Barcelona, Spain sailed into the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
The Catalan giants progressed after seeing off the challenge of Victor Osimhen’s Napoli of Italy in an intriguing 2nd leg encounter which ended 3 – 1 and 4-2 on aggregate
Xavi Hernandez’s side came flying out of the blocks and victorious with goals from Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo but after Amir Rrahmani pulled one back, the Catalans started to sweat.
The series A defending 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 and sealed the victory and spot in the quarterfinals.
It is the first time in four years Barcelona have reached the last eight of the competition since 2020, and they did so without injured midfield trio Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong.
Coach Xavi Hernandez said he was leaving at the end of the season in January, and so far his team has gone on a run of nine games without defeat after that decision.
