Dominant for more than an hour, FC Barcelona was taken over by Naples on Wednesday in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League (1-1). In the other evening match, Porto won on the wire against Arsenal (1-0).
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The return of the masked striker. For his first match with Naples since the end of the African Cup of Nations – in which he lost the final with Nigeria – Victor Osimhen allowed the Italian club to secure a draw, Wednesday February 21, in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League against FC Barcelona (1-1). A small feat for Naples, dominated for a good part of the match and who scored with their only shot on target (75th).
The reigning Italian champion looked pale, if we exclude the last quarter of an hour where he pushed in vain to snatch victory, just like his season. Francesco Calzona, Naples’ third coach since the start of the season, made his debut on the bench after the dismissal of Walter Mazzarri at the start of the week for poor results.
Arsenal far from their level in Porto
The new Neapolitan technician was able to count on his goalkeeper, Alex Meret, author of several saves in front of Lamine Yamal (8th), Ilkay Gündogan (22nd), and Robert Lewandowski (22nd). The Polish striker had managed to give the Blaugranas the advantage thanks to his 93rd goal in C1 (60th), but it was not enough and Barça, who does not display a very attractive face either this season, will aim a qualification in the return match at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium on March 12.
In the other round of 16 in the evening, between FC Porto and Arsenal (1-0), the hero is called Galeno. Rather zero at the start of the match with a huge missed opportunity just after having touched, he made up for it by scoring in the very last minute of the match, with a beautiful curling shot (90th + 4). The Gunners, who did not target a single shot and displayed a level far removed from what they have produced in recent weeks, will have to reverse the situation in three weeks at the Emirates Stadium to return to the quarter-finals of the C1 for the first time since 2010.
