Napoli vs Barcelona highlights: Griezmann strike helps Barcelona escape Italy with draw

Napoli and Barcelona played out a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Sao Paolo on Tuesday night (Wednesday IST). The Catalan side had to come from behind to secure a draw and take a vital away goal to the Camp Nou. Check out the Napoli vs Barcelona highlights and player ratings. 

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Champions League: Napoli vs Barcelona highlights

Barcelona's struggles against Italian sides continued after they failed to break down a resilient Napoli on their own turf. Despite having much of the ball, Lionel Messi and co. found themselves trailing after Napoli hit them with a lightning counter-attack. Piotr Zielinski instigated the move by robbing Junior Firpo off possession before finding Dries Mertens with a fine cut back. The Belgian attacker took a touch before curling a stunner past the helpless Ter Stegen. 

The finish saw Dries Mertens become the joint-highest scorer in Napoli history with 121 goals -- level with Marek Hamsik.

Barcelona got their equaliser in the second half after Nelson Semedo found an unmarked Antonie Griezmann in the box just before the hour mark. Griezmann made mistake and hammered a right-footed strike into the back of the net. However, Barcelona's hunt for the winner did not go as planned as Arturo Vidal was sent off in the dying minutes of the game for a second offence. Also, Gerard Pique had to be taken off after sustaining an ankle injury during the final stages. The game ended at 1-1. 

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Champions League: Napoli vs Barcelona highlights and aftermath 

Barcelona had over 65% of the ball but failed to really test the Italian side, who tried to sit back and hit Barcelona on the counter. However, the Catalan side got the crucial away goal and will be confident when the sides meet in March. Barcelona will host Napoli in the second leg on March 19. 

Napoli will be back in the Serie A this weekend for the clash against Torino. Meanwhile, Barcelona will be heading to the Santiago Bernabeu next for El Clasico.

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Napoli vs Barcelona player ratings

Napoli

David Ospina - 6/10

Giovanni Di Lorenzo - 6.5/10

Konstantinos Manolas - 6/10

Nikola Maksimovic - 6.5/10

Mario Rui - 7/10

Fabian - 6.5/10

Diego Demme - 6/10

Piotr Zielinski - 7.5/10

Jose Callejon - 6/10

Dries Mertens - 8/10

Lorenzo Insigne - 7/10

Substitutes: Arkadiusz Milik - 6.5/10, Matteo Politano - 6/10, Allan - 6/10

Barcelona 

Marc-Andre ter Stegen (GK) - 6.5/10

Junior Firpo - 7/10

Samuel Umtiti - 7.5/10

Gerard Pique - 7/10

Nelson Semedo - 8/10

Frenkie de Jong - 7/10

Sergio Busquets - 7/10

Ivan Rakitic - 7/10

Antonie Griezmann - 6.5/10

Arturo Vidal - 6.5/10

Lionel Messi - 6.5/10

Substitutes: Arthur - 6/10, Ansu Fati - NA, Clement Lenglet - NA

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