It’s come to light that the best opportunity Barcelona had to snatch a goal to begin their famous comeback against Juventus wasn’t squandered by Lionel Messi but by Luis Suarez at kick off.
Juventus defender Dani Alves was off the pitch, shaking hands with his old coaching staff (one coach playfully holding his hand long enough to incur a slap from Alves) while Luis Enrique beckoned the Brazilian to take a seat next to him.
The referee blew his whistle, much to the delight of Enrique, and Neymar immediately sprinted towards the now vacated space on the right-hand side of Juve’s defense. Juan Cuadrado was forced into the role of emergency fullback, but by the time Marc-Andre ter Stegen could find him the chance was gone.
It’s hard to imagine that Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri and defender Leonardo Bonucci were enthralled by Alves’ risky business, but football is fun and Dani Alves is a really fun footballer.