Barcelona defied an outgoing off-field crisis as another Lionel Messi-inspired display exacted revenge on Juventus to open their Champions League campaign with a resounding 3-0 win on Tuesday.
Messi was involved in all three goals as he beat Gianluigi Buffon for the first time in his career to open the floodgates just before half-time.
Ivan Rakitic added a second after Messi’s run and cross opened up the Juventus defence before the Argentine rounded off the scoring by drilling home his second of the evening 19 minutes from time.
Here, we analyse the performance of two key protagonists, Messi and Dybala
Goals – 2
Shots – 5
Shots on target – 3
Pass Accuracy – 81.8%
Touches – 83
Key passes – 0
Dribbles – 5
Dispossessed – 0
Aerials won – 0
Goals – 0
Shots – 4
Shots on target – 2
Pass Accuracy – 82.9%
Touches – 53
Key passes – 3
Dribbles – 1
Dispossessed – 2
Aerials won – 0
Another scintillating display from Messi.
Although he looked a bit shaky in the first half, he recovered to score two impressive goals and played a hand in Rakitic’s strike.
The Argentine’s second was a gem too. Collecting possession 35-yards out, he weaved past two defenders before rifling a sumptuous effort into the bottom right corner.
He’s now directly been involved in 19 goals in his last eight Champions League group stage games – 15 goals and 4 assists.
Aside from the hard working Pjanic and Douglas Costa, Dybala flickered in class but couldn’t inspire his side on a night where Messi flourished.
The 23-year-old has been instrumental in Serie A this season but couldn’t get a consistent supply of ball from his midfielders to trouble a granite like Barcelona defence.
He had a number of chances – most notably in the second half when he blazed the ball over the bar – but Semedo, Samuel Umtiti and Gerard Pique were always on hand to close the space and prevent any scoring opportunities.
45th min (GOAL) – Messi bursts forward and slaloms his way past several Juventus defenders. He flicks the ball on to Suarez, collects the return and shoots into the bottom right corner to leave Buffon with no chance.
51st min (SHOT) – The Argentine’s driving shot beats Buffon but rebounds off the woodwork.
56th min – Messi is left in bundles of space on the right and cuts inside to slip a ball across the face of the goal. It’s pushed away but falls into the path of Ivan Rakitic who fires home from close range to double Barcelona’s advantage.
69th min (GOAL) – An outstanding goal. He meanders past two defenders and buries the ball into the bottom right-hand corner to make it 3-0.
8th minute (SHOT) – Juventus break forward on a superb attack and Dybala does well to burst into the penalty area but he is put under pressure by Nelson Semedo and fires a weak shot at Ter Stegen.
48th minute (CHANCE) – Alex Sandro sends in a cleverly weighed low cross that rolls into the path of Dybala. The striker shoots, but his powerful effort sails wide.
81st minute (SHOT) – Another close effort from Dybala. He wrestled himself into a favourable position 20-yards-out and struck the ball, but Ter Stegen tipped it around the post and out for a corner.
The 30-year-old was simply phenomenal. He orchestrated proceedings for Barcelona and reminded everyone of his outstanding talents.
The odd spark but never looked like replicating his heroics in Turin when he scored two against Ter Stegen back in April.
