Barcelona vs Liverpool Full Match 2019 UEFA Champions League

Clement Lenglet has said he's prepared to lose teeth to help Barcelona win the Treble after losing part of a tooth in his battle with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi scored twice in the second half after Luis Suarez's opener to help Barca beat Liverpool 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal.
Barca came under pressure at the start of the second half and Lenglet and his defensive colleagues had to be at their best to keep Liverpool out.
The French defender was up to the challenge, though, and even put his teeth on the line to secure a clean sheet and ensure Liverpool didn't get an away goal going into next week's second leg at Anfield.
"I lost a little bit of a tooth but it's not serious," Lenglet told RMC. "But I'm happy to lose bits of teeth again on a regular basis!"
Lenglet, who has replaced Samuel Umtiti in the Barca side this season, did struggle to deal with Salah early on. He was booked for a foul on the Egyptian in the first half but managed to get to grips with him better after that.
"I had a difficult first 20 minutes," the centre-back added. "During that period of the game, I needed to adapt to the distance I needed to stand off [Salah].
"You can't let the ball be played deep but [you have to] be quite close to step in as well. It was a little easier after that [first 20 minutes], even if these games are always difficult.
"I found it a little easier to position myself and analyse how close I needed to be to keep his back to goal as often as possible and -- when he did turn -- be able to play for time and get help from my teammates."
Barca will hope to get the job done at Anfield on Tuesday and book their place in their first European final since 2015. They have already wrapped up La Liga and have a Copa del Rey final against Valencia to come later in May.
A treble, which would be the club's third since 2009, remains on the cards but it's the Champions League which is now their ultimate goal after sealing the league title last weekend.
"I would give everything to win the Champions League," midfielder Arturo Vidal said, who was the surprise pick Valverde's side against Liverpool.
"I will give my life in the return leg and I hope to play in the final."

Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool: Left-backs make inroads

On one hand, this home win was all about Lionel Messi. But in a tactical sense, Liverpool managed to deny him space effectively: He found himself in the right position for a fortunate rebound in front of an open goal, and then curled in yet another majestic free kick.
On the other hand, the battle here was all about the left-backs. Jordi Albahas probably been Barcelona's second-best performer this season, while Liverpool's full-back pairing have recorded a steady stream of assists. With Trent Alexander-Arnold omitted and the more defensively solid Joe Gomez coming into the side on the right, this meant Andy Robertson would carry the attacking threat.
Ernesto Valverde's decision to play Arturo Vidal might have been designed to stop Robertson. He was used instead of the more technical Arthur, which meant Ivan Rakitic played a left-centre midfield role, and Vidal played on the right of midfield, tasked with shutting down Robertson. He didn't always do this particularly effectively, however, and in the first half, Liverpool's bright moments came when Robertson overlapped aggressively. With Sadio Mane's speed worrying Sergi Roberto, Liverpool looked dangerous down that side.
Jurgen Klopp made no such attempts to contain Alba, aside from the concession of starting Gomez. His team selection, including a fourth midfielder because of Roberto Firmino's injury, hinted at using a defensive-minded right-sided player -- Milner, perhaps -- to track Alba. Instead, Milner played as a right-centre midfielder, and Alba was often unmarked, with Mohamed Salah staying higher up the pitch.
Alba's trademark assist is getting to the byline and cutting the ball back for his pal Messi, and on 13 minutes, they nearly combined in typical fashion. It took a superb challenge from Robertson, covering expertly and matching Messi's run, to stop them.
But Alba remained the key player. On 24 minutes, he nutmegged substitute Jordan Henderson, played the ball inside to Messi and sprinted in behind for the return pass -- the type of run he has been making for several years, most memorably for Spain's second goal in the 4-0 Euro 2012 final win over Italy, when he did something identical to this with Xavi before finishing smartly. This time, however, Joel Matip read the danger and intercepted. The ball ended up out wide with Salah, and Alba sprinted back across to dispossess him and concede a throw.
From the next move, Barcelona switched play to Philippe Coutinho, he laid the ball back to Alba, and the left-back produced an absolutely brilliant cross/through ball that met Luis Suarez's perfectly timed run for the Uruguayan to put Barcelona ahead.
Liverpool rallied at 1-0 down before Messi's double. But the crucial tactical change was Valverde turning to Nelson Semedo, a second right-back, midway through the second half and deploying him in tandem with Sergi Roberto to shut down Liverpool's left. From then, Robertson had less opportunity to push forward, and Liverpool were far less dangerous.

Tottenham 0-1 Ajax: The Dutch defenders come out on top

The most intriguing clash in the first Champions League semifinal was the battle between the defensive trios: It was Ajax past versus Ajax present.
Tottenham's trio of Toby Alderweireld, Davinson Sanchez and Jan Vertonghen received their defensive tutoring in Amsterdam, while Ajax's current triumvirate is Matthijs de Ligt, Daley Blind and Frenkie de Jong. From the outset, it was the current Ajax generation who came out on top .
Fittingly, considering the Dutch interpretation of defensive play, the superiority of the Ajax trio wasn't really about defending. It was more about their ball-playing ability. Ajax silenced the crowd by keeping possession expertly, and a crucial factor was the ability of the centre-backs, in particular Blind, to fire line-breaking passes into the feet of midfielders and attackers. One early pass into De Jong bypassed Spurs' press easily, while another similar ball toward Dusan Tadic cut through both sides' entire midfields. For the first five minutes, the atmosphere at Spurs' new ground was hugely impressive. Quickly, however, Ajax silenced the home support.
De Ligt was capable of something similar, and he emerged victorious from his physical confrontation with Fernando Llorente. It's rare to see any young centre-back so commanding in the air, let alone a centre-back who is so technically gifted and still only 19.
But the real star was De Jong, who played as Ajax's deepest midfielder but often dropped back into the defence to help Ajax play out from the back, turning their 4-3-3 into a 3-4-3. His calmness with the ball at his feet is remarkable, and he exudes a physical presence with his body positioning, belying his slenderness and relatively short stature.

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