It was a night full of excitement when the finalists of 2015 met in the 1st leg of the quarter finals of the Champions League as Juventus hosted Barcelona at Turin. At the end of the night the Juve fans will feel as if they had extracted their revenge as Barcelona will need another miracle in the second leg .
A lot has changed since the two football giants clashed, especially for Juventus with star players like Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Alvaro Morata and Carlos Tevez departing the club and it acquiring the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Dani Alves, Pjanic and Paulo Dybala.
Barcelona will need another miracle
Both Barca and Juve are two of the strongest contenders for the title along with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Though the match was expected to go either way, the odds were tipped in the favor of Barcelona. However, the Spanish giants were held by the Italian Defensive powerhouse with Juventus winning 3-0.
Luis Enrique opted for a 3-4-3 formation which he fielded to secure a win against PSG, while Massimiliano Allegri opted for a 4-5-1 with Higauin leading the charge. The old lady started the match with high pressing and aggressive play making it clear that they had a score to settle.
Paulo Dybala out shined his compatriot Lionel Messi as he scored twice, the first from an angle inside the box and the second from a central position. Juve’s lead was topped off with a header from Chiellini that virtually ensures its place in the Semi finals if Barcelona fails to turn it around at Camp Nou.
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The match result came as a bitter blow to the Catalans as they earlier slipped a chance to get back in the La Liga title race on the weekend. With a series of poor performances coming from a once unassailable force in football, it might be too soon to consider Barcelona to be out of the Champions League already.
With world class talents at their disposal, they need to dig in deep to find the confidence with which they used to toy with the opposition. They might just repeat the spectacle against PSG at Camp Nou in the Second Leg. But it is going to be a tough ask against a brilliant Juventus side.
