Barcelona did not go further than 1-1 at home in the play-off round of the Europa League against Napoli. Despite another striking substitute by Luuk de Jong.
De Jong has conquered the hearts of football fans in Barcelona. When Xavi dropped his supersub five minutes before time, a wave of excitement swept through Camp Nou. De Jong then did what was expected of him as a battering ram, made war in the sixteen and almost had the equalizer on his shoe with a beautiful bicycle kick in the last minute. Hanging in the air – it is becoming his trademark – De Jong hit the ball full, but his shot went just wide.
Not much later, he offered Ferran Torres an excellent chance for the winning goal, but the maker of the 1-1 shot wide after the smart ball from the Dutch striker. De Jong tried well into injury time with a header, but it was too far away to alarm goalkeeper Alex Meret.
Piotr Zielinski gave Napoli the lead after half an hour by shooting from close range. His first effort with the left was turned by goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, but the second attempt with the right was a hit. After an hour, Barça equalized via Ferran Torres, who converted a penalty. The penalty kick was given after a handball and was only awarded by the arbiter after the intervention of the VAR.
Frenkie de Jong was replaced by trainer Xavi after more than an hour. Sergio Busquets came in for him in the squad.
FC Barcelona was sentenced to the Europa League because it finished third in the Champions League group with Bayern Munich, Benfica and Dinamo Kiev. This weekend FC Barcelona awaits the away game against Valencia.
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