Deja vu: Barca, Arsenal back where they belong

Barcelona, March 13

Four years later, Barcelona are again celebrating a triumph in the knockout stage of the Champions League.

The five-time European champions returned to the quarterfinals with a 3-1 win over Napoli on Tuesday.

Fermin Lopez, Joao Cancelo and Robert Lewandowski scored for Barcelona as they advanced 4-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Italy three weeks ago.

Amir Rrahmani scored for Napoli, who couldn’t repeat their last-eight appearance from last season, when they won a knockout round for the first time.

Barcelona had been eliminated in the group stage the last two years and hadn’t reached the quarterfinals since 2019-20, when they lost to Bayern Munich.

“It was an incredible night,” Barcelona midfielder Sergi Roberto said. “It had been four years since this club was where it deserves to be. We have to enjoy this moment.”

The Champions League could be Barcelona’s last realistic chance for a title this season. They were eliminated in the Copa del Rey and trail La Liga leaders Real Madrid by seven points. Coach Xavi Hernandez already announced he will leave at the end of the season.

“It was a great match, very complete,” Xavi said. “We have been criticised unfairly, and today we showed that this team is prepared to compete in Europe. We are among the best eight teams in Europe. We have to enjoy it.”

Arsenal follow suit

London: Arsenal reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010 after beating Porto 4-2 in a penalty shootout, ending a streak of seven eliminations in the Round of 16.

David Raya saved Galeno’s spot-kick to seal the win for Arsenal, who had won the game 1-0 to level the aggregate score at 1-1 on Tuesday.

Wendell also missed his penalty for Porto, hitting the post with his team’s second attempt at the Emirates Stadium. — AP

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