Victor Osimhen saved Napoli from a draw in the Champions League last-16 first leg against Barcelona in his first appearance for the club since December.
In the 60th minute of the match against Italy, Robert Lewandowski gave Barca the lead with a shot from the edge of the area and into the bottom corner of the goal.
Barcelona had the upper hand against Napoli, who often lacked effort in the final third. Francesco Calzona's first game as manager.
But the hosts eventually found a way back when Osimhen slipped past his marker in the box and lifeed past Marc-Andre ter Stegen to equalize.
The second leg will be played in Barcelona on March 12th.
Osimhen was part of Nigeria's national team and missed the most recent league match due to a suspension that followed their defeat to Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations final in February.
The visiting team got off to a bright start with 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, the youngest player to feature in the knockout stages of the Champions League, slotting in on the right flank.
Xavi's side pressed relentlessly in the final third, attacking Napoli's attempts to build up from the back and nullifying the hosts' threat.
Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret was forced to save shots from Yamal and Lewandowski and reacted well to deflect Ilkay Gundogan's shot from distance.
The Italian side are struggling to defend their Serie A title, languishing in 9th place, 27 points behind leaders Juventus, and Calzona, who is also the Slovakia national team coach, was appointed on Tuesday to replace coach Walter Mazzarri. did.
However, there were few signs of immediate improvement and they failed to even register a shot in the first half, which was a first for Napoli in the Champions League.
Osimhen tried to get behind the defense, but was often isolated as the home side could not get his moves together inside Barcelona's half.
Xavi's side, who are struggling in La Liga and are eight points behind leaders Real Madrid, were dominant for much of the match, but Napoli started to improve in the second half and looked even more energetic after the changes. Became.
Barcelona broke the deadlock with Lewandowski's goal and were on their way to victory, but the home side eventually found their footing and fought to a draw.
lineup
naples
formation 4-3-3
- 1Mereth
- twenty twoDi Lorenzo
- 13Larahmani
- FiveNunez Jesus
- 17olivera
- 99Anguissa
- 68Robotka
- twenty fourcasjusteReplacementTraorein 68 minutesminutes
- twenty onePolitanoReplacementraspadoriin 77 minutesminutes
- 9OsimhenReplacementSimeonein 77 minutesminutes
- 77KvaratskheriaReplacementlindstromin 68 minutesminutes
substitute
- 3Bernardo de Souza
- 6mario louie
- 8Traore
- 14contini
- 18Simeone
- 29lindstrom
- 30Mazzocchi
- 55Ostigard
- 81raspadori
- 95Gollini
Barcelona
formation 4-3-3
- 1ter stegen
- twenty threeKunde
- FourAraujo
- FivemartinezBooked in 76 minutes
- 2Cancelo
- twenty twoGundogan
- 15ChristensenBooked in 78 minutesReplacementRomeuin 86 minutesminutes
- twenty oneF. de JongBooked in 16 minutes
- 27YamalReplacementRafinhain 80 minutesminutes
- 9lewandowski
- 8PedriReplacementjoan felixin 86 minutesminutes
substitute
- 11Rafinha
- 13Peña Sotores
- 14joan felix
- 18Romeu
- 19Roque Ferreira
- 20roberto
- 26Astra Laga
- 30casado
- 32lopez
- 33Kvarshi
- 38Giu
- 39fort
- Referee:
- felix zweier
- Attendance:
- 49,529
live text
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Game over, Napoli 1, Barcelona 1.
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End of the second half, Napoli 1, Barcelona 1.
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Attempt failed. Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona) took a left-footed shot from outside the box, but it missed the left side of the frame. Assisted by Robert Lewandowski.
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Foul on Amir Rahmani (Napoli).
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Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defense.
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Attempt failed. Giovanni Simeone (Napoli)'s right-footed shot from outside the box was a little too high.
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Foul by Giovanni Simeone (Napoli).
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Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defense.
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Foul by Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli).
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Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defense.
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Substitution, Barcelona. Pedri was replaced by João Félix.
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Substitution, Barcelona. Oriol Romeu replaces Andreas Christensen.
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Attempt failed. From a corner kick, Franck Anguissa (Napoli) took a header from the center of the box, but it went wide of the right.
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Corner, Naples. Robert Lewandowski conceded a goal.
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Corner, Naples. Pedri conceded.
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Corner, Naples. Ronald Araujo conceded a goal.
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Attempt blocked. Giovanni Simeone (Napoli) took a right-footed shot from the right side of the box, but it was blocked. Hamed Traore provided the assist with a through pass.
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Corner, Naples. Andreas Christensen conceded a goal.
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Foul by Hamed Traore (Napoli).
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Andreas Christensen (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defense.