The anticipation for the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final can hardly be contained. On June 6, Juventus and Barcelona will finally square off for a shot ultimate pride and glory.
But for now, let’s take a moment to sit back, relax and relive the best plays throughout the tournament. Take a look back at some of the most memorable highlights of the season below. And don’t forget to also check out our coverage of the UEFA Champions League Final matchup itself between Juventus and Barcelona right here.
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The Top 10 Best Plays of the UEFA Champions League 2014-2015 Season
10. Casemiro vs Basel
Here’s a freebie for the first play on our list courtesy of Porto’s midfielder Casemiro. Watch him connect from 30 feet with this amazing free kick goal. The score put Porto up for good against Basel in their round of 16 match, as Porto would go on to advance to the quarterfinal round of the tournament.
9. Marcelo Vieira vs Schalke
We’ve got another highlight from the round of 16, this time, courtesy of Marcelo from Real Madrid. This late game goal was taken from way beyond the penalty area in the first game against Schalke 04. The score put Madrid up 2-0 for good.
8. Robben vs Roma
Here’s Arjen Robben with a quick and dazzling shuffle-step before hitting a goal between two AS Roma defenders. It was one of Robben’s two spectacular goals in Bayern Munich’s 7-1 thumping on AS Roma early in the group stage of the tournament.
7. Suarez vs Paris Saint-Germain
The first of two entries from Barcelona’s Luis Suarez on this list is this Houdini of an attempt. Witness Suarez slip the ball between PSG’s David Luiz — leaving the defender baffled as Suarez gets left wide open with the goal from the penalty area line.
6. Giroud vs Monaco
As the age-old saying goes: If at first you don’t succeed, try again. Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud’s close-distance shot was immediately blocked by Monaco’s keeper Danijel Subasic, only to have the ball land back at Giroud’s feet for the easier putback.
Even though Monaco would advance in the quarterfinals round of the tournament instead of Arsenal, Giroud certainly gave quite the effort with this circus shot.
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5. Calhanoglu vs Atletico Madrid
This next video shows more about the ball-handling skills of Bayer Leverkusen’s Karim Bellarabi than his teammate Hakan Calhanoglu’s goal. Bellarabi puts on the brakes before the no-look, back-heeled assist to Calhanoglu for the only score of the game. Nice dish, nice finish.
4. Rakitic vs Manchester City
Lionel Messi, so often the one on the end of these highlight reel goals, is on the other end this time around. Messi shows off his awareness on the field with a nice floating assist to Ivan Rakitic.
Rakitic corrals the lob from Messi with his chest, then kicks the ball in mid-air for an even sweeter floating shot into the left-hand side of Manchester City’s net. That goal would be the lone score for the match, and ultimately helped Barcelona seal their ticket in advancing to the quarterfinal round of the tournament.
3. Suarez vs Paris Saint German
So nice, he had to appear on our list twice. In the same match as the one found on our seventh entry, Luis Suarez’s first goal was even better than his follow-up.
Witness Suarez split through three PSG defenders from the far right of the field and right into the face of the opposing goalie for the sweet score. That fourth defender coming in from the left slot really didn’t even have a chance at deflecting the shot once Suarez rifled in the goal.
2. Ramsey vs Galatasaray
Talk about hitting from way downtown.
Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey volleys this shot almost from midfield against Galatasaray’s goalie Sinan Bolat in the group stage bout between two clubs with a lot of history. Check out that distance, the time it took for the ball to get in, and the late spin that was just enough to get inside the top right-hand corner of Bolat’s net.
Ramsey’s shot looked like a homing missile in mid-speed that knew where it should go. Amazing.
1. Messi vs Bayern Munich
Could there be anyone other than Messi at No. 1?
Just three minutes after putting up the first goal of the game, Barcelona’s superstar put in another insurance goal with 10 minutes left in Barcelona’s semifinal first leg against Bayern Munich. Messi’s patience and soft touch to the floating chip-in shot is truly a marvel to behold.
