UEFA Chamions League
Report: Juventus 3-0 FC Barcelona
Date: 11 April 2017
Venue: Juventus Stadium
Paulo Dybala bagged a brace to inspire Juventus to an impressive 3-0 win over FC Barcelona in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie.
Juve broke the deadlock in the seventh minute, as Dybala turned in the box and curled the ball into the far corner, after being played in by Juan Cuadrado.
Barcelona should have leveled matters in the 21st minute when Lionel Messi played in Andres Iniesta, who failed to beat Gianluigi Buffon from close range.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 22nd minute as Mario Mandzukic picked out Dybala, who wonderfully curled the beyond Marc-Andre Ter Stegen from the edge of the box.
Barcelona had the ball in the back of the net six minutes later, but Lionel Messi's strike was ruled out due to a foul in the build up.
Nonetheless, the score remained 2-0 to the Serie A outfit at the halftime break.
Luis Enrique opted for a change at the start of the second half, as Andre Gomes replaced Jeremy Mathieu.
However, Juventus bagged a third goal in the 55th minute as Giorgio Chiellini rose above Javier Mascherano and powered a header into the far corner.
Barca nearly pulled a goal back in the 67th minute as Luis Suarez turned his marker, before seeing his low strike turned around the post by Buffon.
The home side decided to shut up shop for the final 15 minuets as Mario Lemina and Tomas Rincon were introduced for Cuadrado and Dybala.
The Catalan giants looked for a way back into the clash in the latter stages of the half, but they struggled to break down a resolute Juventus defence, as the score remained 3-0 at full-time whistle.
