Barcelona survived a nervy second half to beat Napoli 3-1 to reach the Champions League quarter-finals after a 4-2 aggregate victory.
This is the first time Barcelona has reached the quarter-finals of the competition since the departure of club Legend Lionel Messi and they did so without injured midfield trio Pedri, Gavi, and Frenkie de Jong.
Xavi Hernandez’s side took the lead with goals from Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo while Amir Rrahmani pulled one back for the Italian Champions.
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Italian champions Napoli, who salvaged a 1-1 draw in the last-16 first leg, were finally beaten when Robert Lewandowski swept home from close range.
Coach Xavi Hernandez said he was leaving at the end of the season in January and his team has gone on a run of nine games without defeat after that decision.
Teenage stars Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi have been key in that run, and both excelled against Napoli on a night that offered some relief to Barcelona amid a bleak season.
Xavi demanded the fans turn their temporary Olympic Stadium home on the city’s Montjuic hill into a pressure cooker, and they duly obliged.
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Over 50,000 spectators marked the club’s largest attendance this season.
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Second-half jitters showed Barcelona is far from their former glory but in Yamal, Raphinha, and Cancelo in particular they have the quality to trouble any prospective quarter-final opponent.
