Napoli and Barcelona left their Champions League last 16 tie to the second leg after a 1-1 first-leg draw at the Diego Maradona Stadium in Naples.
The first half ended without a goal, but the game was not as impersonal as the result. The visitors were the more active side, possessed more ball, and created more dangerous situations, although the home goal remained dry.
The picture did not change much in the second half either, with the visitors putting serious pressure at times. An hour after the start of the match, during a sustained attack by the Catalans, Pedri overcame a home defender just outside the penalty area and passed to Lewandowski. In the 60th minute, the Pole with a goal-scoring flair shot in a corridor between two other defenders and sent the ball into the neck of the otherwise excellent home goalkeeper Meret.
The Catalans could have doubled the lead, but after 15 minutes the home side equalized through Victor Osimen thanks to the proverbial frailty in the Catalan defence.
In Wednesday's other game, Porto saw off Arsenal with a stoppage-time winner for a 1-0 final. At the Estadio do Dragao, Galano scored in the 94th minute to give the Dragons success.
The second legs of both matches will be played on March 12. /BGNES
