"Winnable match fumbled so hard" "Miserable outcome" - Fans react as Barcelona held to 1-1 draw by Napoli in the Champions League
Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw against Napoli in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg clash in Naples on Wednesday, February 21.
Robert Lewandowski struck in the 60th minute to hand Barca the lead before Napoli's talismanic forward Victor Osimhen equalized with a 75th-minute goal.
While both teams were neck to neck in terms of possession, with Barcelona edging by 52 percent, the reigning La Liga champions had six attempts on goal. Serie A champions Napoli, meanwhile, had only one shot at the Barca goal, which turned out to be the equalizer.
The second leg between the two teams will be played on March 12. However, Barcelona fans are unhappy with how the first leg panned out.
One of them wrote on X:
"A completely winnable match fumbled so hard, I am tired of this club."
Another fan commented:
"Absolute miserable outcome. Napoli is horrendous and Barcelona let them control the whole second half and gave up a terrible goal. No passion no urgency. Joke. They should have beat them by two goals at least."
Here are some other reactions from Barca's 1-1 draw with Napoli:
Xavi says Barcelona deserved to win against Napoli
Barcelona manager Xavi addressed the media after the game in Naples, saying his team played well and deserved to win the fixture. Xavi also pointed out that Barca created more number of chances than the home team.
He said (via Barca Times on X):
"We played really well today. We should have tried to calm down the game after the 1-0. We created many chanches and we deserved to win today."
Xavi insisted that his side would win several games this season if the performance level stayed up.
"Today we should have won but I think that playing like this we will win many more games," he added.
With the first leg ending in a stalemate, there will be all to play for in the second leg at Camp Nou as the two teams will vie for a spot in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.