Barcelona left to climb a mountain again after losing 3-0 away to “The Old Lady” of Italian football
Juventus won their first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona at the Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy. Argentine striker Paulo Dybala scored a brace for the home side.
Paulo Dybala scored in 7th minute, making an amazing turn followed by a delightful finish across Barcelona keeper Ter Stegen. He scored the second goal in the 22nd minute by getting the ball through the near post guarded by Ter Stegen. Mario Mandzukic’s cross fell perfectly to Dybala and his direct shot glided inside the goal-line. Old war horse Giorgio Chiellini piled up more misery on the visiting side by scoring a third goal for Juventus. Chiellini’s header, targeted across goalkeeper, hit the inside of the goalpost and went inside in the 55th minute.
Even with 65 percent possession, Barcelona failed to score any goal. Juventus’ resolute defending did major damage to Barcelona. Also, Suarez’s inability to convert in particular hurt Barcelona badly. He missed many chances which were, by his standards, easy to convert.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique said after the match,”We didn’t play well in the first half. In the second half we were the better team but we conceded the third”. Talking about the game, Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri said that not conceding a goal was also important for the team.
Barcelona will not find overturning the 3 goal deficit in the second leg against Juventus easy. With experienced campaigners like Buffon between the sticks and Chiellini, Bonucci in defence, Juventus boast of the best defensive lineup in world football at the moment.
The two teams will play out the second leg of the contest on 20th April at 00:15 hrs IST in Camp Nou, Barcelona.
Borussia Dortmund – AS Monaco match postponed
Other match of the day between Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco was postponed after three explosive charges detonated nearby the Dortmund team bus in Germany. Dortmund defender Marc Bartra broke a bone in wrist following the bomb blast scare. The match was rescheduled for the next day prior to the start of Atletico-Leicester and Bayern-Real Madrid matches.
English champions Leicester City travel to Madrid to face Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon. The other Madrid based team, Real Madrid will face German champions Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in Munich. The two matches will be played on 13th April at 00:15 hrs IST.
