For the second straight round, Barcelona are going to have to do something extraordinary if they want to stay in the Champions League.You would have thought that the sheer amount of effort required to recover from a 4-0 deficit against Paris Saint-Germain would have inspired Luis Enrique’s team to make a fast start in their quarter-final first leg meeting with Juventus.But perhaps Barcelona just enjoy the thrill of making heroic comebacks, because they will enter next week’s return fixture in Spain trailing 3-0.Luis Enrique’s side was woeful in Turin on Tuesday night. Giorgio Chiellini’s header in the second half put the cherry on top following Paulo Dybala’s first-half brace.Unfortunately for Barca, Juventus’ defence isn’t as frail as PSG’s, making the chances of them scoring three times at the Camp Nou unlikely.On the occasions that Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci were beaten last night, Gianluigi Buffon was there to keep Barcelona at bay.
Enrique: It's like a nightmare
Enrique, who watched Barca’s La Liga title hopes take a hit during Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Malaga, sounded incredibly defeatist in his post-match interview, calling the contest a “nightmare”.
"We basically gifted two goals to Juventus in the opening half. As coach, for me it's inexplicable how they were so much better than us," the 46-year-old said, per Sky Sports.
"It's like a nightmare. We've had very little luck of late, and now I can only hope that from tomorrow we get back on our feet. In the first half the [Barca] players were determined, but we made the same mistakes from Paris, and that's a problem.
"Our second half was much better. But I still have the opening half in my head, like a nightmare. Maybe it wasn't [a repeat of] Paris, but it was like the third half from Paris.
"I'm an optimistic person. But I take responsibility for this. I'm the coach and the buck stops at me. Until tomorrow, I don't even want to think about how we can come back."
Messi tried his best
Try as he might, Lionel Messi wasn’t able to rescue Barcelona. The Argentinian was the Blaugrana’s best player on the night and would have had two assists if not for Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez’s profligacy.
Mandzukic fools Messi
Messi’s evening could be summed up by one moment in the second half involved Juve’s Mario Mandzukic.
The two raced to control a clearance when Mandzukic caused Messi to panic by feigning an attempt to head the ball.
The Croatian knew that he wouldn’t be able to reach the ball, but Messi didn’t. The Barca star tried to control the ball using his knee but fluffed his attempt and conceded a throw-in.
The best part? Mandzukic’s cheeky celebration afterwards. Watch the incident below.
If Barca are to reach the semi-finals, Messi is going to have to produce his best performance yet.