Resurgent Juventus stun high-flying Man City at the Etihad, Florenzi wonder-goal gives Roma a huge draw against footballing giants FC Barcelona.
Manchester City 1-2 Juventus:
Despite Juventus struggling to find form in Serie A, they managed to pick up a big Champions League victory to previously undefeated Manchester City. An own goal from Juve defender Giorgio Chiellini put the hosts up early in the second half, but I Bianconeri completed a comeback through strikers Mario Mandzukic and Alvaro Morata.
These teams both came into the match with completely opposite starts to their league campaign. Manchester City has had a stellar start to the season by picking up four wins from their first four Premier League matches. Led by their star forward Kun Aguero, they seemed poised for another league title push. In contrast, Juve has been in unusually poor form after picking up one point in three games with major losses to Roma and Udinese.
Despite both sides coming close in the opening half, the first goal did not come until early in the second. A City corner forced Chiellini into an awkward area, which resulted in an accidental own goal. The Juve defender headed it into his own net, leaving captain Gianluigi Buffon with no chance. The hosts would be unable to hold their lead and let the away side come back late. A beautiful long ball from French starlet Paul Pogba set up Mandzukic for a calm finish past, City keeper Joe Hart, to tie up the game. Juve then completed the comeback through a wonder strike outside the box by former Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard sniped a long range shot into the back of the net, securing a huge win for the away side.
AS Roma 1-1 FC Barcelona:
Roma held their own at the Stadio Olimpico to secure one point from defending Champions League winners Barcelona. The Blaugrana picked up an early away lead through controversial Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez while Florenzi scored a 40 yard screamer to send Roma fans into raptures.
Roma has come into the season with many new acquisitions to continue pushing for the Serie A title. With additions such as Dzeko and Salah, their offense looks potent enough for a good showing in Europe and in Serie A. Meanwhile, Barcelona is looking to do what has never been done before: win back to back Champions League titles. They are fielding a similar team to the one that brought them European glory last season, so more titles should be on the way to the Camp Nou. As always, they will be in the hunt for both the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey.
From the beginning of the game, Barcelona dominated possession and looked to score from the get go. They broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when Rakitic sent a perfectly placed ball to Suarez, who headed into a wide open net. Despite giving up an early goal, the hosts responded right away when midfielder Alessandro Florenzi let an impossible shot from near the half-line catch goalkeeper Ter Stegen off his line and give Roma an improbable goal. Florenzi managed to hit the shot with just the right amount of power and direction to score what will certainly be goal of the year. Even though Barcelona would dominate with over 70% possession, the hosts hung on for a memorable draw.
