Cristiano Ronaldo gets better of old foe Lionel Messi as Juventus thump Barcelona
Portuguese striker missed Barca's 2-0 victory after positive Covid-19 test
Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus defeated Lionel Messi's Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League. Getty
Reuters
When the Champions League draw put Barcelona and Juventus in the same group, football fans all over the world eagerly awaited the prospect of watching Lionel Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo again.
The two had not faced each other since the Portuguese forward swapped Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018.
But the fans had to wait when the two men were denied a reunion in Turin in October, as Ronaldo missed Barca's 2-0 victory after a positive Covid-19 test.
So all eyes were on the duo on Tuesday, with Ronaldo healthy again and raring to go, and it was the Portuguese who emphatically came out on top, scoring two penalties as Juve won 3-0 to claim top spot in Group G.
A constant thorn in the Catalans' side while in Spain with Real, Ronaldo, 35, took his goal tally against Barca to an extraordinary 20 in 31 games.
It was not just his goal-scoring contribution that caught the eye. From the off, he looked much quicker than the Barca backline despite their significant age gap.
His game was perhaps best summed up when, into the final 10 minutes with his team comfortably leading, Ronaldo tracked back and dispossessed Messi inside the Juve box before leading the charge on a counter-attack.
The Argentine fought valiantly in what always looked to be a losing battle but at times he appeared alone in a disjointed attack.
He tested Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon a number of times from distance but never looked like finding the back of the net on a night that very much belonged to his old foe.
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Barcelona v Juventus player ratings
BARCELONA PLAYER RATINGS: GK Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 6 - Left cruelly exposed for both of Juventus’ first-half goals, but pulled out a quite brilliant one-handed save to deny Ramsey a third goal for Juve early in the second period. Getty Images
DF Sergino Dest, 6 - Wasted a great chance to get his side back into the game just before half time when he shanked well wide. The former Ajax full back was also kept busy by opposite number Sandro. Getty Images
DF Ronald Araujo, 5 - A big night for the young Uruguayan but his collision with Ronaldo gave the referee a decision to make, and unfortunately for him, a somewhat soft penalty was awarded. Reuters
DF Clement Lenglet, 4 - Picked up a yellow card for leaning into Morata with an elbow, before conceding his side’s second penalty of the game when he inexplicably dangled an arm at a loose ball. Hauled off in the 55th minute for Umtiti. Getty Images
DF Jordi Alba, 5 - Booked for protesting too much when the referee declined to book Ramsey for a heavy challenge in the first half, and the full-back was inconsistent with his distribution when presented with opportunities in the final third. Replaced by Firpo early in the second half. Reuters
MF Miralem Pjanic, 6 - Moved the ball well through midfield in typical Pjanic fashion but a couple of poor strikes at goal stagnated his side’s momentum. AP Photo
MF Frenkie de Jong, 6 - Struggled to get a foothold in the first half-hour but grew in influence and saw plenty of the ball in the final third. AP Photo
MF Trincao, 5 - Floated in and out of the game without ever looking like providing a moment of inspiration when his side needed one. Replaced at half time by Braithwaite. Getty Images
MF Pedri, 5 - Final ball let the youngster down on a couple of occasions but the same can be said for a number of his colleagues. Replaced by Puig midway through the second half. AFP
FW Lionel Messi, 6 -- So often Barcelona’s hero, but the 33-year-old hit most of his efforts straight at Buffon in the Juventus goal. Not a night that will feature in the Messi highlight reel. AFP
FW Antoine Griezmann, 5 – Barely touched the ball during a first half in which he was starved of service, before clipping the bar with a glancing header in the in the 58th minute and wildly lashing wide 10 minutes later. Reuters
SUBS: Martin Braithwaite (Trincao, 46’), 6 - Fired a deflected effort just wide with 20 minutes to go and did make an effort to bring his teammates into the game. AFP
Samuel Umtiti (Lenglet, 55’), 6 – Booked for leaving his foot in a heavy tackle on Morata shortly after coming on. AP Photo
Junior Firpo (Alba, 56’), 5 – Brought on to inject some incision out wide but the backup left-back failed to get into the game. Booked for dissent late on. Getty Images
Ricard Puig (Pedri, 66’), 6 - The youngster showed for the ball and was keen to haul his side back into it, but the game was done by the time he was introduced. Getty Images
Oscar Mingueza (Aeaujo, 82’), N/R – Slotted into defence but didn’t have much of note to do in the closing minutes of a difficult night for Barca. Getty Images
JUVENTUS PLAYER RATINGS: GK Gianluigi Buffon, 7 -- The 42-year-old’s only serious save in the first half was to tip a Messi effort around the post, with his second-half action featuring a carbon copy Messi strike that the veteran got a hand to. AFP
DF Alex Sandro, 7 -- Very solid defensively against the rampaging Dest, while offering plenty of width at the opposite end of the pitch. Reuters
DF Matthijs de Ligt, 7 -- A fairly comfortable night’s work for the Dutchman, who ensured Griezmann was a virtual spectator for large periods. AFP
DF Leonardo Bonucci, 8 - Marshalled his side through a sticky 10-minute spell towards the end of the first half but had very little defensive work in the second period and had a goal of his own disallowed for offside. Reuters
DF Danilo, 6 - Gave away the ball a couple of times when he didn’t need to and picked up a booking for pulling back Puig, but not a bad performance by any stretch. Reuters
DF Juan Cuadrado, 7 -- Played his part in Juve’s second with a pinpoint cross to lay the ball on a plate for McKennie to smash home, and the Colombian was effective at both ends of the pitch. Replaced late on by Bernardeschi. Getty Images
MF Arthur, 7 -- Alongside McKennie, the former Barca man did a great job in starving his ex-colleagues of space to operate in midfield for large periods. AFP
MF Weston McKennie, 8 -- Took his goal quite brilliantly with an acrobatic volley to put his side firmly in the driving seat and was equally impressive off the ball. A contender for man of the match. EPA
MF Aaron Ramsey, 6 -- Operating as an advanced midfielder behind the front two, the Welshman did plenty of good work in and out of possession to create space for his wing backs to bomb on. Replaced for the final 20 minutes by Rabiot. AFP
FW Alvaro Morata, 6 -- Glanced a header just over the bar after 24 minutes and the Spaniard had a couple of openings on the counterattack but chose the safe option of holding the ball up rather than baring down on goal. Booked for kicking the ball away at 3-0 before being brought off for Dybala in the closing stages. AP Photo
FW Cristiano Ronaldo, 7 -- Never looked like missing his 13th-minute spot kick as the former Real Madrid man rifled home from 12 yards, before tucking away his second penalty early in the second half to put the game to bed. Replaced in injury time by Chiesa. Getty Images
SUBS: Rodrigo Bentancur (Arthur, 71’), 6 -- Helped maintain Juventus’ stranglehold on the game in the final 20 minutes or so. Getty Images
Adrien Rabiot (Ramsey, 71’), 6 -- In the right place at the right time to halt a couple of weaving Messi runs. Getty Images
Federico Bernardeschi (Cuadrado, 85’), N/R – Kept the Barca nice and quiet in the closing stages. AFP
Paulo Dybala (Morata, 86’), N/R – Unable to add to his side’s goal tally in his short cameo. Reuters
Federico Chiesa (Ronaldo, 90+1’) N/R – Not enough time to make an impact. Reuters