3 Barcelona players who performed and 2 who underperformed against Napoli | UEFA Europa League Play-off
Determined to get their season back on track, Barcelona hosted Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League knockout round play-off on Thursday night.
Playing in the competition for the first time in 18 years, Xavi’s men were eager to get a winning start. Unfortunately, their lackluster performance in front of goal ultimately restricted them to a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou.
The two teams exchanged blows in the first half, with neither being able to land a knockout punch. Just before the half-hour mark, the Blaugrana had their most prominent chance of the half when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang released Ferran Torres on goal. But the former Manchester City player failed to keep his effort on target.
Rejuvenated by Barca’s missed opportunity, Napoli conjured an attack of their own and silenced the Camp Nou faithful with the opener a minute later. Piotr Zielinski’s first effort was saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but the keeper could not keep out the Polish midfielder’s rebound.
Barcelona’s reply finally came minutes before the hour mark, after VAR penalized Napoli for a handball inside the area. Ferran Torres stepped up to take the spot-kick and dispatched it with confidence to level the score.
The goal gave the hosts a much-needed injection of confidence and propelled them to throw everything at Napoli. Once again, it was their sub-par finishing that allowed the Italian outfit to walk away with a respectable 1-1 scoreline at the end.
All in all, it was a mixed bag for the Catalan giants on Thursday. While they played well and created plenty of chances, their forwards could not apply the finishing touches when required.
Here are three Barca players who performed and two who underperformed in their stalemate with Napoli in the Europa League:
Performed: Nico Gonzalez
20-year-old Nico Gonzalez held his own against Napoli’s dogged defenders.
He was quick to move the ball, kept the game flowing, and even had a go at goal when the opportunity presented itself.
Nico Gonzalez hasn't started a game for Barcelona since he inherited Philippe Coutinho's number 14 shirt and was officially promoted from Barcelona B to the first team. The opportunity for Xavi Hernandez to make rotations, however, is near. Nico will get more minutes. https://t.co/tXnh4Lk36v
Before being subbed off for Gavi, Nico registered a couple of shots on target, made one key pass and won five duels.
An encouraging display by Xavi’s prized possession.
Underperformed: Jordi Alba
Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba was not at his best against Napoli on Thursday night.
Offensively, he was decent as always, making threatening runs and combining well with Ferran Torres. Defensively, however, he was in sixes and sevens.
Jordi Alba and Ferran Torres are the reasons why we are losing this game
Jordi no get sense
Ferran Torres is wasteful
He lost possession 17 times, attempted only one tackle, and was turned inside out by Eljif Elmas for Napoli’s opener.
Had Alba been able to stick with the North Macedonian, Zielinski would not have had such a clear sight of Barca’s goal.
A disappointing shift by one of the club's captains.