After a quiet game vs Man United at Old Trafford, Lionel Messi stepped up at Camp Nou and showed the world why exactly one should never write him off.
The Argentine had Smalling and Jones in a twist and each time Lionel Messi moved forward with the ball, it looked like he would just go ahead an score.
He scored two goals on the night – the first one was a moment of brilliance while the second was courtesy a howler from David De Gea.
But now it is up to Liverpool to try and stop Lionel Messi as Liverpool take on Barcelona in the semi-final of the Champions League.
And it looks like, former Man United boss Jose Mourinho has a word of advice for Jurgen Klopp on how the Anfield outfit might just be successful in stopping the magician.
“Messi is having a phenomenal season and now with Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo outside this fight, he knows also that the golden ball is there waiting for him,” Mourinho said.
“Messi is easy to understand, but it’s not easy to create a cage to control him, because he comes from the right, but then stays in the middle.
“It’s very difficult.
“When Messi has the ball, one, one, one, you are dead. That’s why I never liked the individual man-to-man against Messi. Messi is a cage. You have to create a cage.”
Jose Mourinho’s advice is pretty simple and straight forward but we don’t think Jurgen Klopp will be paying too much attention simply because the German does not function in that manner.
The Liverpool team under Klopp has always been attack-minded and yes, their manager will surely devise a plan to stop Lionel Messi during both the legs but we feel his major focus will be on the attacking part.
Much like Barcelona, Liverpool also have a great attacking trio who can easily shred apart defences.
And Jurgen Klopp will be banking on them to outscore Lionel Messi and his players.
