ approach they’d gone for late in the first leg of their quarter final win at Old Trafford.

But then came the game, and possibly tie, changing moment, Fabinho’s tackle inadvertently providing the missing link in a Barcelona attack that eventually sent Suarez in on goal. For a moment, Liverpool’s luck was in, as his shot came back of the bar, but only as far as Messi, who rolled into an empty net.

If goal number 599 for Barcelona was one of his simplest then number 600 was one of the very best, even considering the ridiculous bar set within that collection.

When the Argentine lined up a free-kick all of 35 yards from goal you felt even he would struggle to beat Alisson, but defying logic is what this man does, and he whipped a laser perfect effort that started way outside the upright and bent back inside just in time to nestle in the top corner.

Still Liverpool had a glorious chance to get the lifeline of an away goal, when Firmino, just on as a substitute, saw his shot cleared off the line and then roll out invitingly for Salah, only for the Egyptian, perhaps still stunned by what he had seen at the other end, to smash against the post.

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Barcelona vs Liverpool starting line-ups

Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Vidal, Messi, Suarez, Coutinho

Subs: Cillessen, Semedo, Arthur, Dembele, Malcom, Umtiti, Alena

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Gomez, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Milner, Wijnaldum, Keita, Mane, Salah

Subs: Mignolet, Lovren, Firmino, Henderson, Shaqiri, Origi, Alexander-Arnold