Barcelona proved worthy winners but it was a match that followed two different patterns: order and chaos.
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In the first half, the Catalans dominated possession and Juventus tried to hit them on the counter-attack. But it became a very different encounter after the break – stretched, open and at times lacking any real structure.
In both games within the game, Barca came out on top. They controlled the flow of the action in the opening period and then, despite regularly looking in danger of conceding, relied upon their awesome attacking capabilities in the second.
Whereas Barca were expected to break down Juventus’ tight defence with combination play between their front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, in fact the early opening goal came through a quite different source.
What a finish! Barça break and Neymar rounds off the win with a low shot past Buffon- #TRIPL3T#CampionsFCB pic.twitter.com/mNYPUz7pNV
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) June 6, 2015
Firstly, Luis Enrique’s side showed great patience in their midfield build-up, gently but persistently probing for spaces until the chance came thanks to two perfectly timed runs from midfield: Andres Iniesta surged into the box to receive Neymar’s pass, and then Ivan Rakitic advanced ahead of Paul Pogba to sweep home.
That goal proved to be illustrative of much of the first half’s action, with another clear chance coming in a similar manner when Dani Alves ghosted into the area to fire a shot which Gigi Buffon did very well to save.
Alves and fellow full-back Jordi Alba were receiving plenty of possession as Barca carried out much of their build-up play in wide areas, but the goal threat largely came from runs into central areas – either from Neymar or Messi cutting inside or midfielders breaking from deep, with Juve’s 4-4-2 formation often leaving them outnumbered in the middle.
Barcelona scored 31 goals this season. Messi/Suarez/Neymar got 27 of them! #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/VeJWhufRtK
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 6, 2015
To stop their confident opponents, Juve resorted to tactical fouls, attempting to exert their aggression and stop Barca’s rhythm. But that left their two midfield powerhouses, Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba, both booked before half-time – at one point just before the break, Messi had possession and appeared to be goading them, daring them to make a tackle which could have resulted in a red card.
Juve’s only attacking threat in the first-half came from counterattacks, but when they did go forward they always looked dangerous against a hesitant Barca back-four which frequently yielded space around the penalty area.
The Catalan defence was shaky from the very first minute, when two errors in quick succession deep inside their own half led to a shooting opportunity and then a corner for the Bianconeri.
So, even though Barca had hugely dominated possession in the first half, it wasn’t a complete surprise when Juve equalised early in the second as their increasing willingness to throw players into the penalty area was rewarded when Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s parry fell straight to Alvaro Morata.
As the game became stretched, that fell into Barca’s hands and gave their attacking trio more space to create their magic. And so it proved when Messi’s individual ability came to the fore with a surging run and powerful shot for Suarez to restore his team’s lead.
Enrique brought on Xavi in an attempt to exert more control but the game was lacking shape as Juve became more desperate, introducing powerful centre forward Fernando Llorente for Morata in the final stages to illustrate their direct approach.
Juve’s ability to create chances continued, with several opportunities to force additional time narrowly passing them by. But they were also obviously vulnerable to counter-attacks, and the full-pitch break which resulted in Neymar’s late third had been threatened for a long time.
