Los 40 USA
Sign in to commentAPP
spainSPAINchileCHILEcolombiaCOLOMBIAusaUSAmexicoMEXICOlatin usaLATIN USAamericaAMERICA

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Klopp hails 'unstoppable' Messi after Champions League brace

Jürgen Klopp saw Lionel Messi confirm his belief that he was "world class" with a brace in Barcelona's 3-0 semi-final win over Liverpool.

Klopp hails 'unstoppable' Messi after Champions League brace
Getty Images

Lionel Messi was called "unstoppable" by Jürgen Klopp after the Barcelona forward scored twice in a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg win over Liverpool.

Despite keeping him quiet for the majority of the game at Camp Nou, Messi scored a seven-minute brace after Luis Suárez's opener on Wednesday to reach 600 goals for the club, who took a big step towards reaching the Champions League final thanks to their talisman.

Alisson Becker unable to save Messi's free-kick, placed right inside the top corner.
Full screen
Alisson Becker unable to save Messi's free-kick, placed right inside the top corner.Catherine IvillGetty Images

Right place, right time

Messi's first was a routine finishbut he was in the right place at the right time to put the ball over the line after Luis Suárez's effort bounced back off the crossbar, but the second was a delicious whipped free-kick from 30 yards out. It was his 600th goal for Barça 14 years on from his debut and it was another night where Messi proved to be pivotal for his team.

Full screen
RODOLFO MOLINADIARIO AS

Klopp not surprised by Messi's class

"In these moments, he's unstoppable," Klopp told a news conference. "Obviously we couldn't defend the free-kick. What a strike. He's a world-class player. The second goal – the 2-0 – was probably not the nicest goal in the career of Lionel Messi but it shows his skills that he's there in that moment. But apart from that I was happy with how we defended. I'm a big admirer of him but my boys tonight didn't show too much respect. They were there, tried with completely legal things. We didn't treat him harshly or whatever to try to get him out of the game. We played just football and I like that. I knew before that Lionel is a world-class player and now I saw it again. I'm not too surprised, to be honest."

Top class saves

Liverpool were largely on top after Suárez struck first, but Sadio Mané fired over from a one-on-one before James Milner – twice – and Mohamed Salah were denied by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Messi's late brace, which preceded Salah hitting the post, has now left Barcelona firmly in charge of the tie, with Klopp unwilling to sugar-coat the situation. Asked if his team still have a chance to progress, he replied: "Because it's football, yes, but before this game we had a bigger chance, let me say it like this. It's difficult. What can I say? It's Barcelona. That's difficult to avoid. Because it's football, we should still try but it's not a night for being really mouthy and saying, 'It's exactly what we wanted. It's half-time, score an early goal and all that s***'. It will be another really difficult game."