Griezmann Equalizer Salvages Champions League Draw for Barcelona at Napoli

Antoine Griezmann's away goal gives Barcelona the slightest of edges going back to Camp Nou for the second leg.

Lionel Messi's first match at the stadium where Diego Maradona became a Napoli legend didn't quite meet the expectations, with Barcelona dueling Napoli to a disjointed 1-1 draw at the Stadio San Paolo in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.

Messi has been forever compared to his countryman, though he went scoreless in his first game at Napoli in his storied career. Instead, it was Antoine Griezmann scoring the key goal for Barcelona in the 57th minute, which ensures the Spanish league leaders return home for the second leg with the away-goal edge. Dries Mertens had opened the scoring for Napoli at the half-hour mark in impression fashion.

All eyes were on Messi to see how he'd perform given the historical circumstances, and his first chance game eight minutes in, after playing a combination with Frenkie de Jong and firing away from 20 yards, only to overhit the shot and send it over the bar.

The opening quarter hour as a whole was played at a methodical pace, with neither side looking particularly capable of breaking down the other with regularity. Napoli's first chance to do so came in the 17th minute, when Jose Callejon got free down the right side only to have his cross blocked by Junior Firpo and deflected harmlessly into Marc-Andre ter Stegen's arms.

Barcelona had no problem controlling the run of play, to the tune of 66% possession through the first 28 minutes, but it all became a little predictable in the final third. Messi looked to either work more combinations with de Jong or slip through balls in behind the defense, and Napoli resisted, ready every time. 

Barcelona paid for its inability to break through, as Napoli wound up with the first goal. It came on a stunner from Mertens, who settled a cross from Piotr Zielinski and laced a right-footed blast by ter Stegen to make it 1-0 to the hosts. The goal was Mertens's sixth in the Champions League this season, trailing only the 11 scored by Robert Lewandowski and 10 by Erling Haaland for most in the competition.

Just beautiful from Napoli to take the lead over Barcelona #UCL

(via @TUDNUSA) pic.twitter.com/fq7elBynuN

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) February 25, 2020

Barcelona found its equalizer in the 57th minute, with Griezmann getting the clutch away goal. He finished off a cross from Nelson Semedo, getting back onside in time to send a first-time finish by David Ospina and make it 1-1 on aggregate after what had largely been a quiet night from the Frenchman.

Sergio Busquets splits the defense, Nelson Semedo squares for Antoine Griezmann, and Barcelona has its away goal at Napoli #UCL

(via @brlive) https://t.co/ms97FjSRpY

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) February 25, 2020

Barcelona was dealt a blow in the closing minutes, when Arturo Vidal was sent off after a clash with Mario Rui, receiving two yellow cards in quick succession. One was for the foul, the other for a headbutt, and it's a costly sequence that will rule Vidal out for the second leg. An earlier yellow to Busquets will also rule him out due to card accumulation, while Gerard Pique appeared to injure his ankle in stoppage time, which could keep him out of this weekend's Clasico, if not longer.

Arturo Vidal goes all Arturo Vidal, and he'll miss the second leg after receiving two yellows in a matter of seconds

(via @TUDNUSA) pic.twitter.com/05ED83wlEp

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) February 25, 2020

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Here were the lineups for both sides:

📌 StartingXI: Ospina, Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Maksimovic, Mario Rui, Fabian, Demme, Zielinski, Callejon, Mertens, Insigne.
⚽ #NAPBAR
🏆 @ChampionsLeague
💙 #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/XWDzAmt6YF

— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) February 25, 2020

The second leg will be held at Barcelona's Camp Nou on March 18.