Marca slam sorry Barcelona in ratings after incredible Liverpool loss

Advertisement

While Liverpool celebrate their extraordinary Champions League semi-final comeback victory, the inquest into Barcelona’s collapse has begun.

The Spanish media have been immensely critical of Barca after they threw away a 3-0 first leg lead, going down 4-0 at Anfield to crash out of the competition.

Sports newspaper Marca have led the autopsy with their player ratings from the game – and they do not make pleasant reading for many of the Barca squad.

On a scale of zero to three stars, 10 of the 14 Barca players who took to the field on Tuesday night have been given the lowest possible rating.

These include key centre back Gerard Pique, and former Liverpool forwards Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, who both missed golden chances to score what would have been a decisive away goal for Barca.

The only four players to get more than zero for Barca are Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Arturo Vidal, Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi, who are all awarded one star.

Advertisement

In contrast, every Liverpool player gets at least two stars. Four of them – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gini Wijnaldum, Fabinho and Sadio Mane – received a perfect score.

Reds manager Jurgen Klopp also gets three stars, while Barca boss Ernesto Valverde, like Pique, Coutinho and Suarez, gets a flat zero.

While Marca is based in Madrid and is focused more on covering Real and Atletico, their coverage reflects the tone of the Spanish media after a humbling night for Barcelona.

The front page of Marca carries the headline ‘Fracaso Historico’ – meaning ‘Historical Failure’ in Spanish – under an image of the Anfield score board reading 4-0 to Liverpool.

Advertisement