Juventus recorded a comprehensive 3-0 win over Barcelona in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash. The win severely dented Barcelona’s hopes of winning a 6th Champions League title as they now need to mount another epic comeback in the second leg if they want to progress to the semi-finals.
Paulo Dybala was Juventus’ destroyer-in-chief as he netted twice in the first half to sink Luis Enrique’s side before Giorgio Chiellini headed home a rare goal to seal a 3-0 win for the hosts.
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Here are the major talking points from the feisty encounter between Juventus and Barcelona:
#1 Barcelona undone by their formation
Barcelona used Luis Enrique’s newly adopted 3-3-1-3 formation to devastating effect in the second leg of the 6-5 comeback win over PSG in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. The Spaniard opted to start his team with the same formation against the Italians but it proved to be the reason behind their failure.
Juventus were afforded far too much space in the wide areas courtesy of a narrow Barcelona setup and the Old Lady made the most of it. Cuadrado had the number of Mathieu in the first half and waltzed past him down the right at will, setting up the first goal among a couple of other good chances.
Such was the condition of Barcelona’s defence after the first half that Enrique was forced to take of Mathieu and revert to their usual 4-3-3 formation, however, by that time the damage had already been done and the Catalans were left chasing lost causes.
#2 Juventus’ defence will prove to be the reason why Barcelona cannot make another great comeback
After Dybala scored the opener for the home side, Messi carved open the Juventus defence with a FIFAesque through ball to catch the run of Andres Iniesta but the Spaniard’s goal-bound shot was tipped away by Buffon. Messi was not allowed to come near the Juve box by a resilient, tough-tackling and well-organised Juve defence and this hurt Barcelona a lot.
Messi had the ball in the back of the net but was correctly ruled out for offside by Suarez in the build-up but that was the only time that the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner was allowed to burst into the Juve box and he had scored, or at least that’s what it looked like initially.
The Old Lady have only conceded 2 goals in 9 games this season with Gigi Buffon keeping an astonishing 7 clean sheets in the process. The Italians are known for having the meanest defence in the world and it is this characteristic that will work in their favour in the second leg as Barcelona would try to do the impossible and come back once again.
It is almost impossible to even think that a team that has conceded only twice in the entire competition would concede 3 on a night. But if you are a Barcelona fan, it ain’t over until it is over.
#3 Barcelona’s defence is the reason why they won’t win La Liga or Champions League this season
Barcelona have now suffered consecutive away losses for the first time in Luis Enrique’s 3-year-long spell as the manager. The Blaugrana are almost out of the Champions League unless they mount another historic comeback against the Old Lady in the second leg of the tie, which looks unlikely, to say the least.
Further to that, they are 3 points behind leaders Real Madrid in the La Liga standings having played a game more and will be without Neymar for the El Clasico. It is not to say that Barcelona cannot win without Neymar but given their form, one can expect them to slip up in the absence of the Brazilian.
The predicament that Luis Enrique’s side are currently in has more to do with their defence – or the lack of it – than a misfirirng front three. Yes, Suarez has failed to hit heights of last year and Neymar, in general, has struggled for goals, often leaving Messi with all to do. But the trio’s task is further hardened by the non-existent defence, which has conceded 7 goals in two consecutive Champions League away games.
If Barcelona finish the season with no silverware, or with only a Copa del Rey, it will because of their poor defence and not because of a poor attack.
#4 Paulo Dybala announced to the world – He is not the next Messi but the first Dybala
Paulo Dybala has often been touted as the next Lionel Messi and the heir apparent to the 29-year-old in the Argentine setup. However, before the game, the Juventus star had come out and claimed that he is not the next Lionel Messi, instead, he was the first Paulo Dybala. How right was he?
The 23-year-old turned inside the box to bury Juan Cuadrado’s pass into the back of the net past a diving Ter Stegen, before finishing an excellent Juve counter after Barca were denied excellently by Buffon on the other end – only seconds ago.
Dybala has age on his side and if he develops on his showing from last night, sky is the limit for the young Argentine. It is hard to envisage any player hitting the heights that Messi has managed at Barcelona but with both Real Madrid and the Catalan giants waiting in the wings to sign him up, a move to one of them could prove to be pedestal that he needs to become one of the best, if not the best, in the world.
#5 Lionel Messi tried what he could but was stifled by Juventus
Detractors would say that Messi was invisible throughout the game and was overshadowed by his younger and less-illustrious compatriot. However, the truth cannot be further from it.
Yes, Messi didn’t have the influence that we have come to expect of the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner but he was still Barcelona’s best player on the pitch.
Yes, Dybala scored two goals and Messi failed to even get a shot on target but the Barcelona superstar put two golden chances on a plate for Iniesta and Suarez to finish but the duo fluffed their lines.
The pass for the Iniesta chance was so ludicrous that it can be easily termed as one of the most exquisite through balls of the season. Buffon did excellently to deny the Spaniard from making it 1-1 and on the counter, Dybala scored again to make it 2-0 and effectively end any hopes of a Barcelona comeback.
Messi didn’t have his usual influence on the game and the Juventus defence is to thank for it but he still had moments of pure genius and on any other day could have had a goal or an assist, if not more.
Also Read: Twitter explodes as Paulo Dybala inspired Juventus thrash Barcelona 3-0
