Chapter 611 - 313: Away Match at the Camp Nou

At this time, it was already three o'clock in the morning in the country.

But there were still several million viewers in the live broadcast room, perhaps even more.

As traditional giant clubs, both Liverpool and Barcelona have numerous die-hard fans.

They were all in front of their screens at this moment, waiting for the match to begin.

"Barça for the win!"

"Liverpool for the win!"

"..."

Similar bullet comments were everywhere, like the war cries before a battle between two armies.

However, compared to the Liverpool fans, the Barça fans were generally the more optimistic side.

Home ground advantage.

A 3-goal lead.

Barça had every advantage. What reason did they have to lose?

Barça fans from nearly 60 countries and regions around the world were waiting for their team to conquer Europe once again.

Yes.

This match was hailed as a preview of the Champions League final.

No matter whether Tottenham or Ajax came out on top in the upper bracket, they were just there to make up the numbers.

Whether it was Tottenham or Ajax, in the eyes of Liverpool and Barcelona, they were just civilian teams.

And the match between these two teams was scheduled for tomorrow!

Therefore, as long as they took down the Premier League leader, Liverpool, Barcelona would have a very good chance of winning the club's sixth Champions League trophy.

The match was about to begin.

The two die-hard fan commentators did not clash as the fans had expected.

Liang Xiangyu was less experienced, and Zhan Jun's home team was 3 goals down. Even if he hoped in his heart that Liverpool would make a comeback, he couldn't say it out loud.

"Looking at the starting lineups of both sides, Barça is still in a 4-4-2. In the last match, they used this formation to beat Liverpool by three goals at Anfield. There is no reason to change."

"In terms of personnel, it's still: Goalkeeper ter Stegen."

"The back four: Alba, Lenglet, Piqué, Roberto."

"Midfield: Coutinho, Rakitić, Busquets, Vidal."

"Two forwards: Suárez, Messi."

"The Barça head coach, Valverde, has declared that he will not adopt a conservative strategy in this match."

"They will completely defeat Liverpool at the Camp Nou."

On the commentary desk, Liang Xiangyu's expression was relaxed.

He was a more hardcore commentator, having graduated from a sports university with some real substance.

"That's right, but Liverpool has made a huge change in this match."

"Klopp has abandoned the 4-3-3 that he has been using all season and has changed to a 4-2-3-1 single-striker formation."

"The goalkeeper is still Alisson."

"The back four: Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip, Milner."

"Double holding midfielders: Alexander-Arnold, Henderson."

"The three midfielders: Keïta, Fabinho, Mané."

"Lone striker: TJ!"

"The absence of Salah and Firmino has left Liverpool's attack in disarray."

"Before the match, we all analyzed that with a three-goal lead, Barça would likely adopt a conservative strategy at home."

"And to break through a dense defense, a big center forward is an absolute killer weapon!"

"The referee has blown the whistle! The match has begun!"

Barça, who had won possession first, unhesitatingly pressed into Liverpool's half as soon as the whistle blew.

But Liverpool was well-prepared.

Klopp had guessed that Barça would use a strong attacking tactic at the start of their home game.

If they could score a goal through a blitzkrieg and establish a 4-goal lead, then they would be in an almost invincible position.

On the Champions League stage, although examples of a 3-goal comeback are rare, they are not non-existent.

But 4 goals is a different story.

In the history of the Champions League knockout stage, there has only been one case of a 4-goal comeback.

In 2017, Barcelona versus Paris Saint-Germain.

The Barça players, who had been thrashed by 4 goals at the Parc des Princes, returned to the Camp Nou for the second leg and played a resounding victory.

In the end, they won a big 6:1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at home and, at the same time, with an aggregate score of 6:5, completed a historic comeback.

Faced with Barça's blitzkrieg, Liverpool very calmly contracted their formation to the vicinity of their own penalty area.

When the opponent had brought the ball into their own territory, Liverpool immediately launched a pincer attack on the ball carrier.

In this match, with the two main players, Salah and Firmino, absent, Klopp had sent almost all of the team's workhorses onto the field.

They frantically rushed at the Barça players, regardless of their stamina.

After getting past Keïta in the center, Messi, facing Henderson's cover, immediately passed the ball diagonally.

On the wing, Coutinho instantly started, went down the wing at speed, and completed a cross.

BANG!

With a loud bang, the ball flew quickly into the center of the Liverpool penalty area. Piqué's header went high over the bar under the pressure of Van Dijk.

But Barça, with this attack, still ignited the nearly 80,000 Barça fans at the scene.

Valverde applauded on the sidelines.

The pre-match press conference statement that Barça would not adopt a conservative strategy at the Camp Nou was, of course, a lie.

The best thing about Liverpool is their counter-attack. To have an attacking showdown with Liverpool would be giving them an opportunity.

After the opening press to test the waters, the next step was to retreat to their own half and wait for Liverpool to come at them, occasionally giving them a hard time.

This was Barça's strategy for this match.

Not adopting a conservative strategy?

That was for fools!

And Klopp was clearly not deceived by his smokescreen, mainly because his team was too far behind.

"...Man, no matter how you look at it, Liverpool can't win. They're three goals down away from home, and Klopp is sitting deep at the start. How can they make a comeback?"

"It was already very difficult. Barça has a 90% win rate at home this season, and they're leading by 3 goals. How can they lose?"

"The power of the godfather is awesome!"

"They couldn't get past Real Madrid last season, and they can't get past Barça this season. The most expensive lineup in the world is just this?"

"I see that Barça doesn't seem to be satisfied with 3 goals. Piqué said before the match that they want to beat Liverpool by 7 and invite them for a 7-Up!"

"It would have been better if Salah and Firmino were here. Too many injuries!"

"You say that as if they could win if they weren't injured? That's hilarious! So what if you have the Egyptian Messi? The original is at Barça!"

"..."

In the bullet comments, the Liverpool fans were wailing, while the Barça fans were reveling.

But soon, the Barça fans would not be able to laugh.

Alisson quickly kicked the ball to a teammate.

Henderson, after holding off Barça's press, gave the ball to Arnold.

The Liverpool youngster immediately launched a long pass.

BANG~

The ball, spinning violently, traced a beautiful arc, a long pass towards Tendou.

Busquets quickly stuck to him.

The 36-year-old Spanish international was experienced and did not go for the header, just firmly holding his position.

In this situation, Tendou also did not jump. Relying on his height of 1.93 meters, he nodded the ball to Fabinho's position with his head.

At almost the same time, Rakitić immediately came up to apply pressure. Fabinho had originally wanted to play a one-two with Tendou, but under the opponent's press, he could only hastily pass the ball to Tendou according to the tactics.

With a thwack, the pass was not good. It was a bit high and also a bit far.

But Tendou, with a zzzzt, stepped on lightning and shot out.

Then, before the ball could land, he "feinted" at the ball with his forehead.

Thwack!

The ball was smashed onto the turf by him. As it bounced up a little, it was poked far away by the accelerating Tendou.