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Barcelona gave up the chance to take advantage in the first leg of their Europa League knockout stage play-off against Napoli. The game ended in a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou on Thursday.
Piotr Zielinski gave the visiting side the lead in the 29th-minute on his second effort after Marc-André ter Stegen saved his initial attempt. The Serie A side held their own in the first half but struggled against Blaugrana's relentless attack after the break.
Ferran Torres pulled the hosts back into the game from the penalty spot in the 59th-minute. VAR recheck confirmed that Adama Traore's cross grazed Juan Jesus' hand inside the box.
The La Liga side dominated the run of play in the second half and have only themselves to blame for having to settle for a draw here. With the first leg tie ending with honors even, here we take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 Ferran Torres fails to make the most of his European debut for Barcelona
Ferran Torres scored the equalizing goal for Blaugrana from the penalty spot on his European debut for the club. While that was a great achievement, he had a lot of chances to put the game to bed, especially in the second half.
His only shot on target in the game came from the penalty spot and the remainder of his eight shots of the night were wayward. He missed one of the biggest chances of the game.
He was set up by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the 28th-minute and blazed his shot over the bar. It was after this miss that the Italian side counter attacked and scored their goal in the 29th minute.
The 21-year-old has the right spirit but needs to work on his finishing skills.
#4 Napoli defended desperately for a hard-fought draw
The game was closely contested in the first half and Napoli headed into the second half with a lead. Whether they got complacent or the hosts upped their ante, the visitors endured a tough second half.
The defenders had to be on high alert against Barca's speedy front three. On multiple occasions after the break, the Napoli players threw themselves inside the box to prevent the hosts from scoring.
They were happy to have earned a point here and goalkeeper Alex Meret even earned a booking for time-wasting in injury time.
#3 VAR comes to Barcelona's rescue
Barcelona continued their poor goal-scoring form in European competitions this season against Napoli. They had 21 shots on goal with only five on target. They failed to score from open play and only got the penalty after the match official was advised by VAR on a potential handball call.
Traore played a part in a third goal involvement in his third appearance for the La Liga club as his attempted cross hit Juan Jesus at the fingertips going in.
They have just three goals to their name in European competitions this season and this game only further exposed their flaws in the final third.
#2 Kalidou Koulibaly stood out for Napoli in a tense game
Kalidou Koulibaly provided much-needed solidity at the back for his team in this game. The Senegalese defender led in terms of clearances in the game as he cleared off the danger 11 times against Barcelona.
He also won eight out of his 10 duels in the game and made three successful tackles. The Italian side narrowly avoided defeat. While Barca's wastefulness was one of the main reasons for the outcome, Koulibaly's contributions at the back should not be ignored.
The visiting side were lucky not to have conceded a second goal. They will have to work upon improving their defensive game for the second leg.
#1 Barcelona's new-look front three struggled in their first outing together
Xavi started his three January signings in the final third here, with Traore and Torres flanking Aubameyang on either flank. The lack of solidarity between the three players was there for everyone to see.
Traore was isolated on the left flank for the majority of the game while Aubameyang disappointed in the first half. They missed several chances to take the lead in the game.
Aubameyang and Traore were substituted in the second half. Their replacements, Luuk de Jong and Ousmane Dembele, missed another host of chances. Barcelona bombarded the Serie A side with attempt after attempt in the final minutes of the game without any result.
It is good to see Xavi displaying faith in his new signings. They might be able to link up and play well by the time the club travels to Naples for the second leg next week.
