Champions League 2019/20: Napoli vs Barcelona – tactical analysis

The Champions League last 16 pitted a Napoli side struggling domestically against a Barcelona team who had just returned to the top of La Liga. With the first leg taking place at the Stadio San Paolo.

Dries Mertens opened the scoring on the half hour mark, breaking down the Barcelona defence with a brilliant finish which left Marc-Andre Ter Stegen with no chance. The Catalans fought back but struggled to break down their Serie A counterparts, having to wait until Antoine Griezmann found space in the box to equalise with a near post tap in to make it 1-1 in the second half.

This tactical analysis will consider the tactics of both Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso and Barcelona boss Quique Setién. The analysis will consider the approach of Napoli and Barcelona as they played out an intriguing tactical battle in this draw.

Line-ups

Napoli fielded a similar line-up to their recent outings in Serie A, with Piotr Zielinski replacing Elif Elmas in midfield and José Callejón coming in for Matteo Politano. It formed part of their approach of converting their traditional 4-3-3 into a more defensive minded 4-5-1, with Lorenzo Insigne and Callejón sitting deeper, rather than alongside Mertens in attack.

Barcelona also made changes, with Arturo Vidal preferred on the right to Ansu Fati, allowing Ivan Rakitić to come into the team in the middle. Samuel Umtiti was also, somewhat surprisingly, picked ahead of Clement Lenglet in defence.