Barcelona overcame Napoli, reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in the post-Messi era and made Juventus celebrate

Four years later and for the first time in the post era Lionel Messi, Barcelona returns to the quarterfinals Champions League. The Barça team has not been among the eight best teams on the continent since the 2019-2020 season, when, like this Tuesday, they also eliminated Napoli. At the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, the team led by Xavi Hernández won 3-1 (4-2 on aggregate) to close the series.

Fermín López, João Cancelo and Robert Lewandowski were the authors of the Blaugrana’s goals, while Amir Rrahmani It was a given for the Neapolitans, reigning Serie A champions but who failed to repeat their presence among the best eight in Europe as they did last season.

Barcelona’s last time in the quarterfinals is not a very pleasant memory. Against Bayern Munich (2-8), in a single match and without an audience due to the coronavirus, they suffered one of the biggest defeats in their history, at the Luz stadium in Lisbon.

That European disaster resulted in the dismissal of coach Quique Setién and the arrival of Ronald Koeman, a replacement who did not improve Barcelona’s performance in the Champions League, defeated in the round of 16 by PSG (1-4 and 1-1) in 2020 -2021 campaign.

Barça suffered their first elimination since 2006-2007, in the round of 16 against Liverpool (1-2 and 1-0), and put an end to thirteen uninterrupted seasons among the eight best teams in Europe, in which they were proclaimed champions three Sometimes they lost five times in the semi-finals and other five times in the quarter-finals.

However, the worst was yet to come. In the 2021-2022 season, without Leo Messi in the team and with the arrival of Xavi Hernández as coach to replace Koeman in November, Barça was eliminated in the group stage for the first time since the 2000-2001 season. Condemned to play in the Europa League, where they lost in the quarterfinals against Eintracht (1-1 and 2-3).

History repeated itself last season. Barcelona finished the Champions League group stage in third place and were eliminated by Manchester United in the intermediate round of the second continental competition (2-2 and 1-2).

With the return to the quarter-finals of the ‘Champions’ after four years of waiting, Barcelona hopes to have closed the worst European chapter of this century and, with the help of young talents such as Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí, to establish itself again in the continental elite ranking.

Juve at the Club World Cup

This result was also celebrated in Italy. It wasn’t exactly in the South, where Napoli is, but in the North and precisely with its classic Juventus, which qualified for the new Club World Cup 2025. The Italian club brings the number of teams confirmed for the renewed universal event to 21, leaving eleven to be known.

Barcelona still has options to participate in this tournament, for which the English have already certified their presence in Europe. Chelsea AND Manchester CityHe real MadridHe Inter MilanGermans Bayern Monaco AND Borussia DortmundHe PSG French and Portuguese Porto AND Benfica.

Furthermore, by Africa they are classified Al Haly (Egypt) e Wydad Casablanca (1 on the left); you already have a ticket for South America Palmeiras (Brazil), Flamengo (Brazil), Fluminense (Brazil) (3 left); across Asia Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Urawa red diamonds (Japan) (3 left); of Concacaf, Monterrey (Mexico), Seattle sirens (United States), León (Mexico) (2nd left); for Oceania, Auckland City (New Zeland); and the aforementioned European Championships, where two places remain.

Arsenal cause penalties against Porto and concern for Varela

Arsenal left Alan Varela’s Porto without sleeping. The Argentine midfielder, called up by Javier Mascherano for the tour of Mexico by the Under 23 national team heading to the 2024 Paris Olympics, left the Portuguese team due to injury at the end of regulation time, presumably due to a muscle injury.

He had to leave the Emirates Stadium in London on a stretcher, when the match was already 1-0 in favor of the ‘Gunners’ (goal by Leandro Trossard), which equaled the aggregate score of the series and led to the decision going to penalties . after an extension in which not much happened.

After David Raya’s final save in the eleven-metre shootout against Galen, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal broke a run of seven eliminations in the round of 16 in their last seven appearances in Europe’s top competition.