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Football News: Champions League Final Review

Watching that Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus was a lesson in just how far behind the top European sides Premier League teams are. Last night though Barcelona gave Juventus a lesson in what happens when you have 11 players working for the team rather than 10.

I know everyone loves Andrea Pirlo and he can work wonders with the ball, but he has to be given it to do so, as he will never get it himself. Once Juventus lose the ball he is a passenger, he fails to even block passing lanes effectively and sometimes even hinders his own players trying to get back into position, as they have to run round him.

If you can get Pirlo on the ball he can win the game for you, but if you are not able to get him the ball enough, well then he can cost you the game, as no team is good enough to carry him against this Barcelona side. That was the major difference between the two sides, Barca knew that they would be facing ten men every time they attacked, so Luis Enrique had the players playing like they were against ten men.

The wide players got really wide, both Neymar Jr. and Lionel Messi were like old fashioned wingers at times last night, the old adage of chalk on their boots is apt. They pulled Patrice Evra and Stephan Lichsteiner out to cover them, creating gaps in the centre for Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta to exploit.

Arturo Vidal, Paul Pogba and Claudio Marchisio worked hard to try and fill in those spaces, but they were also needing to help out the Juve full backs, so they would not get isolated against Messi and Neymar. Playing two strikers, as the Old Lady did last night, played into the Catalan's hands, giving them even more space to exploit in midfield.

It was not completely one sided, as the 3-1 scoreline suggests the Italians did have chances, in particular early on as their high press forced Barcelona's defence into a number of dangerous errors. Trying to pass it around on the edge of their own box could have cost them the game, if Juve's Alvaro Morata and Carlos Tevez had been able to make the most of the errors.

Certainly there was always hope for Juve, right up until the final seconds when Barca added their third, as the central defensive partnership of Javier Mascherano and Gerard Pique did not look solid at all. Mascherano struggled badly one on one with Morata, who breezed past him on a couple of occasions, but the Turin team were unable to really make the most of the weakness due to Barca gaining control.

In large part that control was able to accrue due to bookings to Vidal and Pogba stymying their ability to really press hard against the Barca defence. Vidal's booking was fully deserved, and he was very lucky not to receive another during the course of the game, but Pogba's was unfortunate as he slipped, rather than actually attempted to make a challenge, which resulted in him taking down his opponent.

Overall this was a fully deserved victory, Barca were able to exploit Juve's weaknesses, while Juve were never able to fully exploit Barcelona's and ended up ceding possession for large periods. Messi may not have scored, unlike his two MSN partners up front, but he was instrumental with his passing and runs causing havoc at times.

On this performance alone, this is a better Barcelona team than the one that Pep Guardiola managed, as it has more about it, more tactical acumen, more variation to the play and a better front line than any I can ever remember seeing before. Xavi Hernandes may be gone, but Barcelona look equipped to dominate European football for the next few years, even with the transfer ban in place for this summer.

Written by Tris Burke June 07 2015 08:22:54