A stuttering display from Barcelona ahead of their Champions League semi-final first leg will have had Liverpool licking their lips in anticipation.
Although Barca's 1-0 victory over a Levante side fighting to avoid the drop was enough to secure their 26th La Liga title with three matches to spare, the Reds next European opponents were far from convincing as they put in a nervous-looking, sluggish performance.
Their unconvincing showing ahead of the heavyweight clash which sees the two five-times European Cup winners meet at the Camp Nou on Wednesday was in stark contrast to how Jurgen Klopp's side warmed up for the tie with a 5-0 thrashing of already-relegated Huddersfield Town at Anfield on Friday night.
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Liverpool dominated from start to finish with Naby Keita firing them ahead in the first minute before both Sadio Mane (23, 66) and Mohamed Salah (45, 83) bagged braces.
But whereas the Reds showed they are still in top form as they returned to the Premier League summit, the Catalan giants continue to look like something of a one-man show as they had to rely on a single piece of Lionel Messi magic as their star man came off the bench to rescue the three points needed to retain their crown at the expense of Atletico Madrid again.
Barca squandered a series of golden opportunities to score with former Liverpool man Luis Suarez – who has declared that there will be “no friendships” on the pitch against his old club when they meet, guilty of several bad misses while Reds-linked Ousmane Dembele spurned a chance when through on goal by losing his footing, falling over and giving away a free-kick for a handball.
The 15th-placed visitors came close to finding the net themselves on several occasions with home keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen punching an effort off the line and a shot from Eric Bardhi hitting the woodwork in the closing stages but a piece of Messi genius proved enough to be the difference between the two sides.
With Ernesto Valverde hoping to rest his talisman ahead of Liverpool's visit, Barca's head coach was forced to introduce him for the second half as a replacement for another of the Anfield alumni, Philippe Coutinho .
The only goal of the game came on 62 minutes as the Argentine-born legend controlled a headed ball from Arturo Vidal before ghosting passed two defenders and delicately curling his shot beyond Aitor Fernandez in the Levante net.
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While his effort ensured the celebrations could begin in Barcelona for another domestic triumph, a far sterner test now awaits Messi and company and based on this showing at least, Klopp's troops should fancy their chances.
