Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez cut a frustrated figure after his side were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by Napoli in the Champions League first leg on Tuesday night. Despite a dominant opening 30 minutes and a goal from Robert Lewandowski, the Blaugrana were pegged back by a late Victor Osimhen equalizer, leaving Xavi lamenting a missed opportunity to seize control of the tie.
“We are certainly disappointed with the result,” admitted Xavi to Amazon Prime Video Italia. “We controlled the game, created numerous chances, and should have won based on the overall performance. We allowed Napoli almost nothing in attack, just one shot on target that led to their goal.”
The Spanish tactician acknowledged a tactical shift from Napoli after they fell behind. “After we took the lead, they woke up and started to press higher,” he explained. “This is where we needed to be more decisive and kill off the game. We had the opportunities, but unfortunately, we couldn’t capitalize.”
Despite the dropped points, Xavi saw encouraging signs in his team’s display. “I liked the overall performance,” he said. “We showed progress in both attack and defense. We just need to be more clinical in front of goal and convert our dominance into victories.”
The result leaves the tie finely balanced heading into the second leg at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on March 12th. Camp Nou remains unavailable due to ongoing renovations, adding another layer of intrigue to the decisive encounter.
However, questions linger for Barcelona. They started the match looking comfortable and confident, echoing their dominant La Liga display against Elche at the weekend. But their inability to convert dominance into goals against a resolute Napoli raises concerns about their attacking efficiency, particularly in high-pressure European encounters.
Xavi will need to find solutions to ensure his team doesn’t rue their missed opportunity in Naples. They must maintain their attacking fluidity while tightening up defensively to avoid a repeat performance in the second leg. Only then can they hope to progress to the quarter-finals and keep their Champions League dreams alive.