Barcelona crowned kings of Europe for a fifth time after defeating Juventus
They came in pursuit of what Gerard Piqué called “perfection” and Barcelona chose a thrilling way to complete the treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and now the trophy that means more to this institution than anything else.
Lionel Messi and his exquisitely gifted team-mates put on a masterclass at times. They shimmied and menaced and passed the ball like it was their own possession and, again, it left the distinct sense that this is the team that takes football to its highest levels.
It was not quite perfection bearing in mind that spell in the second half, when Alvaro Morata equalised and suddenly, for the first time, Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba were threatening to take control in midfield. That, however, was only 10 minutes out of the night. Juventus simply couldn’t cope in the other moments with the most devastating front three on the planet and, by the end, Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez had enough chances to make it a more stress-free occasion before Neymar’s stoppage-time goal settled any lingering argument.
The more important goal came off Suárez’s right boot, following in after Messi’s shot had come back off Gianluigi Buffon and arrowing the rebound into the roof of the Italian’s goal. That was Buffon’s one mistake on a night when there were other moments to remind us of his enduring brilliance. Yet there was no way his team-mates could leave him so exposed so many times and expect to get away with it. Either Juventus chose a bad night to forget their defensive structure or Messi et al were too piercingly brilliant. Maybe it was a bit of both, but it was remarkable to see how many times Luis Enrique’s team cut them wide open.
Presumably, they were just tricking their opponents when Javier Mascherano gave the ball away inside the opening minute and then, seconds later, fumbled the ball out of play from a misplaced Sergio Busquets pass. For a few moments, we wondered whether a team of serial champions might actually not be immune to nerves after all. But it was a deception. After three minutes, Messi collected the ball and drove a sumptuous pass 20 yards to his left. Jordi Alba was overlapping at close to full pelt when he turned it inside to Neymar. The momentum was building: a blur of passing and movement at pinball speed. Andrés Iniesta had eluded Arturo Vidal and was running into the penalty area. Neymar’s pass was beautifully weighted, taking out three opponents in one go, and suddenly Iniesta was through.
Iniesta still had the presence of mind to slip the ball inside to Rakitic, rather than shooting himself, and that was just another snapshot of this teams ethic. Rakitic is the player who keeps Xavi Hernández, the greatest playmaker in Barcelona’s history, out of the team, and the chance was exquisitely laid on for him. It was a simple finish, but the goal was extraordinary. Every outfield player bar Luis Suárez had been involved in that slick, penetrative exchange of passes. Gianluigi Buffon had been beaten and the Juventus strategy, to frustrate and block and interrupt had disintegrated before there was a single grass stain on those black-and-white shirts.
It took a while for Massimiliano Allegri’s players to shake their heads clear and, in the meantime, Barça could conceivably have settled everything. Neymar whacked one shot just past the upright. Buffon saved brilliantly from Dani Alves and screamed at his defenders. Messi was passing the ball like there was a computer chip in his boot and Juventus looked so vulnerable for a team that had accumulated 27 clean sheets this season. For a few moments – only a few moments – even Andrea Pirlo looked panicked.
The only possible complaint for Barcelona at half-time was that their early domination had not been transferred into the hard currency of goals. They had, however, made it abundantly clear that they were not in the slightest concerned about Italian traditions of defending. Occasionally the bianconeri would break forward, but those moments were only sporadic, whereas the pressure was concerted when Barça had the ball, with their overlapping full-backs, Messi being so elusive and Iniesta reminding everyone again of his football intelligence.
Juventus were reduced to surrounding the referee in their protests about a penalty he had turned down. Alba’s challenge on Paul Pogba wasn’t even close to being a penalty and the complaints smacked of desperation. Vidal, in particular, had endured a torrid opening half, culpable for losing Iniesta before the goal, booked for one of three badly timed tackles and also suffering in other ways. The nutmeg is always football’s most patronising put-down – and Barça’s speciality. The sight of Alves slipping the ball through Vidal’s legs seemed to sum up how that passage of football had gone.
The equaliser certainly came as a jolt, but, for all Barça’s brilliance, Claudio Marchisio’s back-heel in the buildup was one of the night’s outstanding moments. That piece of skill set Stephan Lichtsteiner galloping clear to cross from the right. Carlos Tevez had the first chance on his left foot and the rebound fell perfectly for Álvaro Morata once Marc-André ter Stegen had blocked the initial effort. From six yards out, the former Real Madrid player could barely miss.
For a while, Juventus had their opponents rattled. Suárez’s quick instincts turned everything back in Barça’s favour and a Neymar header had already been disallowed for handball before his left-foot finish confirmed the European Cup was back in their possession for a fifth time.
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