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Goals in each half from Cristiano Ronaldo and a 20th-minute strike by Weston McKennie handed Juventus a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Barcelona to send them top of Group G in the UEFA Champions League.
The hosts came into this game on the back of yet another pathetic defeat in La Liga but fans would have been buoyed by the fact that Barcelona had somehow managed to become transformed on the continent.
They were the only club in the entire Champions League boasting a 100% record heading into matchday 6 but it took just 12 minutes for the form book to be thrown out of the window after Ronald Araujo felled Cristiano Ronaldo in the box for a contentious penalty.
VAR checks upheld the referee's decision, and the Portugal star dusted himself up to convert the resultant spot-kick and put Juventus 1-0 up.
Their lead was doubled not long after as McKennie switched play to Juan Cuadrado on the wings. He was on hand to convert the ensuing cross with an excellent scissor kick, although questions will be asked regarding why the Barcelona defense afforded him so much space.
This was the first time that Barcelona had gone 2-0 down at home inside 20 minutes of a Champions League fixture but hopes of any unlikely comeback were promptly squashed five minutes into the second half when Clement Lenglet was adjudged to have handled in the penalty area.
Ronaldo once more stepped up to put Juventus 3-0 up and from then on, there was only going to be one winner.
The visitors were even denied a fourth goal when their number 7 bundled the ball into an offside Leonardo Bonucci only for VAR to rightly chalk the goal off.
The win takes Juventus to the top of Group G and here, we shall be having a rundown of five talking points from the fixture.
#5 Lethargic Barcelona in full-blown crisis mode
The month of August was one of the darkest periods in the illustrious history of Barcelona as a harrowing 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich was followed by the Messi 'burofax' saga.
However, fans who thought that they had seen the worst have been in for a shock, as the world's most admired club have slowly descended into chaos.
The former president and his entire board resigned, prompting new elections in January. And it is not only off the field that issues persisted.
Once upon a time, Barcelona could be counted on to get the job done on the field regardless of external factors but those days are long gone, and the club are right now swimming in murky waters.
Ronald Koeman's 'dream' appointment has slowly become a nightmare and at this rate, it is highly unlikely that he would see out the campaign.
This defeat to Juventus marked the club's fifth loss from just 15 games in all competitions this season, while they currently occupy the unfamiliar position of ninth on the table.
Considering the successes the club have enjoyed in the last 15 years, this is a far from ideal position to be in, and things have to start turning around quickly.
#4 Juventus complete unlikely turnaround to secure top spot in the group
When the draws for Group G were made, it was earmarked to be a straight battle between Juventus and Barcelona for the top spot in the group.
This proved to be the case as both sides comfortably dispatched Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros home and away to secure qualification with two games to spare.
It set up a winner-takes-all clash on matchday 6 at Camp Nou but Barcelona had the overwhelming advantage coming into this game.
Their 2-0 victory over a Ronaldo-less Juventus on matchday 2 meant that they only had to get a draw on their own turf or avoid losing by three goals to guarantee first position.
Finishing first gives the advantage of avoiding heavy-hitters like Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, and Chelsea in the next round. Although some elite sides like Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Inter Milan could still finish second, it is generally preferable to finish at the top of your group.
As it happened, Juventus completed a remarkable Italian job to secure the top spot in the group, leaving Ronald Koeman in the unwanted position of potentially facing a complicated Round-of-16 clash.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo returns to haunt Barcelona at Camp Nou
When Barcelona picked up their 2-0 victory over Juventus in October, there was some good-humoured banter over who the real 'GOAT' is between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo had missed that fixture due to COVID-19 but he returned in good time to put Barcelona to the sword once again.
The Portugal captain is, of course, a familiar face to Barcelona fans, following his nine-year spell with Real Madrid but this was the first time he faced the Blaugrana since he completed his move to Juventus in 2018.
His brace means that he has scored 14 goals at Camp Nou, which is the most he has scored at any single stadium in his career, while it also took him past the 650-mark in his club career.
It also saw him become the first man in Champions League history to score two penalties in a single game at Camp Nou.
Having met Barcelona on four previous occasions on the continent without finding the back of the net, it was a case of fifth time lucky for the Juventus talisman. At this rate, the Blaugrismo would be glad that he is nearing the end of his career and can no longer haunt them frequently.
#2 Potential watershed moment for Andrea Pirlo at Juventus
When Juventus made the decision to terminate the contract of Maurizio Sarri following an underwhelming end to the last campaign, it would have taken a very brave punter to stake odds that Andrea Pirlo would be named as his successor.
The World Cup winner was just one week removed from his first full-time coaching job, having only been appointed as the Juventus Under-23 manager before the call for the big job came.
It has been a baptism of fire for the renowned midfielder in the dugout since then, and he will be the first to tell you that he has not figured everything out tactically.
Pirlo's first four months as Juventus manager have hardly been ideal, and the club have looked out-of-sorts and devoid of ideas on several occasions.
There were poor results to newly-promoted teams in Serie A and although Juventus remain unbeaten domestically, their overall play has been far from convincing. Their over-dependence on a 35-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo has also been disappointing.
This is where the victory over Barcelona comes in very handy for Pirlo. Although the La Liga giants have unarguably been even poorer than Juventus, it takes nothing away from the significance of the win.
The fact that they dominated proceedings and barely gave the hosts a chance to settle in the game would have been very pleasing to their manager. Moreover, getting a victory over a seasoned manager like Ronald Koeman is sure to add some feathers to Pirlo's coaching cap.
Juventus are, of course, still far from the finished material, and Pirlo is still taking infant steps in the complicated world of football management but this victory over Barcelona could end up being the turning point in the club's campaign.
#1 Barcelona see record-breaking home run come crashing down
Over the years, Barcelona have made a name for themselves by turning Camp Nou into something of a fortress, and nowhere has this been more evident than on the continent.
After falling to a 3-0 second-leg defeat at Camp Nou to complete a 7-0 rout against Bayern Munich in 2013, the Blaugrana did not lose again at home for over six years to set a new record for the longest unbeaten run at home in Champions League history.
Their 5-1 win over Lyon in March 2019 saw them surpass the previous mark of 29 set by the Bavarians between 1998 and 2002. Since then, Barcelona went an extra eight games without defeat to set a new record of 38 before the reversal to Juventus at Camp Nou.
Incredibly, in that time, the Blaugrana scored 114 goals and conceded just 20, which puts the scale of what Juventus achieved into greater context.
