Across the 43-year history of their rivalry, Barcelona have never knocked Liverpool out of Europe, never defeated the Reds at the Camp Nou. Four home matches: two defeats, two draws, one solitary goal scored -- 12 years ago, by Deco. It's an angry blemish scarring an otherwise superb European record from a club that, like Liverpool, is pursuing its sixth Champions League trophy.
And the harsh truth, amid the champagne and backslapping of their La Liga title win on Saturday, is that if Barcelona perform against Jurgen Klopp's team this week like they did in beating Levante 1-0, then both those bleak records are guaranteed to continue. Their bid for a third Treble, when no other club has more than one, will be in tatters.
Does that sound a little ungracious given that for Barcelona's squad, staff and fans, this is a time of momentous achievement? Eight domestic titles in 11 seasons -- particularly, played in a league in which the quality is enormously high, in which it's proven that any team, however humble, can beat any other, and that is populated by serial UEFA trophy winners such as Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla -- is awesome.
However, facts must be faced. I'm stating the same truth that Ernesto Valverde, Gerard Pique, Luis Suarez & Co. will be digesting and trying to avoid at all costs.
What happened on Saturday, while Paco Lopez's Levante played absolutely superbly, going toe to toe with a squad that was assembled for hundreds of times the cost and is paid hundreds of millions more, was precisely what Lionel Messi has recently warned against. Barca's genius stepped off the pitch seconds after the final whistle against Manchester United in the quarterfinal and shrugged off praise from his interviewer so that he could go straight to the nub of the matter.
The gist of his message was: They have spoken among themselves about not playing as sloppily as they did in the first 10 minutes against United. They need to not repeat this again because a bad spell of eight or nine minutes in the Champions League and you're out.
The thrashings at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Roma in recent seasons were the stimulus for his critical message. United, a team in stasis, had been dealt with, but no such advantageous circumstances lay ahead in the semifinal. Liverpool are better, faster, stronger and more confident.
It's worth going back to Messi's words because, against Levante, Barcelona were wasteful, slow and lacking intensity -- and that's before their level dropped.
Putting it politely, Liverpool's scouts must have left the Camp Nou licking their lips in anticipation. Klopp's players -- or at least those who weren't spending Saturday praying that Burnley would do them a favour against Manchester City -- would have been forgiven for messaging their agents to book flights and hotel rooms in Madrid, where the final will be held, for family and friends.
One reason for writing so scathingly about Barcelona's weekend performance is the clash against Klopp's red machine already felt like Superman meeting kryptonite for the first time.
In case you're not familiar with the 81-year-old extraterrestrial, he went by the name Clark Kent and who has made millions for DC Comics and Hollywood filmmakers. He left mortals standing, but kryptonite mysteriously weakened him -- just as Liverpool's pressing, athleticism, high-tempo passing, three-man front line and height at set pieces can potentially do to Barcelona.
Indeed, just in case you've forgotten modern football history, never mind Superhero antecedents, it's not just PSG, Juve and Roma who are our reference points.
It's true Barcelona's home record could make the Camp Nou seem like an unassailable citadel. No team in Europe has an equivalent record of 31 home games in UEFA competition without defeat.
Liverpool, as powerful as they are and as much as the two rivals' states at present makes them feel like favourites, face a club that has won 28 and drawn three in the past six years, scoring 91 while conceding just 15 times. Pretty remarkable.
However, Barcelona's lone conquerors in that span were Jupp Heynckes' Bayern Munich. They were not identical to this Liverpool team, but not far off it: high tempo, physical, confident and wholly aware of where Barca's Achilles heel was in 2013.
It's coincidental that one of the jokers in Jurgen Klopp's pack, capable of springing surprises on unwary opponents and a different kind of footballer from those around him at Anfield, is Xherdan Shaqiri. He played for Bayern in that aggregate 7-0 semifinal rout.
If Klopp quizzes his Swiss international, Shaqiri will surely tell him that the 2013 version of Barcelona had also run away with their league title, but that they hated being harassed at high tempo, weren't at their athletic peak, were capable of being bullied, were vulnerable at set plays and needed to be overwhelmed.
I'd estimate Klopp's sermon to his players this week has been almost identical in content and tone to the one delivered by Heynckes. Bayern then, like Liverpool now, played 4-3-3, darting in behind the normally foraging Barca full-backs. The Catalans then, like Saturday at least, weren't at their peak of energy and stamina.
A year after Bayern thrashed Tito Vilanova's Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate, Xavi told me, vehemently, that the fundamental difference between the sides was that he and his teammates were exhausted and not at their physical best, and the Bavarians were absolutely flying in terms of pace, stamina and freshness. I was doubtful; the problems appeared to run more deeply. But it was only two seasons later that a buzzing Barca squad, not heavily changed but much more energetic after Luis Enrique had heavily rotated their first XI for months, pretty clinically dispatched Pep Guardiola's Bayern side in what was an epic Champions League semifinal en route to Barcelona's second Treble.
This lesson seems to be the key. If Barca are fresh, rather than frazzled, it's Liverpool who are underdogs. Otherwise, it's vice-versa. While Valverde has undoubtedly reduced the minutes of his vital, slightly more senior squad members, has it been sufficient?
If Messi is to fulfill his promise to bring the European Cup back to the Camp Nou, then there needs to be a massive leap forward in intensity, pace of passing, attention to detail, pressing and finishing.
Liverpool, judging by their domestic and European form, are coming to the boil. Barcelona, if you inserted a thermometer, would show a tepid temperature.
What Barcelona have achieved in winning the title both early and by a decent margin, while making this European semifinal plus reaching the Copa del Rey final, is exceedingly special. So few clubs have won Trebles because it's unbelievably difficult; there will be days when you win by luck, thanks to referees' blunders or, well, when you don't really know how you've got through.
So if you take a close look at Barca's recent level of performance -- away to United, at home to Atletico, in drawing 0-0 against Huesca, shipping four against Villarreal, ambling around against Real Sociedad and conceding sufficient chances to lose against Levante -- then the conclusion is that any team in this situation would be counted as distant second favourites to eliminate a phenomenon like Liverpool.
However, what's special about Messi, Pique, Suarez, Jordi Alba, Ivan Rakitic, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Sergio Busquets isn't just their talent, it's their mentality.
They know that leaving massive gaps between the lines like they did against Levante, being robbed of the ball, giving it away lackadaisically, getting jittery and allowing the importance of the occasion to gnaw away at their intensity and excellence, well, that will end their European season. Good bye, Wanda Metropolitano on June 1. Good bye, Treble.
The thing about Superman is that he always found a way not to let the kryptonite finish him off -- by hook or by crook, his cape would always flutter, he'd soar above his apparently dominant rivals, his superpowers would always save the day.
Barcelona's task between now and Wednesday is to refocus, to accept that mental sharpness, intensity, concentration and experience must rouse in them a 180-degree transformation from the error-strewn, sloppy, below-par 90 minutes that won them the Spanish title to one of the performances of their entire lives against a Liverpool side who arrive at the Camp Nou, whether they admit it or not, expecting to win.



http://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-champions-league/775/blog/post/3837796/if-barcelona-dont-improve-liverpool-will-be-the-kryptonite-to-their-superman

* Dominique

Barcelona lose to Liverpool? Lol

popsy2:
Barcelona lose to Liverpool? Lol

If they don't improve their pace liverpool will tear them apart.

luvola:
If they don't improve their pace liverpool will tear them apart.

Barcelona will beat Liverpool silly. Jot it down. They know what is at stake.

I don't think Liverpool can beat Barca though its Possible but once Barca dominate the Midfield and starve liverpool the Ball then its over for liverpool .....Judging from both sides its safe to say Barca are way ahead but anything is possible the Main reason why liverpool have been playing well is because they are chasing the league Mane is the main force liverpool have this season due to his hunger if Barca can score 3 unreplied goals at camp nou then its safe to say its over for liverpool because in anfield Barca would be passing the Ball round likke they did in old trafford and try not to loose the Ball....Liverpool have an advantage due to the fact that this Barca squad is ageing

Corrosiveman:
I don't think Liverpool can beat Barca though its Possible but once Barca dominate the Midfield and starve liverpool the Ball then its over for liverpool .....Judging from both sides its safe to say Barca are way ahead but anything is possible the Main reason why liverpool have been playing well is because they are chasing the league Mane is the main force liverpool have this season due to his hunger if Barca can score 3 unreplied goals at camp nou then its safe to say its over for liverpool because in anfield Barca would be passing the Ball round likke they did in old trafford and try not to loose the Ball....Liverpool have an advantage due to the fact that this Barca squad is ageing

Read the article again ..Barcelona didnt impress at all during their match against levante . If they play like that against liverpool , I pity Barca.

luvola:

Read the article again ..Barcelona didnt impress at all during their match against levante . If they play like that against liverpool , I pity Barca.

.....lol and you forgot every game has its own approach?

I do think most of Barça's chances of advancing to the final depend on winning tomorrow at Camp Nou. If the qualification depended on a win at Anfield, that would be the worst case scenario.

As Pep said, an open game vs Liverpool at Anfield is suicidal.

twitter.com/CaptnGuardiola…

Klopp alternated 433 and 4231 this ssn. But for the big games, it was always their classic narrow 433 w/ Salah as RW.

A lot has been said abt Liverpool's high press. But I think it's not as aggressive as Betis' for example (who press you in your own box).

Corrosiveman:
I don't think Liverpool can beat Barca though its Possible but once Barca dominate the Midfield and starve liverpool the Ball then its over for liverpool .....Judging from both sides its safe to say Barca are way ahead but anything is possible the Main reason why liverpool have been playing well is because they are chasing the league Mane is the main force liverpool have this season due to his hunger if Barca can score 3 unreplied goals at camp nou then its safe to say its over for liverpool because in anfield Barca would be passing the Ball round likke they did in old trafford and try not to loose the Ball....Liverpool have an advantage due to the fact that this Barca squad is ageing

Liverpool don't need much of the ball they just need a mistake from midfield for Salah and Mane to tear Busquet and Pique apart

Earthquake3:


Liverpool don't need much of the ball they just need a mistake from midfield for Salah and Mane to tear Busquet and Pique apart

....only if rakitic and arthur would give out the ball which is 90％ impossible

gibzzhd:
Klopp alternated 433 and 4231 this ssn. But for the big games, it was always their classic narrow 433 w/ Salah as RW.

A lot has been said abt Liverpool's high press. But I think it's not as aggressive as Betis' for example (who press you in your own box).

......I can bet my left kidney that Betis press better than liverpool and Barcelona

Corrosiveman:
....only if rakitic and arthur would give out the ball which is 90％ impossible

Rakitic and Arthur give the ball away too much, it seems you don't watch Barca

Corrosiveman:
....only if rakitic and arthur would give out the ball which is 90％ impossible

what about Bousquet

monarch101:
what about Bousquet

....Busquet is ageing

What a match. I wonder which team penaldo fans will be supporting. LoL

Dominique

Corrosiveman:
....Busquet is ageing

that's the weak link in that Barca defence

Liverpool will make it to the final. 100%

Without messi barca is dead and buried.

LOL @the author. Liverpool may be the slight favorites but I think Barca would win. Messi is hungry for the Champions league, so I think he would pull Barca through. Liverpool is pretty good offensively but I don't see how their defence can hold Barca from scoring enough goals to pull thru.

luvola:
Across the 43-year history of their rivalry, Barcelona have never knocked Liverpool out of Europe, never defeated the Reds at the Camp Nou. Four home matches: two defeats, two draws, one solitary goal scored -- 12 years ago, by Deco. It's an angry blemish scarring an otherwise superb European record from a club that, like Liverpool, is pursuing its sixth Champions League trophy.
And the harsh truth, amid the champagne and backslapping of their La Liga title win on Saturday, is that if Barcelona perform against Jurgen Klopp's team this week like they did in beating Levante 1-0, then both those bleak records are guaranteed to continue. Their bid for a third Treble, when no other club has more than one, will be in tatters.
Does that sound a little ungracious given that for Barcelona's squad, staff and fans, this is a time of momentous achievement? Eight domestic titles in 11 seasons -- particularly, played in a league in which the quality is enormously high, in which it's proven that any team, however humble, can beat any other, and that is populated by serial UEFA trophy winners such as Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla -- is awesome.
However, facts must be faced. I'm stating the same truth that Ernesto Valverde, Gerard Pique, Luis Suarez & Co. will be digesting and trying to avoid at all costs.
What happened on Saturday, while Paco Lopez's Levante played absolutely superbly, going toe to toe with a squad that was assembled for hundreds of times the cost and is paid hundreds of millions more, was precisely what Lionel Messi has recently warned against. Barca's genius stepped off the pitch seconds after the final whistle against Manchester United in the quarterfinal and shrugged off praise from his interviewer so that he could go straight to the nub of the matter.
The gist of his message was: They have spoken among themselves about not playing as sloppily as they did in the first 10 minutes against United. They need to not repeat this again because a bad spell of eight or nine minutes in the Champions League and you're out.
The thrashings at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Roma in recent seasons were the stimulus for his critical message. United, a team in stasis, had been dealt with, but no such advantageous circumstances lay ahead in the semifinal. Liverpool are better, faster, stronger and more confident.
It's worth going back to Messi's words because, against Levante, Barcelona were wasteful, slow and lacking intensity -- and that's before their level dropped.
Putting it politely, Liverpool's scouts must have left the Camp Nou licking their lips in anticipation. Klopp's players -- or at least those who weren't spending Saturday praying that Burnley would do them a favour against Manchester City -- would have been forgiven for messaging their agents to book flights and hotel rooms in Madrid, where the final will be held, for family and friends.
One reason for writing so scathingly about Barcelona's weekend performance is the clash against Klopp's red machine already felt like Superman meeting kryptonite for the first time.
In case you're not familiar with the 81-year-old extraterrestrial, he went by the name Clark Kent and who has made millions for DC Comics and Hollywood filmmakers. He left mortals standing, but kryptonite mysteriously weakened him -- just as Liverpool's pressing, athleticism, high-tempo passing, three-man front line and height at set pieces can potentially do to Barcelona.
Indeed, just in case you've forgotten modern football history, never mind Superhero antecedents, it's not just PSG, Juve and Roma who are our reference points.
It's true Barcelona's home record could make the Camp Nou seem like an unassailable citadel. No team in Europe has an equivalent record of 31 home games in UEFA competition without defeat.
Liverpool, as powerful as they are and as much as the two rivals' states at present makes them feel like favourites, face a club that has won 28 and drawn three in the past six years, scoring 91 while conceding just 15 times. Pretty remarkable.
However, Barcelona's lone conquerors in that span were Jupp Heynckes' Bayern Munich. They were not identical to this Liverpool team, but not far off it: high tempo, physical, confident and wholly aware of where Barca's Achilles heel was in 2013.
It's coincidental that one of the jokers in Jurgen Klopp's pack, capable of springing surprises on unwary opponents and a different kind of footballer from those around him at Anfield, is Xherdan Shaqiri. He played for Bayern in that aggregate 7-0 semifinal rout.
If Klopp quizzes his Swiss international, Shaqiri will surely tell him that the 2013 version of Barcelona had also run away with their league title, but that they hated being harassed at high tempo, weren't at their athletic peak, were capable of being bullied, were vulnerable at set plays and needed to be overwhelmed.
I'd estimate Klopp's sermon to his players this week has been almost identical in content and tone to the one delivered by Heynckes. Bayern then, like Liverpool now, played 4-3-3, darting in behind the normally foraging Barca full-backs. The Catalans then, like Saturday at least, weren't at their peak of energy and stamina.
A year after Bayern thrashed Tito Vilanova's Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate, Xavi told me, vehemently, that the fundamental difference between the sides was that he and his teammates were exhausted and not at their physical best, and the Bavarians were absolutely flying in terms of pace, stamina and freshness. I was doubtful; the problems appeared to run more deeply. But it was only two seasons later that a buzzing Barca squad, not heavily changed but much more energetic after Luis Enrique had heavily rotated their first XI for months, pretty clinically dispatched Pep Guardiola's Bayern side in what was an epic Champions League semifinal en route to Barcelona's second Treble.
This lesson seems to be the key. If Barca are fresh, rather than frazzled, it's Liverpool who are underdogs. Otherwise, it's vice-versa. While Valverde has undoubtedly reduced the minutes of his vital, slightly more senior squad members, has it been sufficient?
If Messi is to fulfill his promise to bring the European Cup back to the Camp Nou, then there needs to be a massive leap forward in intensity, pace of passing, attention to detail, pressing and finishing.
Liverpool, judging by their domestic and European form, are coming to the boil. Barcelona, if you inserted a thermometer, would show a tepid temperature.
What Barcelona have achieved in winning the title both early and by a decent margin, while making this European semifinal plus reaching the Copa del Rey final, is exceedingly special. So few clubs have won Trebles because it's unbelievably difficult; there will be days when you win by luck, thanks to referees' blunders or, well, when you don't really know how you've got through.
So if you take a close look at Barca's recent level of performance -- away to United, at home to Atletico, in drawing 0-0 against Huesca, shipping four against Villarreal, ambling around against Real Sociedad and conceding sufficient chances to lose against Levante -- then the conclusion is that any team in this situation would be counted as distant second favourites to eliminate a phenomenon like Liverpool.
However, what's special about Messi, Pique, Suarez, Jordi Alba, Ivan Rakitic, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Sergio Busquets isn't just their talent, it's their mentality.
They know that leaving massive gaps between the lines like they did against Levante, being robbed of the ball, giving it away lackadaisically, getting jittery and allowing the importance of the occasion to gnaw away at their intensity and excellence, well, that will end their European season. Good bye, Wanda Metropolitano on June 1. Good bye, Treble.
The thing about Superman is that he always found a way not to let the kryptonite finish him off -- by hook or by crook, his cape would always flutter, he'd soar above his apparently dominant rivals, his superpowers would always save the day.
Barcelona's task between now and Wednesday is to refocus, to accept that mental sharpness, intensity, concentration and experience must rouse in them a 180-degree transformation from the error-strewn, sloppy, below-par 90 minutes that won them the Spanish title to one of the performances of their entire lives against a Liverpool side who arrive at the Camp Nou, whether they admit it or not, expecting to win.



http://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-champions-league/775/blog/post/3837796/if-barcelona-dont-improve-liverpool-will-be-the-kryptonite-to-their-superman

* Dominique

beat ni watch and see ball come 2mro barca go jst use midfield tire liverpool

My annoyance is that Barca clowns think they are still the Barca of 2009-2012...

I think these new age Barca kids need to watch clips of how Barca played those days with Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Dani alves, and see how Barca standards have fallen

Memberclub:
What a match. I wonder which team penaldo fans will be supporting. LoL

We will support the team(s) you've been supporting for the last 3 years......

Jokerman:
My annoyance is that Barca clowns think they are still the Barca of 2009-2012...

I think these new age Barca kids need to watch clips of how Barca played those days with Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Dani alves, and see how Barca standards have fallen

Barca are very bad nowadays they score one and defend the whole match

Earthquake3:


Barca are very bad nowadays they score one and defend the whole match

How market?

luvola:
Across the 43-year history of their rivalry, Barcelona have never knocked Liverpool out of Europe, never defeated the Reds at the Camp Nou. Four home matches: two defeats, two draws, one solitary goal scored -- 12 years ago, by Deco. It's an angry blemish scarring an otherwise superb European record from a club that, like Liverpool, is pursuing its sixth Champions League trophy.
And the harsh truth, amid the champagne and backslapping of their La Liga title win on Saturday, is that if Barcelona perform against Jurgen Klopp's team this week like they did in beating Levante 1-0, then both those bleak records are guaranteed to continue. Their bid for a third Treble, when no other club has more than one, will be in tatters.
Does that sound a little ungracious given that for Barcelona's squad, staff and fans, this is a time of momentous achievement? Eight domestic titles in 11 seasons -- particularly, played in a league in which the quality is enormously high, in which it's proven that any team, however humble, can beat any other, and that is populated by serial UEFA trophy winners such as Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla -- is awesome.
However, facts must be faced. I'm stating the same truth that Ernesto Valverde, Gerard Pique, Luis Suarez & Co. will be digesting and trying to avoid at all costs.
What happened on Saturday, while Paco Lopez's Levante played absolutely superbly, going toe to toe with a squad that was assembled for hundreds of times the cost and is paid hundreds of millions more, was precisely what Lionel Messi has recently warned against. Barca's genius stepped off the pitch seconds after the final whistle against Manchester United in the quarterfinal and shrugged off praise from his interviewer so that he could go straight to the nub of the matter.
The gist of his message was: They have spoken among themselves about not playing as sloppily as they did in the first 10 minutes against United. They need to not repeat this again because a bad spell of eight or nine minutes in the Champions League and you're out.
The thrashings at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Roma in recent seasons were the stimulus for his critical message. United, a team in stasis, had been dealt with, but no such advantageous circumstances lay ahead in the semifinal. Liverpool are better, faster, stronger and more confident.
It's worth going back to Messi's words because, against Levante, Barcelona were wasteful, slow and lacking intensity -- and that's before their level dropped.
Putting it politely, Liverpool's scouts must have left the Camp Nou licking their lips in anticipation. Klopp's players -- or at least those who weren't spending Saturday praying that Burnley would do them a favour against Manchester City -- would have been forgiven for messaging their agents to book flights and hotel rooms in Madrid, where the final will be held, for family and friends.
One reason for writing so scathingly about Barcelona's weekend performance is the clash against Klopp's red machine already felt like Superman meeting kryptonite for the first time.
In case you're not familiar with the 81-year-old extraterrestrial, he went by the name Clark Kent and who has made millions for DC Comics and Hollywood filmmakers. He left mortals standing, but kryptonite mysteriously weakened him -- just as Liverpool's pressing, athleticism, high-tempo passing, three-man front line and height at set pieces can potentially do to Barcelona.
Indeed, just in case you've forgotten modern football history, never mind Superhero antecedents, it's not just PSG, Juve and Roma who are our reference points.
It's true Barcelona's home record could make the Camp Nou seem like an unassailable citadel. No team in Europe has an equivalent record of 31 home games in UEFA competition without defeat.
Liverpool, as powerful as they are and as much as the two rivals' states at present makes them feel like favourites, face a club that has won 28 and drawn three in the past six years, scoring 91 while conceding just 15 times. Pretty remarkable.
However, Barcelona's lone conquerors in that span were Jupp Heynckes' Bayern Munich. They were not identical to this Liverpool team, but not far off it: high tempo, physical, confident and wholly aware of where Barca's Achilles heel was in 2013.
It's coincidental that one of the jokers in Jurgen Klopp's pack, capable of springing surprises on unwary opponents and a different kind of footballer from those around him at Anfield, is Xherdan Shaqiri. He played for Bayern in that aggregate 7-0 semifinal rout.
If Klopp quizzes his Swiss international, Shaqiri will surely tell him that the 2013 version of Barcelona had also run away with their league title, but that they hated being harassed at high tempo, weren't at their athletic peak, were capable of being bullied, were vulnerable at set plays and needed to be overwhelmed.
I'd estimate Klopp's sermon to his players this week has been almost identical in content and tone to the one delivered by Heynckes. Bayern then, like Liverpool now, played 4-3-3, darting in behind the normally foraging Barca full-backs. The Catalans then, like Saturday at least, weren't at their peak of energy and stamina.
A year after Bayern thrashed Tito Vilanova's Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate, Xavi told me, vehemently, that the fundamental difference between the sides was that he and his teammates were exhausted and not at their physical best, and the Bavarians were absolutely flying in terms of pace, stamina and freshness. I was doubtful; the problems appeared to run more deeply. But it was only two seasons later that a buzzing Barca squad, not heavily changed but much more energetic after Luis Enrique had heavily rotated their first XI for months, pretty clinically dispatched Pep Guardiola's Bayern side in what was an epic Champions League semifinal en route to Barcelona's second Treble.
This lesson seems to be the key. If Barca are fresh, rather than frazzled, it's Liverpool who are underdogs. Otherwise, it's vice-versa. While Valverde has undoubtedly reduced the minutes of his vital, slightly more senior squad members, has it been sufficient?
If Messi is to fulfill his promise to bring the European Cup back to the Camp Nou, then there needs to be a massive leap forward in intensity, pace of passing, attention to detail, pressing and finishing.
Liverpool, judging by their domestic and European form, are coming to the boil. Barcelona, if you inserted a thermometer, would show a tepid temperature.
What Barcelona have achieved in winning the title both early and by a decent margin, while making this European semifinal plus reaching the Copa del Rey final, is exceedingly special. So few clubs have won Trebles because it's unbelievably difficult; there will be days when you win by luck, thanks to referees' blunders or, well, when you don't really know how you've got through.
So if you take a close look at Barca's recent level of performance -- away to United, at home to Atletico, in drawing 0-0 against Huesca, shipping four against Villarreal, ambling around against Real Sociedad and conceding sufficient chances to lose against Levante -- then the conclusion is that any team in this situation would be counted as distant second favourites to eliminate a phenomenon like Liverpool.
However, what's special about Messi, Pique, Suarez, Jordi Alba, Ivan Rakitic, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Sergio Busquets isn't just their talent, it's their mentality.
They know that leaving massive gaps between the lines like they did against Levante, being robbed of the ball, giving it away lackadaisically, getting jittery and allowing the importance of the occasion to gnaw away at their intensity and excellence, well, that will end their European season. Good bye, Wanda Metropolitano on June 1. Good bye, Treble.
The thing about Superman is that he always found a way not to let the kryptonite finish him off -- by hook or by crook, his cape would always flutter, he'd soar above his apparently dominant rivals, his superpowers would always save the day.
Barcelona's task between now and Wednesday is to refocus, to accept that mental sharpness, intensity, concentration and experience must rouse in them a 180-degree transformation from the error-strewn, sloppy, below-par 90 minutes that won them the Spanish title to one of the performances of their entire lives against a Liverpool side who arrive at the Camp Nou, whether they admit it or not, expecting to win.



http://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-champions-league/775/blog/post/3837796/if-barcelona-dont-improve-liverpool-will-be-the-kryptonite-to-their-superman

* Dominique

With your epistle,wetin you gain.
So bros how market?