Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 (0-3 agg): Messi, Suarez and Neymar neutralised as Barca crash out

Posted Thursday, April 20, 2017 by Goal.com

Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 (0-3 agg): Messi, Suarez and Neymar neutralised as Barca crash out
Barcelona's star strikeforce could not find a way past Juventus at Camp Nou, causing their Champions League elimination.

Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League after failing to break down Juventus at Camp Nou in a goalless draw which confirmed a 3-0 aggregate quarter-final defeat.

After recording the biggest comeback in the competition's history in the previous round against Paris Saint-Germain, Barca were unable to repeat the feat against Juve, who backed up their stunning first-leg win with an obdurate rear-guard display.

Lionel Messi missed the home side's best opportunities, firing off-target from close range in either half, the story of a match that saw his side rack up 19 shots but only test Gianluigi Buffon with one of them.

Juve – beaten by Barca in the 2015 final – have now reached the semi-finals in two of the last three years as they look to win a first European crown since 1996.

Massimiliano Allegri's impressive defence has only been breached twice in 10 continental matches this season as they join Atletico Madrid, Monaco and Real Madrid in the last four.

In stark contrast to the previous round, Neymar was reduced tears at full-time as Barca went out in the quarter-finals for the third time in four seasons to leave the outgoing Luis Enrique's hopes of winning a major trophy in his final season dependant on LaLiga and the Copa del Rey.

But a trip to Santiago Bernabeu for a pivotal match against El Clasico rivals and league leaders Real Madrid coming up on Sunday gives Barca little time to lick their wounds.

Juve - unchanged from the first leg - threatened twice early on as they searched for an away goal, Gonzalo Higuain firing over from a decent opening, while Juan Cuadrado hooked an acrobatic attempt off-target.

Luis Enrique reverted to Barca's tried-and-tested 4-3-3 system, with Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba coming into the side, and the left-back had the hosts' first opportunity of note when, on the stretch, he diverted Messi's precise pass wide.

A better chance went begging a few moments later when Messi lashed a left-footed strike wide from 15 yards after Luis Suarez's flick had set him up.

Barca continued to probe as Neymar's volleyed effort flew just past the post, before Buffon was the first goalkeeper to be tested, the veteran diving to keep out Messi's deflected strike from the edge of the area.

Juve created a good chance of their own before half time, but Higuain could only shoot straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen, having been picked out by Miralem Pjanic as a fiery contest – which saw Andres Iniesta and Neymar booked – reached the interval without a breakthrough.