OPINION
In a recent article for the Daily Mail former Liverpool midfielder and current pundit Danny Murphy has claimed that the Reds ‘won’t be exposed’ in their Champions League clash with Barcelona next week.
Murphy stated: “I don’t want to tempt fate but I think Liverpool are better equipped to deal with Lionel Messi than Manchester United were at the Nou Camp.
“Stopping Messi isn’t simple but if you’re looking for a midfield three to do the job, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Gino Wijnaldum would be near the top of the list.”
Although Murphy may have a point here, suggesting that Messi won’t be a significant issue for Klopp’s men is completely ludicrous.
Granted, Liverpool’s midfield trio are an outstanding defensive asset, and all three of them should have a chance of keeping the main man quiet, but they still have an unbelievably difficult task ahead of them.
It will take a faultless 90 minute performance to keep Messi from being a danger man, not to mention the fact that they’ll have to do it all over again the second leg.
Regarding team selection, Murphy added: “Even if Klopp can’t name his favoured three, he has other options in Naby Keita and James Milner, who have the athleticism and positional sense to deal with threats.”
Arguably, Milner and Keita would have next to no chance in silencing the likes of Messi over two legs, and that’s without even considering the other deadly threats that Barca have to offer in the form of Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, who are both familiar with playing at Anfield.
It will all come down to whether or not Messi is on form, and the majority of the time in Europe, he is.
So with that in mind Murphy is barking up the wrong tree by publicly claiming Liverpool have the ideal midfield trio to silent the magical Messi.
