Napoli achieved a draw with Barcelona, and Arsenal lost to Porto in the Champions League
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On the final day of the first half of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, Napoli, which was in crisis, received Barcelona under the leadership of a new head coach, achieved a draw – 1:1, and London Arsenal, which crushed everyone in the last rounds of the English championship, on a foreign field in stoppage time, he conceded a goal from Porto. The holders of tickets to the quarterfinals in these pairs will be determined in three weeks.
Suddenly taking up a new position On the eve of the meeting with Barcelona, Napoli head coach Francesco Calzona made some changes to the starting lineup. They mainly affected the left flank, where Khvicha Kvaratskhelia operates in the attacking line. For example, Swedish midfielder Jens Kajuste appeared there, who mostly came as a substitute in previous Champions League matches. However, of course, any global changes in the balance of power in this pair could not happen immediately. Considering the dismal results of the Neapolitans in the Italian Championship, Barcelona looked like the undisputed favorite.
True, it took her a whole hour to temporarily confirm this status. Throughout the first half, Napoli defended in a fairly organized manner, repelling the attacks of their opponents, among whom a notable figure was Lamin Yamal, who at the age of 16 years and 223 days became the youngest football player to take part in the play-offs of the Champions League. Before the break, the most nervous moment for home goalkeeper Alex Meret was the 22nd minute, when Joao Cancelo was at the forefront of the attack, followed by Robert Lewandowski almost point-blank. But time passed, the game almost always took place on the Napoli field, and there were no goals. There were, however, no 100% chances for them.
In the second half, for the time being, it continued in the same vein, but in the 60th minute, a cleverly turned Pedri gave Lewandowski a pass, which became a goal. The Polish forward dealt with Meret very effectively, placing the ball with his right foot in the near corner under the Italian goalkeeper’s supporting leg. Soon Calzona was replaced by Cajuste, as well as Kvaratskhelia, who tried to change his position on the field depending on the situation, but did not show anything extraordinary. Napoli played more boldly and equalized the score. It also featured the most dangerous striker – Victor Osimhen, who pushed through Inigo Martinez without violating the rules and, remaining face to face with Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, confidently beat him.
Already in stoppage time, Ilkay Gundogan could have brought victory to Barcelona, but his shot was slightly inaccurate. The result is 1:1, and this result, while confirming the theoretical advantage that the Spanish giants have in this pair, still leaves Napoli some hope. To justify them, after three weeks on the road, he needs to defend successfully and use counter-attacks effectively.
Wednesday’s other match, in which Porto hosted Arsenal, took place in approximately the same vein. There, too, the guests attacked much more, although the hosts sometimes snapped back very sharply. By the way, this game also set an age record for the main European football cup: Porto defender Pepe, who was 40 years and 360 days old yesterday, turned out to be the most experienced player in the history of the Champions League playoffs. But the main character was not he, but the Brazilian winger Wanderson Galeno. In the middle of the first half, he shot twice from an advantageous position, but hit the post and missed, but already in stoppage time he brought victory to his team with a magnificent shot into the far corner from outside the penalty area. Having won 1:0, Porto interrupted Arsenal’s winning streak of five matches and made a good bid to reach the quarterfinals. In any case, the outcome of this confrontation is less obvious than in the case of Barcelona and Napoli.
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