Barcelona may need youth to get past Napoli, reach final 8
BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Quique Setién says that he is ready to count on youngsters Ansu Fati and Riqui Puig to eliminate Napoli and advance to the Champions League final eight in Portugal. Barcelona will be without midfielders Sergio Busquets, Arturo Vidal and Arthur for Saturday’s second leg of their roundof-16 tie. The match will be played five months after the Spanish side earned a 1-1 draw at Napoli before the pandemic brought most sports to a halt.
“Both Rique and Ansu are ready to play,” Setién said Friday. “They have performed and played pretty well and could perfectly well start (against Napoli). And if they do start, I am sure they will be guaranteed to play well.” The 20-year-old Puig has a good chance to earn his debut in Europe’s top-tier club competition with both Busquets and Vidal suspended for the critical match. Arthur has had a falling out with the club after securing his transfer to Juventus for next season and refusing to return to team practice.
Setién values Puig’s passing and ball-control skills, which remind some Barcelona fans of Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta, and rewarded him with a bigger role during the final stretch of the Spanish league.
Fati, 17, made a huge splash this season by becoming the youngest player to score in the Spanish league and the Champions League, among other precocious scoring milestones. With Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez set to start in attack, Fati could get picked over fellow forward Antoine Griezmann, who was cleared to play by team doctors on Friday after having recovered from a right thigh injury last month.
BAYERN VS CHELSEA
BERLIN: Bayern Munich are hoping Champions League success can convince Thiago Alcantara and David Alaba, who are stalling over extensions, to stay. Bayern host Chelsea at Munich’s Allianz Arena Saturday in the last 16, second leg of the Champions League holding a 3-0 lead after hammering the Blues in London in February when Serge Gnabry scored twice in a gala display.
Since then, Bayern have secured an eighth straight Bundesliga title and lifted the German Cup putting them on course for the treble having won all 11 games post lockdown. Chelsea are without wingers Christian Pulisic, who injured his hamstring in the FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal, and Pedro, who underwent shoulder surgery after being stretchered off at Wembley.