Antoine Griezmann on Tuesday rescued a 1-1 draw for Barcelona at SSC Napoli in their UEFA Champions League last-16 first leg.
Frenchman Griezmann struck just before the hour mark in Naples after Dries Mertens had put the hosts ahead in the 30th minute with his 121st Napoli goal, drawing level with Marek Hamsik as the club’s all-time top scorer.
Barcelona ended the game with 10 men after Arturo Vidal was sent off with two minutes to go after picking up two yellow cards, following an angry clash with Napoli defender Mario Rui.
“In the end it’s a draw that is a good result, considering that we have another home game,” Barcelona coach Quique Setien said, as his side are in a strong position ahead of the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 18.
The clash was the first between the two teams and also a Champions League debut for Setien and Napoli counterpart Gennaro Gattuso, who took over after the group stage.
“They didn’t hurt us, they tickled us,” Gattuso said, but added that “it went wrong in one moment and they punished us.”
Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne added: “We could have won, so we’re a bit disappointed. It was emotional to face players like [Lionel] Messi.”
Messi failed to score on his first appearance at the Stadio San Paolo, where Napoli legend Diego Maradona reigned supreme three decades ago.
Messi, 32, scored four goals over the weekend in Barcelona’s 5-0 win against Sociedad Deportiva Eibar that put them back top of La Liga, but could not add to his 114 Champions League goals.
“If Barca didn’t do today what they did three days ago [against Eibar] it’s to Napoli’s credit,” Gattuso said. “I hope that no one thinks it’s over. We know it will be very hard, but nothing is finished yet.”
“But when on your back you have Messi or Griezmann, you want to play with a little security. This is where we can try to do better on the way back,” he added.
Messi fired over on nine minutes after combining well with Frenkie de Jong, but Gattuso’s side piled the pressure on the Catalans.
Their pressing paid off on the half-hour mark, with Piotr Zielinski breaking free down the right before finding Mertens, who curled a magnificent finish past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
He equaled Hamsik’s record and is now six goals clear of Maradona, but was forced off early in the second half after a Sergio Busquets tackle, for which the Spaniard is to be suspended for the second leg.
Barcelona did not waste much time in getting on level terms, as Messi and Busquets combined to send Semedo into the box in the 57th minute.
The Portuguese fullback crossed low for Griezmann to power home right-footed.
Ter Stegen denied Insigne, with Jose Callejon also missing a chance for a second, as did Messi with eight minutes to go.
Vidal was sent off after a sliding tackle on Rui before appearing to headbutt the Napoli defender.
The Chilean would also miss the return leg in Spain, with defender Gerard Pique a doubt after going off late on with an ankle injury.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
UP IN SMOKE: More than half a dozen riders crashed out of the race, with Marquez’s title chances in doubt after driving off the track with flames flickering from his bike Jorge Martin yesterday won a crash-filled Indonesia MotoGP to extend his championship lead, while closest rival Francesco Bagnaia limited the damage by claiming the final podium place. The win leaves the Pramac Racing rider 21 points ahead of his Italian Ducati rival, who finished third behind Spaniard Pedro Acosta in sweltering conditions at the Mandalika International Street Circuit on Lombok island. In front of a crowd of 60,000 in motorbike-mad Indonesia, the 26-year-old put his tumble in Saturday’s sprint behind him, canceling out the gains his title rival Bagnaia made after securing victory in that race. “Thank you Indonesia. I am very happy.
RSS