Barca loss to Juventus a ‘learning experience’ – Alves tells Neymar

Juventus right-back Dani Alves has revealed the advice he gave to a sobbing Neymar in the aftermath of Wednesday’s 0-0 Champions League quarterfinal second-leg tie with Barcelona.

The Bianconeri advanced to the semifinals 3-0 on aggregate over Barca with the result, and a disconsolate Neymar was pictured sobbing into the arms of his former Blaugrana teammate Alves after the match.

And Alves, who left Barcelona for free last summer, said: “The only thing I told him was not to regard this as a defeat, but as a learning experience, to get up from this type of situation and move on.”

Neymar completed 13 dribbles against a suffocating Juventus on Wednesday, the most in a Champions League game since November 2014, when Chelsea’s Eden Hazard had 15 against Maribor.

However, it wasn’t enough as Barcelona’s fearsome attack sputtered at the Camp Nou against the defending Italian champions.

“To see my friends sad hurts a lot. When there are feelings involved, it’s very difficult, but this profession is like that, and I need to leave feelings out, to do my work and defend these colours with honour,” the Brazil international said.

“If it had happened the other way, they would be sad for me.”