What crisis? Barcelona still among world's best after thrashing Juventus
Reports of Barcelona's death have been greatly exaggerated.
Despite Neymar's departure, growing animosity towards club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, and a change in manager, Barcelona showed in a rampaging 3-0 victory over Juventus on Tuesday that it's not done yet.
It took some time for Lionel Messi and Co. to break down the Italians' makeshift defence, but once it caved in, the goals came easy. Messi's movement in particular unnerved the visiting side, with his mazy runs down the middle freezing Juventus defenders.
Ernesto Valverde's team on the whole looked like vintage Barcelona, passing with great efficiency and packing more punch while pressing. Andres Iniesta - whose future at the club, like Messi's, remains up in the air - recaptured the attacking spirit that defined some of his best performances under Pep Guardiola. Iniesta made quick passes and navigated through tight spaces to further Barcelona's attacking play.
The old and the new worked together as well. Ousmane Dembele's directness put Juventus under lots of pressure and Barcelona into dangerous scoring areas, while Messi dropped into deeper positions to collect the ball and kick-start drives forward. It was as smooth an operation as any other witnessed at the Camp Nou in recent years - and against last season's Champions League finalist, no less.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
The way Barcelona interchanged must've made Juventus dizzy. At the start of the match, Dembele made tricky runs down Messi's usual right flank, as the Argentine moved out to the left. Messi then popped up as a false nine. Suarez added to the effort by pulling defenders towards him and allowing Messi to run into the space behind them. It was a constant cycle of movement.
Not knowing where or who to mark next, Juventus had to play more conservatively. Medhi Benatia and Andrea Barzagli, physical but slow to react, had to stay at home to have a chance.
They didn't either way.
This was possession football with a purpose. Barcelona can sometimes be guilty of passing for the sake of passing, but not tonight. Valverde's men threaded low-percentage passes at a rapid pace, and full-backs Nelson Semedo and Jordi Alba stretched the pitch to open spaces. Juventus could only stand still as Barcelona circled around it to score the first two goals on either side of half-time. It was that good.
Messi's opener in particular arrived after a clever use of the pitch. Alba forced Stefano Sturaro - deputising at right-back for the injured Mattia De Sciglio - to stay wide, leaving Suarez enough room to exchange a one-two with Messi. The 5-foot-7 phenomenon snuck through and converted a classic pinpoint strike. No one dared to track his run.
(Courtesy: Sport TV)
The obvious pass here would've been to Alba, but Messi saw an opportunity to cut through Juventus defenders and score a truly world-class goal. That's the kind of play that Guardiola's Barcelona produced time and again, and for the moment at least, Valverde has brought the club back to its principles.
Barcelona's pressing also paid dividends. The players pushed up the pitch in uniform to suffocate Juventus. It was an aggressive game plan from the start. Even on goal kicks, Barcelona looked to hem its opponents inside the final third, and when Juventus struck on the counter-attack, the defence herded Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa into harmless areas of the pitch.
If this is a sample of what's to come, life after Neymar may not be so bad after all.