Lionel Messi, Barcelona Beat Juventus in UCL with Cristiano Ronaldo Sidelined

It wasn't the Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi matchup many wanted, but fans were still treated to an exciting Champions League matchup Wednesday as Barcelona earned a 2-0 win over Juventus.

Ronaldo was unavailable for the match after testing positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 13 and not being cleared following his most recent test. Key players like Philippe Coutinho, Gerard Pique and Giorgio Chiellini were also out for a variety of reasons, limiting some hype for the high-profile battle.

Messi still came through for Barcelona with a goal and an assist while Ousmane Dembele registered the match's only other goal.

The Spanish club now sits on top of Group G with six points in two matches while Juventus are stuck on three points.

It was a close match based on the final tally, although Barcelona had more of the ball with 59 percent of possession, via ESPNFC.

Dembele got onto the scoresheet for the second straight UCL match with this shot in the 14th minute:

Messi had the long switch to set up Dembele, who put the ball on net thanks to a fortunate deflection.

The 33-year-old then scored himself on a penalty in the 91st minute.

Both goals required some luck, but they were earned from Barcelona after dominating the action with several quality chances from the start of the match:

Griezmann hit the post twice while the team had all four shots on goal.

Barca outshot its opponent 7-2 in the first half and controlled the ball for the majority of the match.

Messi was also unsurprisingly the best player on the pitch:

The superstar was just wide on several shots throughout the match but was extremely active in the final third.

Juventus struggled to keep up and had few quality chances on the other end.

Alvaro Morata appeared to have three different equalizers but all of them were called back:

They became increasingly deflating for a club that simply couldn't break through.

Things got even worse for Juve in the 85th minute when Merih Demiral was sent off for his second yellow card.

The Italian club couldn't defend well down to 10 men, eventually conceding a penalty when Ansu Fati was fouled in the box. Messi finished with a goal from the spot that sealed the win for the visitors.

Both clubs will return to league play over the weekend trying to bounce back from disappointing performances in their last matches.

Barcelona suffered a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in El Classico but will now face Deportivo Alaves in a La Liga match Saturday. Juventus had a draw against Verona in the last Serie A match and will now face Spezia on Sunday.

The two clubs will return to UCL action on Nov. 4 when Juventus host Ferencvaros and Barcelona travels to Dynamo Kyiv.