The Last Dance?

 

(At first i thought of naming this piece "Last Dance; Elf vs White Wizard." But then on second thought it might look like we're telling children stories, the little red riding hoods of this world. So here we go...)

When Andrea Pirlo in his prematch conference talked about his team learning from their mistakes and doing their respective homeworks, we thought it was the usual camera speeches. 90+mins at the Nou camp and we saw a reflection of his thoughts. 

A game which had been garnering media attention since the draws were made (due to the rivalry reunion it boasts of) started off with Sparks and to an extent lived up to its hype.

Juventus came with a plan, they were never going to out-possess Barca even if they had 10 turning garris (Arthur), so they decided to revert to classic Juventus (be very compact at the back and clinical up front). Juve started off with constant press, (over the years Barcelona have always found it hard around a press and most times stutter) and they did get their reward. 

Barca couldn't beat the press and whenever they chose to go long they ended up surrending possession to the Bianconeri. It wasn't long before Ronaldo struck. 1v1 in the box against Araujo who gets his movements wrong and ends up bringing down Ronaldo.

No easier way for you to convert and it's 1-0. 

Minutes after Morata starts off a move, sets up Ramsey, the ball gets to Cuadrado who delivers a one-time cross into the box. Up in the air, in acrobatic fashion arrives Weston Mckennie who puts salt on barca's injuries. 

2 goals up and Juve step off the gas, reduced the press and allowed Barca all the space to knock the ball around without any penetration. Barca came close but whenever they did Buffon was always up to the task. 

Halftime and Juve led into the break. 

2nd half continued where the first ended. Barca holding onto possession and Juve seeking to counter. Koeman brought on braithwaite to try and get the decisive goal to move the game in their favour but unluckily for the Bluagranas the goal popped up at the other end. 

Lenglet handles the ball in the box, an offense that should normally fetch him a yellow (which he doesn't get) and while Bonucci converses with the ref possibly about the yellow card, Ronaldo has his eyes fixed on the ball in the penalty spot.

Terstegen hops and pops but Ronaldo calmly dispatches him the wrong way. 3 goals up and not up to an hour of football played, you'll think there's enough time for Barca to get something off the game but from that point onwards it was about how long the defense in white could hold. 

Whatever beat the defense just couldn't beat Buffon.

Seven shots on target for Messi but in all honesty only one of them actually threatened the Italian veteran. 

It looked like Barca would finally get their goal when De ligt brought down Griezmann in the box late in the second half but the linesman waved it as offside. Griezmann was offside before contact was made.

Koeman exhausted his arsenal on the night, seeking to get anything out of the game. Pirlo also exhausted his arsenal, replenishing energy levels, making sure his team delivered the 3-0 scoreline home. 

On the night Pirlo's gameplan worked to perfection.

Full-time at Catalonia, not the kind of result Cules would want but one that neutrals and Bianconeros were pleased with. 

On a night Ronaldo didn't get to play much, his goals were the reason Juventus topped the group. 

An exchange of jerseys between Buffon and Messi after the game and increased pressure on Ronald Koeman. Does he have an answer to barca's current situation or not? 

We got to see a reflection of the strengths of both players last night. 

Messi; dribbling, trying to create chances and still getting shots away (literally carrying and dragging his team).

Ronaldo, less concerned about most of those, overly concerned about scoring goals/delivering the goods. 

Will this be a turning point for Pirlo's Juve or will they go back to default? The weekend brings answers. 

Soft...

Credits; Bob Udoye