IN SPORT.ES
Barcelona fans roared them on until the end but this time there was no glorious comeback. The catastrophic first half in Turin did for the Catalans and Juventus’ imperious defence made sure the other 135 minutes were at worst uncomfortable for the Italians.
Unlike PSG, who came to Camp Nou with a 4-0 lead, played for a 0-0 and got beaten 6-1, Juventus pressed high and tried to hurt Barcelona.
Attack was the best form of defence and they got the result they needed to make it to the semi-finals, completing their two-part revenge for Barcelona’s victory in the 2015 Champions League final.
Gonzalo Higuain hammered an effort over and Juan Cuadrado came close twice, while the usually lethal Lionel Messi missed three clear chances for Barcelona. If he is not firing it usually spells bad news for Barcelona.
Neymar was impressive, toiling on the left flank and the one player to give Juventus problems consistently, but his shooting was haywire too.
The match stayed tense but with every passing minute Barcelona’s chances diminished until, finally, they were gone. Just like last season, another quarter-final exit.