Napoli 1-1 Barcelona: Champions League last 16, first leg – as it happened
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Colum Fordham and the scenic site of Naples. Fordham mentions that there has been a switch in coaches, from Walter Mazzari to Calzona, and believes Napoli will be content with a tie against Barcelona. Fordham's pupils residing in Naples expressed discouragement regarding their game later that day, following a lackluster performance in their last match, ending in a 1-1 draw against Genoa. However, Fordham's acquaintance and local grocery vendor, Gino, had a positive outlook on their chances. Fortunately, Napoli played decently overall, even though Osimhen was weary from participating in the African Cup. Kavara also demonstrated his skillset sporadically. The second face-off between the two teams should be quite entertaining.
Barcelona came away with a valuable draw from a difficult European location. However, they will question whether they could have scored another goal or held onto the lead given to them by Robert Lewandowski. Despite being the superior team for 74 minutes, it was not an impressive performance. Napoli, on the other hand, will not be entirely displeased with the result. They played poorly and lacked attacking prowess for the majority of the game, but Victor Osimhen's hard work resulted in a crucial equalizer. At the very least, they will take a point to Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in three weeks' time, which is an improvement on the prospect of leaving with nothing.
Napoli And Barcelona Draw 1-1 In Full Time
The Italian champions managed to secure a tie with the Spanish champions. However, it seems improbable that either team will emerge as the champions of Europe at the end of the season based on this performance.
In the 94th minute of the match, Lewandowski causes a disturbance near the Napoli box. Gundogan receives the ball and attempts to curl it towards the bottom left corner, but unfortunately misses by a small margin, causing the ball to hit the side netting and trick the viewers into thinking it had gone in. For a moment, the stadium falls silent, but then quickly resumes as everyone realizes it was a close call.
In the 93rd minute of the game, Raspadori attempted to move forward with the ball from a farther position. However, he almost collided with the referee while doing so. As a result, he was forced to retreat and passed the ball back to Meret, who struggled to deal with it. The goalkeeper eventually managed to clear the ball, but he was visibly frustrated and vocal about it.
After 90 minutes of the game had passed, at the +2 minute mark, Cancelo came close to sending a ball towards Felix on the left side of the field. However, Rrahmani was quick to remove the threat by clearing the ball away.
In the 91st minute, Barcelona decided to keep possession of the ball by passing it around their own end of the field. It was as if they wished they could officially announce they were keeping the ball, because that's precisely what they were doing.
The game will continue for an extra four minutes, making a total of 90 minutes.
After 89 minutes of play, it seems that Napoli has a better chance of scoring the winning goal. Simeone attempts a shot on goal from 25 yards away, but unfortunately, it goes just a little bit too high and misses the target.
After 87 minutes, Andreas Christensen was replaced by João Félix, and another player whose name wasn't mentioned yet. However, the graphics from Uefa were not clear tonight, so it's unclear who the other player was. Pedri was also mentioned in the blog section.
After 85 minutes of play, there were two corners in a row that caused some chaos in the Barcelona penalty box. During the second corner, Lewandowski accidentally hit the ball over his own goal in a moment of panic. Then, Raspadori took a third corner which flew towards Zambo Anguissa. He was sprinting towards the near post at a fast pace. Zambo Anguissa headed the ball towards the right side of the goal, but unfortunately missed. It was a significant mistake. If he had hit the target, the ball would have travelled halfway to the Amalfi Coast by now.
84 minutes into the game, Napoli has gained yet another corner kick. The fresh substitute player, Raspadori, was able to create a few chances on the right side resulting in these corner kicks.
After 82 minutes played, Napoli appears to have become enthusiastic and capable of scoring the second goal. Lindstrom energetically moves over to the right side and earns a corner kick. However, the corner kick doesn't amount to anything, but Barcelona seems a bit shaken after being caught off guard by their opponent's quick attack.
After 80 minutes, the free kick that was taken did not result in anything productive. Yamal was subbed out and replaced by Raphinha.
In the 78th minute of the game, Christensen committed a foul by intentionally bringing down Lobotka, who had spun around 30 yards away from him. As a result, he received a yellow card from the referee. Earlier in the game, Martinez also received a yellow card for complaining too much about being fouled by Osimhen before the goal. Now, both players will need to be careful to avoid any further fouls or bookings that could hurt their team's chances of winning.
After a long wait, the goal finally arrived, much to the surprise of everyone. The one who scored the goal, Osimhen, was immediately substituted for Simeone. The stadium, named after the legendary Diego Armando Maradona, erupted with cheers and applause.
Napoli Scores! It's 1-1 Against Barcelona
It's happened! This is a completely unexpected turn of events. Zambo Anguissa marches towards the middle of the pitch from the left side. He plays a ground pass towards Osimhen who is positioned inside the penalty area, facing away from the goal with Martinez marking him. Osimhen suddenly turns around, causing Martinez to lose his balance, and then Osimhen pushes him away and places the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net! Napoli’s situation seemed stagnant, but now their prospects have brightened considerably!
After 74 minutes of playtime, Politano made an effort to break into an open area on the right-hand side. Nevertheless, De Jong intervened by putting himself in the way to block his opponent's progress and directed the ball towards the goal kick area. Napoli has yet to take a shot that has hit the target.
At the 72nd minute mark, Osimhen tries to maneuver and juggle the ball in hopes of finding an opening in the Barca box. However, he is unsuccessful as there is no space for him to capitalize on. This game is proving to be incredibly frustrating for the striker. Along with Kvaratskhelia, Osimhen's struggles tonight will likely be a topic of discussion in many upcoming publications about speculation and rumors, especially with Napoli's ongoing poor performance.
In a period of 70 minutes, it must be acknowledged that Napoli coach Francesco Calzone had not seen much accomplishment from Kvaratskhelia.
After 69 minutes of play, Napoli made a substitution. Jens Cajuste and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia came off, while Hamed Traorè and Jesper Lindstrøm took their places on the field. Kvaratskhelia was so angry that he threw his gum on the ground and stomped around the edge of the field with a bad mood. This reaction could lead to rumors of him wanting to leave the team.
After 67 minutes of play, Di Lorenzo is putting in a lot of effort on the right side of the field. Although Martinez was able to clear one of his crosses, Pedri managed to block another. The captain of the home team is doing everything he can to try and bring his team back into the game.
After 66 minutes, Meret redeems himself for his mistake by confidently catching the ball from the corner.
After 65 minutes of play, Barcelona receives a free kick on the right side of the field. Most players are positioned inside Napoli's box. Unfortunately, Gundogan is unable to clear the ball past the first defender. However, Napoli also struggles to clear the ball, and it ends up being seized by Pedro. From the edge of the D, Pedro takes a risky shot towards the goal. The ball ends up going straight towards Meret, the goalkeeper, who awkwardly parries it away. The ball then pops up into the air, nearly dropping into the top left corner of the goal. The ball misses the goal by just a few inches and Meret is extremely lucky to have avoided conceding a goal.
In 64 minutes of play, Napoli attempted to respond by sending Politano forward on the right side. However, his pass was too low and De Jong had to head it behind. Ter Stegen took care of the ensuing corner. Barca has managed to hush the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
After 62 minutes of play, Lewandowski has finally scored in the Champions League, breaking his streak of not scoring in the last four games. Although he didn't have much room to create a shot, he somehow managed to score a goal that was incredible from the moment it left his foot.
"Napoli Loses To Barcelona 0-1 With Lewandowski's Goal"
The crowd is making a whistling sound of approval. Pedri expertly passes the ball down the left side of the field to Lewandowski who is just inside the penalty area. Lewandowski takes a step to his right, avoiding Di Lorenzo and Jesus, and effortlessly kicks the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal. It was an easy goal and Meret had no chance to stop it!
In the 59th minute, Barcelona passed the ball between themselves with little success, only managing to frustrate the fans in the stadium who began to whistle once more.
After 58 minutes of play, Barcelona has effectively subdued Napoli's previously high energy. They are now starting to gain some level of control over the game.
At the 56th minute, Martinez knocked down Osimhen when the striker was fighting down the right. He obstructed him in an unrefined way. Although the Barcelona defender escaped a booking by chance. Napoli positioned themselves in the box for a possible goal, but the free kick was unsuccessful.
After 55 minutes of play, Gundogan was able to locate Lewandowski at the edge of the D. Lewandowski then spun around and attempted to pass to Pedri through the left channel, but unfortunately the pass was too strong. If the pass had been better, it would have been a beautiful play.
After 53 minutes of play, Politano believed he had secured a corner on the right side, but the referee and linesman disagreed. As the home team argued, Barca swiftly advanced to the other side, with Cancelo sending a low cross from the left. With several yellow shirts positioned in the center, ready to score, Jesus impressively extended his leg to deflect the ball and prevent a goal. The resulting corner did not lead to anything significant.
In 51 minutes, Gundogan charges down the right-hand side and takes a powerful, inaccurate shot towards the top right corner. He did not have any other teammates close by, so it was reasonable for him to take a risk and attempt the shot.
In the 50th minute, there was some grass on the left side for Osimhen to make a run into. However, he was aware that he was in an offside position, so even though he made a move towards the middle and took a shot, he didn't have much confidence in it. Osimhen seemed unhappy with the quality of assistance he was receiving throughout the game, as he wore a displeased expression.
In the 49th minute of the game, De Jong spotted Yamal running into an open area on the right side. The youngster quickly passed the ball back to Gundogan, who adjusted his body and attempted to pass the ball towards the bottom right corner of the net. Sadly, he missed it completely, making it very easy for Meret, the opposing team's goalkeeper, to catch it.
In under an hour, Lewandowski and Gundogan attempt to make their way around the Napoli opponents near their box, but Rrahmani and Jesus block their path.
After the first half, Napoli failed to make a single shot on target. However, it seems that their new coach Francesco Calzona had a positive impact during the break, as they immediately started performing better. Kvaratskhelia made a quick cross to Politano, who unfortunately still missed the target by heading to the right. Although Napoli still didn't manage to get a shot on target, they are gradually improving.
The second half begins for Napoli, without any alterations made. Peter Oh raises a question, pondering whether either of the teams can emerge victorious in the Champions League. He also hints at the possibility of finding a clue from the emblem displayed on the home team's jersey.
Napoli And Barcelona Draw At The Half
...and it appears just a second after the time hits 45. This is not good.
After playing for 44 minutes, it's clear that both teams could use some guidance. Luckily, halftime is approaching which will give them the opportunity to regroup and receive some helpful tips.
The game is currently messy and disorganized. Both teams seem to be lacking in self-assurance.
In just 40 minutes, there was a play where Di Lorenzo passed a ball from the right side and got a corner kick on the left side. Kvaratskhelia was supposed to take it, but had to delay due to the referee talking to Osimhen and Christensen for struggling. Finally, the corner kick happened, but it wasn't as exciting as expected.
After playing for 38 minutes, Politano sends a cross from the right side, but there aren't many Napoli players in the Barca box. The visitors handle the situation without any difficulty. The fans at home are unusually silent at this moment.
After 37 minutes, Politano took a free kick but it wasn't very strong. Somehow the ball ended up with Di Lorenzo just in front of Barcelona's penalty area. However, he was unable to shake off Araujo and Barcelona were able to clear the ball. Ter Stegen, the goalkeeper for Barcelona, didn't have to do anything during this play.
