FC Barcelona . pumped three goals against Juventus FC to complete a treble in manager Luis Enrique’s debut season. Ivan Rakitic scored the opening goal as early as in the 4th minute. Juventus restored parity through Alvaro Morata’s goal in the 55th minute. Luis Suarez converted an easy tap-in in the 68th minute to bring back the lead and Neymar hammered the last nail in the coffin in the 95th minute to seal the fate of the match.
FC Barcelona enjoyed a better possession from the beginning of the match as they attacked more. Their attacking approach yielded them an early goal through Ivan Rakitic’s foot. Neymar generated the move from the left flank. Andres Iniesta received the pass inside the box and intelligently forwarded it to Rakitic who placed it easily at the back of the net. Massimiliano Allegri’s men heavily depended on counter-attacks in the first half. Lionel Messi was practically man marked by Paul Pogba.
Juventus looked rejuvenated in the second half as they pressed more in the opponent’s half and generated more moves. From one such occasion, Claudio Marchisio generated a pass to Carlos Tevez who in turn attempted a shot at the goal. His shot was saved by Ter Stegen somehow, but Morata did not make a mistake in capitalising the situation and tapped it in from the rebound.
Just as Juventus were looking good on the field and the quality of the game improved, Barcelona’s Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez scored a second for the team from Lionel Messi’s pass. Thereon Barcelona took the grip of the game and did not allow the Old Lady to win back their possession. Brazilian attacker Neymar Jr. finally scored the third goal from a counter-attack in the dying moments of the match.
Post match Luis Enrique said: “This final was spectacular, against absolutely top-level opponents. They gave us a lot of trouble and we suffered a lot, but we created chances. It was extraordinary because of what both teams contributed, and of course we’ve written history again for Barcelona.
“We started perfectly, scored with our first chance and had more openings. [Gianluigi] Buffon was at his best as usual, and in the second half Juventus came back into it and had us under pressure. For about ten minutes, we were under the cosh but we came back and overall we were on top and deserved to win.
“This is our 60th match [this season] a six defeats and four draws. Those figures show that this has been one of Barcelona’s best campaigns. In the last ten years, this has been the most successful club in Europe. These players have shown hunger for victories and they’ve shown they enjoy it so much a they enjoy making the supporters happy and that’s been key.
“There’ll be a great celebration tomorrow. It’s been a difficult year, a transitional year, but I want to thank all those people who trusted me, and all the people who supported me within the club and my family a I’m elated.
“Last year we won nothing; we had injuries and new staff. After that difficult year, the team has come together and done the things right throughout the season. They’ve overcome difficulties and tough times together; together we’re stronger and that’s when individual quality comes out. I had no doubts about my work, the work of my players or of those who work with the first team at Barcelona a or the supporters.”
Massimiliano Allegri said: “At the end of the game, I thanked the team for the wonderful season they’ve had, but not just for that a also because of the game tonight. They played an excellent game and showed great personality, technique and skill. It was a great final, but unfortunately when you play against great players, you think you have things under control and then they manage to get away from you. They did that when we were controlling the match and just about to score.
“We have some regrets, but we come out of this final with greater self-esteem and awareness of what we can do, and with the intention of improving a with the knowledge that we can play in Europe with great technique and personality. That was evident. We’re certainly sad because it’s not every year you get to the final of the Champions League, but I don’t have anything to reproach the team for.
“We had a chance to prevent Barcelona from winning the third leg of their treble, but they were extraordinary, and we weren’t able to contain them. I told Buffon that I had a good feeling from the bench and sensed we could win it, but Barcelona got away the moment we made a mistake and conceded a counterattack. They have three excellent forwards when they counterattack, and we paid the price.
“It’s a disadvantage [to concede the first goal], but finals are never over until the end of the game. We could have done better in the first half but we were patient when Barcelona were controlling the ball and we had a couple of good chances while giving them three.