Hello friends, good vibes to all.

Fuente!

Yesterday, the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League came to an end with one of the most anticipated matches of this stage, not because of the current form of both teams, but because of what they achieved last season. In the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in the city of Naples, two champions faced each other, the Serie A and the Spanish League, the thing is that both clubs are light years away from the level shown just a few months ago, so instead what we witnessed last night was a match where there were not two teams of name but 22 players running after a ball with no apparent sense, in almost 90 minutes of play.

One of them because in little more than two years they have not been able to find the definitive team and because apparently they are still "under construction" and the other because so far this season they have had three different coaches so there must not be much consolidation in the way they play. Napoli is ninth in the league, almost 30 points behind the leader while Barca is third, 8 points behind the leader; both with many shortcomings in the game. I said it at the time, Xavi is a crack because he decided to take the pressure off himself by announcing his departure at the end of the season, so if they manage to do well, he will leave as a hero who saved the team from another failure, but if they were to fall in the round of 16, he will say that he warned, that the club, I repeat, is under "construction".

Fuente!

So, what did we see yesterday? - We were facing two teams that are obliged to show things and get results, imagine being the reigning champion of your league and being out so quickly in the Champions League. The first half started and the first thing we noticed was a very high pressure from Barcelona, with advanced lines they tried to box the rival in order to stifle them and take advantage quickly. But the reality is that it is not as easy as it seems, although it is true that Barca looked better than Napoli, the chances in those first 45 minutes were almost sterile, a Yamal who pushed, a Gundogan who always sought to unbalance and a Frenkie De Jong trying to pull the strings.

What must be said is that Christensen is a complete disaster, I do not understand Xavi's reasoning to place him in that position of "5" when it is more than known that he is not good at it. He is a player that does not fit in that position, with bad deliveries, turnovers, etc.; and the most unfortunate thing is that the replacement is Oriol Romeu. Iñigo Martínez is another player who does not measure up, the defensive backline has to make sure that Araujo has a good night so that there are no setbacks because depending on the former Bilbao player is no guarantee. In short, a first half in which intentions were seen for nothing concrete. On Napoli's side, there was little to say, when I say that in the first half they did absolutely nothing it is not an exaggeration, the changes of coaches were very noticeable as there was no clear demonstration of play.

Fuente!

The second half was more of the same, but this time it was Barca who were more subdued, despite the goal that came thanks to an assist from Pedri for Lewandowski, who managed to get the ball past the goalkeeper on the edge of the box. A 1-0 lead that was fair for what we had seen in the first 45 minutes. But the joy was short-lived, Napoli adjusted, made changes that allowed them to have more of the ball, more driving, more presence in the opponent's field and that's how Osimhen's goal came almost 15 minutes later. Barca did not exist in the last half hour of the game and Napoli tried to corner the Culés more with more grit than anything else, but without any success.

Looking at everything cold it is a tie that is open for anyone. I don't know if Barca will have room for improvement with respect to what they have seen but Napoli is possible because the new coach Francesco Calzona will have more time to prepare the game and see his players in training, we must remember that he only had a couple of days of preparation. Everything will be defined in Spain in a couple of weeks. I don't dare to give a result because the level is so similar, for the worse, that I could honestly advance whichever one it is. One of the weakest games I have seen this season in the Champions League, without a doubt.

Fuente!

Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
¡Hugs to all, see you next time!