Barcelona miss an opportunity to take advantage of Napoli

Mess around and find out that the Champions League is unforgiving.

When you have an advantage, you need to take it, and maximize it, before the momentum swings.

Barcelona has learned this lesson in the competition many times over the past decade, and going into the second leg against Napoli, the question will be whether anything has changed.

For most of the match, Barcelona was in control. But their foot was never really fully on the gas.

Eventually, Robert Lewandowski made the breakthrough with a vintage, clinical finish.

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Napoli sacked their manager just a few days earlier. It was Francesco Calzona’s first game in charge, and it showed in the early goings. But there was a wild card, as dangerman Victor Osimhen made his first return to the lineup in months.

In the Champions League, you are never safe. Especially during those stretches where you’re playing well, you need to be aware of the danger that lurks around the corner.

Frankly, starting Inigo Martinez was a risk. The Spaniard has not played many minutes in the new year, so tasking him with shutting down one of the best center forwards in Europe, was in hindsight not prudent on the part of Xavi.

All it took was one moment, very much against the run of play, for Osimhen to make the Barca manager pay for his decision.

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Up until that point, Napoli was producing nothing in front of goal, while Barca was steadily creating chances throughout the match.

At this point, it seems that Xavi is determined to continue with his experiment of playing Andreas Christensen in the midfield.

For much of the match, it looked like a good move. The Barca defense looked solid, and having an extra physical presence in front of the defensive line seemed to only make it stronger.

But to me, that centerback partnership was critical, and Christensen probably should have been playing alongside Ronald Araujo.

Even before the equalizer was scored in the 75th minute, Barcelona was starting to look tired. And Xavi had yet to make a sub. It took until the 80th minute, when Raphinha finally came in for Lamine Yamal.

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And with the tying goal, Barcelona started to come apart. They were fortunate to not concede a second.

That’s where things get scary for Barca fans. We’ve been here before.

The false sense of security you get from the way Barcelona plays is especially precarious in cup competitions, when it doesn’t take much for the winds to change. And with it comes a wave of intensity from the opponent.

In a blink you went from feeling like you were in control, to feeling the pressure to respond.

And generating a response under pressure, in the Champions League, or the Europa League for that matter, is not a track record that Barcelona has.

But let’s not be fatalistic just yet.

The return leg is in Barcelona. Ninety minutes for the Blaugrana to exorcise their demons.

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But make no mistake about it, what’s required is something that may feel lost for Xavi’s side, and may explain why Napoli made the change of manager when they did.

The players need to fight. And sometimes the only way to get that from a team that’s struggling is to change the man in charge.

That’s where the danger will lie when the teams meet again on March 12th.

Will Napoli grow in form under their new manager, and pick up some confidence just in time to take down the Catalan giants?

In the meantime, Barcelona will need to put in the work to get better as well. Before then, they will have challenges against a scrappy Getafe team, and an Athletic Club side that loves making Barca suffer.

So let’s say it again, just a little bit louder, for the people in the back.

This season is not over.

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Barcelona needs to take La Liga seriously. Because what they do there will have implications for what they can achieve in the Champions League as well.

Xavi will need this win against Napoli for his legacy.

Joan Laporta could have done what Napoli did, but kept the Barca legend around instead. He’ll be looking for that loyalty to be repaid.

But the ones to do it are the players on the field.

Will they fight for their manager?

Will the fans get behind their team at Montjuic, or will the nerves and tension of the moment supersede the excitement of a Champions League night returning to Barcelona?

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The same questions remain.

But for now, let’s enjoy that Barcelona are back in the competition where they belong.

One game away from the quarterfinals.

A golden chance to silence the skeptics. Count myself as one of them. Although I’d love to be wrong.