The Barça is summarized in Messi

In times of uncertainty, it also manifests itself in a tournament like the Champions League, more open than ever since the fall of Liverpool and Madrid, and also Cristiano, Barça is already on its way to Lisbon as if it were in search of El Dorado. The tournament is so open that even the candidacy of a twilight, irregular and inconsistent team like Barça, already defeated in the League, has its grace and its merit, not even because of the faith of its players and out of respect for Messi. The captain's wish moves the Camp Nou mountain and has Europe in suspense. Nobody disagrees with him, least of all the club that achieved world fame with Maradona. Barcelona played as if it were more Italian than Naples to decide the greatness of 10.

The captain's moments illustrated a game that lost its charm since the covid-19 closed the door of the fields to the fans, few as passionate as those of Napoli and Barça. Aphonic the stands and the shock unraveling, Messi put his voice so that the match was not aseptic but predictable since the Barça effectiveness concealed the fragility of a defense that, if it did not end up subdued, was due to the harmless nature of Naples. The Italians seemed more interested in the ball than Barça. The change of roles favored the Barça punch and especially Messi. On the 10th he made a simple game that was expected to be difficult despite the 1-1 in Naples.

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Barcelona Ter Stegen, Clement Lenglet, Alba, Nelson Semedo, Piqué, Frenkie De Jong, Sergi Roberto, Rakitic, Messi, Luis Suárez (Júnior Firpo, min. 91) and Griezmann (Monchu, min. 83) Naples David Ospina, Manolas, Mário Rui , Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Koulibaly, Zielinski (Hirving Lozano, min. 69), Diego Demme (Lobotka, min. 45), Fabián (Eljif Elmas, min. 78), Callejón (Politano, min. 69), Insigne (Arkadiusz Milik , min. 78) and Mertens

Although the veterans have been his biggest critics, Setién was respectful of the hierarchy of the dressing room and the investment of the club, at the same time that he was distant with the young people of La Masia who filled the Camp Nou bench. Busquets and Vidal absent due to suspension, the coach played it at a crucial moment, when there was even discussion about his continuity, with those who are in charge and with Griezmann, the author of San Paolo's goal. The scoring of the first leg conditioned the formation of the return for more than recently no coach takes risks in extreme situations and less in tournaments where errors penalize such as the Champions League. The coach and the players led by Messi were not wrong.

The experience prevails against threatening and naive rivals such as Napoli, a hot-blooded team, full of rioters whose passion has been reinforced by a coach of the character of the Calabrian Gattuso. Encouraged by their undefeated condition, the Italians took the ball as soon as they took off center: Mertens finished off the wood after a rejection from Piqué. Napoli had a plan and Barça was in tow, relaxed despite the pressure of each of their strikers with their marker from the diamond set by Setién. Until the leather stopped at a corner kick and it was 1-0. Unlike Naples, Barça did not forgive.

In the absence of collective football, the Barça players entrusted themselves to a move already known to enter the game: the deep pass for Alba and the center of the side for the arrival of Messi. The action ended in a corner and Lenglet headed the net after a melee with Demme validated by the referee. The goal reinforced Barça's conservative proposal. Never had such a marked low retreat been seen in a Barça team always aware of Messi. The goal put off Gattuso's boys and ignited Messi. The 10th starred in three plays resolved in a different way: one meant 2-0, the second ended in a somewhat annulled and the third meant the 3-0 penalty.

Messi has lost finesse and speed with age, he no longer comes out clean from the dribble as seen in 2-0. In return, he has gained determination, he does not win even when he loses his leather, he cuts, stumbles, gets up and persists until he kicks and beat Ospina. The goal was a declaration of voracity from the captain: 2-0. The referee later annulled him for a second as much to understand that he helped himself with his hand in an exquisite control and later he surprised Koulibaly, so confident in handling the ball that he hooked the Argentine's ankle without realizing it, betrayed only by the VAR. The penalty was transformed by Suarez: 3-0.

Messi's left-foot was damaged and Barça suffered badly, depersonalized and determined to hide their shortcomings, disguised as a small team, dominated by Napoli, who only scored a penalty: 3-1. Gattuso's changes further dwarfed Setién's meager and fused roster. Messi could no longer, there was no news from Griezmann and the only team that played was Naples. The lucky Barça defended themselves in the same way that they will defend their options in Lisbon: gritting their teeth and looking at the scoreboard, determined to survive, resisting while waiting for Messi to decide, also if possible on Friday against Bayern in the quarterfinals. In times of uncertainty, the certainty of 10 remains.