Wastefulness costs Barcelona as Blaugrana settle for draw against Napoli on Europa League return
Barcelona's demotion to the Europa League from the Champions League this season annoyed many fans at first. But some have since accepted that it is not the worst thing to happen to the club at all.
Blaugrana have been way off Europe’s elite for some time now, but the arrival of Xavi as manager has renewed hopes of speeding up a rebuild.
The former midfielder hasn’t had things easy but at least he has brought some stability. The profile of the players he has signed in the January transfer window shows his eyes are on a project for the future. This includes Ferran Torres, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Adama Traore.
In the meantime, though, the club's fans will be expecting him to win the Europa League. However, Thursday’s 1-1 draw against Napoli at Camp Nou didn’t help with lifting the mood around the club.
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Blaugrana held at home
As disappointing as the result was, the performance of the team wasn’t that bad. Barcelona controlled and dominated the game for larger parts.
Piotr Zielinski stunned the Spanish side when he opened the scoring after 29 minutes. But the Blaugrana were the better side before and after conceding.
If they play the same way in the second leg next week in Italy, it is likely that they will win the tie. Xavi has always emphasized the need for his side to have control and this was an assured performance.
It'll all be decided next week in Naples. #NapoliBarça
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Barcelona must be more clinical
The Spanish side enjoyed 65% of possession but were largely wasteful upfront. Ferran Torres was the worst culprit despite netting the equalizer in the second half via a penalty.
The 21-year-old striker was culpable for missing four good chances. This includes one in the closing stages of the game which would’ve secured victory.
The Blaugrana are still favourites to advance to the last 16 of the Europa League. But they could get punished if they repeat such wastefulness in the second leg.
“Now I’m sad because it makes me angry that we missed so many chances because it’s a game to, at least, win,” Xavi lamented, as quoted by SB Nation.
He added:
“I think that the only thing that we lacked was to convert the chances. We were good in the high press. After going behind, we generated 20 chances and six or seven were very clear. The result should be a victory and, being fair, by at least a couple of goals. We played well, but we’re competing in the Europa League. This isn’t about feelings, it’s about results, and the game was excellent.”
Unlike in their previous game against Espanyol, where they drew 2-2 in La Liga Barcelona played well against Napoli. With a little more ruthlessness upfront, the Blaugrana will soon be blowing away teams again.