As It Happened: Barcelona 3-0 Juventus

Good evening and welcome to Nigerianeye's live text coverage of the Champions League Group D clash between Barcelona and Juventus at the Camp Nou.


This is a repeat of last season's quarter-final, when Juventus avenged their 2015 final defeat at the hands of Barca with a 3-0 aggregate win.

Both sides have begun their respective domestic campaigns with three wins out of three, and they will be expected to occupy the top two spots in Group D after matchday six.

Make sure you don't miss a moment of the action courtesy of our minute-by-minute coverage below.

OFFICIAL LINE UPS

JUVENTUS: Buffon; De Sciglio, Benatia, Barzagli, Sandro; Pjanić, Matuidi, Bentancur; Dybala, Douglas Costa, Higuain

BARCELONA: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Dembele, Suarez, Messi









In the end it was all rather comfortable for the hosts as they ran out 3-0 winners, with Lionel Messi once again the star of the show with two goals either side of a Rakitic strike which he was also heavily involved in. It was actually an even match for the opening 45 minutes, but Messi broke the deadlock on the stroke of half time and then ran the second half to take the game beyond the Italian champions. Thanks for joining our live coverage of the match!




90+2 min FULL TIME: Barcelona 3-0 Juventus

90+1 min There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this match.

89 min YELLOW CARD! Caligara is quick to make his mark... on the ankle of Busquets. In the book he goes.

87 min JUVENTUS SUB: A third and final change for Juventus sees 17-year-old Fabrizio Caligara introduced - a player born this century.

84 min BARCELONA SUB: A third and final change for the hosts see Iniesta replace Andre Gomes.

82 min Juventus are enjoying a revival here and Ter Stegen is called into action again to deny Higuain from the edge of the box.

81 min OFF THE LINE! Oooh Pique is a lucky boy here! Benatia rises highest in the area to meet the resulting corner and his header looks destined for the net having beaten Ter Stegen. Pique is there on the line to clear the danger, but it looked like the ball hit him on the arm. It will be interesting to see that one again, but in normal time it looked like handball, which would have meant a penalty and red card.

81 min SAVE! Dybala looks to give Juventus a late consolation by sneaking one in at the bottom corner, but Ter Stegen gets across well to turn it around the post.

79 min DISALLOWED GOAL! Barcelona think they have a fourth goal, but the linesman's flag cuts their celebrations short - although it took a while for the referee to look across to his assistant.

Alba is the man offside as he races down the left flank before playing a low ball into the box which Buffon spills right at the feet of Suarez. It is howler from the veteran keeper, and Suarez duly punishes him, but Buffon's blushes are spared by the flag.

77 min BARCELONA SUB: Another change for the hosts sees Paulinho replace Rakitic.

76 min SAVE! Some neat link-up play just outside the Barcelona box creates another shooting chance for Bernardeschi, whose first-time volley is easy for Ter Stegen to gather.

75 min YELLOW CARD! Pjanic is the latest name in the book, getting the yellow card Messi and co wanted for him a while ago.

73 min This one could still get worse for Juventus before the game is up. Barcelona have stepped up a few gears in this second half and are exacting their revenge on Juventus for last season's quarter-final defeat.

71 min BARCELONA SUB: Barca make their first change of the night as Sergi Roberto replaces Dembele.

69 min It has been coming! Messi gets his second of the evening to kill this one off once and for all as he punishes Juventus for trying to chase the game.

The Argentine has been afforded more space in this second half and he collects a pass around 25 yards from goal this time. It is obvious what he is going to do, but stopping it is a completely different story as he cuts inside onto his left, beats a couple more defenders and fires his finish into the bottom corner, leaving Buffon no chance.

Game over, and Messi is now on yet another hat-trick.

69 min GOAL! Barcelona 3-0 Juventus (Lionel Messi)

68 minIt was all very tight in the first half, but Barcelona have upped their game since the interval and have been much the better team in this second half. Messi's influence has grown and Juve are struggling to deal with the maestro.

66 minCHANCE! Barca fancy their chances of adding a third here, and Suarez almost provides it. Alba feeds a low cross into the front post for the Uruguayan to attack, but he lifts his first-time finish just over the crossbar.

64 min Bernardeschi looks to make an instant impact, cutting inside from the right flank and unleashing a powerful strike which swerves off target.

63 min JUVENTUS SUB: Juve make their second change of the night as Federico Bernardeschi replaces Bentancur.

62 min SAVE! Messi takes on the free kick duties and places it almost perfectly, but Buffon gets across goal well to push it away.

61 min YELLOW CARD! Barzagli goes in the book for the challenge which gave away the free kick.

60 min Chance for Barcelona to add a third now as they win a free kick in a very good position...

58 min UPDATE: It is turning into a good night for the English clubs in the Champions League. Manchester United have doubled their lead against Basel through Lukaku, while Azpilicueta is the unlikely source of a third Chelsea goal against Qarabag.

Elsewhere, Benfica lead CSKA Moscow 1-0.

56 min Barcelona have their second goal, and Messi turns the creator this time as he continues to exert his authority on this game.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner floats out to the right flank this time and darts in behind Sandro, racing into the box before squeezing a low pass past Buffon towards Suarez. Sturaro gets there first to clear the ball almost off his own line, but it goes straight to Rakitic, who is left with a simple finish. Messi is beginning to dazzle here.

56 min GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 Juventus (Ivan Rakitic)

54 min YELLOW CARD! You don't see too much of this from Messi, who goes into the book for asking for a yellow card for Pjanic. Messi is unhappy at the leniency from the referee so far, but he had no sympathy from Skomina.

52 min OFF THE POST! Barcelona are inches away from doubling their lead, and it is lovely football from the hosts again. Alba cuts inside and plays the ball into the feet of Messi, who suddenly finds himself in a bit of space. He looks for the bottom corner again with his shot and beats Buffon all ends up, but the ball hits the post and then bounces against the prone Buffon before spinning just wide.

An element of fortune about that one for Juventus, especially as the referee pointed for a goal kick despite the ball clearly coming off Buffon last.

50 min A Barcelona attack breaks down on the edge of the Juve box following a wayward pass from Dembele, and groans follow from the Barcelona fans. They will need to be patient with the youngster.

48 min CHANCE! Big chance for Juve to come up with an immediate response! The visitors come down the left flank and have plenty of players in the box to aim at. The low cross is intercepted by Pique, but he can only get enough on it to tee up Dybala. You would back Dybala to bury the chance with the form he is in, but he leans back and blazes it over when he should have at least hit the target.

Big, big chance, and you don't get too many of them against Barca!

46 min KICKOFF: Juventus get us back underway for the second half!


The hosts have seen almost two-thirds of the possession, but Juventus have had plenty of sights of goal themselves and the half-time stats show that they have actually had more shots than Barcelona. This one is far from over, though, and a fascinating 45 minutes await.



45+1 min HALF TIME: Barcelona 1-0 Juventus

45 min He has been kept quiet for the vast majority of this first half, but Lionel Messi bursts into life right on the stroke of half time and breaks the deadlock for the hosts!

Messi collects the ball in a deep position and opts against the easy pass out to Alba in favour of sneaking a clever one into the feet of Suarez. Suarez instinctively plays the return ball, and Messi then steers his accurate finish into the bottom far corner.

It is the first time that Messi has ever scored past Buffon, and there was nothing the goalkeeper could do there. Brilliant football from the Barcelona duo.

45 min GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Juventus (Lionel Messi)

43 min Good pressure from Juventus as they probe for a way through, with first Higuain and then Matuidi almost getting through on the edge of the box. Barcelona escape with nothing worse than a corner, though.

43 min UPDATE: Sporting are putting down an early marker in Group D! They now lead Olympiacos 3-0 in Greece and look like ending matchday one top of the group.

41 min JUVENTUS SUB: De Sciglio is unable to carry on having failed to shake off that earlier injury, which sees Stefano Sturaro replace him.

40 min UPDATE: Move aside Barcelona, there is a new deadly front three in Europe. PSG are now 3-0 up against Celtic, with Edinson Cavani scoring from the spot to join Neymar and Mbappe on the scoresheet.

38 min CHANCE! It is all so tight in the middle of the park, but after Juve stop Messi in his tracks they almost gift a first Barcelona goal to Dembele. De Sciglio is the man at fault, playing a square ball inside his own area straight to Barcelona's newest signing, but he is bailed out by a defensive partner and only a corner comes of it.

37 min UPDATE: There have been some notable goals elsewhere in Europe since the last update, with Marouane Fellaini giving Manchester United the lead against Basel and Kylian Mbappe joining Neymar on the scoresheet for PSG against Celtic.

35 min YELLOW CARD! You won't see many more blatant yellow cards than this one, even considering the lenient approach so far. Semedo drags Costa to the ground from behind, and can have no complaints at going in the book.

34 min A replay shows that he seemed to pick up the injury when playing a pass and following through against the leg of Iniesta. It doesn't look too serious, though, and he is already back on.

33 min Concern for De Sciglio here as he drops to the ground with no opposition player around him - always a worrying sign for a player. He may not be able to continue here.

31 min UPDATE: There has been another goal at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea have doubled their lead against Qarabag through summer signing Davide Zappacosta.

30 min Referee Damir Skomina has been lenient so far tonight, letting Matuidi off one early and now only awarding a free kick for a poor challenge from Costa on Messi.

28 min Juventus almost break again as Messi is caught in possession and Dybala slips the ball into the path of Higuain. The striker's effort is half-blocked by Pique, though, and that makes it easy for the keeper.

27 min Juventus are once again dealing with Barcelona well today. Not many teams can nullify Barca's attacking threat, but having kept two clean sheets against them last season they have kept them pretty quiet again this time around so far.

25 min YELLOW CARD! Bentancur is involved again here, but not in the way he would like. He becomes the first man in the book tonight for a late challenge on Rakitic.

24 min Costa almost creates another chance for the visitors with a brilliant piece of skill, darting inside from the left flank before scooping an audacious pass out to Bentancur on the right channel. The Juve man takes it down, but Alba is across quickly to block him.

22 min We're midway through the first half now, and both sides will be fairly comfortable with how this match has gone so far. Barcelona have enjoyed the lion's share of possession, but Juventus have had the majority of the chances.

This one remains very finely poised.

20 min SAVE! Messi goes low with the free kick, but the wall does its job and blocks it. The ball bounces back out to Suarez, though, and his quick first-time effort is tipped over by a fine Buffon stop.

19 min Back at the Camp Nou, some lovely footwork from Iniesta sees him win a free kick right on the edge of the box. Matuidi is lucky to escape a yellow card, but there could be worse punishment coming...

18 min UPDATE: Another Barcelona old boy has got himself on the scoresheet elsewhere, and there are no prizes for guessing his identity. Neymar has given PSG the lead against Celtic in Glasgow.

16 min Almost a chance for Barcelona to break, but Buffon is alert to the danger and is a long way off his line to sweep up. A ball over the top threatens to release Dembele, who looks favourite for a moment, but he almost seems to pull out of the challenge as Buffon chests it down and clears the danger.

Perhaps Dembele had watched the incident with Sadio Mane and Emerson on Saturday and decided against risking the red card.

14 min Iniesta almost unpicks the lock from Juventus as he tries a clever disguised pass in towards Rakitic, but he just puts it too close to the defender. It was the right idea from the midfield maestro, though.

12 min SAVE! It is Juve who have looked most like scoring in these opening exchanges, and they threaten again here as Pjanic skips past one man to create space to shoot before drawing a save from Ter Stegen with a low drive.

11 min UPDATE: There has been another early goal in the other Group D match taking place tonight, and it is all going well for Sporting at the moment as they take a 2-0 lead over Olympiacos.

Things don't look quite as rosy for Anderlecht, who are now down to 10 men and 1-0 down against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

9 min SAVE! The free kick is dealt with by Juventus, via a tentative penalty shout from Barcelona, and the visitors then hit the hosts on the break quickly. Costa releases Dybala down the left channel, but Semedo has the pace to get back and in the end Dybala has to go for goal from a tight angle, making it is easy for Ter Stegen.

8 min Barcelona have plenty of pace down that right flank. Semedo bursts forward and is chased back by the equally-rapid Costa, who just clips his heels to concede a free kick in a dangerous crossing position...

7 min UPDATE: There has been a goal at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea have taken the lead against Qarabag through Barcelona old boy Pedro.

6 min CLOSE! It is almost Juve who take the lead, and in some style. De Sciglio of all people comes down the right flank and unleashes a stunning effort towards the corner, but Ter Stegen gets across to make a fine one-handed save.

The referee didn't see it and awards a goal kick, but that was a crucial touch from Ter Stegen.

5 min Dembele picks the ball up and immediately switches through the gears, bursting past a couple of defenders before being stopped on the edge of the box.

3 min Both teams are just feeling each other out in the opening stages of this one. They both know that the opposition have the ability to hit them on the break very quickly, so it has been a fairly cautious start.

1 min KICKOFF: A few minutes later than scheduled, Barcelona get us underway for this blockbuster clash. There has already been a goal in the group's other game, meanwhile, with Sporting taking the lead against Olympiacos.

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