In the photograph his hands are on his hips, his back to us, his body language disconsolate. Above him the scoreboard says 4-0. In front of him is a large flock of fans and a line of photographers but almost no eye or lens is aimed at him. The best player in football has been made irrelevant by the best team of the night.

In the picture, Lionel Messi is at a standstill. Liverpool have run him into defeat and his team into clumsiness. They've stormed into history by overcoming a first-leg 3-0 deficit, charged through the gates of greatness, galloped into legend. You could see their belief in every tackle, their purpose in every sprint.