Barcelona vs Napoli: Spanish giants thrashed Napoli 3-1 at home to book quarter-final birth in Uefa Champions League 2023-2024.
Barcelona defeated Napoli 3-1 in the second leg of their Round of 16 match played at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium on 12th March, Tuesday. The result secured Barcelona their spot in the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the first time in four years. Barca had an incredible start to the match, struggled terribly for the next forty-five minutes, then rallied for a well-earned win to advance to the Round of quarter-finals of Europe’s greatest title, the Uefa Champions League.
Xavi’s team got an early advantage over Napoli, scoring twice in a short period of time to take the lead. The pivotal role was played by Barcelona winger Raphinha in both scenarios, helping Fermin Lopez score the first and then contacting the ball against the crossbar enabling Joao Cancelo to score off the rebound.
However, Barca’s hold over the match was short-lived. Amir Rrahmani’s calm stroll into the box to cap off a skillfully planned counterattack brought Napoli back into the game by reducing the gap to 1 goal. However, Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s spectacular diving stop denied an instant equalizer.
After Barca forward Lamine Yamal‘s tap-in was disallowed due to an offside flag in the 2nd half of the match, Barcelona squandered several more opportunities, with Raphinha, Yamal, & Lewandowski all going closer. However, at the end, Robert Lewandowski‘s well-executed combo around the Napoli penalty box allowed him to walk the ball into the back of the net and clinch the victory for his team.
Barcelona put on their greatest performance in recent months, with Xavi’s team scoring when it mattered most and the visitors hardly posing a threat.
Match Highlights:
1st half.
The initial twenty minutes of the first half were, flawless. Barcelona started the game on the front foot, pressing high up the field with extraordinary magnitude to win the ball upfront and prevent Napoli from having much fun with it. They did this by passing the ball quickly and incisively using the lines and by adopting a fierce mentality off the ball.
In addition to dominating the game, Barca also produced four excellent opportunities: The third attempt proved to be lucky for Fermín López, the young midfield player who had missed the previous two. Following a superb passing pattern down the left wing, João Cancelo noticed Raphinha with a through ball, while the Brazilian crossed it back to the center where Robert Lewandowski cleverly ducked two defenders, giving Fermín an abundance of time and space to finish and give the Catalan club the game’s first goal.
After Napoli’s attack from the start, they almost produced an opportunity into the left wing, but Barcelona’s defense handled the situation, and the counterattack produced the second goal and fourth chance: Raphinha, who was on the run, was found by Lamine Yamal, and he struck the inside of the goalpost with a strong shot. João Cancelo was first to the rebound and passed the ball into the empty net, doubling the Spanish team lead.
However, Barca retreated too much and lost the ferocity they had displayed in the opening twenty minutes. As a result, they were punished for it when Napoli executed a nice passing pattern down the right wing, Matteo Politano provided an assist, and Amir Rahmani scored an unusual goal after making an unexpected run from center back and finding the bottom corner to keep hopes alive for the Italian side into the match.
2nd Half
Barcelona began the 2nd half lazily as they looked vulnerable in front of Napoli’s attack. Sensing problems in the defense, Xavi Hernández substituted Andreas Christensen, who got a yellow card, & Fermín López with Sergi Roberto as well as Oriol Romeu in an attempt to bolster things up in midfield. In an instant, Napoli coach Calzona made two replacements of his own, hoping to give the wings some new life and increase the threat to a weak Barca defense.
Barca’s early adjustments paid off as the Spaniards were able to recover possession of the ball and reduce the game’s pace thanks to a better defensive midfield configuration. Yamal lost a great opportunity to get a third goal, as Barcelona nearly regretted it right away in the eighty-first minute when Jesper Lindstrom was left unmarked within the six-yard box by Mathías Olivera’s cross. However, Lindstrom’s header sailed mysteriously wide, and the Spanish side escaped a massive upset.
João Félix replaced Raphinha, while Xavi gazed to his bench for assistance in netting the crucial third goal. However, it was another substitute who ended up deciding the match: Sergi Roberto, the captain once again rose on the occasion.
He went on an incredible solo run coming from left to the middle, performed a stunning one-two alongside Gündogan within the opposition’s penalty box, and provided the Polish international, Lewandowski with a simple tap-in to reclaim Barca’s 2 goal cushion.
While Napoli made every effort to pull off a late miracle in the closing minutes, Barcelona managed to avoid giving up a second goal, and when the final whistle went, they advanced to the last eight of UCL.
KEY FACTS about Barcelona vs Napoli UCL Match.
In addition to eliminating Napoli from the round of 16 that year [4-2 on aggregate], Barcelona has advanced to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals for the 1st time since the year 2019–2020.
Since Ousmane Dembele scored vs Chelsea in March of 2018, Fermín López, aged 20 years 306 days, is the youngest player from Barcelona to score in the Champions League knockout rounds. Dembele was then 20 years 303 days old. Yamal is, in fact, the youngest Spaniard to accomplish that for the team since Cristian Tello achieved it in March 2012 against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Tello was then 20 years 209 days old.
The Polish striker of Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski has bagged 26 goals in his past 20 home games throughout all competition stages, while he has netted 13 goals in the previous 13 playoff stage matches in the Champions League tournament.
João Cancelo of Barcelona, is the only defender who has recorded more than ten goal involvements in the tournament from the beginning of 2020–2021. He managed to get 14 contributions [5 goals & 9 assists]. Five of Cancelo's six Champions League goals, notably two for Barcelona, happened at home.
Napoli's playmaker, Amir Rahmani follows Besart Berisha, who scored for Hamburger SV versus CSKA Moscow during December of the year 2006. Rahmani registered himself as the second Kosovan player to earn a goal in the UEFA Champions League. He is just one goal away from his record for Napoli in all competitions in 2021-2022 [4 goals] . Presently he netted 3 times in 2023-2024.
Throughout four of the five occasions Napoli has advanced to this round of the UEFA Champions League, they have been ousted at the last 16 stages; altogether, the Serie A champions have lost five of its six away matches in the playoffs.
This season's UEFA Champions League has seen Barcelona win all four of their home matches, highlighting the first time since the year 2017–2018 when they won their opening five matches at home in the competition. .
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