It's no news that the long awaited UEFA champions league will be back tonight, with Madrid and Manchester City clashing at the Etihad, in order to determine who scales to the quarter finals. But I will be talking about the game tomorrow between Barcelona and Napoli. First of all, it's a good news that the Spanish authorities finally allowed the match to take place at the Camp Nou. You will recall that there were doubts as regards the venue of the match few weeks back due to the incessant increase of new covid-19 cases in the region.
Catalonia seems the worst hit by the virus in Spain, since the Spanish authorities lifted the national lockdown in July. Reports also has it that the region recorded a daily increase of 944 cases in July. However, Catalonia's Public Health Secretary Josep Maria Argimon, made it clear that it was safe to play the game and the situation has become better in the region. It came with a huge sigh of relief from Barcelona fans who was restive about the game being played outside Spain as suggested by Napoli President.
It's a game that Barcelona can't afford not to have their way, after losing the league to arch rivals Real Madrid. In other words, the catalan giants have got only the Champions league to fight for, as a major trophy. The team hasn't been in there best of form in recent times and the captain Lionel Messi has minced no words in expressing his doubts about the possibilities of the team in their European quest.
Napoli on the other end are coming all out for this game, as they seek to book the quarter finals for the first time in the history of the game, and Gattuso have expressed their readiness to surprise Barcelona if the catalan giants downplay them. Both teams played out a 1-1 draw in their first leg encounter at the Sau Paulo stadium on February. Napoli certainly has a mountain to climb as Barcelona are yet to be beaten at home in the Champions league for the past 7 seven years, and are on course to book the quarter final spot for 13th consecutive times.
Do You See Napoli Upsetting Barcelona At The Camp Nou?
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