UCL REVIEW....
Juventus were rampant. They hassled, they harried and they hampered Madrid's players, disrupting their rhythm entirely. Isco, Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez lost possession on 39 occasions between them. No player in black could settle when Arturo Vidal was snapping away. The Chilean won the ball more times than any other player on the pitch - the knee seems to be in decent nick.
There is something deeply pleasing about a Juventus team impressing on this stage, 12 years after their previous Champions League semi-final. This felt old school, like you were staying up late on a school night to hear the final whistle before being chivvied to bed. For one night only, it felt like Alessandro del Piero, Dider Deschamps, Edgar Davids and Paolo Montero had returned for a farewell tour.
Seeing the Bianconeri supporters in raucous voice in May has been limited to Coppa Italia finals and Serie A title processions. This was glorious relic of my footballing childhood. Long may it continue.
* There is no doubt as to who is the perfect leader of this Juventus side. Carlos Tevez may have thought his days of Champions League semi-finals were over, but he represents everything positive about the team spirit Allegri seems to have created (or at least improved).
Tevez was a constant menace. Juventus' first goal came from his shot, but stemmed from the Argentinean's vision to find the pocket of space afforded to him outside the area by Real's snoozing defenders. Alvaro Morata was the gleeful recipient.
Juve's second demonstrated Tevez's energy and skill perfectly. He embarked on a 50-yard run, leading Dani Carvajal on a merry dance. With Tevez about to shoot on goal, the defender clumsily brought him to the floor, a penalty promptly dispatched with real meaning. That's now seven Champions League goals to add to his 20 in Serie A. The joy in his celebration said it all.
After the debacle of his Manchester City exit, Tevez could have been finished, slipping into South American football via the back door. Instead he has a new-found resurgence, and Juventus are reaping the rewards. At 31, we're finally seeing a return of the Tevez we love. Things are going Carlitos' way again.
* This was not Iker Casillas' worst mistake of the season, but his inability to hold Tevez's shot from range was another piece of evidence to add to a growing case file. The prosecution have a watertight case.
At four years his senior, Gianluigi Buffon is now streets ahead of his Spanish counterpart. Few could have predicted that when they met in the European Championships final almost three years ago.
The decline of San Iker has been a long drawn-out and sorrowful episode. This feels like a legendary comedian who has run out of cash, trawling the pubs and clubs but no longer getting the same laughs. David de Gea may be the long-term answer for Real, but president Perez must be getting more impatient by the day.
* Madrid's equaliser may have owed much to the majesty of James Rodriguez, but the statistics surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo fail to get any less astounding. "Who else?" asked Clive Tyldesley on commentary. It's a fair question.
"That's four in four days for Ronaldo, and 53 for the season," Tyldesley continued. We're becoming desensitized to this ludicrous brilliance. Ronaldo's close-range header took him to 76 Champions League goals. Sixty-one of those have been since moving to Madrid. That was less than six years ago.
It's also 306 goals in 296 games for Los Blancos, putting him 16 goals behind Raul's record for the club. He's only played 445 fewer matches.
* After Ronaldo, is there a more important player for Madrid than Luka Modric? The Croatian's injury forced Sergio Ramos into midfield against Atletico, where the gamble paid off. Against Juventus, it spectacularly failed.
"I am here to help the team wherever I can," Ramos told reporters after the game. "The other day it worked out for me (in midfield) but this was a bad game on a personal and a group level. I have confidence in the coach and I was ready to sacrifice myself for the team."
That's all very well, but Carlo Ancelotti can't rely on a 50/50 chance on his Ramos experiment works. Another failure in the second leg, and Madrid's attempt to defend the Champions League will be over. Ancelotti could be out of a job.
Following on from the difficulties he had against Sevilla at the weekend, Ramos was unnerved when put under pressure by Vidal. The abiding image of the match was of the Spaniard holding up his hand apologetically as he passed the ball out of play or to a Juventus player.
The difference between playing at centre-back, with the game in front of you, and central midfield is too much for some. Ramos is a wonderful defender (and wonderful bastard, too), but he was unable to cope with pressure from Vidal in front of him and Tevez behind. He looked lost.
Time for Ancelotti to put some faith in Lucas Silva or Asier Illarramendi.
* Much of the criticism directed at Gareth Bale this season has been hyperbolic but, on Tuesday, he really was that bad. Spanish newspaper AS refused give the Welshman a rating, but on that front he was at least joined by Carvajal, Ramos, Raphael Varane and Marcelo. On ITV, Roy Keane was not as generous.
"You can't win a game with 10 men," Keane said. "Gareth Bale gave Real Madrid nothing tonight. You could see a lack of confidence, but he kept making the easy decision. The reason he is at Real Madrid is to be brave, to get at people, but every time he got it tonight he turned back and, again, his team-mates can't be happy with him because he took the easy option every time."
Keane's criticism may actually be harsh: Bale didn't even get involved enough to make easy decisions. He touched the ball fewer times than any other Real starter, including Casillas, and looks shorn of all confidence. The Welshman completed just 16 passes, had one shot (off-target) and failed to create a single chance. We could give him the benefit of the doubt and question his fitness but, in truth, this is nothing new.
Whilst the English papers continues to talk up bids from Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City, Florentino Perez must be rubbing his hands at reports of £100m valuations. Bale is clearly still a phenomenal attacking player, but the criticism from Spanish media and Madrid supporters seems to be taking its toll.
* I think we've now reached the stage where people moaning about non-celebrations has got more annoying than the non-celebrations themselves (and I'm sure I've been guilty of it too).
Alvaro Morata was born in Madrid. He was brought up in Madrid and supported Real Madrid as a boy. He joined the club from Getafe aged 16, and made his debut at 18. On Tuesday evening he scored a goal that could knock his former team out of the Champions League. Is that not enough?
Why does he matter if he celebrates or not, just to appease our pre-conceived expectations of how players should and shouldn't behave? What happened to just doing what you want? Importantly, the Juventus fans didn't seem to care.
There was something inherently amusing about ITV's panel getting angry about Morata's decision to stay reserved, 40 minutes after every home supporter in the Juventus Stadium had demonstrated that they didn't really give a shiny f**k. Pant-wetting by proxy isn't an attractive spectator sport.
* There was a great deal of criticism after the game for Ancelotti's decision to use a 4-4-2 formation with Bale alongside Ronaldo up front. It had the intention of exploiting Juventus' full-backs on the counter if they ventured too far forward, but ended with Real just looking narrow. Neither Isco nor James would pretend to be archetypal wingers.
However, the success of that formation at least in part depends on the ability of Real's full-backs to overlap effectively. Other than Bale, Ancelotti's worst two performers were Marcelo and Carvajal.
Whilst Carvajal gave away the penalty, it was Marcelo who most frustrated. He lost possession more than any other player on the pitch, and too often overhit his crosses into the box. Ronaldo's annoyance was obvious. In defence, Marcelo was out of position for the first goal, and then lost the ball in midfield for the second, earning a booking for his crude trip on Morata.
"We weren't the best team of all time before this game nor are we the worst after it," the Brazilian said after the game. "It was a bad result because we wanted to win, but it's still wide open and we'll do better in the second leg." You'll need to, champ.
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* There are many ingredients in the creation of entertaining football, but none that guarantees a match will be exciting, enthralling and absorbing. There is no perfect recipe.
Until now. Pep Guardiola has a reputation for innovation, but playing three at the back with no full-backs against Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar might be his ballsiest trick yet.
It was evidently done with the intention of catching Barcelona and Luis Enrique off guard (which it may well have done), but it still left three on three in a crucial match. Having breakfast in bed made for you might catch you off guard, but it still allows you to tuck in about five seconds after you smell the bacon sandwiches.
To use a cricket analogy, Pep effectively started the game with eight slips and a gully, leaving the outfield open for both batsmen. After leaving the ball for a few deliveries, eventually the batsmen will just shrug and start creaming the ball into the gaps. This felt like professional suicide in the Camp Nou, and last 17 minutes.
That said, it was remarkably entertaining. This felt like Powerleague football in the Champions League, as Bayern matched Barca man-for-man across the pitch. Every time a tackle was missed by either side, a chance was created. Wonderful to watch, but impossible to sustain.
"I've never seen this," said Gary Neville, half with glee and half in fear for Bayern's poor defenders. Me neither, and now I never want to watch football any other way.#
* Of course 'entertaining' doesn't mean successful, and Bayern were incredibly fortunate not to fall behind. Luis Suarez had scored five goals in his previous two matches and braces in both of Barcelona's two knockout first legs in the Champions League, but he fluffed his big first-half chance. Lionel Messi's through ball found the Uruguayan, but his shot from 15 yards struck the leg of Manuel Neuer.
It's impossible to overplay the excellence of the goalkeeper's save, however. Neuer waited as long as he could to spread himself to avoid the possibility of the nutmeg, before extending his right leg as much as possible to block the shot.
* There is a lot of tut written about Neuer 'redefining goalkeeping', but the German did cement his reputation as the best goalkeeper in the world before the break. At half-time, Jamie Redknapp labelled Neuer as the best goalkeeper of all time at half-time. He's presumably watched lots of Lev Yashin on YouTube.
Neuer's propensity to dash from his line to thwart danger is now famous, and he did so to expert fashion to clear the danger when Neymar was through on goal, but there was actually a better incident to demonstrate his brilliance.
Ten minutes before the break, Messi was provided a chance from a set piece, with Xabi Alonso unfortunate to be booked for a foul committed by Thiago Alcantara. The set piece was delivered at goal, comfortably saved by Neuer on first viewing. However, the replay showed just how quick the goalkeeper was to move across his line. What was a diving save for 95% of goalkeepers became regulation for Neuer.
Still, he could do nothing to stop Messi.
* When Barca's first goal finally came, it was courtesy of Bayern's own mistakes. Juan Bernat lost the ball his own third, with Dani Alves passing the ball to Messi. You know the rest: Shimmy, steady, shot.
There were questions over Neuer's inability to keep it out, but those fall on my deaf ears. Messi retains the ability to conceal which corner he will aim for until the last moment, still able to ensure enough power and accuracy to take full advantage of the goalkeeper's uncertainty. Every shot becomes almost equatable to a penalty when you have that sort of talent.
* Don't underplay Dani Alves' role in the goal, however. His determination won the ball from Bernat and his certitude enabled him to slip the ball to Messi. It capped off a wonderful evening for the full-back.
Alves made twice as many tackles as any of his teammates, made more clearances than any other Barcelona player, also making more interceptions. He gained possession from Bayern's players on 12 occasions, four times more than any other Barca player. This is a full-back that we know more for his attacking that defending.
Alves may be 32, but I'd still say he's the best right-back in the world. Barcelona would be mad to let him leave.
* I don't care about whether he is the best now, the best there has ever been or the best there ever will be. Taking the time to compare Messi to other players can only reduce the time spent watching him play. Every second would be a waste.
"There is no defence that can stop Messi. It is impossible," Guardiola said during his press conference on Tuesday. "How he is playing at the moment, you cannot stop him. Defending with nine in your area or 11 pressing high. You can't always be at your best physically during your career, there are ups and downs, but the way he has played the last four or five months there is no way to stop him. He is too good." Thirty-six hours later, we had the proof. Messi's second goal was stupendously good. At his best, he cannot be stopped.
My favourite thing about Messi (and it's a long list) is that nothing is unnecessary. For a player with such incredible skill there is actually very little flamboyance. Every touch is for a reason, no moment wasted. His fantastic football brain maps his route to goal; his phenomenal talent takes him there in the most efficient number of actions. What looks sexy is actually unerringly economical.
Watch Messi's second goal again, from the moment he takes on Jerome Boateng. An international defender is made the star of a million Vines. The greatest goalkeeper in the world is left stranded and helpless. Four touches.
Four touches. One to set the trap, to give Boateng the sniff. One to commit the defender to making the grave mistake; the trap snaps shut. One more to send Boateng spinning and tumbling to the floor. One final touch to dink the ball over Neuer, with his wrong foot. Never once did Messi move out of stride.
Messi is not a magician, because nothing he does is magic. It's just the same football as you're used to, but done to perfection.
* There was still time for Neymar to add the seal on Barcelona's victory, effectively ending the tie as a contest. As Bayern poured forward in search of the away goal, six players were caught in the opposition half when Barcelona won possession. That only ends one way.
Top marks must also go to referee Nicola Rizzoli for the advantage he played in the build-up top the goal. The Italian dealt excellently with a physical game. He must surely beat Martin Atkinson for the big gig in June?
Finally, where does this result leave Guardiola? He is a fantastic coach, but must surely now be considered as a failure so far at Bayern? Having taken over the reigning Bundesliga and Champions League winners, Pep has now twice won the domestic title at canter, but failed to lead the club back to the big one.
King Undisputed!!!
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