Champions League: Ousmane Dembélé shoots FC Barcelona to victory at Juventus

Icon: enlarge

The Wizard of Ous: Barcelona's Dembélé

Photo: ULMER / imago images / ULMER press picture agency

The scene of the game:

Barça winger Ousmane Dembélé pulled from the right wing into the center, put the ball from his left on the equally strong right foot and pulled.

The ball was deflected by Federico Chiesa and fell next to the far post, making it impossible for Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny (14th minute).

The 1-0 as a reward for a strong initial phase of the guests and pioneer for the 2-0 success.

The result:

FC Barcelona won the top game of the second match day of the Champions League 2-0 (1-0) at Juventus.

Click here for the match report.

The first half:

After less than 120 seconds, Lionel Messi had already missed a great chance and Antoine Griezmann hit the post for the guests.

Then Dembélé met (14th), who in the 35th minute was unable to take advantage of the greatest of numerous chances.

A lively game of the table fifth from Italy against the table twelfth from Spain.

The second half:

Barcelona were now better able to keep the Juventus emerging at the end of the first half under control and missed good opportunities through Messi (62nd), Pedri (64th) and Griezmann (75th).

Merih Demiral picked up yellow-red shortly before the end (85th), in stoppage time Messi increased the penalty to 2-0 (90th + 1).

Federico Bernardeschi had brought down Ansu Fati.

Negative because positive:

Juve's superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was in a bad mood.

He missed the duel against Barcelona and his old adversary Messi because the necessary corona test for eligibility again brought a positive result.

So the Portuguese only had Instagram to catch up with the action.

He announced that the tests carried out were "bullshit", but subsequently deleted this statement.

The result will not have lifted the mood of the 35-year-old, the next test run may succeed.

The Dembélé factor (good):

After the absence of Ronaldo, the big moments of the game were intended for Lionel Messi, but one still overshadowed him: The ex-Dortmund Dembélé was a constant danger on the right wing for the one who was also at a high level acting Danilo.

The most exciting struggle on the pitch developed between the two, with the better ending for the French.

Dembélé, repeatedly thrown back from injuries during his time at FC Barcelona, ​​dribbled, put the Juve defense under pressure with speed advances - and scored to make it 0-1.

After 66 minutes it was over for him, the next offensive came with the 17-year-old Fati with fine feet.

The Morata factor (bad):

No, no and again no.

The Spaniard in the Juve dress was denied a hit three times.

In the 15th and 30th minutes he was more or less clearly in the forbidden zone in his successful degrees, in the 55th it was tricky, but the team of referee Danny Makkelie and video assistant Kevin Blom again decided with justification to offside.

Icon: enlarge

Álvaro Morata cheers (again in vain)

Photo: MASSIMO PINCA / REUTERS

Sideliver:

Arthur had switched from Barça to Juventus before the season, but was initially only allowed to sit on the bench when they saw each other.

Miralem Pjanić had taken the opposite route.

The Bosnian improved after the wild first quarter of an hour, in which the midfield was only used as a bridging area, and was one of the strongest players in the center as a stabilizer.

And Neto, the representative of the injured Marc-André ter Stegen in the goal of the Catalans, has a Juventus past: Between 2015 and 2017 he played eleven times for Turin in a league game.

The zero in the Champions League should have been his most emphatic appearance in the arena.

He did not have to intervene much and when it did hit the VAR was there for him.

Project Pirlo:

Juve legend Andrea Pirlo should renew the Italian record champions.

Nice play and identification are desirable, but of course successes too.

At his first coaching position, the results of the 2006 world champion are not yet in the lap, in Serie A his team is only fifth after only two wins in the first five matches.

The 0: 2 against Barcelona only gives his opponent Ronald Koeman (also new, also only two wins from five league games and one defeat in the most recent Clásico) tailwind.

Incidentally, Pirlo also played his last game as a Juve player against Barça.

In 2015 he lost 3-1 to today's opponents in the Champions League final.

Icon: The mirror