Lionel Messi didn't score a single goal in Saturday's 2014 2015 UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus, but that didn't stop his team from walking away with the European soccer trophy. In a phenomenal match that brought out the best in both Barca and Juve, the Spanish champions walked away with the UCL title, winning the match 3-1. The victory ensures that Barcelona win 2014 - 2015 treble, they are the first team to win the European treble twice.
Going into the match, the wearers of the Barcelona home jersey 2015 2016 were certainly favored to win the Champions League. Messi had racked up 10 goals up to the semifinals (tied with Cristiano Ronaldo for the most in this year's tournament), and Barcelona had beaten an impressive array of teams-including Manchester City, Paris Saint Germain, and Bayern Munich-en route to the final. Juventus, though, had topped defending champions Real Madrid in the semis, and could hardly be written off-even if Barca's current squad has been virtually unstoppable all season.
An Early Lead
If there had been any nerves on Barcelona's part in the first few minutes of the final, they surely evaporated after Rakitic found the back of the net. Neymar almost added a second point at the nine-minute mark, with his shot going just inches over the top-right corner of the goal. At 13 minutes, meanwhile, Luis Suarez and Dani Alves teamed up for a shot that would have found its mark had it not been for the quick reflects of Juventus goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon. The near-misses continued throughout the first and early second halves for Barcelona.
Juventus Strike Back
Interestingly, despite Barca's flurry of dangerous attacks, it was the Juventus squad that formulated the second goal of the game. At the 55-minute mark, Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a miraculous dive to block a shot from Juve's Carlos Tevez. Instead of stopping the ball, though, ter Stegen merely deflected it back out into the field, where Alvaro Morata was waiting to send a shot sailing into the net. Just like that, Juventus were back in the game.
Barcelona looked notably shaken after the goal, and for good reason: they'd outplayed Juve thoroughly during the first half, but with the minutes ticking away, they were back at square one. It took another 14 minutes of back and forth before Barca found their opening. The score mirrored Juve's, with Messi firing an on-target shot toward the goal, Buffon deflecting it out into the field, and Suarez capitalizing on the opportunity to score.
Neymar's Goal
Two minutes later, it looked like Barcelona had all but sealed the victory and the treble. Neymar headed a shot from Jordi Alba into the net, and the Spanish side celebrated a 3-1 lead. But the referee disallowed the goal, saying that Neymar had headed the ball into his elbow to score the point. Since the goal would have been Neymar's 10th of the 2014 2015 Champions League tournament, he was understandably upset about the call-even if it was a valid one.
Luckily for Neymar, a 10th goal was in the cards after all. At the 90+7 mark, with the match all but over and Barca's victory all but decided, the 23-year-old Brazilian nailed a season-ending shot into the Juventus net. The shot tied Neymar with Messi and Ronaldo as the most prolific scorer in the soccer competition.
The win caps off a near-perfect 2014 2015 season for Barcelona, which saw Barcelona win 2014 - 2015 treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and now the Champions League. Having previously won the treble in 2008 2009, Barcelona this year become the first team in Spanish football history to accomplish the feat twice. Celebrate the momentous success today, with a new Barcelona football jersey 2015 2016 from Soccer Box!
