Italians hail Dybala, the new Messi
Argentina forward Paulo Dybala scored a delightful first-half double to eclipse his illustrious compatriot Lionel Messi as Juventus recorded a stunning 3-0 win over Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.
Dybala netted twice before the midway point in the first half and Giorgio Chiellini added the third goal early in the second half in Turin to leave Juve in control of the tie ahead of next Wednesday’s return at the Camp Nou.
Having made history when they overturned a 40 first-leg deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 by winning the return 6-1, Barcelona will need another stunning comeback if they are to reach the last four.
Juve’s seventh-minute opener was a work of simplicity finished off by a Dybala master stroke.
Juan Cuadrado was the provider on the right flank, setting up Dybala who turned 12 yards out and curled a left- footed shot inside the far post, beyond the outstretched hand of goalkeeper MarcAndre ter Stegen.
It took Barca until 21 minutes to threaten, but Gianluigi Buffon denied Andres Iniesta after he had been picked out by a superb Messi pass.
Buffon pumped his fist in defiance, and he was pumping both in celebration moments later when Dybala met Mario Mandzukic’s ball in from the left to sweep a firsttime shot inside Ter Stegen’s near post to make it 2-0.
Messi had the ball in the net on the half hour, but the goal was disallowed for an earlier infringement, and Juve finished the opening half with a flurry.
The visitors briefly showed promise in the second half, with Suarez firing just wide of Buffon’s outstretched hand, but Juve went further ahead on 55 minutes.
Chiellini, famously bitten by Suarez when Italy played Uruguay at the 2014 World Cup, held off Mascherano at a corner to send an angled header in off the far post.
It was his second goal in the competition and first since October 2009 when his header secured the points against Maccabi Haifa in Turin.
Suarez fired just wide again midway through.
Barca continued to press but could not get the away goal that would have improved their chances ahead of the second leg.
— AFP Turin (Italy), April 12: Barcelona coach Luis Enrique slammed his under-performing players after a “nightmare” 3-0 loss to Juventus that has severely dented the Spanish giants’ Champions League hopes.
A first-half double from Paulo Dybala and a second-half header from Giorgio Chiellini secured a quarterfinal first-leg win for the hosts in Turin on Tuesday to leave Barca with a mountain to climb in the April 19 return leg.
After seeing his front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar fail to fire against a far superior Juventus side, Luis Enrique voiced little hope of seeing another comeback next week.
“We basically gifted two goals to Juventus in the opening half. As coach, for me it’s inexplicable how they were so much better than us,” he said afterwards.
He said the word “nightmare” no less than four times as he struggled to explain how Barca, who arrived in Turin on the back of a 0-2 league reverse to Malaga, failed to respond.
And, in another pop at his players, he labelled their first-half performance in Turin the “third half” from their 0-4 defeat in Paris in February.
Dybala has been adamant that he does not want to be compared to Lionel Messi, but that seems inevitable — especially after Tuesday’s match. One Italian sports newspaper ran the headline “The New Messi” above a picture of Dybala, while another went with “Messi who? The alien is Dybala.”
Another simply said “Immense Joya,” playing off Dybala’s nickname “La Joya” (jewel) and the word joy. Dybala has improved by tremendously since joining from Palermo for 32 million euros (then $36 million) in June 2015. “Paulo is a world class talent, more than anything because he has taken really quick steps,” Chiellini said. “He came to Juventus at 22 after one really great season at Palermo. In one-and-a-half years, almost two, we are talking of a player of international level,” Chiellini said of his teammate. think “I everyone will say in the next few years that after Neymar, Paulo is the most talented in Europe. He still has to grow a lot to be at Neymar’s level, but he has all the foundations to do so,” he added.
“It’s certainly a great night,” Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini said .
“In comparison with two years ago, we wanted to prove to ourselves we had grown technically and tactically,” he added.
In 2015, Barcelona beat Juventus 3-1 in the final, winning the European Cup for the fifth time. “We would pay to play that final in Berlin again with this conviction,” said Chiellini, who missed that match because of injury. “Now we have to get to another final, the one in Cardiff, hoping it will finish in another way.”
“At the moment it is hard to see a comeback next week, but certainly as the days pass we will see it easier, while well aware of how difficult it will be,” said Barca midfielder Andres Iniesta. —AP Brussels, April 12: It is a motley crew of Manchester United players heading to Brussels as history beckons for the 20time champions of England.
With the likes of Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata, Chris Smalling and even David De Gea injured and likely to miss Thursday’s Europa League clash with Anderlecht, a gaggle of unlikely lads will look to propel the three-time
European champions to a first ever victory in the continent’s secondary club competition.
The much-maligned and oft-derided Marouane Fellaini captained United to a 3-0 win away to Sunderland on Sunday and unless Michael Carrick is restored to Thursday’s starting line-up, the Belgian could find himself wearing the armband again against the club where he began his youth career.
Until a week ago, England full-back Luke Shaw appeared to have no future at United but after making a rare start against the Black Cats — he was taken off after an hour as a precaution — manager Jose Mourinho suggested afterwards that the 21-year would start on Thursday as well.
And with De Gea nursing a hip complaint, Sergio Romero looks set to deputise in goal once again. United may be hamstrung by injures but it might be something of a blessing in disguise now that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back from suspension and Paul Pogba recovered from injury as it gives Mourinho the chance to pick a settled outfit. Shaw may not start, though, with Antonio Valencia fit again and ready to resume right-back duties and Matteo Darmian in the opposite flank. But the Shaw could play a pivotal role in United’s destiny. — AFP