Napoli-Barcelona 1-1
Markers: 15′ st Lewandowski, 30′ st Osimhen.
NAPLES (4-3-3): Meret 6; Di Lorenzo 6, Rrahmani 5.5, Juan Jesus 5.5, Olivera 6; Anguissa 6, Lobotka 5.5, Cajuste 5.5 (23′ st Traoré 6); Politano 5.5 (32′ st Raspadori 6), Osimhen 6.5 (32′ st Simeone 6), Kvaratskhelia 5.5 (23′ st Lindstrom 6). On the bench: Contini, Gollini, Natan, Mario Rui, Mazzocchi, Ostigard. Coach: Calzona 6.
BARCELONA (4-3-3): Ter Stegen 6; Koundé 6, Araujo 6, Inigo Martinez 5.5, Cancelo 6; Gundogan 6, Christensen 6 (41′ st Romeu sv.), De Jong 5.5; Yamal 6 (35′ st Raphinha 6), Lewandowski 7, Pedri 6.5 (41′ st Joao Felix sv). On the bench: Pena, Astralaga, Vitor Roque, Sergi Roberto, Casado, Lopez, Cubarsi, Guiu, Fort. Coach: Xavi 6. REFEREE: Zwayer (GER) 6.5. NOTE: peaceful evening, pitch in good condition. Booked: De Jong, Inigo Martinez, Christensen. Corners: 7-4 Recovery: 0′; 4′.
Napoli saved their skin in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Barcelona, coming from behind to snatch a home draw from Xavi’s men. At the Maradona stadium it is Lewandowski who puts the Blaugrana ahead at the hour mark, while Osimhen responds to him 15 minutes from the 90th minute, making things a little less complicated in view of the return to Catalan soil, scheduled for 12 March. Thus begins Francesco Calzona’s adventure on the Azzurri bench with a European draw, a few days after Mazzarri’s dismissal, the second of the season chosen by president De Laurentiis after that of Garcia.
In the very first moments of the match it was the Blaugrana who took control of the game, scoring twice in a few minutes with Yamal, first imprecise and then carefully blocked by Meret. At the turn of the half the Spaniards returned dangerously near the Azzurri area, coming close to taking the lead in a couple of circumstances: in the 22nd minute Lewandowski received it from Cancelo and fired a shot which was saved by Meret, who was also good a minute later to fly to the right from outside Gundogan. The Neapolitans try to react by coming out as the minutes pass, but there are no major dangers coming from Ter Stegen’s area.
In the second half, at the hour mark, Barcelona took the lead with Lewandowski, who received from Pedri and after a control hit a right-footed shot to the near post that struck Meret. Napoli, however, did not give up and, despite many difficulties, found the equalizer in the 75th minute: Anguissa served Osimhen in the area, now ready to be replaced, the Nigerian made great use of the last ball of his match and made it 1-1, winning a tackle with Martinez and winning the duel with Ter Stegen.
The Neapolitans gained morale and in the final they even went in search of the winning goal, without however creating further worries for the Spanish rearguard. In injury time, however, at the last moment, Gundogan had the match point on the left foot, which ended just wide to the right of Meret.
In the other match tonight, Porto beat Arsenal 1-0 thanks to Galen’s goal in full injury time (49′ of the second half).