Barcelona player ratings vs Napoli: Raphinha is back to his best! Brazilian and Xavi’s young guns lead the way to secure Champions League quarter-final spot
The Blaugrana reached the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2019 by seeing off the Italian champions
Raphinha starred on the left, Barcelona’s kids did the work in the right, and Robert Lewandowski sealed things through the middle as the Blaugrana held off Napoli in a convincing 3-1 win that secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Xavi’s side jumped on Napoli early, and scored two goals in as many minutes to establish a quick lead. Raphinha was at the centre of both, assisting Fermin Lopez for the first, before pinging a shot off the post for Joao Cancelo to finish on the rebound.
But they didn’t control proceedings for long. Napoli pulled one back when Amir Rrahmani sauntered into the box to finish a well-constructed counter-attack, while Marc-Andre ter Stegen kept out an immediate equaliser with an impressive diving stop.
Lamine Yamal thought he had sealed it in the second half, but the offside flag saw his tap-in ruled out, and Barca missed a flurry of further chances, as Yamal, Raphinha and Lewandowski all came close. But Lewandowski eventually secured victory late on, walking the ball into the net after a perfectly-assembled combination around the Napoli box.
This was Barca’s best showing in months, the visitors only occasionally threatening while Xavi’s side delivered in the key moments. Could it be time to dream in Catalunya?
GOAL rates Barcelona’s players from the Olympic Stadium…
