At 20:00 Beijing time on December 13, after the end of the Champions League draw, the Europa League round of 16 play-off results were also released, and Barca drew serie A powerhouse Napoli. Some fans joke that Barca has a high probability of a round of travel, and it is likely that they will not even be able to play in the Europa League.
This year's Europa League was restructured, the knockout round was changed from the round of 32 to the round of 16, the first of the 8 groups was directly promoted, the second of the group and the third of the 8 groups of the Champions League were drawn by lot, and the home and away two-legged play-offs were held to determine the other 8 places.
Previously, Barca were out of the Champions League group stage, after 21 years, they once again missed the Champions League knockout round, Xavi said that Barca must strive to win the Europa League.
However, Barca's signing fortunes were really bad, and they met Serie A powerhouse Napoli. Napoli started the season well, winning eight straight and unbeaten in the first 12 rounds, topping serieSliga. Despite the recent decline in form, Napoli remains in fourth place in the table, a matchup that is considered to be a Knockout stage in the Champions League.
Historically, Barca have played against Napoli 6 times, with 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. In the 19/20 season, Barca met Napoli in the 1/8 final of the Champions League, and successfully advanced 1-1 away and 3-1 at home.
However, at that time, Barca still had Messi, Griezmann and Suarez, and now that all 3 superstars have left, Xavi has very limited cards to play. Therefore, some fans said that Barça has encountered the strongest opponent in theory, and it is very likely that they will travel in one round, and they will not even be able to play in the Europa League knockout rounds.
Barca are currently 18 points behind Real Madrid, with no hope of winning La Liga, five points away from the Champions League zone, and the prospect of competing for four is not optimistic. If Barca don't finish in the top 4 in La Liga and can't win the Europa League, they won't qualify for next season's Champions League, which is the last thing Barca wants to see.
In addition, The Royal Sociedad met in Leipzig, and The Royal Betis was on a trip to Russia to challenge Zenit st. Petersburg. Borussia Dortmund and Europa League king Sevilla have good signings, with their opponents Rangers and Dinamo Zagreb respectively.
Europa League Round of 16 Playoff Draw Specific Matches -
Barca vs Napoli
Sevilla vs Dinamo Zagreb
Atlanta vs Olympiacos
Dortmund vs Wanderers
Sharif vs Braga
Porto vs Lazio
Zenit vs Royal Betis
Leipzig vs Royal Sociedad