Juventus 3-0 Dynamo Kyiv: 5 talking points as Bianconeri secure routine win | UEFA Champions League 2020-21
Goals from Federico Chiesa, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata helped Juventus to a convincing 3-0 victory over Ukrainian opponents Dynamo Kyiv and kept the Italian champions within touching distance of Barcelona at the summit of Group G.
Juventus came into this UEFA Champions League fixture on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw with newly-promoted Benevento in the Serie A last weekend. They needed a victory to reinstall confidence in the squad.
The hosts, who had already secured qualification to the knockout rounds, began the game in a dominant fashion. They opened the scoring when Chiesa powered a downward header from Alex Sandro's cross midway through the first half.
This was the 23-year-old's first goal for Juventus, and it sent Andrea Pirlo's team on their way to what was a comfortable victory.
Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed his side's second 12 minutes after the restart to continue his fine run of form and to set a personal milestone.
The Portugal international prodded home from two yards out after a cross from Chiesa. The goal means that he has scored nine goals from seven matches in all competitions, with his only blank so far coming in the first leg against Ferencvaros.
His former Real Madrid teammate, Alvaro Morata, also got on the scoresheet to wrap up the victory in the 66th minute.
The win propels Juventus to 12 points, ahead of their blockbuster clash with Barcelona on the final matchday.
Here, we have a rundown of five talking points from the fixture.
#5 Juventus set up a winner-takes-all clash with Barcelona next week
When the draws for Group G were made, pundits and fans alike expected it to be a straight battle between Barcelona and Juventus for the top spot as, with all due respect to Ferencvaros and Dynamo Kyiv, neither of them operate on a similar standing to the two European giants.
This turned out to be the case as both sides secured qualification with two matches to spare, leaving the small matter of deciding who tops the group.
As things stand, Barcelona are three points ahead of Juventus and hold the advantage of having beaten the Turin giants 2-0 on their own turf.
This means that the Bianconeri have to better this result to top the Catalan giants, and their victory here kept them within touching distance of securing the top spot in the group.
When the two sides met on matchday two, Cristiano Ronaldo was still in the middle of his self-isolation after contracting COVID-19, prompting banter between both sides' Twitter accounts on who the real GOAT is.
Hopefully, both Messi and Ronaldo would be fit to give fans around the world one more reenactment of football's most iconic individual rivalry.
Teams that finish first are usually seeded in the draws for the next round and are likely to avoid playing the stronger sides so both Barcelona and Juventus would give their all in the marquee fixture at Camp Nou next week.
#4 Stephanie Frappart writes her name into the record books
Football is a game that thrives on its ability to promote equality and for many years, the game's governing body has striven to create as much female involvement in the game as possible.
However, despite the very incredible efforts of FIFA and other regional bodies, there still remains a visible gap between the male and female games.
Steps have been taken to address this, and dividends have been reaped in the last decade, with the women's game growing in leaps and bounds, evidenced by the record-breaking viewership of the last FIFA Women's World Cup.
Efforts have also been made to increase female visibility within the male game, and gains have already been made in this regard, with Bayern Munich currently having a female first-team manager, while another woman also coached in the German fifth tier.
However, the biggest strides have been made in officiating. While female lineswomen have been a common occurrence in the last few years, women are taking further steps by becoming center referees.
Stephanie Frappart is unarguably the most high-profile female referee. Having officiated on the biggest stages of the female game - including the Women's World Cup final - she went one further by becoming the first woman to officiate in a major European men's competition when she officiated the UEFA Super Cup clash between Liverpool and Chelsea.
She had earlier become the first female referee in Ligue 1 and later the Europa League but her biggest achievement to date has been officiating a Champions League group stage game between Juventus and Dynamo Kyiv where she discharged her duties effectively.
The Allianz Stadium in Turin had the privilege of hosting this iconic moment and hopefully, this would serve as an impetus for more inclusive participation in the game.