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.
2Nelson Semedo shines
The Portuguese full-back perfected his role against Juventus. Knowing that Juventus were going to play on the break, Valverde instructed Semedo to play a more reserved role throughout the game. He only ventured forward when necessary to create overloads, besides that he stayed on the halfway line monitoring the Juventus attack. Up against Douglas Costa & Alex Sandro, Semedo had to ensure his positioning was calculated to avoid being doubled up upon.
