Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has hailed the duo of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci for their fine performances in the clash against Barcelona on Wednesday night.

Juventus managed to claim a place in the semi finals of the Champions League with a 3-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona and the Old Lady put in a fantastic rearguard action in the second leg at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night, claiming a 0-0 draw to safely seal their passage into the next round.

The defensive duo of Chiellini and Bonucci were impregnable at the back to deny Barcelona's dangerous attack of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar and following the game, Ferdinand lavished the Italian duo for their fantastic displays.

He told BT Sport: "Yeah (they deserved it). This is a game where the defence came out on top.

"They were dogged, they showed their experience and desire to defend.

"They were enjoying it, the confidence they had coming into this game just showed. Chiellini for me has been the star, putting his body on the line.

"Him and Bonucci together were tremendous and speaking as a former centre-back, you thrive on clean sheets. To go to the Nou Camp and get a clean sheet against that front three, deserves immense praise."