Barcelona 3-1 Napoli (4-2 agg): 5 Hits and Flops as Messi magic powers Blaugrana to quarter-finals | UEFA Champions League 2019-20
A superb solo goal from Lionel Messi was the major talking point as Barcelona secured a 3-1 win at home over Napoli to make their way into the quarter-finals of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League.
Messi’s goal was sandwiched between a header from Clement Lenglet and a Luis Suarez penalty that sent the Catalan giants into a 3-0 lead before Lorenzo Insigne pulled one back for the visitors.
Despite what the scoreline might suggest, it was the visitors that started off on the front foot. They created a few promising opportunities against a Barcelona side that was slow off the blocks.
However, the home side’s nerves were settled with Lenglet’s headed effort from a corner in the 10th minute. They were further relaxed when Messi doubled their lead in the 23rd minute. The Argentine then won his side a penalty that was duly converted by Suarez, only for Napoli to pull one back with a spot-kick of their own.
The second half was a few notches down from the all-action first period, with Barcelona easing off and Napoli not going hell for leather either. Ultimately, the scoreline remained unchanged from the first half and the game ended with Barcelona moving forward to face Bayern Munich in one of the most mouthwatering fixtures of the next round.
Let’s take a look at five hits and flops from the game that saw Barcelona seal their place in the Champions League quarters.
#5 Hit: Lorenzo Insigne
Napoli might be bowing out of the Champions League, but they can take great heart from the fighting spirit shown by their players. Insigne, who also wore the captain’s armband, led by example, constantly hurrying and harrowing the Barcelona defence with his indefatigable running and clever movement.
The Italian attacker popped up on the left wing as well as through the middle, regularly switching with Dries Mertens and causing problems to the Barca defenders. His dangerous crosses into the box from out wide set off alarm bells inside the Barcelona box. On the other hand, his coolly taken penalty on the stroke of half time gave his side a sliver of hope before the second half.
#4 Flop: Antoine Griezmann
The high-profile summer move from Atletico Madrid hasn’t worked out as well as either Griezmann or Barcelona might have hoped. And this performance would not do much to endear the Frenchman to the Barcelona faithful.
Although deployed as part of a front three alongside Suarez and Messi, Griezmann kept having to drop deep into midfield to get involved in the play, where he promptly lost the ball on more than one occasion.
He also struggled to get into any sort of rhythm. While it can be argued that Griezmann is much better suited to playing through the middle than out wide on the left, this display was below par despite him being played out of position.