Over-reliance on Messi or over-confidence: What went wrong for Barcelona against Liverpool

Another Cup final to erase the disappointment of another failure in the Champions League except, just like last year, even a domestic double will not come close. 

It was supposed to be the season Barcelona laid to rest the ghost of the Stadio Olimpico, where they inexplicably conceded three in Rome, one year after they let in three in Turin, two years after they were stunned in Madrid. 

Three consecutive quarter-final defeats, all away from home. 

This was one stage further and Liverpool were more capable than Roma, Juventus or Atletico but Barca's latest loss was the worst of them all. 

Ahead of the match, Barcelona fans had assumed that they will for sure enter the finals.

Even the attitude of players was a bit relaxed but Liverpool delivered one of the greatest comebacks in UEFA Champions League history to reach the final, with a 4-0 at Anfield to overturn a three-goal deficit from the first leg. 

Against Liverpool's approach, Barca looked weak and did not offer anything to the game. 

Divock Origi scored twice, either side of goals by halftime substitute Georginio Wijnaldum early in the second half, to send Liverpool into its second straight final and set up a meeting with either Ajax or Tottenham on June 1. 

Barcelona has become over-reliant on their star player Lionel Messi. 

Very rare Messi can be seen talking publicly but ahead of the season, he addressed the fans at Camp Nou, which is a tradition for that Barcelona's first captain, and promised to bring back the Champions League trophy. 

In his speech, Messi said, "We promise that this season we will do all we can to bring that beautiful trophy back to the Camp Nou."

But it is a fact that Messi will be target by the defenders of the opposite team and if he fails to deliver, other players should step up. 

Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets was critical of his side's performance. 

"We ask for forgiveness because even after Rome, it happened again," said Sergio Busquets. 

In the entire match, the midfield was slow. Especially in the second half, the team did not offer anything. 

Barcelona and Lionel Messi walked out at Anfield as probable for a Champions League, Cup and Liga treble but walked off with coach Ernesto Valverde possibly facing the sack. 

Shocked head coach Ernesto Valverde admits Barcelona were "rolled over" by Liverpool. 

"It's a terrible result for our fans and ourselves. We didn't expect a situation like this. This is what's happened to us, it's really unfortunate," said Valverde. 

There will be calls for change, particularly from those fans who have never been convinced by Valverde, suspicious of his more pragmatic tendencies and, perhaps, underwhelmed by his placid approach. 

Valverde signed a new contract in February, albeit only until 2020, and, out of Europe, he boasts a record that is almost faultless. 

If he was to leave in the summer, he could depart having won consecutive doubles, lost two games in the Champions League and only four in La Liga, with half of those coming after the title was already secured. 

Barcelona's newly purchased players Aurtur and Malcolm looked like odd ones out.

They should earn the trust of the senior players to make the passing and setting up the game easy. 

To be extraordinary, Barcelona had to deliver in Europe where, unlike in Spain, their record diminishes their impact on this era which, for many, at least in terms of style and talent, is tinted in red and blue.

This has been Messi's era too, but not in the Champions League, where he owns four titles, one fewer than Cristiano Ronaldo and equal to most of the squad of Real Madrid. 

Some of Barcelona's players joked their captain had cranked up the pressure when he pledged in August to bring "that beautiful cup" back to Camp Nou.

But the expectation and the armband seemed to bring the best out of Messi, 12 goals his second best ever return in the tournament and only a couple short of his highest tally in 2012.