Goals: Lenglet (10), Messi (23), Suarez (46), Insigne (45+4)

The first half was exciting. Napoli started energetically with Mertens’ shot hitting the post in the early minutes but Barca took the lead through Lenglet. There was a corner kick taken by Rakitic and Lenglet headed the ball into goal. However, Lenglet clearly shoved a player in the buildup to the goal but VAR didn’t rule it out.

The game settled down afterwards with Barca keeping the ball. They doubled their lead through an extraordinary Messi goal. He beat 3-4 players from the right and squeezed a shot past Manolas. Ospina couldn’t react on time.

Barcelona were simply on top and then Suarez scored the third goal through a penalty after he was fouled in the box. Napoli pulled one back as they got their own penalty just before half-time.

As for the second half, there really isn’t much to say. Napoli was the more energetic side and had more of the ball. However, in an interview after the game, Suarez hinted that Barcelona’s passiveness was planned. Barcelona defended well although some of the players were clearly nervous. Napoli outshot Barcelona couldn’t score a goal.

Notes:

  1. Messi was mesmeric. His ability to maneuver tight spaces is as good as it ever was. It seemed like his goal came from nowhere. The only other player who was as good as him was De Jong. It felt like the dutch midfielder was finally taking the reins of this midfield. I felt like I was watching the Ajax player he used to be.
  2. Napoli are a developing side. Since the start of the year, the team has felt more cohesive. They even won the Coppa D’Italia this year by beating Juventus in the final. But beating Barcelona is too much for this team right now. They still have room to grow and will be a more formidable side next year.
  3. Barca won. Bayern Munich also won. These two sides will meet on Friday. Bayern Munich are the clear favorites. They are simply more physically fit and tactically cohesive than this Barcelona side. However, I think that Barcelona will be able to frustrate them and, if they keep the score even, might even upset them.

Written by: Mike