There’s a lot of literature about personalities who never die, the strange thing (if anything can be called strange in Naples) are the guys who are still alive when they arrive long gone. The presence of Diego Armando Maradona is felt throughout the city, exaggerated (if anything can be called exaggerated in Naples) in the Quartieri Spagnoli, of course also in the stadium that bears his name, formerly known as San Paolo. As was the custom before November 25, 2020, the day of Pelusa’s death, Live is life by Opus plays at the home of the Neapolitan team, a football anthem since Diego danced it with the ball during warm-up against Bayern Munich in 1989. Now another hit is added to the sound system in honor of Maradona, Rodrigo’s Hand of God. It’s not nostalgia, it’s present. This is not the case at Barcelona, which is missing its Diego: Leo Messi.
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Alex Meret, Juan Jesus, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Mathías Olivera, Jens Ctrabajo (Hamed Junior Traoré, min. 67), Lobotka, Franck Zambo, Victor Osimhen (Giovanni Simeone, min. 76), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Jesper Lindstrom, min. 68) and Politano (Giacomo Raspadori, min. 76)
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Ter Stegen, Íñigo Martínez, Cancelo, Koundé, Ronald Araújo, Gündogan, A. Christensen (Oriol Romeu, min. 86), Frenkie De Jong, Lamine Yamal, Pedri (João Félix, min. 86) and Lewandowski
Goals 0-1 min. 60: Lewandowski. 1-1 minutes. 75: Victor Osimhen.
Arbitrator Felix Zwayer
Yellow cards Frenkie De Jong (min. 15), Íñigo Martínez (min. 75) and A. Christensen (min. 78)
Since the departure of La Pulga in 2021, Barcelona has not returned to the round of 16 of the Champions League. “I am proud of what we have shown to all of Europe but there are phases of the game in which we are still rushing. We lack this maturity. We lack this feeling of domination, of calm, of pause… but if we talk about the game, I think that today we were very good in general”, analyzed Xavi. And to kill the melancholy, the footballer called to inherit Messi’s emptiness, decided to pay tribute to the current Inter Miami player. He did it at Maradona’s house. Lamine Yamal came out to play against Naples with the new shoes prepared by Adidas for Leo Messi . As had already happened with the Argentinian, the German firm snatched the jewel of Barça from Nike last January. It was not just any day for the young Barça player. In the old San Paolo, he became the youngest player to play in a Champions League: 16 years and 223 days.
Lamine Yamal’s youth caught the eye in Xavi’s starting lineup. The Barcelona coach opted for an experienced team. “We haven’t thought about it that way, we think it’s the best XI for today. Iñigo gives us strength and Gündogan is a fundamental footballer for us. We took an eleven to have control,” Xavi warned in the preview. And, with the tie already complete, he concluded: “I’m disappointed, of course. We played a very good match, especially in first half. We started the second well with Robert’s goal but it’s a shame to concede the equalizer. We controlled the game. A penalty.”
In a team dominated by the seniority of Iñigo Martínez (32 years old) in defense and Gündogan (33 years old) in midfield, the difference was made by Robert Lewandowski (35 years old). The Polish striker extended his streak in Europe and has five goals in the last four games. “I feel very good, physically too. We have a lot of young players and we need a little time. It’s not the same as in the League. “I think there is a lot of potential in the team and now we have two long weeks to prepare for the return,” Lewandowski said. Wake up the pole. However, it was not enough to finish a match that seemed round, also for the young Yamal, possible heir to Messi (if anything can be exaggerated in Naples).
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