After a thrilling victory over Napoli, Barcelona advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in four years.
At Estadi de Montjuic, Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo gave Barcelona the lead, but the Italian team had the hosts work hard for their comeback thanks to Amir Rrahmani.
With seven minutes remained in normal time, Poland striker Robert Lewandowski’s close-range finish ended a back-and-forth match.
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Barcelona scored two goals in three minutes to give Napoli a devastating one-two punch after a fast start.
First, when Lewandowski mishandled Raphinha’s low cross on the fifteenth minute, 20-year-old midfielder Lopez seized his opportunity to shine on the grand stage by finishing with a sidefooted finish.
A counterattack led by former Leeds winger Raphinha saw him curl a shot off the post, setting up a rebound goal from Manchester City loanee Cancelo. Raphinha was also at the centre of Barcelona’s second goal.
But, Napoli equalised on the half-hour mark when Kosovan center-back Rrahmani darted forward and slotted past Marc-Andre ter Stegen after a cutback from the right. Barcelona had lost momentum.
Napoli made a strong effort to tie the score, but with ten minutes left, Jesper Lindstrom’s free header from seven yards out was their best chance to go ahead.
However, they ultimately lost out as Lewandowski, set up by a brilliant move from Sergi Roberto, tapped home to give Barcelona their first victory in five Champions League knockout matches.
