‘Liverpool collapsed’ – Wenger reacts to Barcelona loss

Joe Williams
Liverpool players Barcelona

Arsene Wenger thinks two things changed the course of the Champions League tie between Liverpool and Barcelona on Wednesday night.

Former Reds striker Luis Suarez scored in the first half before, in the final 15 minutes, Lionel Messi came to the fore with a tap-in and a brilliant free kick as the Catalan giants beat Liverpool 3-0.

Roberto Firmino had a shot cleared off the line and Mohamed Salah hit the follow-up against the post as Liverpool’s quest for a much-needed away goal fell flat.

“It was hard for Liverpool tonight,” Wenger said on beIN Sport.

“But, I must say, Barcelona suffered in the second half until they scored the second goal, then Liverpool collapsed.

“There was two important things that happened tonight. First, when they suffered Ernesto Valverde made a good change.

“He brought [Nelson] Semedo on and put [Sergi] Roberto in midfield… from that point on that looked more stable defensively.

“The second part of it… something we have seen so many times, is Messi. Mr Messi came in and said: ‘Let me finish the job’.

“Liverpool had a late chance, they should have scored. They will regret this chance but overall it is typical thing I have seen at Barcelona.

“They are better than you in the final third, every pass is great. That makes the difference at the end of the day.”