On July 17, after a 2-1 defeat against Osasuna in the Spanish La Liga, Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi had called his team "weak and erratic", saying that they would certainly lose if they played the same way against Napoli in the upcoming Champions League fixture. "Roma, Liverpool... the fans are running out of patience because we're not giving them anything," he said.
Barcelona ultimately triumphed over Napoli in the CL quarter-final second leg on Saturday, but they will now have to reckon with the past demons of Roma and Liverpool as they take on German champions Bayern Munich; in the previous two years, Barca had shamefully capitulated to Italian side Roma and current English champions Liverpool as the latter overturned what should have been impregnable three-goal deficits. The Catalans had buckled under pressure, surrendering a 4-1 lead over AS Roma in the quarter-finals in 2018, and a 3-0 advantage over Liverpool in the semi-finals last year.
Add to that, the 3-1 win over Napoli was far from convincing. First-half goals from Clement Lenglet, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez sent Barca on their way to Lisbon, but they will have to face a resurgent Hansi Flick-led Bayern, who crushed Chelsea 4-1 for a 7-1 aggregate win. Against Barcelona, Gennaro Gattuso's Napoli dominated the second half after Lorenzo Insigne scored at the end of the first.
From here on, the Champions League format will be radically different, courtesy the coronavirus. There will be no more second legs or away goals, which will shift the dynamics massively.
Barca coach Quique Setien said he is confident that keeping his job does not hinge on the results in Lisbon later this month. Setien has been under intense pressure since Barcelona lost the Spanish league to Real Madrid last month. Setien was complementary of his team, praising their team spirit. "We wanted to make sure we got through, and we will play other games with this type of spirit," Setien said in a post-match interview, reported Daily Mail. "The team played well and deserved the victory. They [Napoli] caused us problems, but we controlled the game in the first half. We had problems after the break, but we reduced them to few chances."
The face-off between the two European giants promises great spectacle. In 2015, Barca beat Bayern in the semi-finals, going on to win the competition; for Barca, that game was a revenge for the 7-0 thrashing on aggregate at the hands of the Germans in 2013.
