Barcelona 3-1 Napoli: 5 Talking Points as Messi excellence ends Partenopei's season | UEFA Champions League 2019-20
Barcelona made hard work of it, but have booked their place in this season's Champions League quarter-finals after a 3-1 win (4-2 on aggregate) against a spirited Napoli display at the Camp Nou.
Goals from Clement Lenglet, Lionel Messi and a Luis Suarez penalty saw Quique Setien's side race into a three-goal advantage.
Lorenzo Insigne - an injury doubt for the game - then made his own piece of history from the penalty spot at the other end after Dries Mertens was fouled in the box.
3-1 down at half-time, Gennaro Gattuso's men were still capable of securing a dramatic comeback, ala Roma and Liverpool over the past two seasons. Mertens and Hirving Lozano hit the woodwork in either half, while Arkadiusz Milik and fellow second-half substitute Matteo Politano were equally dangerous.
Barcelona, who relinquished their La Liga crown last month after underwhelming displays when league football resumed in June, made things needlessly difficult.
Like a hard-hitting boxer with limited head movement, Barcelona were under the kosh for sustained periods in a nervy second-half where Napoli rued their poor finishing.
It's the 13th consecutive year where they've progressed into the last-eight of Europe's top club competition. However, given their defensive deficiencies and over-reliance on Messi, they'll be underdogs against a rampant Bayern Munich in their one-legged fixture next Friday.
So, let's take a look at five talking points from Barcelona's latest victory - one where questions aplenty remain despite ending Napoli's 2019-20 season here.
#5 VAR, somewhat predictably, in the headlines again
After penalty controversy marred Lyon-Juventus on Friday night, it seemed typical that a debate about VAR and how it's being used by officials would surface here.
During an incident-heavy first-half, that's exactly what happened.
Barcelona centre-back Lenglet broke the deadlock against the run of play with a well-taken header after ten minutes, though replays showed he also committed a foul in the build-up.
He visibly shoved Diego Demme into Kalidou Koulibaly as Ivan Rakitic's cross came in, thus creating the separation needed to stay unmarked in the box.
Messi's fantastic finish to make it 3-0 on the night just 20 minutes later, was eventually ruled out for handball after a lengthy video review. The decision took nearly three minutes and even after viewing multiple angles, it was clearly not a conclusive decision either.
If anything, the Lenglet opener should have been disallowed - not Messi's second goal - but timing between goals and final verdicts seem to have slowed down even further now.
It took four minutes and for referee Cuneyt Cakir to have a thorough look himself before ruling Koulibaly's challenge on Messi a penalty. Having suffered such a hefty whack to win the spot-kick, the Argentine stood by gingerly and watched Suarez slam home Barcelona's third of the evening.
There could be no complaints by Rakitic after fouling Mertens in the area, but this spectacle just reinforced why VAR is so heavily criticised.
Those making the decisions with the technology need to be more decisive, understanding that if it's not a clear-and-obvious error, then decisions don't need to be overturned. They were frustratingly poor here, clouding an intriguing fixture.
#4 How did Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong fare on his return?
In the absence of Arturo Vidal and Sergio Busquets through suspension, it was refreshing to see De Jong return to our television screens as part of Setien's midfield trio - starting for the first time since their 4-0 win over Mallorca on June 13.
Left a helpless figure watching from the sidelines with a calf injury, he missed multiple crucial games in Barcelona's title run-in and ultimately, it was clear they missed the 23-year-old with his all-round display here.
Sergi Roberto was tidy in possession (72 passes, 96% success) but not very influential and Rakitic found himself tirelessly busy as the central hub. De Jong meanwhile, was allowed to express himself with measured freedom but also showed flashes of his individual brilliance - passing and clever movement.
His beautifully-weighted outside-of-the-boot assist for Messi was cruelly ruled out, but instances like those serve to reinforce the point that he shouldn't be seen as Barcelona's natural Busquets heir long-term.
Instead, he'd look more comfortable with regular freedom and no defensive-minded shackles holding him back after what has been an unspectacular first campaign in Catalunya for the Netherlands international.
He won six of eight duels, completed three successful dribbles, with two interceptions, clearances and a tackle to boot. Bayern will present a stiffer test next week and one where he'll look to again stamp his authority on the affair.