Barca play with Napoli and seem all the way back; Van Bronckhorst completes stunt


Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 10:51 PM• Dominic Mostert

Barcelona have qualified for the eighth final of the Europa League at the expense of Napoli. After a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou, Xavi’s team won 2-4 in Naples on Thursday-evening. Frenkie de Jong scored a beautiful goal on behalf of the visitors. The tournament is over for another superpower: Borussia Dortmund drew 2-2 at Rangers and that was not enough after the previous 2-4 defeat against the men of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Napoli – Barcelona 2-4
Napoli are the least passed side in Serie A, but that defensive stability was lost when Barcelona stepped in. The sloppy Napoli, which had a pass purity of only 77 percent in the first half (versus 89 percent at Barcelona), quickly fell 0-2 behind. In the eighth minute, the visitors broke out quickly after a corner from Napoli; sprints by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Adama Traoré on the ball resulted in a shooting opportunity for Jordi Alba, who pushed the ball into the right corner. Next, Frenkie de Jong doubled the margin.

After a heel ball from Ferran, the midfielder was given room to steam. With a placed shot from outside the penalty area, he then found the top right corner brilliantly. Marc-André ter Stegen’s foul on Victor Osimhen resulted in a penalty from which Lorenzo Insigne made the 1-2, but Gerard Pique made it 1-3 on the stroke of half-time after Napoli did not get the ball out of their own sixteen-meter area. Barcelona wiped the floor with Napoli and came at 1-4 after the break.

Traoré sent a pass from the right flank along the sixteen-meter line. Frenkie de Jong made the switch and eventually Aubameyang had the space to score his fourth official goal for his new club, four days after his hat-trick against Valencia (1-4 win). Napoli was powerless for a long time, but still came back to 2-4. Matteo Politano determined the final score a few minutes before time. Barcelona will know on Friday who will be the opponent in the eighth final.

Rangers – Borussia Dortmund 2-2
Giovanni van Bronckhorst drew up the same eleven names as a week ago and seemed to have another beautiful evening ahead. Rangers took the lead halfway through the first half. After a foul by Julian Brandt on Ryan Kent, James Tavernier was allowed to score for a penalty and he shot high through the middle. Dortmund, however, turned the game around. A deflected shot from Malen enabled Jude Bellingham to tie the score; A few minutes before the break, Malen made it 1-2 when he got the ball just in front of the goal. However, there was no comeback. Tavernier made it 2-2 after the break after a cross from Calvin Bassey. Kent’s 3-2 was disallowed for a foul by Alfredo Morelos on Emre Can that preceded it, but in the end nobody really cared.