UEFA Champions League: To stop Barca train, pull Messi chain!

Lionel Messi

Former Liverpool defender Mark Seagraves reckons Jurgen Klopp's men will have to restrict Lionel Messi's attacking prowess if they have any chance of conquering mighty Barcelona in their own backyard at Camp Nou in the Champions League semi-final first leg tonight.

The Catalan giants are unbeaten in 22 matches across all competitions and the Ernesto Valverde-managed go into this match as favourites having clinching back-to-back La Liga titles on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have lost only thrice this season - against Chelsea, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City - and are involved in a close race for the English Premier League title with City.

Mark Seagraves

The Argentine is obviously a major force for the Spanish champs given he has scored 46 goals across all completions this season. He's in top form currently too, having scored the all-important La Liga title-winning goal against Levante on Saturday.

"Liverpool are up against a great team, who are at the pinnacle of their game. With Messi in their team, anything can happen. He has scored 46 goals already this year. Key to Liverpool beating Barcelona is by keeping Messi quiet," says Seagraves, 52, an expert panelist on Sony Pictures Networks' UEFA Champions League coverage.

Seagraves, 52, who made his Anfield debut in the 1985-86 season and went on to represent Manchester City and Norwich City, felt Liverpool's front three - Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, who share 65 goals between them this season - can deliver against Barca across the two legs. "Liverpool have one of the best front-threes in Europe, if not the world. They've got goals in them and can be lethal. If you look at the number of goals the front three have scored, you've got Salah on 25, Mane on 24 and Firmino with 16. The problem with Barcelona is they've got different front threes from the settled line-up they used to have. [Luis] Suarez and Messi have been partnered by Ousmane Dembele and Malcom. So, if you can keep Messi quiet, they haven't got much behind him. He holds the key to it all," explains Seagraves, who coached the English club Wigan Athletic in 2006-07.

Five-time European champions Liverpool are on the verge of reaching back-to-back Champions League finals. They lost to Real Madrid 1-3 last season in Kiev, Ukraine to add to the heartbreak of losing the 2016 Europa League final by the same margin to Sevilla in Basel. But Seagraves feels Liverpool now have the big club mentality and are ready to win titles.

"The issues we found in the Champions League last year was that if you take Salah out of the equation, like when he got injured against Real Madrid, Liverpool were an ordinary team. But now, they've got a good defender, Virgil van Dijk at the back and goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who has been a revelation," Seagraves concludes.

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