Shining youth sees Barça through to Champions League quarter-finals

It's a sweet night for all of a Barça persuasion.

The Catalan club are one of the last eight teams standing in the Champions League after defeating a good side in SSC Napoli, the Italian champions, and cúlers have plenty to celebrate on Tuesday night.

On one of the biggest nights in years for the club, the Catalans came through the stern test the Italians posed and made it through to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in four years. 

That season, they also defeated Napoli at this same stage of the competition, with the first leg being played before the first Covid lockdown and the second leg coming six months later when European football resumed. In the ensuing quarter-final that year, Bayern Munich dismantled the Catalans in the infamous 8-2 game. 

Barcelona hadn't managed to qualify out of the group stages of Europe's premier competition in either of the past two campaigns, setting Tuesday up as one of the most important nights of Xavi Hernández's entire tenure, a spell which we know will come to an end this summer as the manager has already announced.  

This was also the blaugrana’s first home knockout game in the Champions League in front of a crowd in five years, when they played Liverpool in the 2018/19 semi-final. 

Barça’s youth shines

With Pedri and De Jong both suffering recent injuries and Gavi out long-term with a knee problem, how Barcelona’s makeshift midfield would muster against the Serie A champions was a worry for blaugrana fans before the game. The Catalans started with a midfield trio of Ilkay Gündogan and Andreas Christensen, with youngster Fermín López playing slightly ahead of them. 

In the end, this was to be the least of Barcelona’s worries, with the inexperienced Fermín impressing once again in his breakthrough season.

He and Lamine Yamal in particular stood out as Barcelona got off to an electric start, imposing their dominance over the Italians early, controlling the game and exploiting gaps in their back line. 

Fermín had threatened the Napoli goal on a couple of occasions early on and continuously found plenty of space breaking beyond the Barça midfield line to join the attack. 

This clever movement from the 20-year-old led to the first two shots of the match, before he eventually put his name on the scoresheet by meeting a Raphinha cut-back cross to neatly finish into the corner. 

Riding on a high of adrenaline, confidence, and energy, a lively Barça soon doubled their advantage with a breakaway goal excellently carried out. Lamine Yamal, still only 16 but shining brighter than most other players on the pitch, brought the ball up the pitch, knowing he had the beatings of his marker, Mario Rui. An excellent cross-field pass opened the attack up for Raphinha on the opposite wing, whose shot rebounded off the post right into the path of Joao Cancelo who made no mistake with a shot from a difficult angle. 

The story of FC Barcelona in recent weeks has been all about the impressive displays of Yamal and 17-year-old center back Pau Cubarsí, who started the last seven league games but made his Champions League debut at Montjuïc on Tuesday night. 

It wasn’t Barcelona’s best defensive performance, as Napoli were able to control the play for extended spells and create enough chances on the night to have changed the outcome, but Cubarsí, who just turned 17 in January, was certainly among the positives for the Catalans with some timely interceptions displaying his game intelligence, and some deft touches of the ball to show off his talent.

Momentum swings

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Catalans, though. 

In the opening exchanges of the second half, Barça struggled with the salida, bringing the ball out from the back, and Napoli’s press caused some problems. 

Confusion reigned over the Barça defenders giving Victor Oshimen and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa both half chances, while Jesper Lindstrom had the biggest chance to equalise for Napoli with ten minutes to go, but his header was narrowly wide of the post. 

The Italians were unable to sustain this level, however, and Barcelona eventually managed to assert control again. 

On the hour mark, Xavi replaced Fermín and Christensen with the pairing of Sergi Roberto and Oriol Romeu – fresh legs, although neither player has had much of a prominent role this season. 

Up front, Robert Lewandowski had a relatively quiet night and didn't cause Napoli much trouble, although the Polish forward did manage to ensure the win with the late third goal from Sergi Roberto's assist.

The draw for the quarter-final takes place this Friday. Barcelona likely won't be favorites to win the competition, but the Catalans can rightfully celebrate a deserved victory and a knockout phase victory for the first time in four years.