Champions League Reviews; Barcelona 3, Napoli 1; Bayern Munich 4, Chelsea 1

Updated: 18/11/2024

• Barcelona 3, Napoli 1 – Nou Camp, Barcelona
• Aggregate score 4-2
• UK bookmakers quote 7/1 for Barca to win the Champions League Title.

Messi double sends Barcelona into the last eight

Barcelona set up a mouth-watering quarter-final duel with Bayern Munich after they got the better of visitors Napoli at Camp Nou on a aggregate of 4-2.

Barcelona 3 Napoli 1

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The return fixture to the 1-1 draw at San Siro, Naples, saw Gennaro Gattuso's men start on the offensive with striker Dries Mertens missing a glorious chance to open for Napoli within the first minute when he failed to control a volley from just a few yards away.

The Italian side kept up the pressure on the Barcelona goal for quarter of an hour but were not able to make the most of it. Rather it was the hosts who got the opening goal when defender Clement Lenglet headed in from a corner in the 10th minute of play.

The goal allowed the Catalans to come back into the game as Messi weaved some magic to get his side's second in the 23rd minute.

The Argentine twisted and turned through a maze of defenders in customary fashion, stumbled. recovered and executed a left-footed snapshot to the far bottom corner of the net even before goalkeeper David Ospina realized what had happened.

Messi had a possible second disallowed by VAR for handball but was later awarded a penalty by the video referee after being brought down by Kalidou Koulibaly, allowing Luis Suarez to step up to make it 3-0 minutes before half-time.

Needing two goals at least to stay in the game, Napoli got one back on the stroke of interval when Lorenzo Insigne converted a penalty after Ivan Rakitic fouled on Mertens inside the box.

Contrary to expectations, the second half was a tame affair as the visitors looked for a lifeline to recover.

Insigne failed to trouble Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen with his header and the hosts hung on to their two-goal advantage.

Napoli thought they got one more when substitute Arkadiusz Milik who was introduced in the 79th minute, got one past Der Stegen only to be ruled off-side.

Five times winners Barcelona who have gone through 36 Champions League home games without being beaten, will not have the comfort of playing at Nou Camp when they run into Bayern Munich at Lisbon, Portugal on the 14th in a knock-out format.

• Bayern Munich 4, Chelsea 1 – Allianz Arena, Munich
• Aggregate score 7-1
• Bayern quoted at 3/1 with New UK betting sites for the Champions League Title.

Bayern go through the motions as they thrash Chelsea to enter quarter-finals

Having stamped their authority with a 3-0 first leg win at Stamford Bridge, Bayern Munich added to Chelsea's pain further at the Allianz Arena when Robert Lewandowski made the aggregate 4-0 through a penalty in the 10th minute.

Bayern Munich 4 Chelsea 1

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Lewandowski came to the fore again when he set one up for Ivan Perisic who guided the ball past Willy Caballero to make it 5-0 for the Bundesliga champs in the 23rd.

Earlier Callum Hudson-Odoi thought he had pulled a goal back with an excellent, curling finish but his celebrations were cut short when it was ruled out for offside.

Tammy Abraham then scored a consolation goal for the Blues at the strike of half time after Neuer palmed the ball into his path at the end of the first half.

The inherently weak Chelsea defense was caught napping when substitute Corentin Tolisso found acres of space to run through and volley home unmarked inside the six-yard to take Bayern's tally to 6-1 twenty-six minutes into the second half.

Lewandowski found his second for the match and 53rd for the season when he headed the fourth in to finish the match at 7-1.

Having been blown away by Bayern in 25 second-half minutes in the first leg in London, it was always going to require something extra special by Lampard's side to turn it around in Munich and very few expected something like that to happen.

Chelsea's ouster now paves the way for a very exciting Barcelona-Bayern Last 8 encounter in Portugal in a week's time from now.

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