How can Juventus stop Barcelona’s front trio?
IT’S A QUESTION much easier asked than answered. They’ve scored 120 goals between them this season, which represents an incredible haul and have scored more than 60% of Barcelona’s goals in La Liga.
It has been Neymar who has been most dangerous in Europe of late, scoring five goals in his last three games. Therein lies the problem for the Juve defence. Should they focus on nullifying Lionel Messi, they may leave too much space for Luis Suárez and Neymar to exploit.
What Juventus may try and do is to play a very deep line and keep two midfielders sitting back to try and stop the supply from the likes of Andrés Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic. The Barcelona midfield is what makes their frontline tick, and while Iniesta’s dribbling powers may have waned in the past two seasons, he is capable of splitting defences open from his new deeper role in the Barcelona midfield.
Juventus have an extremely hard-working midfield that Massimiliano Allegri expects to put in a huge amount of energy for each game — the trio of Paul Pogba, Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal are forced to put in such a shift to cover for the less mobile Andrea Pirlo. They will consequently need to cover every blade of grass to pressurise the Barca midfield and prevent the front three from getting on the ball too often.
Can Pogba boss the middle third?
He is not long turned 22, but Pogba has become the lynchpin of this Juventus team already. While other such talented players are either brilliant in a few departments, Pogba ticks every box and has no obvious flaws in his game. He is extremely good in every aspect of play — from tackling, passing, dribbling and shooting, the French man has everything in his locker. If he continues to develop in the same way as he has done over the past few years, he will surely be the world’s best player before long.
On Saturday evening, Pogba will come up against the well-balanced trio of Iniesta, Rakitic and Sergio Busquets in the Olympic Stadium but he has ample help alongside him. Arturo Vidal will run all day and harry every Barca player that comes near him with the ball, while Marchisio has shown an increased work-rate this year, while also maintaining his silky passing and dribbling skills.
It will be Pogba who can lead the charge in Lisbon however, as his power and aggression should prove too much to handle for any of Barca’s midfielders. It looks like it may be his last game for the Bianconeri, with a transfer to one of Europe’s richest clubs looking imminent, but the former Manchester United starlet will put everything into this one.
Where can Juventus hurt Barcelona?
The obvious answer to this question is with their front two and from set-pieces. Carlos Tevez and Álvaro Morata were superb over the two legs of their semi-final victory over Real Madrid, and they have the ability to stretch the Barcelona defence and really cause Javier Mascherano and Gerard Piqué real problems.
The Catalan side’s defence has been superb all season, conceding just 21 goals, and Piqué has undergone a real renaissance in form over the past 12 months. That said, when facing the twin threat of Tevez and Morata, they are sure to be put under a great deal more pressure than they have been in other games this season. Morata is likely to occupy the centre-halves and Tevez will look to drop deep and pick out pockets of space between the midfield and attack.
Juventus will also use the set-piece as a place where they can gain an advantage. Andrea Barzagli, Leanordo Bonucci, Paul Pogba and Álvaro Morata all represent a considerable threat in the Spanish side’s penalty area and with Pirlo firing in inch-perfect crosses, they could make hay from this tactic.
How will Juventus cope without Giorgio Chiellini?
The loss of Chiellini is a massive blow to Juventus’ hopes of winning the Champions League. Chiellini is one of those old-fashioned defenders that you could truly label as world class.
The Italian international’s importance to the Bianconeri back-line is much more than just his footballing ability — his willingness to lead the rest of his team-mates and organise the defence keeps Juventus in line.
After reporting a strain on his calf muscle, Chiellini was told that he had a first-grade tear, meaning he will play no part in the show-piece event.
The acclaimed centre-back’s place will be taken by Andrea Barzagli, it is thought, but Angelo Ogbonna may even get the call from Allegri. Barzagli is 34 years old now and doesn’t have the pace to handle the Catalan’s front three, but he is an experienced campaigner, who is well used to the big occasion. Ogbonna, on the other hand, would offer a nice injection of pace to the back four that they could seriously do with in Chiellini’s absence.
At least this recent development may save us all from the pre-game hype surrounding the Italian and Luis Suárez though.
Will Xavi go out on a high?
After over 500 appearances spanning over a 17-year career, Xavi will play his last game for Barcelona on Saturday night. Eight La Liga titles, three Copa Del Rey trophies, three Champions Leagues and two club World Cups make his one of the most decorated careers of modern times.
Xavi’s list of individual honours is frightening too, with a host of nominations for the Ballon d’Or award, while also being the heartbeat of the Spanish side that won three major tournaments in a row. He’s also made the most appearances in the history of the Champions League — a remarkable 151.
It’s unlikely that his former teammate of six years, Luis Enrique, will start Xavi on Saturday night, but he will likely see some game time. The veteran star came on for the last 15 minutes of their semi-final clash in the Allianz Arena and should Barcelona be leading with under half an hour to go in Lisbon, he would be the perfect player to introduce.
It is sad in a way that he won’t start, as the battle between the two greatest central midfielders of the last 15 years will not be played out in full. We will have to make do with just watching Pirlo try and dictate the tempo of the game, but it would have been a fascinating battle nonetheless.
Xavi will be remembered as a legend among Barcelona and Spanish fans, and he’ll hope to leave Spain on a high by winning on Saturday night.
Is Luis Enrique emulating Pep Guardiola?
During Guardiola’s first season with Barcelona, he won the treble and Enrique is well on course to do the same. After easing to the La Liga title, a 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao delivered Enrique’s second trophy with the Catalans, in the form of the Copa Del Rey, and victory on Saturday night would resemble Guardiola’s achievements in his first year in charge.
There is an argument that Enrique has been the beneficiary of a perfect storm of things coming together, such as Messi playing arguably the best football of his career, Suárez settling in extremely well and the defensive ranks tightening up. But perhaps he has had a prominent role in all of these developments.
In January, there was talk that Messi was unhappy and becoming a fly in Enrique’s ointment, as he constantly went against the coaches’ wishes and was a troublesome figure in the dressing room. Enrique’s response was to drop him for an away game at Real Sociedad, in what was seen as a hugely controversial move at the time. It worked, and Messi’s form since has been incredible.
Enrique has managed to set up a finely balanced team that is as reliant on its defensive structure as it is on scoring goals. The manager and his Barcelona side dumped Guardiola’s Bayern Munich out of the Champions League, and the similarities between Enrique’s and the Bavarian’s boss reign are there for all to see.