Napoli held Barcelona to a draw at Camp Nou, keeping their hopes alive for a last-16 qualification in the second leg.
Barcelona and Napoli drew 1-1 in their Europa League game on Thursday. Barcelona were not able to complete their comeback while Napoli escaped with a precious draw.
Everything to be decided in Naples!
Xavi gave Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang his first start for Barcelona, placing him alongside Ferran Torres and Adama Traore in a 3-man attacking unit.
The evident lack of chemistry between the three winter signings prevented Barca from finding their rhythm early on while their defence looked as shaky as it did in their recent games. Napoli remained in their own half but were constantly looking for counter-attacks.
The hosts’ plans worked out perfectly when Piotr Zielinski scored the opener for them just before the half-hour mark. Following a quick one-two with Elif Elmas, the Polish striker put the ball past Marc Andre-ter Stegen, who managed to save the initial shot.
Barcelona started their efforts to get the equalizer as soon as they conceded the goal. They managed to dominate the game throughout the second half, eventually levelling the game through Torres in the 60th minute. However, Xavi Hernandez’s side lacked enough composure to complete their comeback despite having several more goalscoring opportunities.
The two sides will meet again in the tie’s second leg on February 24. Before that, Barca will face Valencia in a La Liga game on Sunday while Napoli meet Cagliari in Serie A a day later.
Player Ratings
Barcelona: Ter Stegen (6); Mingueza (7), Pique (6), Garcia (7), Alba (5); De Jong (6), Gonzalez (7), Pedri (6); Traore (5), Aubameyang (6), Torres (6).
Bench: Dest (5), Gavi (5), Busquets (7), L. De Jong (6), Dembele (6).
Napoli: Meret (6); Di Lorenzo (6), Koulibaly (7), Rrahmani (6), Jesus (5); Ruiz (7), Anguissa (7); Elmas (6), Zielinski (7), Insigne (5); Osimhen (6).
Bench: Rui (6), Demme (5), Malcuit (6), Mertens (6), Ounas (7).
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