Napoli did enough to salvage a draw in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash with Barcelona, keeping things open for the return match.
The Partenopei, under the guidance of new coach Francesco Calzona, fell 1-0 down at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after a 60th minute strike from Robert Lewandowski, but Victor Osimhen responded just 15 minutes later to draw the home side level.
Napoli now know there’s everything to fight for in their return leg with Barcelona on March 12th in Catalonia, but ahead of that they have four Serie A outings against Cagliari, Sassuolo, Juventus and Torino.
Corriere dello Sport were clear with the praise for Osimhen after Napoli’s draw with Barcelona, writing: “Osi, however, never gave up. He tried to get the team up, he set off in search of lost depth and in the end he won. First useful ball, Martinez uprooted and goal. Welcome back after nine games and 60 days, Napoli are clinging to their masked hero.”
Osimhen’s ratings in the Italian newspapers
- La Gazzetta dello Sport: 7
- Corriere dello Sport: 7
- Tuttosport: 7
- Il Mattino: 7
Things were different for star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who didn’t play his best against Barcelona, looking frustrated and low on confidence, earning criticism from the Italian press.
Corriere dello Sport explained why they were unimpressed with the Georgian winger’s work, commenting: “The first scenes are bad. And by a lot, he made three mistakes in a row, and then there’s Koundé, who tormented him everywhere. And so, he saw little in the first half, nothing in the second. Lights off, the substitution made noise, but you can’t live on hopes.”
Kvaratskhelia’s ratings in the Italian newspapers
- La Gazzetta dello Sport: 4.5
- Corriere dello Sport: 5
- Tuttosport: 5.5
- Il Mattino: 5.5