28 October 2020
Alvaro Morata had three goals ruled out for offside, as Ousmane Dembélé’s first half goal and Lionel Messi’s second half penalty meant they secured a 0-2 away victory over 10-man Juventus at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday evening in the UEFA Champions League.
After having both won in their opening group stage matches, the sides were looking to go in search of top spot by securing a win in this fixture. The Bianconeri were, of course, without Cristiano Ronaldo, Giorgio Chiellini and de Ligt, while Bonucci managed to return in time after picking up a knock on the weekend.
DEMBELE STRIKES FIRST
Barcelona took the lead in the 14th minute when Messi played the ball across field to Dembele on the opposite flank. He ran towards the box, fired at goal, which took a deflection, and it sailed into the back of the net.
MORATA’S OFFSIDE HAT-TRICK
Juve nearly responded almost immediately when Morata burst into the box and tapped home his initial rebounded save across the line, only for VAR to rule it offside. Morata had a second goal ruled out for offside on the stroke of the half hour mark, when he turned in Cuadrado’s cross. Szczesny then came to the rescue when he pulled off a double save to deni Messi first and then Dembele, while Griezmann fumbled his shot to allow for the Juve backline to clear. The Bianconeri went full attacking mode in the 55th minute and the Spanish striker found the back of the net for a third time after he converted Cuadrado’s cross, however to his dismay, it was ruled out for offside once again.
MESSI FROM THE SPOT
Pirlo’s men started to apply the pressure and they saw an effort by Rabiot flash wide of goal, before Danilo was called into action to make a decisive tackle to deny Messi from eight yards out. The game started to open up and Griezmann flashed his snapshot wide and out across the goal, while McKennie, Arthur and Bernardeschi came on for Kulusevski, Bentancur and Rabiot respectively. The Bianconeri were then reduced to 10 men after Demiral was shown a second yellow card with five minutes remaining. It would be Barca who wrapped up the victory with a late Messi penalty. Bernardeschi collided with Ansu Fati in the box to hand the Catalans a penalty in the 90th minute: the Argentine converted from the spot to secure a 2-0 away win.
Juventus: Szczesny; Cuadrado, Demiral, Bonucci, Danilo; Kulusevski (McKennie 75’), Bentancur (83’), Rabiot (Bernardeschi 83’), Chiesa; Dybala, Morata
Juventus bench: Pinsoglio, Buffon, Arthur, Ramsey, McKennie, Bernardeschi, De Winter, Frabotta, Portanova, Riccio
Barcelona: Neto; Sergi Roberto, Araujo, Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Pjanic, De Jong; Pedri, Messi, Dembelé; Griezmann
Barcelona bench: Inaki Pena, Tenas, Dest, Busquets, Alena, Braithwaite, Ricard Puig, Trincao, Ansu Fati, Junior Firpo
