Disguised as a strong man
Barcelona, after 2 years with many incidents, has suffered many consequences left by the Bartomeu era. Even if Messi is no longer at Nou Camp or the £1 billion debt is hanging on his head, Xavi and his team still have to take the next step to find a way to regain their honor.
Every year, this is the time when Barca are competing in the knockout round of the Champions League. However, this year they still could not pass the group stage. When kicked off the biggest stage, Xavi and his students could not even go to the round of 16 of the Europa League according to UEFA's new rules. They have to play a series of life-and-death playoffs against Napoli in the hope of getting a ticket to the next round.
A team that once dominated Europe, won the Champions League many times, now has to play in the play-offs to earn a ticket to the 1/8 round of Europa League, this pain is huge for Barca fans, but this is a reality, everyone must accept.
The Nou Camp team is showing signs of revival in La Liga as it gradually returns to the Top 4 race. With no chance to win an domestic championship, the European arena will be prioritized regardless of the tournament. Because at this time, every time they play, they get deep and win the championship, everything goes for money. Money is all Barca need at the moment to survive. You have to live before thinking about something else.
Barca aims to win the Europa League, although they know it is very difficult, from money to honor, they have to save every penny. Speaking of the title, it is still a long way off, but this is the test, helping to most accurately assess the level and stature of Xavi's teachers and students.
Napoli is very difficult to play
The current Serie A race still has the Naples team. In the Europa League group stage, they were also unlucky to get the same number of points but lost by goal to leaders Spartak Moscow. Like Barca, Napoli has a hard time winning the domestic race, so there is a lot of interest in the Europa League.
Napoli is considered a good team but has a very poor defense, as evidenced by the 15 goals and 10 goals conceded in the recent Europa League group stage. Spearheads like Insigne, Mertens and Lozano still scored, but the defense with the decline in form of Koulibaly is very alarming. Napoli is very vulnerable to short- and fast-paced teams, which is Barcelona's forte.
Every year, Napoli can now play with peace of mind in the round of 16, but they are stuck with Barca to earn tickets to the play-off series. Although both teams still have to eliminate each other, from now on, their match has been likened to one of the early finals of this year's Europa League.
The match between Barcelona and Napoli will take place at 0:45 on February 18 (Vietnam time), live on FPT Television.
