It’s been over a decade since the respected champions from Spain and Italy encountered each other in Europe, and with an unprecedented treble on the line, both debutant managers were destined to make history.
This was destined to be Juve’s midfield diamond against Barcelona’s direct 4-3-3, with only Giorgio Chiellini absent from either starting XI. Here, Barcelona was expected to dominate possession and press higher up the pitch to regain possession, whereas Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve would sit in two narrow, yet flat banks of four and aim to quickly facilitate the strikers.
From a tactical standpoint, what made this match interesting was that neither side has excelled against organized defences that sit deep – often scoring in transition throughout this year’s European campaign. This suited Allegri’s side, who started the match well pressing Barcelona higher up the pitch, forcing Javier Mascherano into two key errors. Juve’s pressing was positive in the early stages, but Barca’s opener shifted the complexion of the match.
However, Barca’s approach was quickly displayed afterwards: Messi would come off the right, create a positional overload by dragging defenders to the ball before quickly switching the play to Neymar, who was free to isolate Stephane Lichtsteiner.
This was evident in the goal that subsequently saw Neymar locate Andres Iniesta’s uncommon vertical run into the box, which initially stemmed from a switch of play from Messi. Then the Argentine clipped a stellar ball over Lichtsteiner, but Neymar was unable to connect with the delivery. While Messi didn’t produce the magic that was witnessed against Manchester City or Bayern Munich in previous rounds, he was involved in Barca’s best moves.
On the other hand, the big worry was the space down the left behind the 27-year-old. Patrice Evra, Paul Pogba and Tevez drifted into this space in the first half with the former posing the sole threat with low-driven crosses into the box. Yet, despite improving from an offensive perspective following the goal, Juve’s attempt to play out the back – as they have in previous rounds of this year’s competition – was equally unsuccessful, failing to bypass both Barca’s pressing and counter pressing to get into positive positions.
The Spanish side’s pressing decreased in the second half, but along with their improved possession dominance came a slower tempo to the match. Suarez forced Gianluigi Buffon into a key save and wasted a good opportunity in a dangerous position, whereas Messi combined with both attacking options in the final third but fired his effort over the net.
It appeared Luis Enrique’s men were certain to kill the match, but the slower tempo partially benefited Juve. Likewise, applied pressure and a poor Alves clearance enabled Allegri’s men to break in numbers for Morata’s equalizer. Juve’s brief resurgence subsequent to the goal was mainly on the break: Tevez struggled to get the better of Busquets, and although Morata ran the channels superbly – troubling Mascherano at every expense – Allegri’s men were forced into shots from distance rather than breaking behind Barca’s back-line.
Nevertheless, Juve’s short spell also provided space for Barca’s attacking trio – in the buildup to Suarez’s winner Messi ignited a break from half, shrugging off Barzagli and forcing Buffon to make a difficult save before the Uruguayan pounced. Enrique’s men continued to break into Juve’s half throughout the final quarter, and although they squandered several opportunities, Neymar put to the match to rest with the final kick of the game.
“We started perfectly, scored with our first chance and had more openings,” Enrique said.
“Gianluigi Buffon was at his best as usual, and in the second half Juventus came back into it and had us under pressure. For about ten minutes we were under the cosh but we came back and overall we were on top and deserved to win.”
Allegri’s substitutions failed to have an impact in rescuing the game: Roberto Pereyra’s energy is similar to Vidal’s, Fernando Llorente offers an aerial advantage but lacked the required pace to harm Barca’s back-line, and Kingsley Coman’s inexperience made him an unlikely source for a winner.
“I am satisfied with the performance from my team, but understandably I am a little disappointed,” Allegri said.
“In our best moment of the game we conceded a goal like chickens (idiots) We then had an opportunity to draw level. I would say finals are decided by little episodes and played a great team that has three forward players that are more than extraordinary.”
In comparison to recent years, this was a fairly comfortable Champions League final triumph, that witnessed Juve rarely pose a legitimate goal threat in the final third. Still, even though Juve were far from superb, it was fascinating to see Barca win the match during two brief stages of the match in which Juve were superior.
