Juventus take on Barcelona in the 2014-15 Final of the UEFA Champions League at Berlin on Staurday night © Getty Images
(Can Barcelona claim their fifth ever European title, or shall Juventus pull out their third title in their fourth European final appearance? Catch all the updates here.)
Although Juventus lost it in their sixth ever European final appearance, they undoubtedly won the hearts of quite a few football fans around the world owing to the brilliant gameplay and fighting spirit they displayed against the five-time champions, Barcelona. Pirlo and Xavi, who were playing their final game for Juventus and Barcelona stole the show and would surely be missed by their fans. Overall, it was one of the best finals any football fan would have ever wanted to witness.
Until then, it’s good bye from myself, Ayush Gupta, and it has been a pleasure to bring you all the updates from this thrilling footabll encounter.
Congratulations, #FCBarcelona. #UCLonFOX #UCLFinal http://t.co/yPqdRRWMWG
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 6, 2015
LEGENDS: Andrea Pirlo & Xavi at full-time. The end of an era. pic.twitter.com/J2SGVYWsT6
— BBC Sporf (@BBCSporf) June 6, 2015
Barça become the first team ever to twice win their domestic double as well as the #UCL http://t.co/f7raFJU3Dc pic.twitter.com/NNNLCC0Tkv
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) June 6, 2015
Barcelona becomes 8th team to complete European Treble in same year (European Cup, domestic league & domestic cup). pic.twitter.com/bUgMxMMQ8O — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 6, 2015
LEGEND: Andrea Pirlo in tears at the final whistle, his final appearance in a Juventus shirt. pic.twitter.com/MS6d7HPf7u — BBC Sporf (@BBCSporf) June 6, 2015
Man of the Match: Andreas Iniesta (Barcelona) Full Time: GOAL!!!! Neymar puts in his third after being disallowed earlier on. The goal comes in the injury time of 97th minute and Barcelona confirm their fifth Champions League title to be lifted. 85 Minutes: Just five minutes more to go for the final whistle. Can Juventus level things back here and push this game to an extra-time, or shall we see a fifth title win here for Bracelona. The intense final five minutes of the game.
Xavi comes for his final Barcelona appearance http://t.co/SbvkDUrwf6 #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/xl09X0cgcw — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 6, 2015
Substitution: Xavi in, Iniesta out. 75 Minutes: Goal Disallowed!!!! Nyemar puts one in on his own off a good run into the box. However, just as he was celebrating, the officil behind the goal-line comes out to say that it was a hand-ball and the goal is ruled out. The players get into a heavy discussion with the referees, but replayed showed that the header from Neymar for the goal was followed off his hand.
Barcelona re-take the lead as Suarez pounces on a rebound. #UCLFinal #UCLonFOX #ChampionTheMatch @HeinekenSoccer http://t.co/E61DWvOEMP — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 6, 2015
69 Minutes: GOAL!!!! The Jubilation doesn’t last long for Juventus as Suarez again hands Barcelona the lead. This was another good break from Messi from the left flank, who fires a powerful shot to be saved by Buffon, but the re bound on the right was perfect for Suarez to set up the second goal for Barcelona. 65 Minutes: Well, it seems Juventus are all fired up following the all important equaliser. Now attack after attack after attack, taht’s what seems to be the mantra for Juventus and the Barcelona defensive wall seems to be struggling to keep hold of the Juventus strikers. Pogba too goes for a good one, followed by another missed chance from Morata.
Marchisio’s cheeky backheel leads to Morata’s equalizer for Juventus. Game on! #UCLFinal #UCLonFOX http://t.co/sXvJ6lFXO5 — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 6, 2015
55 Minutes: GOAL!!!!!!!! Morata has leveled it for Juventus and it’s game on. Just as I was saying, the way Juventus are playing and attacking, Barcelona won’t have a cake-walk and would require few more goals to see this off. The goal was although a lucky one for Juventus as tevez goes for the shot initially from the right, a good save from ter Stegen to his right, but Morata uts in the rebound. Barcelona 1 – 1 Juventus (58) 50 Minutes: Close Chance early on. A couple from Suarez and a good one as Barcelona seem to have increased the pace of the attack following the half-time break. Suarez, who ran fast from the left flank comfortably into the box hit a powerful shot, only to be saved again by Buffon for a corner and it was followed by another powerful shot, but wide over the post, followed by another in a similar fashion from Messi. Barcelona 1 – 0 Juventus (HT) 45 Minutes (Half-time): Well, the half-time break has kicked in, and although Barcelona have the lead, it is a slender one and the amount of courage as well as the fightback have been shown by the Juventus players, it looks like Barcelona have to score couple more to be on the safe side. Overall, it has been a tough contest so far, with both the teams showing great gameplay and aggressive nature of the players coming in to play in the high voltage encounter. A lot could be expected in the upcoming minutes of the second half following the half-time break.
Buffon inspired. #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/kYDtpO6IgI — Goal (@goal_intl) June 6, 2015
40 Minutes: Close Chance!!!! It was Luis Suarez this time with a couple of powerful shots. As five minutes reain for the half-time break, Barcelona seem to be breaking hard the Juventus defence. Suarez seems to join the party with some powerful shots, however, as usual, he is hardly on target, while his on target shot was once again brilliantly cut out by Buffon. Meanwhile, Pogba is warned for a harsh tackle on Messi. 35 Minutes: This seems to get more aggressive as there are quite a few aggressive tackles from the jZuventus players, with the latest being Carlos Tevez putting on a hard challenge on his Argentine counter part, Lionel Messi. There also seems to be a tension between the Juventus players and the referee as they believe, a free-kick was denied just outside the box for a possible foul over Pogba, however, replays shows there wasn’t any hard challenge over the striker.
Alves vs Vidal https://t.co/FEk2on9uDf — Footy Jokes (@Footy_Jokes) June 6, 2015
A walking red card? Follow all the action here http://t.co/RmxIgdCjqg pic.twitter.com/uMy6xoBC89 — ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 6, 2015
25 Minutes: CLOSE CHANCE!!!!! Mascherano of Juventus seemed to have almost leveled it with a powerful shot from outside, the box. A good dive from ter Stegen, but thankfully, the shot was well wide of the post. Barcelona are undoubtedly having a hard time and they won’t find this easy. With just a goal up and the way Juventus are giving a fightback, it won’t be surprising if at all they manage to level terms back. Meanwhile, Vidal has been warned with a Yellow Card for getting into an argument with Dani Alves.
Andres Iniesta. #Legend #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/dLVOB9YoMi — Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) June 6, 2015
20 Minutes: Its attack all around. Although Barcelona seems to be the only team with the most attack in the game so far, Juventus are not giving up so easily at present and whenever are coming up with an attack, it seems to be a tough time for the defensive wall of Barcelona. Paul Pogab too seems to have charged up for Juventus to set the terms level.
A superb save from Buffon http://t.co/Kr36Edke55 #SkyCL #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/g3dCqofQIk — SkySportsCL (@SkySportsCL) June 6, 2015
GOAL! Ivan Rakitic makes it 1-0 for Barcelona. @HeinekenSoccer #ChampiontheMatch #UCL http://t.co/bleovbo0u7 — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 6, 2015
15 minutes: Barcelona seem to have fired up with the opening goal as they seem to have moved in with a bigger attacking approach. There was also a threat in the 14th minute from Iniesta, who fired a powerful shot just from inside the box, but it was Buffon to the rescue. This is turning out to be a real interesting encounter.
10 Minutes: With 10 minutes already into the game, stakes have already been high. Rakitic, who has already give Barcelona the all important lead seems to be on top, while Juventus players seem to have put on some more aggression as they continue to attack through a tough defensive wall of Barcelona.
4 Minutes: GOAL!!!!!!!! What a start by Barcelona. A perfect one they could have ever imagined for. A beautiful assist from mid-fielder, from the left, falls straight in the box among the legs of Rakitić, Juventus players gather around for the defence, but a sharp turn for room and shot was well into the back of the net, with no chance for Buffon to stop.
Barcelona 1 – 0 Juventus (5)
Football matches don’t come much better than this… #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/V65B2TZlrT
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 6, 2015
As kick-off approaches, here’s how Barca and Juve compared on the road to the #UCLFinal… http://t.co/M321U7xq2y pic.twitter.com/hMDYPaB1Ee
— Goal UK (@GoalUK) June 6, 2015
The stars… #FCBarcelona hero Messi faces off with #ForcaJuve main man Tevez in the #UCLFinal http://t.co/M321U7xq2y pic.twitter.com/4wHKD3rE6z
— Goal UK (@GoalUK) June 6, 2015
…and the men tasked with stopping them: How do Ter Stegen and Buffon compare? #UCLFinal http://t.co/M321U7xq2y pic.twitter.com/iE5mYTex7G
— Goal UK (@GoalUK) June 6, 2015
Confirmed Line-ups:
Juventus: Buffon, Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Barzagli, Evra, Marchisio, Pirlo, Pogba, Vidal, Tevez, Morata.
Subs: Storari, Ogbonna, Coman, Llorente, Padoin, Sturaro, Pereyra.
Barcelona: ter Stegen, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Neymar, Suarez.
Subs: Bravo, Xavi, Pedro, Rafinha, Bartra, Adriano, Mathieu.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey)
Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s coverage of the UEFA Champions League Final between four time European Champions, FC Barcelona from Spain and former two time European champions, Juventus from Italy at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany. I am Ayush Gupta, and I will be bringing you all the live updates of what is expected to be the final cracker of an encounter of the 2014-15 season of the European club football.
Barcelona, who last won their European title in 2010-11, where they faced England’s powerhouse, Manchester United FC at the Wembley Stadium in London, had a memorable run as they thumped the English champions 3-1 in the final, owing to goals from Pedro, Lionel Messi and David Villa.
Juventus, who won their last European title back in 1995-96, where they faced Ajax Amsterdam at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, turned out to be a close match as following a 1-1 deadlock in the regulation time and extra time, Juventus went on to win the encounter on penalties with a score of 4-2 with Ciro Ferrera, Gianluca Pessotto, Michele Padovano and Valdimir Jugovic striking the penalties for their second ever title.
With both the teams playing for pride and honour, Barcelona would look to maintain their dominance in the Champions League final as they have hardly lost in the final, except for one occassion. While Juventus would look to join with their Italian fellow counterparts, Inter Milan FC with their third title and win their fourth ever appearance in the final, after 2002-03, where they lost 3-2 in penalties to AC Milan.
Lineups (Probable)
Juventus (4-4-2): Gianluigi Buffon; Stephan Lichsteiner, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonnuci, Patrice Eva; Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio; Carlos Tevez, Alvaro Morata
Barcelona (4-3-3): Marc-Andre Ter Stegen; Dani Alves, Javier Mascherano, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta; Neymar, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez