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Champions League | Round of 16 | 1st Leg
Feb 21, 2024 at 8pm UK
Stadio Diego Armando Maradona
BL
Napoli
1 - 1
Barcelona
Osimhen (75')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Lewandowski (60')
de Jong (16'), Martinez (76'), Christensen (78')

Xavi plays down Ronald Araujo, Pedri injury fears ahead of Napoli clash

:Headline: Xavi plays down Ronald Araujo, Pedri injury fears ahead of Napoli clash:
Barcelona head coach Xavi insists that neither Ronald Araujo nor Pedri picked up injuries against Celta Vigo.
Sports Mole

Barcelona head coach Xavi has insisted that neither Ronald Araujo nor Pedri picked up injuries during Sunday's La Liga clash with Celta Vigo.

Araujo was replaced at the interval of his side's 2-1 victory, with Inigo Martinez entering the field, while Pedri was withdrawn in the 75th minute for Fermin Lopez.

There had been concerns over the fitness of the duo ahead of next week's Champions League last-16 first leg with Napoli, but Xavi has said that neither player is injured.

"There were no injuries today. Neither Araujo nor Pedri are injured. They're fine," Xavi told reporters following the narrow success over Celta in Spain's top flight.

"Football is unfair in general. Celta made a great effort without any reward to show from it. However, if we didn't win today it would also be unfair. I really think we deserved the three points."

Iago Aspas cancelled out an opener from Robert Lewandowski to leave the two teams level in the early stages of the second half in Vigo, but Lewandowski's second won it for the champions late on.

"Today, we competed much better than we did against Granada. We played well, without suffering in defence, but we did not create enough chances. We did not do well in the final third," Xavi added.

"According to Big Data, we should be in first place considering the amount of chances we create on average. We got penalized by our defensive mistake yet again."

Xavi also said that he has "good sensations" ahead of the Napoli clash, with Barcelona looking for a positive result to take into the second leg of their last-16 tie.

"I have good sensations ahead of Wednesday's match. The team's attitude was very good. This win is great for our confidence. We did more good things than bad things."

Xavi is standing down as head coach this summer, but he is still looking to deliver two trophies, and Saturday's win over Celta moved them to within seven points of La Liga leaders Real Madrid.

Napoli have struggled to match their heroics from last season, meanwhile, with the Blues currently sitting down in ninth position in the Serie A table.

As a result, despite Barcelona's issues this season, they will fancy their chances of navigating their way through the two legs to book a spot in the quarter-finals of the competition. body check tags ::

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid25195153163762
2GironaGirona25175354322256
3Barcelona25166352341854
4Atletico MadridAtletico25163650262451
5Athletic Bilbao25147445232249
6Real Sociedad251010534231140
7Real BetisBetis2591242825339
8Valencia2510692929036
9Las PalmasLas Palmas25105102525035
10Getafe2581073334-134
11Osasuna2595112936-732
12AlavesAlaves2577112431-728
13Villarreal2568113547-1226
14Rayo Vallecano25510102233-1125
15Sevilla2559113037-724
16Mallorca25411102233-1123
17Celta Vigo2548132737-1020
18CadizCadiz25211121535-2017
19Granada2528152749-2214
20Almeria2508172352-298
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