FC Barcelona have reached the UEFA champions league quarter finals stage.
Barcelona secured a spot in the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in four years following an exhilarating 3-1 victory over Napoli in their last-16 second leg, resulting in a deserved 4-2 aggregate triumph on Tuesday.
The hosts swiftly gained momentum with early goals from Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo. Despite Amir Rrahmani narrowing the deficit for Napoli before halftime, Robert Lewandowski sealed the victory with a decisive third goal late in the game.
Napoli’s history against Barcelona proved futile once more, extending their winless streak to six encounters, echoing the outcome of their 2020 Champions League clash where Barcelona emerged victorious with a 3-1 scoreline following a 1-1 draw in Naples.
This victory marked Barcelona’s first knockout stage triumph in the tournament since then, also securing their latest qualification for the quarterfinals.
Barca coach Xavi Hernandez told Mediaset after the match that:
Very happy, Barcelona are in the top eight in Europe. It was a well-deserved qualification, a game dominated in attack and defense but also an excellent game by Napoli.”
“Happy with the qualification and we’ll see how the draw goes. Proud to be back in the quarterfinals after years.”
In an enthralling match at Montjuic Stadium, Barcelona initiated a high press from the outset, allowing Napoli little respite.
Despite Napoli’s attempts to mount attacks, they were repeatedly thwarted by offside calls against striker Victor Osimhen.
The breakthrough arrived in the 15th minute when Joao Cancelo supplied a pass to Raphinha on the left flank.
Raphinha penetrated the penalty area and delivered a cross that Robert Lewandowski cleverly allowed to pass, finding Fermin unmarked, who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner.
Napoli scarcely had time to regroup before Barcelona extended their lead. Exploiting the visitors’ forward momentum, Barcelona swiftly launched counterattacks.
A precise cross-field pass from Lamine Yamal found Raphinha, who deceived Giovanni Di Lorenzo with a skillful feint before curling a shot off the far post. Cancelo capitalized on the rebound, firing a first-time effort into the net.
Napoli manager Francesco Calzona said after the match that:
“There is disappointment, because we came here to try to win and we didn’t succeed,”
“We got off to a very bad start, if you concede so much to this team in the long run you lose it.”
Napoli broke through when Politano evaded Cancelo and set up Rrahmani for a goal.
Despite Meret’s saves, Napoli conceded to Lewandowski after a combination with Gundogan and Roberto. Lindstrom missed Napoli’s chance to equalize, leading to their elimination despite last season’s quarterfinal debut.
