Football Features

    Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona: Full player ratings as Origi and Wijnaldum help complete remontada

    By Steve Jennings

    Published: 22:08, 7 May 2019

    Liverpool pulled off an incredible comeback against Barcelona to book their place in the Champions League final.

    Trailing 3-0 after the semi-final first leg, Jurgen Klopp’s side thrashed the La Liga champions 4-0 in a historic turnaround at Anfield.

    https://audioboom.com/posts/7246453-like-a-broken-mirror-man-utd-s-top-knot-curse-lingers-on

    Two Divock Origi goals either side of substitute Georginio Wijnaldum’s brace ensured one of the most memorable nights in the club’s history.

    Here’s how every player rated.

    Liverpool

    Alisson Becker – 7 – Dealt with everything thrown at him, although Barcelona’s finish was far from perfect.

    Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8 – Initially struggled to deal with Jordi Alba’s overlapping runs. Gradually grew into the game and was instrumental eventually. Sublime quick thinking for the winning goal.

    Joel Matip – 8 – Brought the ball out brilliantly and spread some easy-on-the-eye passes. Virgil van Dijk’s influence is rubbing off on his partner, who was excellent defensively again.

    Virgil van Dijk – 8 – No repeat of being caught out by Suarez’s goal at the Nou Camp. As solid as ever.

    Andrew Robertson – 7 – A menace down the left in the first half and solid defensively. Unfortunately forced off at half-time through injury.

    Fabinho – 8 – Prevented Messi from finding the room for a shot with his body positioning. Seemed to have more freedom as the game went on and gave Liverpool a constant presence in midfield.

    James Milner – 6 – A little anonymous in the first half. Switched to left-back after the break, where he lacked Robertson’s drive but added some composure.

    Jordan Henderson – 7 –  His burst into the box led to the opener. Worked hard and pressed Barcelona all night long despite an early knock to the knee.

    Xherdan Shaqiri – 7 – Really sloppy in the first half, giving the ball away too often. Improved after the break and his cross for the third goal was pinpoint.

    Sadio Mane – 7 – Showed a keen sense of anticipation to win the ball in the build-up to the first goal. Nelson Semedo’s introduction thwarted him a little but he remained a threat and an outlet on the counter.

    Divock Origi – 8 – Did almost nothing other than score two of the most important goals of Liverpool’s season. Got the scoring going and finished it off. Took his second goal clinically.

    Substitutes

    Georginio Wijnaldum – 8 – What an impact. Two of his first touches off the bench ended up in the back of the net.

    Joe Gomez – N/A – Added some much needed defensive resilience.

    Daniel Sturridge – N/A – Barely touched the ball in a short cameo.

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    Barcelona

    Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 5 – Made a couple of useful saves. Perhaps could have done better with Wijnaldum’s first strike and was caught out for the fourth.

    Sergi Roberto – 5 – Did a decent job whenever he was one-on-one with Mane. Moved to the left when Semedo came on. Didn’t provide a threat going forward.

    Gerard Pique – 5 – Simply couldn’t bring the required level of composure to Barcelona’s back line as he usually does.

    Clement Lenglet – 5 – Also struggled in the heart of defence as Liverpool’s relentless crossing had Barcelona all over the place.

    Jordi Alba – 5 – At fault for the opener with a misjudged header. Found plenty of room to wreak havoc in the first half but rarely made use of it.

    Sergio Busquets – 5 – Sometimes overran by Mane when the winger drifted into central areas.

    Ivan Rakitic – 4 – Put his teammates under pressure with some poor passes. Rattled in the second half and was substituted with 10 minutes to go.

    Arturo Vidal – 6 – Made a lot of crucial tackles in the first half. Too often slow to react to Liverpool’s snappy passing after the break.

    Philippe Coutinho – 4 – Another subpar display. Looked out of sorts again in front of his former supporters. Hooked on the hour.

    Lionel Messi – 5 – Some beautiful touches and passes in the first half but couldn’t quite put his stamp on the game like he did in the reverse fixture.

    Luis Suarez – 4 – Missed a good opportunity to make it 1-1 early in the second half with a tame finish. His injury-feigning was majorly embarrassing.

    Substitutes

    Nelson Semedo – 6 – Came on for Coutinho. Did quite well against Mane.

    Malcom – N/A – Found space a couple of times but his crossing was poor.

    Arthur – N/A – Didn’t really have time to make his mark.

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