Napoli vs Barcelona live score, result, updates, highlights, lineups as Lewandowski fires Barca ahead
Napoli’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Barcelona at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona remained goalless at halftime.
Both clubs were imperious en route to glory in Serie A and La Liga respectively in 2022/23 but have both found the going far tougher this time around.
The hosts, playing for the first time under swiftly installed interim boss Francesco Calzona struggled to meaningfully get out of their half during the early stages.
Robert Lewandowski drew an excellent close-range save from Alex Meret on the end of Joao Cancelo’s cross, while the goalkeeper also did well to repel a rasping Ilkay Gundogan strike.
Napoli enjoyed a promising spell before the break but failed to must a shot of any description in the opening 45 minutes, with star striker Victor Osimhen cutting a forlorn figure on his return to club action.
The Sporting News will be following the Napoli vs. Barcelona match live, providing score updates, commentary, and highlights as they happen.
Napoli vs Barcelona live score
| 2nd Half | Goalscorers | |
| Napoli | 0 | |
| Barcelona | 1 | Lewandowski (60′) |
Lineups:
Napoli (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Alex Meret (GK) — 22. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, 5. Juan Jesus, 13. Amir Rrahmani, 17. Mathias Olivera — 99. Frank Anguissa, 68. Stanislav Lobotka, 24. Jens Cajuste — 21. Metteo Politano, 9. Victor Osimhen, 77. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Barcelona (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Marc-Andre ter Stegen (GK) — 23. Jules Kounde, 4. Ronald Araujo, 5. Inigo Martinez, 2. Joao Cancelo — 21. Frenkie de Jong, 15. Andreas Christensen, 22. Ilkay Gundogan — 27. Lamine Yamal, 9. Robert Lewandowski, 8. Pedri.
Napoli vs Barcelona live updates, highlights, and commentary
60th minute: GOOOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!!! Robert Lewandowski!!!
Classic Lewandowski and Barca have the breakthrough. The master striker collects Pedri’s pass, fashions a slither of room and fires a shot low and hard to Meret’s right.
56th minute: Nice bit of whip on that from Kvaratskhelia but Barca clear.
55th minute: Osimhen chest the ball down but is probably going nowhere down the right. Martinez blunders into a stupid tackle and Napoli have a free-kick in a dangerous position.
53rd minute: Delicious, dangerous cross from Cancelo and that’s an excellent clearance behind by Jesus with Lewandowski in close attendance. He did well not put that into his own net.
51st minute: Napoli regain the ball high up and Lobotka fizzes a pass towards Osimhen. It should be a chance but he can’t sort he feet out. He might have been offside in any case. Other than that, it went well.
48th minute: Pretty passive start to this half from Barca but here’s a lovely ball from De Jong to Lamal, who carries the ball towards the area and tees up Gundogan on the edge. The experienced midfielder does not get hold of his shot properly and is not happy with himself.
46th minute: We’re back underway. No changes for either side yet. Here’s hoping this one catches fire.
Halftime: The half ends with Napoli showing marked improvement but still failing to register a shot of any description, which goes a long way to outlining how limply the hosts started this contest. Meret made excellent saves to deny Lewandowski and Gundogan in quick succession, while Yamal sparkled. Overall, Xavi will be happy with what his team have produced, while perhaps being slightly concerned that the profligacy that has dogged Barca’s season will hinder them once more.
42nd minute: Cajuste bundles Gundogan out of possession in midfield. Kounde half-clears Di Lorenzo’s cross. Now Lobotka tries to pick out Osimhen after Barca cough up possession but the pass is cut out.
39th minute: Rrahmani drives forward and finds Di Lorenzo. Cancelo blocks the cross but that’s better from the hosts. Now Kvaratskhelia attacks a cross at the back post and wins a corner.
36th minute: Politano’s free-kick on the right is under hit but Di Lorenzo picks up the pieces. Napoli recycle the ball but are still unable to fashion a meaningful chance.
28th minute: Rrahmani clears Yamal’s cross with Pedri lurking.
22nd minute: Brilliant save from Meret. Lewandowski back in his natural habitat gets on the end of Cancelo’s cutback and the Napoli goalkeeper thrusts out a boot. And Meret again! Gundogan lets fly and he tips behind.
19th minute: Kvaratskhelia hits an out-swinging corner from the right. Lewandowski is there to do his defensive duty and thumps his header clear.
16th minute: De Jong is caught the wrong side of Di Lorenzo and lunges into a recovery challenge. It’s a foul and a yellow card. The old logic of “it’s my first one, ref” cutting absolutely no mustard here.
15th minute: Osimhen darts in behind but the Barcelona offside trap does its job.
8th minute: Yamal again. Napoli don’t know what to do with him. He lets fly from 25 yards, Meret saves and Gundogan should probably do better from an attempted cutback that doesn’t pick out Pedri.
Lamine Yamal: Playmaker 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WdmFHTdA01
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 21, 2024
7th minute: Cancelo breezes past Di Lorenzo. His cross for Yamal is slightly overhit but it’s another worrying passage for Calzona.
4th minute: Cancelo lofts a pass forward and, from a Napoli point of view, Gundogan is in a worrying amount of room. The former Manchester City captain feeds Yamal, who fires over. From the goal kick, Gundogan wins the ball on the edge of the Napoli box. What are they playing at?! It’s scrambled behind for a corner.
2nd minute: Yamal scampers forward to have his first look at Olivera. The Napoli right-back holds his ground well.
1st minute: We’re off. It does indeed look like Christensen in holding midfield.
4 mins before kickoff: Here come the teams. A raucous atmosphere in this grand old stadium. There’s a big of intrigue over where Christensen might start for Barca. In holding midfield or does Xavi have something a bit more funky up his sleeve?
20 mins before kickoff: Tonight pits two of European football’s finest strikers against one another. You’d be hard pressed to put together a top five without Robert Lewandowski and Victor Osimhen in it. But both have endured tricky seasons. Time might be catching up with Lewandowski, while persistent speculation over his future and injuries have stymied Osimhen. Will the big stage bring out the best in both of them?
45 mins before kickoff: The big news for Napoli, as the teasing mask photo in the tweet below suggests, is that Victor Osimhen starts.
Everything’s in place 😉
💙 #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/B9O5uXy6Bv
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) February 21, 2024
1 hour before kickoff: The teams are in. Here’s how Barca line up. At 16 years and 223 days, Yamine Lamal becomes the youngest player to appear in a Champions League knockout game. Which is both incredibly impressive and grossly offensive.
🚨 BARÇA XI 🚨#NapoliBarça | @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/dc03AEHmGG
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 21, 2024
1 hr 40 mins before kickoff: Now then, who are you backing in this one? LaLiga champions Barcelona, who boast supreme European pedigree and currently third in their domestic league – eight points off the pace and not even the best team in Catalonia anymore. Or are you backing Napoli, the reigning Serie A champions who have changed coaches three times since lifting the Scudetto and are ninth, 27 (TWENTY-SEVEN) points behind leaders Inter Milan. Both teams are capable of sublime brilliance when it comes together, but this game is intriguing because of their numerous flaws.
2 hours kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Napoli vs. Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League. This one should be fun (cue a 0-0 draw).
🏟️ Stadio Diego Armando Maradona
📍 Naples, Italy 🇮🇹#NapoliBarça | @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/INHaE75Kch— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 21, 2024
Barcelona vs Napoli kick off time
This Champions League clash takes place at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples, Italy and kicks off on Wednesday, February 21 at 9:00 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Wed, Feb. 21 | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Wed, Feb. 21 | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| UK | Wed, Feb. 21 | 8:00 p.m. GMT |
| India | Thu, Feb. 22 | 1:30 a.m. IST |
Barcelona vs Napoli lineups, team news
Barcelona are without Ferran Torres although fellow forward Joao Felix is fit enough for a place on the bench.
Ilkay Gundogan returns, after coming off the bench in the 2-1 weekend La Liga win at Celta Vigo, with Yamine Lamal becoming the youngest player in history to feature in the Champions League knockout stages.
Barcelona (4-3-3, right to left): Ter Stegen (GK) — Kounde, Araujo, Martinez, Cancelo — De Jong, Christensen, Gundogan — Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski, Pedri.
Barcelona subs (12): Inaki Pena (GK), Raphinha, Joao Felix, Casado, Guiu, Fort, Astralaga, Roemu, Fermin Lopez, Sergi Roberto, Vitr Roque, Cubarsi.
Calzona made late call on star striker Victor Osimhen with the Nigeria international in from the start for his first action since the Africa Cup of Nations.
Napoli (4-3-3 right to left): Meret (GK) — Di Lorenzo, Jesus, Rrahmani, Olivera — Anguissa, Lobotka, Cajuste — Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia.
Napoli subs (10): Contini (GK), Traore, Mazzocchi, Raspadori, Natan, Mario Rui, Ostigard, Lindstrom, Gollini, Simeone.
Barcelona vs Napoli live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this Champions League match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | CBS,TUDN, UniMás | Fubo, Paramount+, ViX, Univision NOW, TUDN app/website |
| Canada | — |
|
| UK | TNT Sports 2 | discovery+ |
| India | — | JioTV, Sony LIV |
USA: Champions League matches are available to stream on Paramount+ (English). New users can currently get a FREE 30-day trial by entering discount code ‘GOAT’ at checkout. CBS will be showing the match on TV.
TUDN and UniMás have broadcast access in Spanish, and ViX is the place to go for (Spanish) streaming, with extra options available on Fubo.
Canada: Every Champions League game streams live on DAZN.
UK: Matches are broadcast on TNT Sports and streamed on discovery+.
India: JioTV and Sony LIV are the live streaming options for this game.
