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Kwadwo Asamoah's Juventus hammer Barcelona 3-0 in Champions League

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Wed, 12 Apr 2017 Source: ghanasoccernet.com

Kwadwo Asamoah's Juventus hammered Barcelona 3-0 in the first-leg, quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday but the Ghanaian was b Here are all the highlights from the match.

Barcelona got off to an awful start in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal tie against Juventus in Turin.

The away side conceded within 10 minutes, allowing Paulo Dybala far too much space in their area to control Juan Cuadrado’s pass, turn and curl into the bottom corner past Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

As Barca tried to find a foothold in the game, and began to dominate possession, Juve scored their second goal. Dybala was the man again rifling into the bottom corner with an excellent first-time shot after Mario Mandzukic’s cut back.

That goal came just moments after Juve’s 39-year-old keeper made a stunning save to deny Andres Iniesta, played through on goal by a wonderful Lionel Messi pass.

Barca controlled the tempo all half, but Juve defended well and looked a constant threat on the break with Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain ably supported by Mandzukic and Cuadrado out wide.

Messi showed flashes of his brilliance, but was rarely able to combine with his teammates, and was forced to drop deep to pick up the ball in space. Luis Suarez and Neymar were barely in the game, though Suarez threatened with a header late in the first half.

Barca got off to an equally bad start in the second half, failing to clear several Juve crosses before eventually conceding to a Giorgio Chiellini header. The center-back out-fought Javier Mascherano to win the ball.

Perhaps Barca’s best chance for an away goal, a sign of Juve’s dominance, came when Neymar’s shot hit Chiellini’s arm. The ball hit the defender’s chest first, before bouncing up, but his arm was in an unnatural position, and the ref decided not to award a penalty.

This was a fantastic result for Juve, and you’d think their defense is strong enough to withstand the inevitable Barca onslaught in the second leg. But then we thought the same thing about PSG.

Source: ghanasoccernet.com
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