Loss of the Barça and great goal of Mertens to advance the Napoli

The FC Barcelona began with good foot the eliminatory of eighth of Champions League against the Naples. A lot of possession of balloon, agility in the pressure after loss and maximum concentration in the first minutes. The Naples hardly attained to approach to the goal of Ter Stegen during the first half hour, but when had an opportunity no the desaprovechó.

The players culés lost a balloon of innocent form in his own field, after a rebound that touched in Junior Firpo, and Zielinski reacted with rapidity to assist to Dries Mertens in the contrary band. From here, something escorado leftwards and to the edge of the rival area, the Belgian did not fail. It took out of the basket a powerful and precise shot that Ter Stegen could not divert.

The desbarajuste of the blaugrana threw by embroiders it a big first-half, in which the FC Barcelona was the clear dominador of the spherical. The Naples threw to backwards from the beginning, replegándose in search of possible contragolpes with which hurt to the ones of Setién. The played went out him well to Gattuso, since the Barça did not find fluidity between lines in any moment.

The team partenopeo took advantage of of the defensive fragility of the Barcelona -and in concrete of the fault of adaptation of Junior- to steal a balloon and première the eliminatory with an authentic golazo. A target for the frustration culé, to the that was missing him mordiente and fang during the first-half to concretise each one of his approaches to the area of Ospina.

This Barça needs more mordiente

Already it warned Leo Messi in an interview, days backwards, that the FC Barcelona needs to step advance if it wants to struggle by the title of Champions League this season. The seen during the first-half in Naples goes back to show it: it does not suffice with dominating the possession, but the verticality is increasingly important in the modern football and to the Barcelona is used to him be missing in some occasions.

Of face to the rest of the eliminatory, the Barcelona team will need to improve the mobility without balloon, the desmarques and the precision in the passes in depth to break lines and, like this, generate clear opportunities of goal. Of the contrary, will follow falling in the networks of Gattuso...