BarcelonaBarça beat Napoli with authority in the return leg of the last 16 of the Europa League with goals from Jordi Alba, De Jong, Piqué and Aubameyang. The Italians had no choice but to lift the tie. Then the hot notes of the match.
Merit of the coach. Barça has just filled the glass. He plays in the purgatory of the Europa League, but returns to compete as a Champions team. Beyond the difference marked by the winter signings, the contrast with the defeated versions of Munich or Lisbon is indisputable. Scoring four goals at the stadium of the least beaten team in Italy is easier with Adama, Ferran Torres and Aubameyang, yes. But the big nuance is in the game, in the plan of a head coach who plays in a certain way, who studies rivals and places the pieces in a meaningful way. Barça is returning and Xavi is in charge. With time and resources, your style book will bring joy in the short term. He is already proving it.
De Jong, in the hands of Xavi. Victory is choral, but it is fair to focus on the great role of De Jong. If a few weeks ago it was not clear which of the two, if Frenkie or Luuk, contributed more, the thrashing in Naples ends with the joke and explains why the former is on the agenda of half of Europe despite not having shone at the Camp Nou. The key is to stop waiting for the former Ajax player to rule parties like Busquets. It is not a pivot where his repertoire will shine best. The good De Jong enjoys pressing, driving and reaching the goal, as shown by the 0-2 shot. At the behest of Xavi, who knows what it means to be a Barça midfielder, the Dutchman can finally find the right fit. Another thing is that the club needs to sell it later.
A punctual drought. Despite the amount of resources that Barça has in attack after the winter market, there is a player who almost never rests. It’s Ferran Torres, who continues to deny in front of goal while watching Aubameyang start scoring goals even unintentionally. The Valencian winger repeated his title in Naples, generated chances again, as in the first leg, and did not convert them either. But do not suffer, because they will enter. He has everything to end the season with good records. However, Xavi should not turn this one-off drought into an issue that could put Ferran’s physique at risk, which was diluted in both Mestalla and Maradona after being very protagonist in the first part.
Bad day to raise your voice. In the preview of the match, the normally measured Ter Stegen showed some discomfort with what he reads in the press about his performance. He himself implicitly acknowledged that he is not playing as before and that the injury to his knee for the past two years has conditioned him. Therefore, the criticism is not fully understood, especially when in the case of ARA the information is based on the observation of the only thing that journalists can see: the parties. If raising his voice was part of a strategy to go further, the German did not do very well, because he made an avoidable penalty and the next shot, on his right, did not even react.
