Barca Run Riot at the Bernabeu

The most eagerly anticipated match in the Spanish calendar ended in a pretty one sided affair. Goals from Neymar, Andres Iniesta and a brace from Luis Suarez humbled Real Madrid and piled on the pressure for Rafa Benitez. 

From the off Barca dominated. Neymar had the opening chance after a lay off by Luis Suarez from a Jordi Alba cross but his shot ballooned over. It wasn't long until the deadlock was broken by Luis Suarez with a lovely outside of the foot effort. Sergi Roberto's surging run forward caused problems for Madrid and committed Varane before sliding through to Suarez.

A sweeping ball from Iniesta found another great run from Roberto and with a bit more composure it would have been 2-0. Barca were causing problems which would be of concern for Benitez. Roberto blazed a shot over the bar on 25 minutes. Another great opportunity and the young Spaniard was at the centre of everything. 

Real Madrid pressed from the front and it nearly paid off as Ivan Rakitic was dispossessed but they couldn't make use of the chance. In the opening half an hour Barcelona had the better of the opportunities and looked the more settled. Particularly early on, Madrid gave up some easy chances but they tightened up as the half went only to be undone in the closing stages of the half.

Karim Benzema had a great chance after a sliced clearance but he failed to connect with the ball and it allowed Barca to counter. Neymar doubled the Catalan side's lead after being slid through by Iniesta and putting it through Navas' legs. Once again Madrid were carved open and it was going to take a great second half performance to get back in the match.

Barcelona were often reluctant to hit the long ball out from the back and looked to play out. When it worked, it looked beautiful but there was always a chance that it could back fire and result in a Madrid goal. It rarely failed however and Barcelona looked class above their counterparts.

Barcelona had a terrific chance to put their hosts to bed with a golden clear cut chance with Neymar skipping away from a challenge and racing to the byline before cutting the ball back to the edge of the box. Suarez got a toe to the ball but Marcelo was on hand to block the ball. Again Varane blocked a Rakitic shot but Madrid were living dangerously. Half time was greeted by jeers by the Bernabeu faithful and they showed their opinion of what they had seen from their side.  

Straight from the kick off, Marcelo skipped down the left flank but his shot hit the side netting. Minutes later, James Rodriguez released a shot from outside the area that was heading into the bottom corner but for an incredible save from Claudio Bravo. It was a positive reaction, but the elusive early goal evaded their grasp.

The game was finished the match through captain Andres Iniesta. It was a beautiful passage of play and a rocket of a finish by Iniesta. Luka Modric was motionless as the Spanish international cruised passed to release the shot. Minutes later they were queuing up for the fourth but Suarez hit the side netting. Madrid have been totally out played and deserve to be 3-0 down.

The little magician came on as the third goal went in and he had his first sighter on 66 minutes, a lovely lifted ball found Suarez but Varane scuffed the ball away to Neymar whose back heel found Messi but Varane blocked the shot once again. Ronaldo had an incredible chance to grab a goal back after a swift counter attack. He tried to lift the ball over Bravo but the Chilean read the move and saved comfortably.

Barca were on form and Suarez scored the fourth and his second after springing the offside trap and lifting over Navas. The Catalans were cruising, but they looked capable of scoring more goals. You could tell that Madrid were trying to get out of the match and that they just wanted the final whistle.

It went from bad to worse for Madrid when Isco was shown a straight red for a horrific challenge on Neymar. It was the correct decision and made the final 5 minutes very tough for the home side. Ronaldo had the final say for Madrid when he bulleted a header but it was equally met by Bravo. The Chilean keeper has played well on the few occasions that he was called upon.

At full time, Barcelona deserved their 4-0 victory and it probably could have been 2 or 3 more. The white handkerchiefs were waved around the Bernabeu and the Madristas expressed their dissatisfaction of their sides performance. Benitez will have questions to answer and they may be questions that he won't want to hear.

Dominant Barcelona Overpower the Old Lady

Luis Enrique's side completes the fabled treble and become the first side to do this twice. Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez netted with Morata equalising between before Neymar secured the victory in injury time. Max Allegri's side put up a brave fight but it was not enough to topple the quality of Barcelona.

It took Barcelona 4 minutes to find their rhythm in this year's final. Lovely intricate play between Neymar and Andres Iniesta allowed Ivan Rakitic to side foot into an empty net. It was definitely not the start Allegri had in mind and a reshuffle beckoned. As predicted, Barcelona had the possession in the opening stages and an early yellow card for Vidal left the Chilean on a tight rope for the rest of the game.

Juventus were being pulled apart by the heart of the Catalonian midfield. The loss of Giorgio Chiellini to injury showed in the early encounters as Juve lacked any leaders the back. With Vidal's early booking, Barca were keen to exploit this with the side utilising their full array of gamesmanship techniques. Allegri showed his faith with Alvaro Morata, and his counter attacking prowess was being used and was getting success out Javier Mascherano. On the counter, Juve were able to break and cause a moment of doubt in the Barca defence. Mascherano looked edgy, but Juve's attacks only culminated in shots easily dealt with.

As half time approached, it was vital that The Old Lady didn't concede another. In the midfield, they weren't able to hold the ball due to the extreme pressure put onto them by a dominant Barca triangle. They may play to the edge of the rules, but some of their passages of play were quite exquistite in the opening half. For the second period, Juve had to regain some of the possession in the middle of the park and, when on the counter, their passes had to find their team mate in order to keep the momentum.

Within the first 5 minutes Luis Enrique's men showed their potency on the counter with a five on three resulting in a fine save from Juve stalwart Gianluigi Buffon. Juve pounced after an intelligent back heel found Stephan Lichsteiner and the Swiss international squared to find Carlos Tevez. Tevez beat the defender before a shot was parried by Ter Stegen and Morata tapped into an empty net. Probably against the run of play, but it was the bit of luck that was needed by the Italian side.

The game descended into an end to end affair with both sides having attempts and one that was wonderful to the neutral. Barcelona restored their lead when Lionel Messi's shot and Buffon's save found the path of Luis Suarez and he finished to send the Catalonian crowd into raptures. Minutes later, Neymar had a goal ruled out by the assistant behind Buffon's goal for hand ball. With Barcelona on top and Juve rattled, a third goal would have effectively killed the game.

As 90 minutes approached, Juventus began throwing the kitchen sink at Barca. Fernando Llorente entered the fray and provided a target for the wide men. As they threw everything forward, Messi, Neymar and Pedro were able to catch the side on the break, and secure their 4th title in 9 years and coveted treble. Juventus fought valiantly but were unable to capitalise for the 5 minutes the game was tied up at 1 each.

For Juventus, they sorely missed Chiellini who guided them through their semi final. For the first goal, while the midfield were at fault, I would have had more confidence if he was on the pitch. For Barcelona, they fully deserved the win. Up front, Messi, Neymar and Suarez wreaked havoc in the Juve defence while the midfield predictably dictated the play. While they still were the victors, defensively Mascherano was exposed by Morata's pace. The defensive performance will not be picked apart by Enrique and his performance analysis team will not worry due to celebrations that will be taking place in Catalunya over the next few days.

Key Performances

While Barca's front trident will receive all the plaudits, Andres Iniesta showed his class as he has done so much in a Barcelona shirt over his career. The linchpin in the centre of midfield was able to invade the space left by their wayward counterparts before finding Ivan Rakitic who finished past the scrambling Gianluigi Buffon. The whole Barcelona midfield deserve praise, but Andres Iniesta looked a class apart throughout this match and the knock-out stage. I was critical of his inclusion in the Team of the Year at the beginning of January, but he will warrant a spot in the ceremony to take place at the beginning of 2016.

I was impressed with the efforts of Gianluigi Buffon. He ultimately kept the Italian side in the contest and a firm paw denied Dani Alves from the edge of the box. Another save prevented Luis Suarez from capitalising on a Barca counter attack. While there were times when the World Cup winner looked nervy in nets, he largely did his job and kept the game on a knife edge. Some will say he was at fault for the Suarez goal, but the Uruguayan's positioning made it impossible for Buffon to parry it away from danger. A solid all round game from the Italian veteran.

Lionel Messi also needs a mention. While he did not get on the scoresheet, his general all round play was exceptional and he was a nuisance for the Juventus defence. Other notable mentions include Neymar and Alvaro Morata who both posed different problems for their respective defences.

Another Champions League campaign has drawn to a close with Barcelona leaving as warranted victors. Luis Enrique emulates one Pep Guardiola by completing the treble in his first season. The events between Enrique and Messi seem to a distant memory, and it's looking more like as the season went on, both sides were rectified and this definitely reflected in some of the performances this year. It's not long to the first qualifying round of next year's competition at the end of the month. With the final in Milan, we can only expect another riveting journey. 

Barcelona v Paris Saint Germain in 300 words

It was definitely a case of ‘job well done’ for Barcelona as they stroll into the semis through a first half brace from Neymar.

Barcelona dominated the opening stages of the match courtesy of quick passing and disciplined pressing when PSG had the ball in their own half. They were duly rewarded for their efforts with the first goal on the night when captain, Andres Iniesta embarked on a mazy run beating three straggling defenders before releasing Neymar who scored with a high degree of finesse.

Iniesta was pulling all the strings in Catalonia, as if the ball was a magnet at his feet, while the influential Ibrahimovic for PSG was barely mentioned. The second goal came just after the half hour mark, and it was only a matter of time before the third arrived.

In the second half, it was probably to be expected that it would be a non-event, and that is exactly what the first 15 minutes were. A good chance fell to the Parisians through Verratti, but his shot skewed wide.

Javier Pastore never got into the game and the Argentinian was a main factor in why the Parisians were never able to maintain a solid spell of possession. He misplaced 15 passes and a poorly timed pass that would have played Cavani through, typified his and his team’s performance.

For Barcelona, the second half could be described as a ‘professional job’ but they took their foot off the gas and lost all accuracy when Iniesta was replaced at half time. Messi had a chance to overtake Ronaldo in the goal-scoring charts on the stroke of full time but his shot sailed just wide.

Barcelona smothered PSG in midfield and walk into the semi-finals for the 8^th time in the last ten years.

Man of the Match

My man of the match has to be Andres Iniesta. For 45 minutes he patrolled the midfield, orchestrating, and created the opening goal of the night. Notable mentions also have to go to Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets.