Europa League | Barcelona held 1-1 by Napoli, Rangers stun Dortmund
The Hindu
After dropping out of the Champions League, Barcelona now faces a difficult task just to qualify for the round of 16 in the Europa League
After dropping out of the Champions League, Barcelona now faces a difficult task just to qualify for the round of 16 in the Europa League.
In its first appearance in the second-tier European competition in nearly two decades, the Catalan club was held 1-1 by Napoli at Camp Nou Stadium on Thursday in the first leg of one of eight playoffs between third-place finishers in the Champions League groups and Europa League group runners-ups.
It is the first time since 2003-04 that Barcelona is not in the knockout stages of the Champions League, a tournament it won five times.
In the other matchups, Scottish club Rangers stunned Borussia Dortmund 4-2 away, Real Betis won 3-2 at Zenit St. Petersburg and Sheriff beat Braga 1-0.
In the playoff matches to reach the last 16 of the inaugural Europa Conference League, PSV Eindhoven, Rapid Vienna, Midtjylland and Slavia Prague won the opening leg.
The second-leg games in both competitions are scheduled for Feb 24.
Ferran Torres salvaged the draw for Barcelona by converting a penalty that was awarded due to Juan Jesus’ handball in the 59th minute. The forward calmly sent goalkeeper Alex Meret the opposite way from the spot.
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