Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has raised the bar yet again after netting a sensational solo goal against Napoli in the Champions League. Messi’s strike helped Barcelona assert their claim at Camp Nou and winning by three goals to one.
After a 1-1 draw at the San Jose stadium in Naples, the La Liga side hosted Napoli in an empty Camp Nou. Despite a bright start by Napoli, where Dries Mertens struck the post in the second minute, it was Barcelona who nodded ahead in the tie courtesy of a towering header by Clement Lenglet after a corner from Ivan Rakitic.
The tie turned heavily in the favour of the Catalans in the 23rd minute through a moment of sheer brilliance by Lionel Messi. The Barcelona captain received the ball on the right flank and proceeded to glide past four Napoli players with ease. The attempts by the defenders to retrieve the ball made Messi lose his balance, but he opted for the shot anyway given the window of opportunity.
Despite already being halfway to the ground and completely off-balance, Messi managed to evade David Ospina and find the bottom corner of the net with his glorious left foot, thereby doubling Barcelona’s lead.
Check out the goal right below:
Messi what a goal 🐐 pic.twitter.com/4yb4PjY4Gp
— Kevin (@BrazilianTrent) August 8, 2020
Messi and Barcelona set up a quarter-final date with Bayern Munich
The Argentinian did net a second goal soon after, but VAR intervened and ruled it out on the grounds of handball. Barcelona did get their third goal after a foul on Messi inside the penalty area. Luiz Suarez converted from the spot to take the tie 4-1 on aggregate.
Napoli poked their way into the contest after winning a penalty, which captain Lorenzo Insigne duly tucked in. Despite a valiant effort by the Serie A in the second half which included several chances and VAR calls. the scoreline remained the same as no second-half goals were scored.
Barcelona had evaded a tricky group comprising of Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, and Slavia Praha. The Catalan giants have endured a rough season and had sacked manager Ernesto Valverde and appointing former Real Betis coach Quique Seiten.
After Bayern Munich’s impressive 4-1 win against Chelsea at the Allianz Arena, the two sides will meet in the quarter-finals of the competition, in Portugal.
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