Barcelona – Thanks to a stroke of genius from their powerful superstar Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and will now face FC Bayern. The Catalans with goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen beat SSC Napoli 3-1 (3-1) in the second leg of the round of 16 on Saturday.
After the 1-1 draw in the first duel, it was enough for Barcelona to be part of the top eight consecutive teams in the premier category. During the Champions League final tournament in Lisbon, there will be a clash with Munich on August 14. In the most recent duel, Messi & Co. won against Bayern in the semi-finals in 2015 and then won their last Champions League title against Juventus Turin.
Clément Lenglet (10th minute), Messi after a great solo (23rd) and Luis Suarez (45th + 1) scored for the team of coach Quique Setién. Lorenzo Insigne’s goal (45 + 5) was too small for Napoli, where Diego Demme was in the starting lineup.
In the first explosive scene, the old Leipzig was right in the center. Lenglet came out strong against Demme after a corner kick and hit with his header – Napoli demanded a whistle to no avail. Then Messi played big: the 33-year-old Argentinian dribbled past several opponents and rolled the ball in the far corner to take it to 2-0 when it fell. His supposed second goal didn’t count because of handball. Before Barca’s third goal by Suarez, Messi was knocked down by Kalidou Koulibaly in the penalty area.
German national goalkeeper Ter Stegen showed a sovereign performance and was only helpless on Insigne’s penalty. In the finals, Barcelona, who had to admit defeat at the Spanish league to Real Madrid after Corona’s break, were under great pressure. Ripped off, the Catalans have taken the lead over time – and unlike Madrid’s eliminated big rivals, they can hope for a premier league triumph.
