Barcelona vs Napoli score, result, highlights, analysis as Xavi's team keeps UEFA Champions League dream alive
Is Barcelona back? That's a difficult question. But they are, at least, back in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League — and in some style. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie with Napoli, they hosted the reigning Serie A champions at a packed-out but nervy Estadi Olimpic Lluis Company’s. This, after all, is the Catalans' last realistic chance of silverware before Xavi steps down as head coach, with Real Madrid comfortably in control of the La Liga title race and Barca's Copa del Rey challenge ending back in January. Defeat here would have been tough to stomach: for Xavi, his players, a fanbase wracked with uncertainty about the future, and club accounts that remain a missed payment away from ruin. Xavi has often demanded his players show more intensity this season, and he will have been enthused by the way they started. They pressed and covered passing lanes superbly and, with the ball, attacked with speed. The outstanding Fermin L...