Barcelona 0-3 Juventus: 5 talking points as the Bianconeri run riot at Camp Nou | UEFA Champions League 2020-21

#3 Cristiano Ronaldo returns to haunt Barcelona at Camp Nou

Ronaldo scored his 14th goal against Barcelona

When Barcelona picked up their 2-0 victory over Juventus in October, there was some good-humoured banter over who the real 'GOAT' is between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo had missed that fixture due to COVID-19 but he returned in good time to put Barcelona to the sword once again.

The Portugal captain is, of course, a familiar face to Barcelona fans, following his nine-year spell with Real Madrid but this was the first time he faced the Blaugrana since he completed his move to Juventus in 2018.

13 - Cristiano Ronaldo 🇵🇹 has scored 13 goals in his last 13 games against Barcelona at Camp Nou in all competitions (two penalty goals). Return. pic.twitter.com/Th9Xo79q4X

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 8, 2020

His brace means that he has scored 14 goals at Camp Nou, which is the most he has scored at any single stadium in his career, while it also took him past the 650-mark in his club career.

It also saw him become the first man in Champions League history to score two penalties in a single game at Camp Nou.

Having met Barcelona on four previous occasions on the continent without finding the back of the net, it was a case of fifth time lucky for the Juventus talisman. At this rate, the Blaugrismo would be glad that he is nearing the end of his career and can no longer haunt them frequently.

#2 Potential watershed moment for Andrea Pirlo at Juventus

Andrea Pirlo is learning the ropes at Juventus

When Juventus made the decision to terminate the contract of Maurizio Sarri following an underwhelming end to the last campaign, it would have taken a very brave punter to stake odds that Andrea Pirlo would be named as his successor.

The World Cup winner was just one week removed from his first full-time coaching job, having only been appointed as the Juventus Under-23 manager before the call for the big job came.

It has been a baptism of fire for the renowned midfielder in the dugout since then, and he will be the first to tell you that he has not figured everything out tactically.

Pirlo's first four months as Juventus manager have hardly been ideal, and the club have looked out-of-sorts and devoid of ideas on several occasions.

There were poor results to newly-promoted teams in Serie A and although Juventus remain unbeaten domestically, their overall play has been far from convincing. Their over-dependence on a 35-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo has also been disappointing.

This is where the victory over Barcelona comes in very handy for Pirlo. Although the La Liga giants have unarguably been even poorer than Juventus, it takes nothing away from the significance of the win.

The fact that they dominated proceedings and barely gave the hosts a chance to settle in the game would have been very pleasing to their manager. Moreover, getting a victory over a seasoned manager like Ronald Koeman is sure to add some feathers to Pirlo's coaching cap.

Juventus are, of course, still far from the finished material, and Pirlo is still taking infant steps in the complicated world of football management but this victory over Barcelona could end up being the turning point in the club's campaign.

#1 Barcelona see record-breaking home run come crashing down

Barcelona lost at home in the UCL for the first time in seven years

Over the years, Barcelona have made a name for themselves by turning Camp Nou into something of a fortress, and nowhere has this been more evident than on the continent.

After falling to a 3-0 second-leg defeat at Camp Nou to complete a 7-0 rout against Bayern Munich in 2013, the Blaugrana did not lose again at home for over six years to set a new record for the longest unbeaten run at home in Champions League history.

Full Time pic.twitter.com/jTMnFvqcdF

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 8, 2020

Their 5-1 win over Lyon in March 2019 saw them surpass the previous mark of 29 set by the Bavarians between 1998 and 2002. Since then, Barcelona went an extra eight games without defeat to set a new record of 38 before the reversal to Juventus at Camp Nou.

Incredibly, in that time, the Blaugrana scored 114 goals and conceded just 20, which puts the scale of what Juventus achieved into greater context.