Match Reports
Liverpool 1-3 Barcelona Liverpool went down to their first ever Champions League defeat on a big European night at Anfield. With 3 points up for grabs, both sides attacked a lot more than in the two meetings last season, and that was very evident from early on after a start which saw Barcelona enjoy a lot of the ball. But after a lot of possession in the Barcelona half and a couple of excellent chances narrowly missed by Heskey, Liverpool took the lead and yet again it was Michael Owen with the goal. Smicer played a quick pass through the new and improved Barcelona defence, and Owen's pace was too much for the full back's to cope with and he calmly lifted the ball over the advancing Bonano on 26 minutes. Before half time though, Barcelona drew level and Kluivert was the scorer with a fierce shot from inside the area at the same end as the which he gave away apenalty in April, which ultimately put Barca out of the UEFA cup. The half time score was perhaps a littke harsh on Liverpool who had looked impressive over the opening 30 minutes, but it was a reminder of what the visitors were capable of. Liverpool started for the second half looking confident and again began to push Barcelona intro their own half as much as possible but a clear chance was not created until the hour mark and it again fell to Owen. After Bonano and De Boer had clashed with each other trying to deal with Smicer's cross, Owen found himself in front of the goal with the ball bouncing right in front of him and both the keeper and the last defender still on the ground beside him. But when only the slightest of touches would have made it 2-1, Owen somehow managed to put the chance across goal and just wide. Barcelona then took command of the game though, and from then on, Liverpool hardly saw the ball. Barcelona were more than happy to keep the ball and pass it around in their own half. And on 65 minutes, they saw there chance to puch up the field and following a succession of short, quick passes, Rivaldo set the ball up for Rochemback, and he curled an unstoppable shot around Sami Hyypia and beyond Dudek's reach. For the next 20 minutes, Barca frustrated Liverpool and the introduction of Fowler, Berger and Litmanen was to mostly little effect. Then, with around 5 minutes to go, Barca wrapped up the win. Xavi played in Mark Overmars, and after the offside flag stayed down, Overmars raced through and rounded Dudek before finishing Liverpool off. Liverpool played well for most of the game, but a classy Barcelona performance in which they combined patient build-up play with ruthless attacking football ensured that they would deservedly claim top place in the group but with 5 games left to play, it could still so easily change. View match pictures from this game!
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