Prime Barca (2008–2012) against the current Liverpool side would be a clash of heavyweights for sure. This match pits Prime Salah against Messi, Van Djik against Puyol and Henry against Manè. First let’s have a look at both the teams.
LIVERPOOL :
Following an impressive 2018/19 season which included a Champions League trophy, Liverpool looked stronger than ever at the start of the 2019/20 season and they bulldozed through every side that they were put up against in the Premier League due to which they ended the year with a record 55 points of 57 available without any losses to their name. At present Liverpool has lost only one match and has the PL title won for sure. They are at the top of the league with 82 points, 25 points over Manchester City which at the moment is second in the league which is great in itself. Also, they’ve surpassed the Invincible Arsenal side of 2003/04 in terms of more matches won as Arsenal won only 26 matches while Liverpool have won 27 and we haven’t even reached the 30th match week yet. No team in the history of premier league has been able to get these many points in only 29 matches. Though they’ve been unlucky in Cup competitions where they lost against the likes of Chelsea and Atlético in FA cup and Champions League respectively, no single person can deny the fact that this side’s run this season has been very dominant, a run which hasn’t been seen in the league for a very long time now. The credit for their success goes to their forward trio comprising of Salah, Firminho, and Manè. Together they’ve scored 38 goals in the league so far with Salah scoring 16 of them followed by Manè who has 14 goals to his name in the league. Also, their defense has proven itself to be a force to be reckoned with this fall. The Dutch Van Djik has impressed everyone yet again as his performance in matches is one of the major reasons why Liverpool stand where they’re at present. Also, the full-backs Trent Arnold and Andrew Robertson started exactly from where they left off last season. Till now Trent Arnold has had 12 assists to his name in the league while Robertson has 7. No other full-back has had more contribution to goals than these two. Though at present, we don’t know what the future has in store for Liverpool and if they’ll be able to end their 30 year-long league title drought or not due to the Coronavirus outbreak, this season will forever be remembered for their dominant run where they’ve beaten every single team in the league.
Now let’s talk about their opponents.
BARCELONA:
This side which was led by Pep Guardiola is regarded as one of the best teams to ever play football in the 21st century. They beat almost every top team in La Liga as well as in the Champions League. Apart from that, this side boasted players like prime Iniesta and Xavi, Messi at his very best and some other supremely talented footballers who are now considered to be the legends of the modern day football. Their playing style impressed everyone and to see them use Tiki-taka in every game was a delight for every football fan and a mesmerizing sight in itself. Even Sir Alex Fergurson who happened to lose two UCL finals against this side considered it to be one of the best sides that he had ever faced in his career. Barcelona from 2008 to 2012 managed to win the league title on three ocassions and the Champions league twice. However their most dominant season is considered to be the 2008–09 season where they won the treble and their lineup only was enough to give birth to fear in the hearts of their opponents. This side had it all. From Henry, Eto’o and Messi leading them from the front to Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets taking control of the midfield and then the back four of Puyol, Piquè, Abidal and Dani Alves to bring together a team which could do wonders and made football shake to its core and when you added the tactics of Guardiola in the mix, the combination came out to be quite lethal. In the 2008–09 La Liga season Barca scored a total of 105 goals with Eto’o being the highest scorer.
They scored a total of 35 goals in Champions league with Messi leading the charge as he found the back of the net 9 times.
Overall that season is regarded as one of the best seasons in the history of Barcelona. Many experts even state that this was the best Barcelona lineup they had ever seen.
VERDICT:
Though Liverpool have been a great team this season, they’ll be outmatched when they’re up against Barca of the 2008–09 season. The reason is that the midfield trio of Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets at the time could easily turn around games and thus they serve as the X-factor for Barca in this classic contest. It’s not that Henderson, Keita and Fabinho are bad but when it comes down to comparison with their Barca counterpart, they are easily outmatched. Otherwise these two sides give a strong fight to each other in multiple aspects of the game.
Thus, when these two sides clash, Barcelona would surely have an upper hand. However, that doesn’t change the fact that we’ll be up for a treat and this one surely be a match for the ages.
RESULT:
Prime Barcelona will beat the current Liverpool side.
