A Lionel Messi driven Barcelona hammered the Gli Azzurri from Italy and secured a Quarterfinal Spot against Bayern Munich.
The Catalans had an unstable start and almost gave away an important goal when Dries Mertens clipped the woodwork inside two minutes but Ter Stegen had it covered at the first post. The La Liga giants then swiftly gained stability and control over the game gradually after Clement Lenglet headed the host ahead in the 10th minute and that came in from an outstanding corner delivered by Ivan Rakitic.
In an empty Camp Nou on a tranquil August evening the new normal was the old normal on 23 minutes when Messi stumbled skillfully past four Napoli defenders and shot past David Ospina and that doubled the lead for the former Champions of Spain.
It seemed as if the Blaugrana took a 3-0 lead against the Italians when Barcelona’s No. 10 found the back of the net again from a Frenkie De Jong cross but his effort was ruled out by VAR due to a handball.
Few Minutes later Quique Setién’s men were awarded a penalty when the Barcelona Skipper was fouled by Senegalese international Kalidou Koulibaly and Luis Suarez made no mistake in converting it from the spot.
2 minutes later Napoli were awarded a lifeline when Ivan Rakitic fouled Napoli’s target Man Dries Mertens in the 18 yard box. Napoli’s Captain Lorenzo Insigne scored a crucial goal from the spot but that wasn’t enough for them to make a comeback against Lionel Messi and Co.
Next Stop Lisbon as the Catalans face the Bavarians In the final 8 of the Champions League in what promises to be an absolute cracker.
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