Barcelona have a promise to keep against Liverpool

Liverpool will be the best team Barcelona have faced all season, but the Catalan side have made their desperation for another Champions League title clear.

“Disgrace.” “Disaster.” “Humiliation.” “Deserved.” The Spanish sports media is notoriously tough to please at the best of times, but the morning after Barcelona’s shock Champions League collapse in Rome last year the headlines were particularly scathing.

Indeed, it was a result that sent shockwaves through Camp Nou. There was a lot of soul-searching afterwards, but in time the events of that night at the Stadio Olimpico could have a seminal influence in shaping Barca over the next few years.

It was at that moment, trudging off the Roman field in deep indignity, that many at Barcelona made a vow to themselves, a vow to restore the club as a European force. To win the Champions League again. Lionel Messi was one of those players and his determination, along with that of his teammates, to deliver on this pledge has been evident in his performances over the season.

Not since the days of Frank Rijkaard, when the club had gone a long 13 years without being continental kings, have Barcelona been so driven as they are now to become European champions again. Of the four teams left in this season’s Champions League, the Catalans are only one to remain undefeated, scoring nine times in the four knockout games they’ve played.

Liverpool will be the toughest test Ernesto Valverde and his players have faced all season long. Barcelona have strolled to another Spanish Liga title, sweeping aside the meek challenge of Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid on their way to an eighth championship in 11 years, and have so far coasted past PSV Eindhoven, Inter, Spurs, Lyon and Manchester United in the Champions League. None of these sides have the calibre of Jurgen Klopp’s team.

The argument could even be made that Liverpool are the team best equipped to better Barcelona, with the likes of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah all conditioned to get in behind opposition defenses as frequently as possible. That could prove to be a problem for Barca’s sometimes vulnerable backline, which in playing high up the pitch often leaves space for opponents to exploit.

Liverpool scored four times in their Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Porto, but it could have been double that. They’ll create chances against Barca, whether it’s at Anfield or Camp Nou. There has been a sense of control to the Catalans’ Champions League performances so far this season, but to get past Liverpool they will have to embrace a certain degree of chaos.

While the other semifinal between Ajax and Spurs will undoubtedly provide great drama, the clash between Barcelona and Liverpool has to be considered the true heavyweight bout at this stage of the competition. It might even be where this season’s Champions League is decided, with the victor sure to be the favorite to win the whole thing in the final.

Barcelona are a club like no other. Expectations are higher at Camp Nou than they are anywhere else across Europe and so if Barca, on course for a league and cup double, fail to win the Champions League, their season, just like last season, will be deemed a failure. Valverde’s position, just like last season, will be questioned and the soul-searching prompted by the catastrophic defeat to Roma will return. A few headlines would be recycled too.

“Now for the Champions League,” exclaimed one newspaper front page after Barca’s win over Atletico Madrid earlier this month, a win that all but wrapped up another Liga title. Unlike Liverpool, the Catalans can now focus entirely on the Champions League between now and the end of the season, with only the Copa del Rey final on May 25 to divert their attention. Even if that weren’t the case, though, there would be only one thing that matters. Messi and co. have a promise to keep.