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| Carrying their Manager up Luiz Suerez |
brilliance to pick apart the opposition and win matches.
This gripping UEFA Champions League final demanded
more than just than the collective to subdue Juventus
once and for all. This occasion required that extra
moment of brilliance.
Once again, Lionel Messi provided it.
Messi prompted Luis Suarez’s winner with a
determined, enterprising run to quell the willing Italian
champions and secure a fifth European title with a 3-1
victory at Olympiastadion.
Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring after just four minutes
by capping off one of those compelling sequences with
a neat finish. Juventus survived the forthcoming
onslaught and summoned a tidy sequence of its own to
equalize through Alvaro Morata after the break.
Suarez tucked home the remnants of Messi’s darting
run and rasping drive after 68 minutes secure the
victory. Neymar rounded off the night with a deserved
third in second-half stoppage time to wrap this
compelling final in style.
The entire night reflected the very best of both sides
with Barcelona hitting top stride at points and Juventus
summoning its resolve at others to underscore its own
will. The back-and-forth proved engaging to the very
last minute, but the Spanish giants deservedly
completed their treble in the end.
The early misstep by Javier Mascherano inside his
defensive half obscured the fury and menace set to
follow. Barcelona opened the match with intent and
tempo going forward and used all of its wiles to
procure the opener after just four minutes.
Each step of the move ticked one of the customary
boxes. The protracted spell in possession created the
foundation. Messi kicked things into motion with a
sumptuous diagonal to allow Jordi Alba and Neymar to
torment Stephan Lichtsteiner. Andres Iniesta made his
opportunistic run into the channel created by all the
movement and received an inch-perfect square from
Neymar to expose Juventus inside its own area. Rakitic
wrapped up this deadly, precise incision by arriving at
the perfect time and sweeping home.
Rakitic’s opener issued a foreboding warning for
Juventus as Barcelona cranked through their gears and
tried to place the game out of reach. These were
desperate times for the Italian champions with last-
ditch tackles flying -- most of them from the
overcommitted Arturo Vidal -- and remedial measures
taken at every turn.
Nervy moments inevitably ensued. Lichtsteiner eluded a
penalty call far too harsh for this occasion after a cross
hit his hand. Neymar sliced inside and shot over the
bar. Jordi Alba thrashed a corner over the bar.
Gianluigi Buffon summoned a save for the ages to deny
Dani Alves to underscore his enduring class. Each
successive chance increased the peril, yet Juventus
survived long enough to gain a foothold in the game as
Barcelona inevitably dropped its tempo and strung
passes together instead.
