Thursday was a good day for Barcelona. They easily beat Napoli 4-2 to reach the last 16 of the Europa League, going 5-3 on aggregate in a strong show of power.
Thanks to Jordi Alba’s brilliant finish on a quick counter-attack from a Napoli corner, the Catalan giants were on top almost from the start in Naples.
Frenkie de Jong’s brilliant long-range goal effectively ended the tie with three-quarters of the match to go.
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A few minutes into the first half, Lorenzo Insigne gave Napoli hope.
Gerard Pique ensured there would be no Napoli comeback at the end of the first half, and Xavi’s side could have had more.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored just before the hour mark to end a sad night for Napoli, who are trying to win their first Serie A title in 30 years.
A dynamic Barcelona team looks like it can go all the way in the competition.
For the first time since Xavi became coach, “We won for 90 minutes,” he told the press.
“It’s a win over a Champions League-level team, one that doesn’t give up many goals, and one that is in the running for the league title.”
Matteo Politano scored a goal in the last few minutes, but it was easy for Barcelona to get into Friday’s draw for the last 16, which will be played on March 10 and 17.
The games will be played on March 10 and 17.
“In the beginning, we made things hard for ourselves. They will pass the ball around you if you do not press them together as a team. It would help if you worked together to push Barcelona. ” Politano said that Sky Sport Italia had told him that this.
Napoli fans are happy for Barca. –
There was a lot of excitement in the stadium when both teams lined up with a banner that said “Stop War” in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The banner read “Stop War,” which got a lot of cheers.
Napoli, on the other hand, gave Barca the lead right away. A short corner was quickly cleared to Adana Traore, who ran up the field and set up Alba, who calmly put the ball in the back of the net.
That mistake, and how quickly it was punished, scared the home team. The match and tie were almost over when De Jong curled in an exquisite second goal.
As Alex Meret was making saves, Sergio Dest and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had shots that hit the goal.
The home fans were getting impatient with their team’s lack of effort.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen gave Napoli a chance when he came charging out to try to beat Victor Osimhen to the ball.
He took out the Nigerian, but he gave away a penalty after a VAR check.
Insigne scored from the spot in the 23rd minute, but Barcelona kept their lead, and the home fans were relieved when Aubameyang missed from point-blank range.
When Napoli didn’t clear a corner, Pique scuffed a left-footed shot past Meret on the stroke of half-time.
In the end, Aubameyang scored a classy goal to end a long spell of possession, and the away fans “oles,” and the Napoli fans cheered.
With their anti-Juventus songs, the away section got more attention from their hosts, but the rest of the match was played in a strange silence.
With more than 10 minutes, the home fans started leaving as Barcelona kept the ball around.
Politano’s well-taken consolation goal didn’t get more than a polite wave from a crowd that had already lost.
