Luis Suarez returned to England and displayed the skill which made him such a sought-after man in the Round of 16 win versus Manchester City. In Turin, Juventus prevailed against Borussia Dortmund but both sides will be somewhat content with their performance.
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Suarez showed his class in Manchester, when he scored in the 15th minute, when Kompany was caught off-guard and the ball fell for Suarez who whipped in the ball past Joe Hart into the far-corner. Suarez scored again in the 30th minute to make it 2-0, when Messi floated around 3 hapless City players, and laid the ball to Jordi Alba who passed the ball to the Uruguayan, who hit in from close range. City were given a taste of their own medicine during the first 45-minutes, with Joe Hart making crucial saves to keep the deficit only at 2 goals.
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City began the half brilliantly and had it not been for some wasteful finishing, City would’ve been level. All that pressure on the Barcelona defence paid off, when David Silva flicked the ball to Aguero, who took a touch before firing the ball into the top-corner. City’s task wasn’t made any easier when Gael Clichy was sent off for a clumsy foul on Dani Alves and was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence. Barcelona seemingly killed off the game in the 90th minute when Messi scooped the ball over Hart, but the goal was ruled offside. Barcelona had the chance to kill the game off once again, when Messi was felled by Zabaleta in the box. But Messi’s shot was saved by Hart and the Argentine hit a horribly executed diving header wide of goal. Barcelona will rue the missed chances but will be satisfied with their performance. Manuel Pellegrini’s plan failed in the first-half and City paid dearly, conceding away goals. They have to produce nothing short of the extraordinary to progress into the next round.
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Juventus played hosts to German side Borussia Dortmund, a side on a winning-streak after 3 consecutive wins. Carlos Tevez opened the scoring in the 13th minute when a fierce counter-attack began from the left-side when Alvaro Morata crossed in but the ball was parried away by Roman Weidenfeller only for Tevez to score into an empty net. Dortmund hit back almost immediately after some dreadful defending by Bonucci and Chiellini, when the former miscued his pass and in a mix-up the latter slipped and Reus was open on goal. The German made no mistake as he lashed the ball past Buffon equalizing for his team. An entertaining few minutes of counter-attacking football ensued with both players galloping across the pitch in search of a goal to put their side in the lead. Juventus prevailed when Morata hit a powerful strike into the bottom right-corner after Paul Pogba slipped in a pass for the Spaniard.
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A zealous first-half came to an end and both sides came all guns blazing in the second-half but to no avail as a scrappy game followed with plenty of fouls and hard tackles. Both teams had the motivation but weren’t clinical. By the 70th, Juventus, reasonably happy with the scoreline, slowed the pace of the game and wayward shots on goal followed. The tie is set perfectly in the balance and both sides will fancy their chances of progressing into the next round.
Photo: Giorgio Perottino/Reuters
Tags: Barcelona Dortmund UEFA
