Juventus vs Barcelona: 5 Talking Points

#2 Barcelona were hopeless in attack without Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi only came on as a substitute in the second half

Before the game, the papers had billed this as a contest between the two clubs' no.10s - Lionel Messi and Paulo Dybala. Both play for Argentina and both were expected to shine tonight.

However, Ernesto Valverde dropped a bombshell when he announced a starting lineup without Messi. The Argentine forward was named as a substitute and did not come on until the 56th minute.

And Barcelona struggled for those 56 minutes. Valverde had started with a 4-2-3-1 with Paulinho in a no.10 role behind Suarez while Andres Iniesta and Gerard Deulofeu played out wide.

Although Suarez was back in his preferred position where he could lead the line, his lack of any real movement were one of the main reasons for Barcelona's struggles in the final third. The Uruguayan striker only managed two shots - none of which were on target.

Once Messi came on, Barcelona switched to a 4-4-2 and looked a little more fluid thanks to Messi's movement. But he was also surrounded by black-and-white shirts and the only real threat he provided was via free-kicks carelessly given away by Juve.