adminBARCELONA — Lionel Messi warned his Barcelona team-mates that their place in the Champions League football final is still not certain despite his two-goal salvo in a 3-0 semi-final first leg win over Liverpool on Wednesday night.
“It would have been better to win 4-0 than 3-0 but it is a very good result,” said the Argentine star.
“It’s not definitive, we are going to go into a very complicated atmosphere, with a great history.”
Messi’s second goal was the 600th of his Barca career and he reached the landmark in stunning style, majestically curling a free-kick into the top corner.
“It was beautiful when it went in but I was lucky that the ball lodged up there in the corner.”
Messi refused to take all the plaudits for the win which also Luis Suarez score against his former club.
“We must be more united than ever, all together: the team, the fans.
“We said at the beginning of the season that we will win it together.”
Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde also insists the job is not yet done after seeing his team beat Liverpool 3-0 in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
The Catalans were 4-1 up in the quarter-final against Roma last year only to go out on away goals after a 3-0 loss in Rome.
“We won’t go there with precautions but experience must count for something,” said Valverde.
“We saw how Liverpool manage games and the pace with which they play, and we cannot forget that we can’t afford to feel extra confident. The tie is still open and we haven’t got through yet.”
Liverpool had scored seven goals in their last two Champions League away games against Bayern Munich and Porto and despite falling behind to a strike from their former forward Suarez, they showed huge ambition in attack.
“We cannot lie, it’s always a good result when you win and your opponent doesn’t score, but we suffered, there are still 90 minutes to go and while we were able to score they could have done so too,” Valverde added.
“They were better than us for some spells and we know what awaits us over there.
“I see a team that has the ability to make any team suffer. Last year we had a three-goal advantage and we were knocked out. We’ve picked up a great result but the tie isn’t over.”— AFP.
Online Reporter