February 25, (THEWILL) – Away from home on Thursday night, Barcelona advanced to the Europa League last 16 with a stunning 4-2 performance against Napoli, winning 5-3 on aggregate.
La Blaugrana put on a combative, lusty, and collectively damning performance to thrash their Italian opponents on the night, especially impressing in the first half to offer the club tremendous promise for the future under Xavi Hernandez.
Barcelona stormed out of the gate and blew away their opponents to take complete control of the game early on. Indeed, a stunningly deadly breakaway move by Xavi’s side broke the tie before the clock had even struck eight minutes.
The chance came from a poorly taken Napoli corner, from which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang led a counter before releasing Adama Traore, who then did a fantastic job of carrying the ball and laying it off to a lung-bursting Jordi Alba, who clinically slotted home.
Five minutes later, Frenkie de Jong startled the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, by doubling the visitors’ lead. The Dutchman pounced on Ferran Torres’ admittedly sloppy and optimistic back-heel before speeding towards goal, changing to his right and sumptuously curling the ball into a cartoonishly rooted Alex Meret’s far corner from range.
However, a reality check would be on the way soon. Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s rashness was on display when he rushed out of his goal and chopped down Victor Osimhen just inside the penalty area.
A VAR assessment would finally give the hosts a penalty, which Lorenzo Insigne made no mistake in dispatching and putting Napoli back into the game on 23 minutes.
Xavi’s team responded strongly to the setback and, although squandering a number of chances – primarily owing to Torres and Aubameyang’s wastefulness – reclaimed a two-goal lead in the 45th minute to top off a dramatic first period. The goal came from an odd source, as Gerard Pique swept in a corner after Napoli failed to clear it.
The hosts did not seem to benefit from the much-needed rest, as La Blaugrana resumed their ruthless chase of goals after the break. It was 4-1 before the hour mark, much to the delight of the travelling fans.
Traore was once again on hand to induce fear before assisting in yet another goal since his return to Barcelona. Aubameyang stroked the ball into Meret’s top corner after Traore’s rolled pass across the penalty area was dummied by an alert de Jong.
Ten minutes later, Insigne appeared to have given the hosts a glimmer of hope, but the linesman did not hesitate to raise his flag as the small Italian was obviously offside before putting the ball into ter Stegen’s net.
In the end, it was Matteo Politano’s 87th-minute consolation that gave the home fans something to cheer about. After harrying Barcelona’s defence line, latching onto the ball, and blasting into ter Stegen’s near post.
It was only a consolation, though. Xavi’s team was able to preserve their lead in the last moments of the game, and they were confident in seeing to a merciless and memorable European triumph.
While the club’s performance in the Europa League is far from ideal, Barcelona’s thrashing of Napoli is as clear a sign of movement back to that status as we have seen thus far under Xavi.
It was a performance deserving of the shirt, one that allowed fans to reflect on past glory days while also looking forward to future ones, and one that showed no compassion from the first whistle.
The victory can serve as a springboard for more consistent performances of similar calibre in order to translate into successful campaigns at the highest level. For the time being, they are still 15 points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid, a competition they will return to on Sunday night when they face Athletic Club.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
