Barcelona 2-1 Napoli: 5 men who were impressive for the Catalans

Modified Aug 08, 2019 11:06 GMT

Ivan Rakitic scored the winning goal of the game

#3 Neto

New signing Neto was another player who had impressed in the Joan Gamper Trophy against Arsenal, and the Brazilian continued in goal for Valverde against Napoli. Neto was assured in his positioning and made a few decent saves in the first half. Most notably, he denied Lorenzo Insigne with a fine save, while also saving from Dries Mertens a few minutes later. With the score still at 0-0, he helped Barcelona stay in the game.

However, after the Catalans scored, Napoli responded with a goal themselves. Neto was unable to stop Umtiti from sliding the ball into his own net and the game was back to 1-1. It was from here that Neto came into his own. Early in the second half, as Barcelona tried to press for the winner, they were caught out on the counter. The Brazilian was out of his box in a flash, like a sweeper keeper on high alert, to clear the ball! Napoli should have been ahead had it not been for his brilliance.

The Brazilian continued to deny the Serie A side, making a few more stellar saves before Barcelona scored themselves. He already looks like a fine buy for the Catalans.

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Edited by Aaditya Narayan