Good news from Barcelona with defeating Napoli 3-1 at home, advancing to the quarter-finals with a total score of 4-2, marking their return to the Champions League quarter-finals after a 4-year hiatus. Four years have passed, and much has changed, evoking a sense of nostalgia.
The 3-1 victory propels Barcelona into the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals
In this match, Barcelona took an early lead! In the 15th minute, Rafinha’s inverted triangle pass found Fermín, who scored with his right foot, making it 1-0. Barcelona’s attack was simple and efficient, leaving the opponents helpless.
Barcelona-style goal!1-0!
In the 17th minute, Barcelona launched a counterattack, Rafinha’s shot hit the post, and Cancelo followed up with a rebound, making it 2-0. In just 3 minutes, Barcelona scored two goals in a row. With a total score of 3-1, Barcelona was leading.
Cancelo’s goal extends Barcelona’s lead!
In the 30th minute, Napoli pulled one back. They also executed a bottom-line inverted triangle pass, with Rrahmani scoring, bringing the score to 1-2 in this match and 2-3 in total.
Napoli pulls one goal back
After that, both sides engaged in a seesaw battle, with only one goal difference, both teams had hopes of advancing.
In the 83rd minute, the suspense finally ended. Gündoğan delivered a beautiful through ball, Sergi Roberto crossed, and Lewandowski scored into an empty net. Barcelona once again put the ball into the opponent’s goal. With a score of 3-1 in this match, and 4-2 in total, Barcelona successfully entered the Champions League quarter-finals.
Lewandowski seals the game with a goal!
Throughout the game, Barcelona dominated, with 24 shots and 10 on target, far ahead of the opponents (14 shots, 4 on target).
This 24-shot performance is also Barcelona’s highest in a Champions League knockout stage match since facing Lyon in February 2019 (25 shots).
Once again eliminating Napoli
The last time Barcelona advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals was in the 2019-20 season, exactly 4 years ago. It’s worth mentioning that back then, they also faced Napoli in the round of 16, with the final score being 4-2.
Four years ago, Barcelona had Messi, Suarez, Griezmann, Alba, Pique, and others. Today, these players have dispersed around the world.
Barca’s future is safe in hand
Barcelona’s advancement this time was filled with difficulties. Many key players such as Ter Stegen, Pedri, Gavi, Ferran Torres, Marcos Alonso, and Balde were injured and unable to play. Despite such adversity, Xavi and his players made it happen!
