01.15am - Barcelona can dream of Madrid
So, it is hard to see where Liverpool get this back. They have just six days till the second leg and a strong campaign is in very serious danger of ending without a trophy.
Barcelona are in a commanding position to reach the final in Madrid on June 2.
Here is a report on tonight's action here.
Thanks again for following the action with us tonight. That concludes the live updates for this evening.
_____________
00.58am - Final whistle - Barcelona 3 Liverpool 0
It is all over. Barcelona win and are in a dominant position. Liverpool will feel hard done by were undone by not making their good play count and the brilliance of Lionel Messi.
Two more goals for the Argentine great, with Luis Suarez having netted the opener.
______________
00.45am - Game over for Liverpool as Messi makes it three
There is no stopping that. Jurgen Klopp smiles on the touchline to sum it up.
Lionel Messi scores his second to make it 3-0 with a sensational left-footed free-kick that gives Allison no chance.
Just to sum up Liverpool's night Mohamed Salah then hits the post with the goal gaping after a scramble.
3-0 down with five minutes to go, Liverpool can still salvage this night with an away goal.
_____________
00.40am - Messi makes it two
That is cruel on Liverpool.
Barcelona are two ahead. Luis Suarez hits the bar but Lionel Messi literally walks in the rebound.
2-0 Barcelona. Fifteen minutes to go. Liverpool need an away goal and they need it soon.
___________
00.35am - Can Liverpool find a leveller?
Not for the want of trying but Liverpool are beginning to look frustrated in their bid to get back on level terms.
Lots of good play and promising positions, particularly every time Mohamed Salah has the ball.
But the final ball is continuing to frustrate Liverpool.
Twenty minutes to go and Barcelona still ahead 1-0.
______________
00.25am - Liverpool dominating as Coutinho substituted
It is not often Barcelona are on the backfoot on home turf but Liverpool have bossed the start of the second half.
But they have no goal to show for it and James Milner shoots straight at Marc Andre ter Stegen when either side of him surely produces a goal.
Barcelona react by substituting former Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho and replacing him with Nelson Semedo.
Thirty minutes to go. Barcelona still lead 1-0 but Liverpool have serious hope.
_____________
00.15am - Salah denied
Liverpool are not going down here without a fight.
Marc Andre ter Stegen firstly denies James Milner and then gets down well to palm away Mohamed Salah's curling effort.
Liverpool definitely giving Barcelona some headaches here.
____________
00.10am - Second half starts
We are back under way at Camp Nou.
Can Liverpool fightback or are Barcelona going to increase their 1-0 advantage.
If it is as good as the first half we are in for a treat.
____________
23.50pm - Tempers rise as it is 1-0 at half time
It is 1-0 Barcelona at half time. A good first half.
But it got a bit ugly in the closing stages. James Milner shoulder barged Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez clashed with his former teammates as he looked for a yellow card.
Suarez has continued to argue with Liverpool players and certainly there is a little needle to proceedings.
23.35pm - Mane misses chance to equalise
Liverpool are still looking good when they do get forward and Sadio Mane puts a good chance to equalise over from close range.
The problem is Barcelona look sensational themselves and Lionel Messi and Philippe Coutinho nearly open up their defence on the counter-attack.
This is an interesting test for Liverpool. 1-0 is not a disaster but there is a chance to get an away goal undoubtedly.
_____________
23.30pm - Suarez scores for Barcelona
It is 1-0 Barcelona and it is Luis Suarez against his former side.
He gets on the end of an excellent cross from Jordi Alba to net.
Liverpool had been holding there own and this will be a big test of their resolve.
____________
23.25pm - Keita off, Henderson on for Liverpool
Setback for Liverpool as Naby Keita has to go off injured with an apparent groin injury.
He is replaced by Jordan Henderson.
The change gives Barcelona time to have a meeting in the centre of the middle of the park, led by Lionel Messi, with the Catalan side clearly not delighted with the opening to the game.
____________
23.20pm - Coutinho goes close
Former Liverpool man Philippe Coutinho goes close twice for his current employers.
Firstly he has a curling effort saved by Alisson, and then he whips a shot across goal after being put through by Lionel Messi.
Still goalless.
_____________
23.15pm - Salah looking lively for Liverpool
Goalless after 15 minutes and Jurgen Klopp is probably the happier manager.
Liverpool have looked dangerous when they have gone forward. Mohamed Salah is causing the Barcelona defence problems on the right flank and it is just the final ball that is letting Liverpool down.
Lionel Messi is beginning to get into the game though and only a last-ditch block stops him getting a shot away.
A fun start with more to come.
_______________
23.10pm - Lively start as Rakitic goes close and Mane has penalty shout
Both sides have looked determined to attack at every opportunity.
Ivan Rakitic is only denied a shot on goal from close range by a last-gasp block as Barcelona start well.
But Liverpool have what looks like a decent shout for a penalty ignored after Sadio Mane goes down under what appears like slight contact from Gerard Pique. Well, you've seen them given anyway.
______________
23.00pm - We are under way
The game is started. A great spectacle at Camp Nou beforehand with both sides have impressive banners on show.
But now it is about the 90 minutes here tonight and the 90 minutes on May 7 at Anfield to decide who reaches the final in Madrid on June 2.
___________
22.55pm - Teams are on the field
Five minutes to kick off and the teams are out. Ernesto Valverde and Jurgen Klopp have had their last words to the players.
The talking us about to stop and the action begins
_______________
22.45pm - That time Salah met the 'mother of dragons' from Game of Thrones
Mohamed Salah has had an interesting build-up to the game. He scored twice in Liverpool's 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town.
But, before that, he was in New York at the Time 100 event. There he got to meet actress Emilia Clarke, one of the stars of hit TV show Game of Thrones.
It was fair to say the Egyptian was pleased to meet Daenerys Targaryan. Read up on their meeting here.
22.35pm - Liverpool's goal threat
If Liverpool are to be successful tonight they will look to the familiar threat of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane for the goals.
Roberto Firmino is the third element to that attack usually, but he starts on the bench after recovering from injury.
Richard Jolly looks here at how the trio has been formed and how they have become so important to the team.
_______________
22.00pm - Team news - Firmino on bench as Coutinho starts
The teams are in and some interesting news. Roberto Firmino, who has been struggling with injury, is on the bench for Liverpool, while Joe Gomez plays at right-back ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
For Barcelona, Philippe Coutinho gets the nod for Barcelona ahead of Ousmane Dembele in the attacking midfield role.
_____________
21.30pm - The left-back duel - Jordi Alba v Andy Robertson
A lot of the focus, understandably, in the build-up to the clash has been on the forward lines.
But as Ian Hawkey writes here, the left-backs could be equally as important as Camp Nou.
Jordi Alba has been vital for Barcelona this season, while Andy Robertson has had an excellent campaign at Anfield.
_______________
21.10pm - Teams and fans arriving at Camp Nou
The players are now in the dressing room at Camp Nou getting prepared for the big match.
Teams should be announced around 21.45pm UAE time and then the players will be out for the warm-up ahead of kick-off at 23.00pm.
A reminder this is the first leg and the second leg is at Anfield on May 7.
_______________
20.40pm - When Bellamy and Toshack were heroes at Camp Nou
Not many teams can claim to have a strong record in Barcelona. Liverpool can.
The Merseyside club have never lost a competitive match at Camp Nou and they will want to stretch that to five tonight.
The last time they met was in 2017 when Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise were on the scoresheet for the side managed by Rafa Benitez at the time.
Read here on the look back at the past four meetings between the sides in Barcelona.
-
Barcelona 1 Liverpool 2, February 2007. This one is best remembered for Craig Bellamy's goal celebration of pretending to swing a golf club after he had netted. The moment was in reaction to a clash he had with teammate John Arne Riise, where he had reportedly attacked the Norwegian with a golf club. Riise also netted in what was a 2-1 success for Liverpool in the first leg that set them up for a run to the final, where they lost to AC Milan. Getty Images -
Barcelona 0 Liverpool 0, March 2002. Back in 2001/02 there were two sets of group stages in the Champions League. The sides met at Camp Nou in the penultimate game of Group B. Liverpool needed to avoid defeat to boost their qualification hopes and they got that. Steven Gerrard impressed in centre midfield as Barca were denied in a goalless draw. Both sides would reach the knockout stages but neither would reach the final. Getty Images -
Barcelona 0 Liverpool 0, April 2001. The teams played again in the semi-finals of the Uefa Cup again in April 2001. This was another tense affair. But Sander Westerveld made a number of fine saves in the Liverpool goal and a goalless draw was followed up by a 1-0 win at Anfield in the second leg which put them to the final, where they beat Alaves. Getty Images -
Barcelona 0 Liverpool 1, March 1976. Johan Cruyff was in the Barcelona side for the first leg of the Uefa Cup semi-final first leg in March 1976, but it was not to be his or Barcelona's night. Welshman John Toshack, centre pictured in the second leg at Anfield, netted after only 13 minutes and that proved to be the difference maker as Liverpool won 1-0 on the night. The second leg would be drawn 1-1 and Liverpool would go through and go on to win the trophy. Colorsport
_______________
20.25pm - Why Liverpool can lift the Uefa Champions League
Liverpool are England's most successful side in the competition, winning the title five times in the past.
The most recently of those was in 2005 when they came back from three goals down to beat AC Milan on penalties after a 3-3 draw.
Since then they have lost in the 2007 and 2018 finals. But John McAuley believes victory No 6 can come this year.
Here is John's reasoning on why he is backing Jurgen Klopp's men.
_____________
20.00pm - Why Barcelona will win the Uefa Champions League
Despite being one of the most successful sides in Europe over the past decade, Barcelona have not enjoyed plentiful success in the Champions League.
They have not lifted the trophy since 2015 and this year is the first time they have got to the semi-finals since that success in Berlin four years ago when they defeated Juventus 3-1.
But deputy sports editor Steve Luckings is backing Barcelona to win the tournament for a sixth time. Read his reasoning here.
-
Lionel Messi, left, Luis Suarez, centre, and Arturo Vidal, right, attend a training session ahead of Barcelona's Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg against Liverpool. EPA -
Barcelona players, including Lionel Messi, centre, take part in a training session in Barcelona. EPA -
Lionel Messi, left, Jordi Alba, second right, and Barcelona players take part in a training session. EPA -
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde leads the training session. EPA -
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen takes part in a training session. AFP -
Lionel Messi, left, and Luis Suarez warm-up during Barcelona's training session. AFP -
Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti heads the ball during the training session. Getty Images -
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal is conversation during the training session. AFP -
Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets, right, stretches for the ball during the training session. Getty Images -
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi go through a warm-up during the training sesion. AFP
_______________
7.45pm - All set for Lionel Messi v Mohamed Salah
Good evening! Welcome to The National's coverage of tonight's Uefa Champions League semi-final first leg between Barcelona and Liverpool at Camp Nou.
Two of the best sides in Europe up against each other, with some serious firepower set to be on display.
Barcelona will again look to Lionel Messi for inspiration, while of course Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho will be out to make an impact against their former side.
Liverpool are not too short in quality offensively either with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino all likely to have been thought about in Barcelona's pre-match planning.
We are three hours from kick-off in Spain for the big match. Between now and then we'll have plenty of preview material and all the team news and updates to make sure you've got all the information you need for the action.
