Barcelona –
Barcelona ensure themselves to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Barca escaped after beating Napoli with a score of 3-1 (4-2 aggregate) in the second leg of the round of 16.
The Barcelona vs Napoli duel took place at the Lluis Companys Stadium, Wednesday (13/3/2024) early morning WIB. Barca surprised their opponents with two quick goals from Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo in the first 17 minutes.
Napoli responded through Amir Rrahmani to mark the first half with the score 2-1. Barca finally escaped after Robert Lewandowski scored the third goal in the last 10 minutes of normal time.
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The Course of the Match
Barcelona started the game well. Raphinha ended the attack from the left wing with a rabona pass into the middle of the penalty box. Lamine Yamal continued with a left foot kick that still soared high.
Barca created a good opportunity. Cubarsi’s cross passes forward, Fermin Lopez escapes the offside trap. Unfortunately, Fermin’s shot from a promising position went wide.
GOAL! Barcelona opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Fermin Lopez made it 1-0. Raphinha sent a cross from the left, which Robert Lewandowski let in.
Fermin Lopez, who was standing freely in the middle of the penalty box, finished with a right-footed low shot. Barca is now ahead 2-1 on aggregate.
Just two minutes later, Barca hit Napoli with a second goal. Joao Cancelo etched his name on the scoreboard to make it 2-0.
Barca’s counterattack took advantage of a wide gap in Napoli’s defense. Raphinha curled a shot, but the ball only hit the goal post. Cancelo grabbed the rebound with a right footed shot.
In the 30th minute, Napoli finally scored a goal back. Amir Rrahmani reduced Napoli’s 1-2 deficit.
Matteo Politano continued the pass from the right wing with a pass. Rrahmani responded with a flick of his left foot, which Marc-Andre ter Stegen couldn’t reach.
After that the two teams attacked each other. A chaos in front of Napoli’s goal occurred before halftime. Napoli defended solidly to get rid of the ball. The score 2-1 in favor of Barca lasted until the end of the first half.
After the restart, both teams still maintained high intensity. Napoli threatened through Kvicha Kvaratskhelia’s kick from outside the penalty box. Barca responded with Raphinha’s kick, which was countered by Alex Meret.
Napoli claimed a penalty after Victor Osimhem was fouled by Pau Cubarsi. The referee refused. Confusion in front of the Barcelona goal after Politano’s crossing was headed by Osimhen. Franck Anguissa followed up with a blocked shot.
Barcelona broke into Napoli’s goal for the third time in the 69th minute. However, after being reviewed by VAR the goal was disallowed for offside.
Napoli missed a golden opportunity in the 80th minute. A mature cross into the penalty box was headed by Jesper Lindstrom. The ball deviated slightly from Barca’s goal post.
In the last 10 minutes, Barcelona gave Napoli a heavy blow. Lewandowski created Barca’s third goal so the position changed 3-1 (4-2 aggregate).
Ilkay Guendogan’s one-two collaboration with Sergi Roberto ended with a short pass in the middle of the penalty box. Meret was fooled, Lewandowski finished with a horizontal kick in front of the 6 yard box.
Napoli failed to take advantage of Oriol Romeu’s blunder in injury time. Romeu’s sweep was towards Kvaratskhelia, but his shot went narrowly wide of the Barca goal.
Lineup
BARCELONA: Ter Stegen, Cancelo, Araujo, Christensen (Romeu 61′), Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Guendogan, Fermin Lopez (Sergi Roberto 60′) Raphinha (Joao Felix 81′), Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski
NAPOLI: Meret, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui (Olivera 64′), Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Stanislav Lobotka, Franck Anguissa, Hamed Traore, Politano (Lindstorm 64′), Kvaratskhelia (Ngonge 90+3′), Osimhen
Watch the video “Champions League Last 16: Barcelona Wins 3-1 Against Napoli”
[Gambas:Video 20detik]
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