Barcelona advances to Champions League quarterfinals: Barcelona secured a spot in the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in four years following a 3-1 victory against Napoli on Tuesday.
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Scoring for Barcelona were Fermín López, João Cancelo, and Robert Lewandowski, propelling the team to a 4-2 aggregate win, building on the 1-1 draw from the first matchup in Italy three weeks prior.
Amir Rrahmani was the sole scorer for Napoli, which failed to match its quarterfinal achievement from the previous season.
The past two years saw Barcelona ousted during the group stages, marking its first quarterfinals appearance since the 2019-20 season when Bayern Munich defeated it.
With eliminations in other competitions, the Champions League emerges as Barcelona’s primary hope for a title this year, especially as it currently lags behind Real Madrid by seven points in the Spanish league.
Despite an early lead at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona faced pressure from Napoli, challenging goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen in his 100th UEFA game.
Barcelona later had opportunities to extend its lead through counterattacks before Lewandowski finalized the victory in the 83rd minute, following an assist by Sergi Roberto.
López opened the scoring for Barcelona with a 15th-minute shot from the center of the box, courtesy of a low cross from Raphinha, who also prepared Cancelo’s goal shortly after.
After striking the post, the ball rebounded to Cancelo for a straightforward finish. Napoli responded with Rrahmani’s first in European competition goal, with a low shot from his left foot in the 30th minute.