Lionel Messi went a long way to delivering on his pre-season promise to win the Champions League with two goals – one a brilliant trademark free kick – in a 3-0 first-leg semi-final victory over Liverpool.

With Firmino only fit enough for the bench after a muscle tear, Klopp picked utility man Georginio Wijnaldum, a stand-in centre back last season, in an unfamiliar false nine position.

Ivan Rakitic’s early cross was blocked and Suarez headed the resulting corner into the side-netting, but Liverpool posed their own threat with Salah playing like he was made for this grand stage, giving Jordi Alba and centre back Clement Lenglet plenty of trouble.

Messi was keeping a relatively low profile, but he is most dangerous in short bursts, and when he broke into the penalty area a goal seemed inevitable until Andy Robertson produced a brilliant sliding challenge to dispossess him.

This was a measure of just how good the Scotland captain has been this season, but on the other side Joe Gomez, making his first start since breaking his leg in early December, was getting exposed by Coutinho drifting inside to allow Alba a free run.

It provided the breakthrough midway through the first half when Alba’s low cross was diverted in by the sliding Suarez, making good on his pledge to celebrate against his former side after his 25th goal of the season.

Despite the goal, Liverpool was doing a pretty impressive job and it should have been better, had Sadio Mane not ballooned over a raking, low pass from Jordan Henderson – a 24th minute replacement for the injury Naby Keita.

Virgil van Dijk’s proud record of never having been dribbled past this season looked like being beaten when he slipped with Messi in close proximity, but the Dutchman’s speed at recovery was such that he not only managed to get back, but also to dispossess the Argentinian just as he threatened to break into the area.

Milner forced the first save out of Marc Andre ter Stegen early in the second half, and then wastefully shot straight at the goalkeeper after Wijnaldum had dummied Salah’s cut-back.

Barca’s change in formation did not seem to help them much as Liverpool continued to press for the equaliser, and just as the visitors were threatening to equalise, the Argentinian genius struck.

His first goal was via a huge stroke of luck as Suarez’s shot rebounded off the crossbar to offer a tap-in – but the second was an absolutely sublime 25-yard free kick.

No wonder that 94,000 fans, as they have done so many times in the past, then stood as one to hero-worship their captain with chants of ‘Messi, Messi, Messi’.

The scoreline was harsh on Liverpool, who appeared to have weathered the storm and were causing Barca boss Ernesto Valverde enough concern for him to replace another former Anfield favourite, Philippe Coutinho, with right back Nelson Semedo and change to 4-4-2 formation with the score at 1-0.

But in the blink of an eye the lead became three – making a comeback next week not impossible, but incredibly difficult without an away goal.

And there was another kick in the teeth for Jurgen Klopp’s side as Roberto Firmino had a shot cleared off the line and Mohamed Salah hit the post in the same attack late on.

The margin would have been greater had substitute Ousmane Dembele taken advantage of two late chances.