Victory Would Belong to Liverpool!

Another long ball came from Barcelona's half, entering Liverpool's thirty-meter area.

The La Liga giants had no tactical target man up front, so passes like that were unlikely to pose much of a threat to Liverpool's defense.

Yet they continued doing it time and again. The reason was simple: they could not find a more effective way to get through Liverpool's midfield stranglehold.

The midfield combination of Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Mascherano, and Gareth Barry had completely severed Barcelona's passing lanes, making it difficult for them to send the ball forward. They had no choice but to resort to long passes.

But this was not a one-off exchange.

After the long ball from the back, Barcelona's forwards could not win the first ball, but they aggressively fought for the second.

Skrtel stepped forward and headed the ball back toward the halfway line.

Gerrard headed it again, knocking it toward Gareth Barry on the left.

The English midfielder was pressed by Xavi and quickly played the ball to Xabi Alonso.

Xabi Alonso glanced to the left and immediately sent a diagonal pass backward, moving the ball out to the left flank.

At that moment, Aurélio had moved into an unmarked position on the wing. After receiving the ball, he raised his hand, signaling that they should slow the tempo.

But Liverpool were clearly nowhere near the point where they could breathe easily.

Eto'o, Messi, and Henry pressed forward at the same time. Eto'o in particular charged straight at Aurélio.

The Brazilian left-back got to the ball first and carried it forward along the left touchline, but Eto'o chased him relentlessly.

That was Barcelona's characteristic style: they pressed in the attacking third with almost reckless intensity.

Aurélio glanced ahead and quickly found his target.

As Barcelona's forwards pressed, their midfield pushed up as