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A superb solo goal from Lionel Messi was the major talking point as Barcelona secured a 3-1 win at home over Napoli to make their way into the quarter-finals of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League.
Messi’s goal was sandwiched between a header from Clement Lenglet and a Luis Suarez penalty that sent the Catalan giants into a 3-0 lead before Lorenzo Insigne pulled one back for the visitors.
Despite what the scoreline might suggest, it was the visitors that started off on the front foot. They created a few promising opportunities against a Barcelona side that was slow off the blocks.
However, the home side’s nerves were settled with Lenglet’s headed effort from a corner in the 10th minute. They were further relaxed when Messi doubled their lead in the 23rd minute. The Argentine then won his side a penalty that was duly converted by Suarez, only for Napoli to pull one back with a spot-kick of their own.
The second half was a few notches down from the all-action first period, with Barcelona easing off and Napoli not going hell for leather either. Ultimately, the scoreline remained unchanged from the first half and the game ended with Barcelona moving forward to face Bayern Munich in one of the most mouthwatering fixtures of the next round.
Let’s take a look at five hits and flops from the game that saw Barcelona seal their place in the Champions League quarters.
#5 Hit: Lorenzo Insigne
Napoli might be bowing out of the Champions League, but they can take great heart from the fighting spirit shown by their players. Insigne, who also wore the captain’s armband, led by example, constantly hurrying and harrowing the Barcelona defence with his indefatigable running and clever movement.
The Italian attacker popped up on the left wing as well as through the middle, regularly switching with Dries Mertens and causing problems to the Barca defenders. His dangerous crosses into the box from out wide set off alarm bells inside the Barcelona box. On the other hand, his coolly taken penalty on the stroke of half time gave his side a sliver of hope before the second half.
#4 Flop: Antoine Griezmann
The high-profile summer move from Atletico Madrid hasn’t worked out as well as either Griezmann or Barcelona might have hoped. And this performance would not do much to endear the Frenchman to the Barcelona faithful.
Although deployed as part of a front three alongside Suarez and Messi, Griezmann kept having to drop deep into midfield to get involved in the play, where he promptly lost the ball on more than one occasion.
He also struggled to get into any sort of rhythm. While it can be argued that Griezmann is much better suited to playing through the middle than out wide on the left, this display was below par despite him being played out of position.
#3 Hit: Frenkie de Jong
Although Frenkie de Jong’s transition from the Ajax midfield to that of Barcelona has not been as seamless as he would have hoped, performances like these show exactly why the Catalans were so eager to acquire his services.
The Dutchman was superb in midfield, adding a touch of elegance even to his ball-winning tackles and bringing the ball out of midfield time and again to start off a Barcelona attacking move.
Were it not for the ball brushing Messi’s hand as he brought it down before putting it in the net, de Jong would have had an assist to go with his polished display. Even so, the young Dutchman would be extremely pleased with his part in Barcelona’s win.
#2 Flop: Kalidou Koulibaly
If Napoli were to go through to the next round, they were always going to need a herculean effort from their defenders against a Barcelona side desperate for silverware to end a disappointing season on a high note.
However, despite playing his part in keeping Barcelona out on a few occasions, Koulibaly was involved to some degree in all three of Barcelona’s goals on the night. Not only did he concede the penalty for the third, but he also went down in the box (arguably through unfair means, although VAR found nothing wrong) in the build-up to the first.
He was also among a few Napoli defenders stumbling over their own feet before Messi scored the second. Linked with a whole host of clubs in this transfer window, it is in these decisive moments against the world’s best that Koulibaly needs to come out on top to be considered an elite-level centre-back.
#1 Hit: Lionel Messi
Like Barcelona, Messi started the game slowly, and for a moment it looked like it would be another disappointing night for the home side. It turned out that the Argentine was merely surveying the situation before bursting into life with yet another memorable individual effort to add to his collection.
The Barcelona skipper showed great tenacity and determination along with his usual superlative skill to somehow get past four Napoli defenders. he then stumbled to the deck, picked himself up again, and curled a shot around Kostas Manolas past David Ospina into the far corner to put his side 2-0 up.
Messi nearly had an equally remarkable second goal mere minutes later, bringing down de Jong’s chipped cross superbly before slotting home from close range, only for VAR to chalk it off for handball.
Not to be deterred, he went on to win a penalty for his side, nipping in front of Koulibaly just before he was about to clear the ball.
Messi was less involved in the second half as Napoli made more of a fist of it. Yet he was always Barcelona’s most threatening attacking outlet and looked likely to add to his tally throughout the game.
