Champions League: 'Lionel Messi took a page out of Cristiano Ronaldo’s book in win over Liverpool,' says former Manchester United star

What's the story?

Former Manchester United midfielder and current Stoke City star Darren Fletcher believes Barcelona captain Lionel Messi was inspired by longstanding rival Cristiano Ronaldo during the Catalan giants' thumping win over Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final fixture.

In case you didn't know...

Barcelona registered a comprehensive 3-0 win over Liverpool at Camp Nou on Wednesday night, inching closer to their first Champions League final in years.

Luis Suarez opened the scoring for the hosts in the first half before Messi netted a brace to further increase their advantage in the fixture.

The Argentine talisman's second goal came in the form of a spectacular free-kick in the latter stages of the second half, taking his overall club tally to a staggering 600 goals.

Ronaldo beat the Barcelona captain to the milestone during Juventus' 1-1 draw against Inter Milan in the Serie A earlier this week. With Juventus' exit from the Champions League though, Messi remains the competition's top-scorer with 12 goals so far.

The 31-year-old also leads the race for the European Golden Shoe with 34 La Liga goals to his name.

The heart of the matter

Fletcher believes that while Messi did not dictate the game against Liverpool, he did take a page out of Ronaldo's book when it came to scoring decisive goals.

Speaking on BBC Radio (via Express UK), the former United midfielder said, "Messi did not dictate the game tonight. He was not really in the game but, like we’ve seen Ronaldo do, he came alive to be the decisive goalscorer. You have to give him credit for that."

What's next?

Liverpool will hope to overcome their three-goal deficit when they host Barcelona at Anfield on May 7. Meanwhile, the Catalan giants are scheduled to face Celta Vigo in La Liga on Saturday night.