Barcelona collect fourth win of fruitful decade

Barcelona collected their fourth Champions League title since 2006 in 2014-15, their fifth overall, with one of the most impressive sides they have ever accumulated.

They defeated a strong Juventus side 3-1 in the final, with their front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez emerging as one of the best attacking trios in the history of the competition.

CHANGES

The 60th incarnation of the European Cup was affected by political climates; due to the unrest between Russia and Ukraine, teams were not to be drawn against each other, while teams from Israel were prohibited from hosting any UEFA competition due to the Israel-Palestine conflict. The 2014-15 season was also the first in which teams were forced to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations, whilst the now-conventional ‘vanishing spray’ was first introduced.

With Real Madrid winning their coveted La Decima trophy the previous season, Barcelona reacted by bringing in former player Luis Enrique as coach to organise a hugely talented squad, which included the acquisition of Luis Suarez from Liverpool. Real Madrid brought in James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos, while Chelsea snapped up Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas.

SUMMARY

Defending champions Madrid started their campaign in emphatic fashion, demolishing Basel 5-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. In a group alongside the Swiss, Liverpool, and Ludogorets, Los Blancos won every single match to progress to the knockout stage.

Barcelona enjoyed similar success, dropping points only once in a group with Paris Saint-Germain, Ajax, and APOEL. Eventual finalists, Juventus, finished second in their respective group with Atletico Madrid, Olympiakos, and Malmo.

The biggest wins of the group stage came courtesy of Bayern Munich, who destroyed Roma 7-1 in the Stadio Olimpico in the Italian capital, and Shakhtar Donetsk, who put BATE to the sword with a 7-0 victory. Three teams progressed to the knockout stage without losing a single game; Madrid, Chelsea, and Porto.

Liverpool,…

Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/relentless-barcelona-collect-fourth-win-of-fruitful-decade-champions-league-2014-15/31

Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)

Publish date : 2024-07-20 16:00:00

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