Napoli vs. Barcelona: Head-to-head record and past meetings
In one of the standout matchups of the Champions League’s round of 16, Napoli, the reigning Serie A champions, will host Barcelona, the winners of last season’s La Liga, at Stadio Maradona on Wednesday.
Napoli, who reached the quarter-finals last year, ended up as runners-up to Real Madrid in the group stage this autumn, having suffered defeats against the Spanish giants both home and away. However, they managed to secure passage to the knockout stage with three wins from their other four matches.
Their opponents, Barcelona, are back in the knockout phase for the first time in three seasons. They topped Group H, narrowly edging out Porto to secure their spot.
Here, Sports Mole provides a comprehensive analysis of the head-to-head record and past encounters between these two teams.
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 6
Napoli wins: 0
Draws: 2
Barcelona wins: 4
Regularly facing off in European competitions in recent years, Napoli and Barcelona have consistently seen goals from both sides, with Napoli yet to overcome their Spanish counterparts.
Their first competitive encounter at Camp Nou in February 2022 ended in a 1-1 draw, but Napoli suffered a significant defeat in the return leg in Campania just a week later, dashing their hopes of progressing in the Europa League.
Barcelona quickly took the lead through Jordi Alba, followed by Frenkie de Jong’s well-placed shot from distance. Although Napoli managed to pull one back soon after through Lorenzo Insigne’s penalty conversion after Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s foul on Victor Osimhen, Gerard Pique extended Barcelona’s lead before halftime.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang added a fourth for Barcelona within 15 minutes of the second half, with Matteo Politano’s late goal for Napoli providing little consolation for the disappointed home fans at Stadio Maradona.
Two years prior, in the Champions League round of 16 in February 2020, Dries Mertens scored for Napoli, and Antoine Griezmann replied for Barcelona in Naples. However, the tie was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a prolonged hiatus.
Nearly six months later, in a nearly empty Camp Nou, Barcelona secured a spot in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich with a 4-2 aggregate win. A frantic first half saw goals from Clement Lenglet, Lionel Messi, and Luis Suarez for Barcelona, with Messi also winning a penalty converted by Suarez. Insigne managed to score from the spot for Napoli in first-half stoppage time, but the second half was less eventful, sealing Barcelona’s advancement.
Previous meetings
Feb 24, 2022: Napoli 2-4 Barcelona (Europa League Qualifying Playoffs)
Feb 17, 2022: Barcelona 1-1 Napoli (Europa League Qualifying Playoffs)
Aug 08, 2020: Barcelona 3-1 Napoli (Champions League Round of 16)
Feb 25, 2020: Napoli 1-1 Barcelona (Champions League Round of 16)
Aug 10, 2019: Barcelona 4-0 Napoli (friendly)
Aug 07, 2019: Napoli 1-2 Barcelona (friendly)
