Barcelona beat Napoli 4-2 at the Diego Armando Maradona on Thursday evening to secure their place in the last 16 of the Europa League. Jordi Alba, Frenkie de Jong, Gerard Pique and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all scored to render Lorenzo Insigne and Matteo Politano’s strikes mere consolations. It was a big win.
Because it felt like it was confirmation that Barcelona are moving in the right direction under Xavi Hernandez, that little by little the Blaugrana are beginning to look a little like themselves again after some really tough years. Joan Laporta, the club’s president, was filmed dancing in joy outside the stadium post-game.
Barcelona’s ambition this season is to win the Europa League to ensure they get their hands on silverware this season – they face Galatasaray in the next round of the competition. They’ll also be determined to ensure they finish in the top four of La Liga to secure Champions League football for 2022/23. They’re currently fourth in the table, four points behind third-placed Real Betis.
Laporta just enjoying it after beating Napoli pic.twitter.com/p4h8cDkqyo
— Siempre Positivo (@SiemprePod) February 25, 2022
Congratulations 🥅⚽🏅
Xavi