Barcelona are better than Napoli, but the match is goalless thanks to Meret

Barcelona have a big challenge this Wednesday. They are facing Napoli for the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 and need to get a positive result at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium to calmly face the decisive match in two weeks in Spain, and have chances to advance to the next stage.

More news about Barcelona:

The incredible 8-year curse that worries Barcelona in the Champions League

This is crucial for them, as the European tournament is their last chance to win a title this season. The failures in the Spanish Super Cup, the Copa del Rey and La Liga have been hard blows that caused consequences (such as the departure of coach Xavi Hernandez, who will leave at the end of the season) and the fans have less and less patience. That's why the team can't let them down and must improve their performances as soon as possible.

During the first half Los Blaugranas undoubtedly managed to show a much more convincing level than in previous games. From the start they controlled the ball and pushed Napoli into their own half, which allowed them to create several chances to score. Lamine Yamal was the protagonist in two of them, but lacked the necessary accuracy.

However, the most important chance came from Robert Lewandowski. In the 22nd minute, the Polish striker received a cross from Joao Cancelo and without wasting any time he took a powerful shot, but goalkeeper Meret reacted brilliantly and saved it, keeping his team level on the scoreboard despite the superiority of their opponents.

More news about Barcelona:

While everyone talks about his transfer to Real Madrid, Mbappé chose Barcelona

What will the coach do?

Surely Xavi Hernandez must be satisfied with his team's performance during the first half, but he may be concerned about the lack of effectiveness in attack. In that case, he has first-class alternatives on the bench, such as Joao Felix, Raphinha and Vitor Roque. Barcelona's other substitutes are Iñaki Peña, Ander Astralaga, Pau Cubarsi, Sergi Roberto, Oriol Romeu, Fermin Lopez, Hector Fort, Marc Casado and Marc Guiu.