The Champions League has some tasty treats for us all, one especially hard to judge for a winner is Napoli’s encounter with Barcelona.
"Roma have risen from their ruins! Manolas, the Greek God in Rome! The unthinkable unfolds before our eyes. This was not meant to happen, this could not happen… this is happening!"
No Barcelona fan would like to remember this amazing commentary at least in the near future or until Barcelona clinch the elite European trophy again. It was one of the greatest comebacks in the history of European nights and the Champions League.
Roma overturned a three-goal deficit against a star-studded Barcelona and knocked them out of Champions League. Peter Drury’s commentary made the occasion even more wonderful for the fans.
Barcelona are guilty of squandering the first-leg advantage in their past two seasons. Against Roma in the 2017/18 season, the side wasted a three-goal advantage at Stadio Olimpico. In the 2018/19 season, Liverpool thrashed Barcelona in the second leg at Anfield where Jurgen Klopp’s men played tactical football.
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The “corner taken quickly” is also one of the most hated sayings for Barcelona fans. Despite stringing more passes and having more possession, Barcelona failed to kill off the match. Their mistakes still haunt Lionel Messi who asked his side to be self-critical after losing out the La Liga trophy to Real Madrid.
The Catalan outfit is guilty of throwing away the domestic title to Los Blancos in a two-club race. Quique Setien’s side was leading the title race but their defensive frailties resulted in defeat. Real Madrid clinched the La-Liga title despite being behind in the race.
On the other hand, Napoli and Gennaro Gattuso have a point to prove when both sides meet. Napoli are also guilty of poor performances as they ended up in seventh place. Though they have missed out the Champions League qualification through the standings, Napoli can still achieve it by winning the elite competition itself. Or else, the club has to wait one more season if they are to feature in the elite European tournament again.
The first-leg between the sides in Italy concluded with a draw but Barcelona has the slightest advantage. The Catalan side has the away-goal advantage before the clubs face off at Camp Nou on August 8.
However, it is not one of the biggest advantages. So they cannot sit back and enjoy. Despite having the strongest defenders, Barcelona has given away three-goals advantages. This would be one of the stats which Gattuso would be interested in. On top of the defensive issues, Setien’s failure to adapt to the legendary Catalan side is a major hindrance.
In their ups and lows, Napoli has played as a team whereas Barcelona has heavily relied upon Lionel Messi and his shoulders might have reached the fracture point after carrying the burden throughout the season.
On top of it, injuries are not of less concern. Although Clement Lenglet, Antoine Griezmann, and Ousmane Dembele have all returned to training, the hopes of them being fit seems to be a far-fetched idea. Setien will look to have these players in his squad when they face the Italian outfit.
All these factors have raised hopes in the minds of Napoli fans. If the Italian outfit is able to muster out a victory against Barcelona, the further games are just knockout games.
With a new approach to the Champions League knockout stages, Napoli will be hoping to repeat Roma and Liverpool’s performance against the sorrow-struck Barcelona.