Paulo Dybala scored twice as Juventus made a statement by hammering Barcelona 3-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie in Turin.
Dybala's brace and one from centre-back Giorgio Chiellini condemned five-time winners Barca to a humbling defeat and strengthened Juve's credentials as potential winners of the tournament.
While Dybala was announcing himself as a major star, Barca's star-studded forward line of Neymar, Luis Suarez and the tournament's top scorer Lionel Messi were all blanked in Italy.
Borussia Dortmund's tie against AS Monaco was postponed and rescheduled for Wednesday after an explosion occurred near the home team bus, per BBC Sport.
Messi still leads the way in the scoring charts, despite Barca's dire performance.
Dybala took just 22 minutes to twice puncture the Barca defence. In fact, the Argentinian was out of the blocks in less than seven minutes, per OptaPaolo.
The curled finish was exceptional from Dybala, who repeated the trick just over 15 minutes later. In the process, the 23-year-old usurped team-mate Gonzalo Higuain as Juve's deadliest marksman in Europe, according to Sky Sports Statto.
Barca went in without scoring at the break because they couldn't get their chief goal-getters involved. Specifically, the competition's top scorer was curiously subdued, per BBC Sport.
Things got worse for the visitors when Chiellini headed home barely 10 minutes after the restart. The 32-year-old doesn't get many goals in the Champions League but picked his moment well to end a lengthy drought, according to WhoScored.com.
There was no more scoring as Juve saw out the game in a professional and efficient manner. The Bianconeri continued to stifle Barca's uncharacteristically predictable passing, while runners were denied space off the ball.
A composed final 35 minutes was a fitting way for Juve to cap what was a superb performance featuring dominance in every area. Dybala was the star, but fellow attacker Higuain needs to find his range in this competition.
While Dybala will naturally get the plaudits, Juve's industrious midfield also merited praise. In particular, creative maestro Miralem Pjanic, who whipped in the corner for Chiellini's goal, caught the eye, per Squawka Football.
Yet the Old Lady can also thank continuing defensive excellence for helping inspire this upset. Sky Sports Statto pointed out how Messi, Suarez and Neymar aren't the only attackers Chiellini and Co. have frustrated in Europe this season.
Juventus have proved they have what it takes to beat the best on the continent. They now have to be considered credible possible winners.
As for Barcelona, the Blaugrana now have a mountain to climb in next Wednesday's second leg at the Camp Nou. Of course, Barca have been here before, having produced an historic comeback to overcome a 4-0 deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16.
Wednesday will see Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bayern Munich No. 9 Robert Lewandowski, Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann all try to move up the scoring charts.
| 2016/17 UCL Top Scorers after Tuesday game | |||
| Position | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 11 |
| 2 | Edinson Cavani | Paris Saint-Germain | 8 |
| 3 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund | 7 |
| 4 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 7 |
| 5 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City | 5 |
| 6 | Dries Mertens | Napoli | 5 |
| 7 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 5 |
| 8 | Neymar | Barcelona | 4 |
| 9 | Mesut Ozil | Arsenal | 4 |
| 10 | Riyad Mahrez | Leicester City | 4 |
| UEFA.com | |||
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