Barcelona 0-3 Juventus
Cristiano Ronaldo came out on top in his latest – and quite possibly last – Champions League duel with old rival Lionel Messi as he scored two penalties to lead Juventus to a 3-0 win over Barcelona in his return to the Camp Nou.
Not only did Juve snap Barca’s record 38-match unbeaten run at home in the competition, which spanned for seven years, but they also topped Group G by bettering Barca’s 0-2 win in their first group meeting.
It was yet another significant setback for Ronald Koeman’s Barca side, as failing to finish first in their group could be a significant blow to their Champions League 2020 odds of winning the title.
Highlights of the game
As expected, Cristiano Ronaldo was right at the centre of Juventus’ attacks as the visitors made the brighter start. He had the first shot on target, which was comfortably saved by Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. He then set up Danilo for a long-range strike a few minutes later.
And Ronaldo would go on give Juve the early lead on 13 minutes. After winning a penalty off young Barca centre-back Ronald Araujo, the Portuguese superstar stepped up and sent Ter Stegen the wrong way.
Juventus would double their lead just seven minutes later. Juan Cuadrado – the team’s main assist provider this season – delivered a pinpoint cross toward Weston McKennie, who produced one of the top Champions League 2020 highlights to date with a spectacular volley to smash the ball home.
Lionel Messi is visibly frustrated during Barcelona’s recent match against Juventus
Lionel Messi almost fired back immediately for Barca as his long-range effort had to be pushed away by Gianluigi Buffon. Messi then teed up Miralem Pjanic for a shot at the edge of the box which went just wide and forced Buffon to another save.
Messi continued the assault on the Juve goal at the start of the second half, but Buffon was again equal to his shot from distance.
Juve were seemingly denied a third goal as Ter Stegen came up with a wonderful save on Aaron Ramsey’s strike. But upon consultation with VAR, the referee awarded the visitors another penalty for a handball on Clement Lenglet during the build-up to the Ramsey shot.
Ronaldo again stepped up to slot home his second penalty of the night to seal the Juventus away victory, and if the scoreline stayed at 0-3, they would also top the group.
Barca came close to pulling a goal back as Antoine Griezmann’s flicked header hit the top of the crossbar. Messi then forced yet another fine save from Buffon, and Matthijs de Ligt was on hand to deny Martin Braithwaite on the rebound.
It was Barcelona’s turn to be awarded a penalty on 73 minutes after Griezmann went down after a tackle by de Ligt. But upon checking with VAR, Griezmann was clearly offside before receiving the ball, so the penalty was rescinded.
VAR would come into play one more time just a few minutes later. Leonardo Bonucci, who scored Juventus’ dramatic late winner in the derby over the weekend, thought he’d gotten their fourth goal of the game from a corner after Ronaldo’s shot deflected off him and into the net. Again, though, VAR correctly waved the goal off for offside.
Nevertheless, the three goals were all Juventus needed to take down Barcelona – and overtake the Spanish side at the top of Group G.
Key statistics
Barcelona’s Champions League record of 38 consecutive home matches without defeat finally came to an end as they suffered their first loss at the Camp Nou since September 2013. It also snapped their long unbeaten run in the group stage, where they hadn’t lost since 2016.
Ronaldo finished the Champions League group stage with four more goals. He’s now up to 134 career Champions League goals – far and away the most in history – and is currently 16 goals clear of Messi in second. Although, Messi still holds the edge in terms of head-to-head victories, 16-11.
Barcelona had the clear edge in terms of shots (20-8), with Messi providing 11 of them. He also had all seven of Barca’s shots on target. Meanwhile, two of Ronaldo’s three shots were from the penalty spot and they resulted in two goals.
What’s next?
Barcelona will look to bounce back and snap their losing skid when they host Levante over the weekend. They will then have a big midweek clash against high-flying Real Sociedad.
Meanwhile, Juve will look to win back-to-back Serie A matches for the first time this season when they take on Genoa. And they will also have a big midweek assignment against Atalanta. Don’t forget to check out the SBOTOP odds for those marquee midweek matches when they come out.
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The post Champions League: Ronaldo Brace Ends Barcelona’s Record Run appeared first on SBOTOP.