In a hotly-contested rematch from last season’s UCL semifinal, Barcelona welcomed the formidable Juventus to the Nou Camp. As two domestic champions in their own right, this match was shaped out to be a clash of the titans’ affair. In the end, only one titan stood up, resulting in a 3-0 win for Barcelona. The commanding win sends them to the top of Group D, basically already confirming qualification.
Here are the main talking points of Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Juventus.
4Juventus play for the counter
The Serie A champions insisted on getting back into shape any time Barcelona were on the ball. They spent the majority of the game sitting in front of their own 18-yard box waiting for a misplaced pass from La Masia. They wanted to expose the space left behind Barca’s full-backs instead of creating that space themselves with intricate play.
Gonzalo Higuain cut an isolated figure up front in a 1-man press that left him exhausted and rendered useless. However, Juve’s ploy proved to be ineffective as they only invited more pressure on themselves, literally asking Messi to break them down.
