Barcelona secures quarterfinal berth in Champions League

Barcelona returns to Champions League quarterfinals with 3-1 win against Napoli, securing 4-2 aggregate victory

After a four-year break, Barcelona returned to the Champions League quarterfinals with a commanding 3-1 win against Napoli on Tuesday, setting up an exciting matchup at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Italy three weeks ago, Fermín López, João Cancelo, and Robert Lewandowski put their names on the scoreboard for Barcelona, leading them to an eventual 4-2 aggregate victory. Amir Rrahmani scored Napoli’s lone goal, although they were unable to repeat their quarterfinal success from the previous season.

With this victory, Barcelona completes a remarkable comeback after losing to Bayern Munich in their last group stage eliminations the previous two seasons and never making it beyond the quarterfinals.

With chances waning in domestic tournaments, Barcelona’s only realistic chance of winning silverware this season is in the Champions League after losing to Real Madrid by a commanding seven points in the Spanish league after being eliminated from the Copa del Rey.

Even though they took the lead early on, Barcelona struggled to handle Napoli’s constant offensive assaults. Marc-André ter Stegen, who was playing in his 100th UEFA match, faced several tests from Napoli’s offensive arsenal.

Although Barcelona missed many chances to extend the lead via quick counterattacks, Lewandowski was the one who finally put an end to it, scoring from close range in the 83rd minute after replacement Sergi Roberto provided a timely assist.

In the fifteenth minute, López scored from close range after Raphinha’s accurate ball, starting the scoring rampage for the Catalan giants. Raphinha’s shot that bounced against the post gave Cancelo a clear opportunity to double the advantage shortly after. Cancelo finished clinically to double his lead.

After Rrahmani scored his first goal in Europe in the thirty-first minute, Napoli was able to rally and briefly regain the lead. Rrahmani’s low left-footed drive was his first goal in Europe. 

Source: AP