Barcelona beat Juventus 3-1 to win the Champions League

Barcelona defeated Juventus, 3-1, in the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday, its fourth victory in the tournament in the past 10 years.

Barcelona’s potent offense got on the board in essentially its first attack of the game, when Ivan Rakitic finished a series of sublime passes with a goal in the fourth minute. Alvaro Morata equalized for Juventus in the second half, punching in a rebound of a saved Carlos Tevez shot.


But Barcelona was back on top in the 68th minute after Lionel Messi made a trademark jinking run. Juventus’s veteran goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, 37, made a marvelous save on Messi’s rocket shot. But Luis Suarez was in the right place to pounce. Neymar added a third in injury time.

The dominant victory completed a so-called treble for Barcelona, which added the Champions League to the Spanish league and cup trophies it had already won this season. Barcelona had failed to win any of those trophies last season, leading to the firing of Gerardo Martino and hiring of Luis Enrique as coach.

Juventus was also seeking a treble, having won the Italian league by 17 points and the Coppa Italia final over Lazio. It was appearing in its first Champions League final since 2003, and seeking its first European title since 1996.