Need to work to reach Barca’s level, Pirlo says after loss

Ousmane Dembele's deflected strike and a late Lionel Messi penalty gave Barcelona a 2-0 win away to Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday after Alvaro Morata had three goals disallowed for offside for the Serie A side.

Dembele struck with a deflected shot in the 14th minute for a Barcelona side smarting from Saturday's home defeat by Real Madrid and rocked by the resignation of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu on Tuesday.

Juventus, still missing Cristiano Ronaldo after he tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago, were frustrated as Morata had two goals disallowed in the first half and a third after halftime when VAR showed that his heel was offside.

Andrea Pirlo admitted the plans Juventus had didn't quite come off and looked to the lack of experience.

Juve's frustration was complete as defender Merih Demiral was sent off in the 85th minute and Messi settled the match with a stoppage-time penalty to leave Barcelona top of Group G with six points and Juventus on three. (Writing by Brian Homewood Editing by Toby Davis)

"We knew it'd be tough against a side that plays good football, that is accustomed to playing at this level, whereas we are a work in progress. Ultimately, it's a match that will be useful for us to grow and improve in future," the coach told Sky Sport Italia.

"I hope to have more players back soon, because I don't have many options and those I start end up having to play almost 90 minutes twice a week. That's not easy for them, especially when they are young and inexperienced.

 "It's frustrating when you are down to 10 men, as you can't go to press them, otherwise it just ends up running on empty. That's what the lads didn't realise when we went down to 10."

"We need to be quicker in the way we move the ball to create one-on-one situations, but we didn't manage it tonight."

Does the Juventus midfield lack quality, especially compared to the team that they had with Pirlo as a player?

"Football clubs have eras, we had huge players with a lot of international experience. Now they are largely younger, so it'll take a while to get them up to that level. They tried to create something there, but we need to work and improve until we can play Barcelona on level terms."