Barcelona defeated Napoli 3-1 on Tuesday and advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals 4-2 on aggregate, despite a nervous second half. Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo gave Xavi Hernandez’s team the early lead, but the Catalans began to sweat when Amir Rrahmani equalized.
After surviving a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the round of 16, Italian champions Napoli were knocked out by Robert Lewandowski’s close-range goal.
Barcelona, the five-time champions, have not advanced past the round of eight in the competition since 2020, and they accomplished this task without the injured midfield three of Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong.
Barcelona manager Xavi told Movistar, We’re in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after four years, it’s the moment to enjoy that.” He also added, “We played a great game, the team gave everything, we dominated in many moments … (I’m) very proud.”
After Xavi announced in January that he was leaving the club after the season, his team went on a nine-game winning streak.
Teenage players Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal have been important to that form, and they both performed well against Napoli on a night that gave Barcelona some much-needed relief amid a terrible season. The 17-year-old center defender Cubarsi stopped Napoli forward Victor Osimhen.
