Soccer News Soccer Match Reports, Football News
Barcelona and Napoli have locked horns in European competitions several times in recent years. The Catalans have come out victors in both their recent two-legged face-offs and were the favourites heading into the third such competition in the Champions League Round of 16.
The defending Spanish and Italian champions may both be in a state of jeopardy, yet, their display last night showed high-quality football with few errors. The two established marksmen – Robert Lewandowski and Victor Osimhen – both were on the scoresheet at full-time as the game boiled down to a 1-1 draw.
As is the case in the UCL, it is never over until it really is. Both sides head into the reverse fixture with similar chances of progressing and very little separating them.
Barça Universal brings you three talking points from Napoli 1-1 FC Barcelona.
Convincing at last
As the team travelled to Italy to take part in its first UCL knockout fixture in three years, doubts lingered over their ability to get over the line for multiple reasons. Their opponents, indeed, may not have been in the best vein of form, but the fact stood that Barcelona were not much better.
For starters, the Catalans have not had the best memories playing away from home in the UCL in recent years. Lisbon, Rome and Anfield are just a few of the terrors that still traumatise players and fans of the club.
To add to the poor record, Barcelona have not been convincing this season. The defending La Liga champions have been far from the solid unit they were last season, especially in a defensive sense.
Last night’s performance against Napoli, in many ways, showed a tangible improvement in terms of overall performance. The showing was still sizeably away from perfection, but progress is positive regardless.
The first half that Xavi’s men dished out saw complete and utter domination of Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. The Italians were not offered one shot on goal, finished the half with an xG of 0 and were…
Source link : https://barcauniversal.com/three-talking-points-from-napoli-1-1-barcelona-champions-league-round-of-16/
Author : Adithya Eshwarla
Publish date : 2024-02-22 08:38:34
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
