Paulo Dybala has a trademark celebration. He puts his hand underneath his eyes then covers most of his face, so nobody can see him.
From now, though,
he can hide no longer. On an unforgettable night in Turin, Dybala's
majesty ensured his features will now be known around the
world. We came expecting to see a nimble Argentine with a magic wand for a left foot light up the Champions League and did not leave disappointed.
world. We came expecting to see a nimble Argentine with a magic wand for a left foot light up the Champions League and did not leave disappointed.
Dybala
cast the kind of spells we expect to see from Lionel Messi, scoring
twice as Juventus stamped their authority on this quarter-final, routing
Barcelona by three unanswered goals. This was not a victory that was
any way flattered Massimilliano Allegri's relentless side.
Usually before these contests, managers
are like poker players. They say little, give nothing away and protect
their hand. Allegri, however, used his stage on Monday to speak with the
openness and certainty of man who believed he was holding all the aces.
There
was no point, he reasoned, of hoping to contain Barcelona for two legs
then sneaking through on a penalty shootout. No. Juventus would be bold,
Allegri insisted. Never mind worrying about Barcelona's front three,
was the message. Let them worry about us.
After
21 seconds, you could see his words were not idle. That's how long it
took for Juventus to wrestle possession back from Barcelona's kick-off
and break forward with such pace that the move ended with Sami Khedira
firing a shot over the bar.
Attacking
the stand that housed their 'Ultras', Juventus were determined to hit
them hard and hit them early, to use the sense scrambling noise to their
advantage and in the third minute, the opening goal should have arrived
but Gonzalo Higuain headed straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
His
profligacy did not matter. Now was the time for Dybala to step forward
and show why the comparisons with Messi are not lazy. His opening goal,
which arrived in the seventh minute, was glorious, guiding the ball with
his left foot into the tightest angle after Juan Cuadrado set him up.
Cue
pandemonium. Here was the trump card in Allegri's hand being delivered;
the goal was brilliant but so was everything else, from the quick
passing to the runs into the spaces that left Barcelona's defenders not
knowing whether to stick or twist.
Dybala's
second goal, on 22, was just as good, a fizzing left foot drive whipped
inside the near post after Juventus launched a rapier counterattack.
The goal was crucial because 60 seconds earlier Gianluigi Buffon had
made a superb save to thwart Andres Iniesta.
'Paulo played a great game,' said Allegri, who called Buffon's atop 'spectacular'.
'But
I can say the team also played a great game. I never like to
distinguish names but I want to say that tonight it was a beautiful
victory from the whole victory.'
Barcelona had their moments. They had a
goal disallowed in the first half that would have altered the complexion
of the game and the way they moved the ball was, at times, a joy to
watch.
And Messi, it must noted,
produced some moments that were out of this world, not least the pass
that gave Iniesta his sight of goal. Every time he got possession, fear
descended that he would do something out of the ordinary. Only the hosts
sheer bloody-mindedness stopped him doing so.
Yet
Luis Enrique, their ashen faced coach, found no solace in any aspect of
their performance. After the embarrassment of Paris, when they were
blitzed 4-0 in the first leg of their last 16 tie, this was another
evening to leave him squirming and disconsolate.
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