Barcelona are through to the last eight after a convincing win over Napoli

Barcelona set up a blockbuster quarter-final tie with Bayern Munich after a convincing 3-1 (4-2 on aggregate) win over Napoli at the Camp Nou.

Napoli sprung straight into the action after the first leg ended 1 goal apiece in Italy. Dries Mertens was quickly off the mark as he struck the outside of the post just 90 seconds into the game.

Barcelona, however, was the team who would take the ascendency as Clement Lenglet put the hosts in front, heading in from Ivan Rakitic’s corner, just 10 minutes into the game.

Lionel Messi scored the second, a beautiful curling effort past David Ospina after wriggling past three Napoli defenders on the area. He almost made it 3 goals shortly after but VAR ruled it out.

Messi again was at the center of everything Barcelona as he was hacked down by Koulibaly in the penalty area to set up Barcelona’s third goal and Luiz Suarez first of the night.

Napoli pulled one back through Lorenzo Insigne from the penalty spot shortly before half-time as Ivan Rakitic fouled Mertens in the area.

Watch the match highlights below

https://youtu.be/vrk0Xe0qMi0

After almost 6 months since Napoli and Barcelona played out an edgy 1-1 draw in the first leg in Naples, which left this clash delicately poised. Since then, Barcelona had conceded the La Liga title to rivals Real Madrid while Napoli slumped to a seventh-place finish in Serie A.

Napoli produced the early front-foot football, taking advantage of a lazy defensive clearance from Gerard Pique, with Dries Mertens striking the post inside 90 seconds as Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was merely a spectator.

Napoli was then left to rue that missed chance as Barcelona grabbed three goals back-to-back.

Lenglet scored the all-important opener inside the opening 10 minutes. He was left unmarked and headed in from eight yards out following a Rakitic corner.

Barcelona got into their stride from then on as Messi took center stage.

The little magician despite being surrounded by four Napoli players managed to wriggle his way into the area and curl in a beautifully taken shot despite losing his footing.

VAR ruled out Messi’s second of the night after three minutes of deliberation, deciding that the ball brushed off Messi’s arm before he stroked home from close range following a superb Frenkie De Jong cross.

Messi, however, once again was instrumental in Barca’s third goal.

Koulibaly was slow to clear his lines and was caught by Messi inside his own box. The defender clearly brought the forward down in the area by kicking through his lower leg. Suarez smashed home the penalty while Messi was receiving treatment.

Barcelona’s three-goal advantage only lasted three minutes as Napoli kept themselves within touching distance by winning a penalty right on the stroke of half-time. Mertens was fouled by Rakitic inside the box and Insigne found the bottom corner from the spot.

The Catalans got the job done on the night but a tougher test awaits next Friday.

Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)

• Barcelona are unbeaten in 36 consecutive home Champions League matches (W32 D4) – in Champions League/European Cup history, only Bayern Munich’s 43-game run between 1969 and 1991 is longer.
• The combined passing accuracy between both sides in this game was 91%; since full passing data is first available for the Champions League (2003-04), this is the highest passing accuracy for any game in the competition.
• Barcelona have qualified for the Champions League quarter-finals for the 13th consecutive campaign – no other side has ever done so in more than eight seasons running.
• Messi has now scored against 35 different opponents in the Champions League, two more than any other player (Cristiano Ronaldo, 33).
• Messi has been directly involved in 12 goals (9 goals & 3 assists) in his last six Champions League knockout stage games at Camp Nou.