Three things learnt as Barcelona were hammered by Juventus in the Champions League

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Juventus game-plan frustrates opponents

A complete contrast to this was their opponents on Tuesday night, with Juventus turning up to the game with a clear game plan and executing it to perfection all evening.

From the word go it was clear that Juventus were set up to exploit the counter-attack as much as possible and they tore through Barcelona’s weak defences during an explosive opening half, but it was also evident that Max Allegri’s side weren’t going to give the visitors an easy sight of their goal either.

Niggly little fouls inside the first-half set the tone for the evening, showing that the hosts weren’t going to allow Barcelona any opportunity to get into their devastating attacking rhythm; this was a plan that, with the likes of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci in the side, worked to perfection.

Barcelona only managed a single shot on target in the first 60 minutes of football in Turin and that was all down to the discipline that Juventus played with, going into every tackle as if it was life or death.

This is a hallmark of Italian football sides – and Juventus especially – and they were expectedly physical with the opposition players all night, not giving them an inch of space across the pitch.

Chiellini was particularly exceptional for Juventus on Tuesday, putting his body on the line from the first whistle to ensure Barcelona didn’t leave Italy with that all-important away goal.

The 32-year-old made seven clearances, three tackles, one interception, won five aerial battles and popped up with an expertly guided header into the far corner, allowing himself to be stood up and counted; this set an example for the rest of the team and was a huge part in Juventus’ huge victory.