In the abnormal circumstances of the current season, Bayern Munich does not have to wait for a draw to find out who they will play in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.
After a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Stadio San Paolo in Naples, Barcelona duly knocked SSC Napoli out of the tournament and advanced to quarterfinals, where they will face the Bavarians.
The Blaugranas took an early lead off a corner kick from Lionel Messi in the 10th minute. The in-swinging kick found the head of French defender Celément Lenglet, who powered it past the right hand of Napoli keeper David Ospina.
Following that corner, in the 23’, Lionel Messi scored one of the finest goals of his illustrious career:
Oh. My. Messi.
— Champions League on CBS Sports (@UCLonCBSSports) August 8, 2020
As only he could, the magician does it again. A masterclass in balance, precision, and skill puts @FCBarcelona up 3-1 on aggregate. pic.twitter.com/nKBPfu1Ywi
After dancing all over the pitch, getting clipped by Napoli defenders, and still finding a way to advance the ball, the man from another world found a way to put a shot on net as he was falling to the ground. The shot rebounded of the inside of the left post and Barcelona went up 2-0.
It seemed as though Messi would have had his second of the night in the 30’ after controlling a pass off his chest and slotting it home. However, a check with VAR disallowed the goal, ruling it a handball.
How drunk is VAR? pic.twitter.com/IPEoaN1nkI
— Anthony DiCicco (@DiCiccoMethod) August 8, 2020
And then they get it wrong anyway... hahah, christ VAR is rubbish
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) August 8, 2020
Just on the stroke of halftime in the 42’, as Messi dribbled into the box, he received a rough kick to the back of his leg from Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly. The referee needed to check VAR before giving the penalty to Barcelona. Luis Suarez stepped up to take the spot kick and gave Barcelona a 3-0 lead.
But, just as we were all set to take the half time break, Ivan Rakitic committed a foul in the box in an attempt to body a Napoli attacker off the ball. Up steps Lorenzo Insigne and Napoli pulls the lead closer by a score of 4-2 on aggregate.
Following all of this scoring in the first half, neither team put forward a good performance to add to the goal tally. While Barcelona was able to put in three goals on eight shot attempts, Napoli’s poor one goal on 16 shots wasn’t enough to stay in the game. What may be even worse is of those 16 shots, only two were on target.
Barcelona and Bayern will play their quarterfinal match on Friday, August 14, at 3:00 pm EDT / Noon PDT.