Barcelona 3-1 Napoli (4-2 aggregate): Messi shines as Blaugrana organize the clash with Bayern
Barcelona held a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich while Lionel Messi won 3-1 against Napoli on Saturday.
Lionel Messi was in excellent shape when Barcelona advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with a 3-1 defeat to Napoli returning to a 4-2 overall victory.
An action-packed first half at Camp Nou saw Barca take a three-goal lead, before Lorenzo Insigne pulled one back from the spot in injury time.
Clement Lenglet’s header in the ninth minute broke the deadlock, with Messi scoring an exquisite second before winning a penalty that Luis Suarez converted.
Insigne’s penalty gave Napoli hope, but Barca have enough to reserve a place in the second round, where Bayern Munich awaits.
Dries Mertens cut the wood in two minutes, but Barca quickly took control – Lenglet heads home unmarked from Ivan Rakitic’s inswing corner, with the goal standing after a VAR check for a possible foul on Diego Demme.
Further punishment followed as Messi made his way through a crowd of defenders and, despite a premature slip, curled a wonderful finish past David Ospina.
11 – All 11 @FC Barcelona the players touched the ball ahead of the second goal against Napoli (Messi, 23 ‘). Team.#UCL # BarçaNapoli pic.twitter.com/1kMKlIuuEJ
– OptaJorge (@OptaJorge) 8 August 2020
It looked like Barca had taken a 3-0 lead in the half hour, only for Messi who ruled out a second handball goal, but Barca had the third when Suarez scored from the spot after Kalidou Koulibaly clumsily kicked Messi. .
Napoli received a lifeline two minutes later, however, with the referee harshly holding Rakitic to have fouled Mertens – Insigne turning the resulting penalty.
Insigne could have doubled up early in the second half but failed to test Marc-Andre ter Stegen with a close header.
Arkadiusz Milik seemed to have made an immediate impact after his introduction from the bench at the end, only for his header which was disallowed for offside as Barca secured their place in Portugal with minimal effort.
What does it mean? Barca still has hope
It has been a sad season on the home front for Barca, but their hopes for a sixth Champions League title remain intact.
However, an imperious side from Bayern will present a completely different challenge to Gennaro Gattuso’s side following the 7-1 overall win over Chelsea, and the Blaugrana will need to show a quality that has often been lacking in this period to progress further.
35 – Lionel Messi has scored against 35 different teams in the Champions League; two more than the next best Cristiano Ronaldo. Collection pic.twitter.com/7CGCmN71YX
– OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) 8 August 2020
Messi turns on the magic to raise Setien
It hasn’t been easy for Quique Setien since he was appointed in January, and the Barca manager could have been under a lot of pressure if his team left on Saturday.
However, Messi has activated the style to calm the doubters, at least for now.
Koulibaly found it missing
Raphael Varane made two disastrous mistakes for Real Madrid against Manchester City on Friday, and another of Europe’s best defenders struggled this time.
Koulibaly seemed to come down easily in preparation until Barca opened when Demme was pushed against him, while Messi got the better of him to win the penalty from which Suarez scored 3-0.
What’s next?
Bayern are Barca’s opponent in the round of 16, with the match scheduled for Friday in Lisbon. Napoli, meanwhile, turns its attention to next season.
