Juventus made sure there were no more miracles at Camp Nou on Wednesday, as the Italian visitor held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw and advanced to the Champions League semi-finals.
The second-leg stalemate sealed a 3-0 win on aggregate and came six weeks after Barcelona’s historic 6-1 thrashing of Paris Saint-Germain, when the home side become the first team to ever overturn a 4-0 loss in the competition.
Juventus showed all the poise and experience that PSG had sorely lacked in the previous round.
True to the Italian tradition of defending an advantage, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon had little work to do until late in the game, as Massimiliano Allegri’s side expertly absorbed Barcelona’s high-paced passing attack that ultimately produced few good scoring opportunities.
And when Lionel Messi did get free inside the area, Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer squandered both his chances to spark a fight back.
Juventus joins Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Monaco in the semifinal draw on Friday.
The result ended Barcelona’s run of 15 wins in as many home European matches since the arrival of coach Luis Enrique, who will leave the club this summer.
Barcelona must rest and regroup for Sunday’s trip to play Real Madrid in a “clasico” match that will go a long way to deciding the Spanish league title.
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