Barcelona pair Xavi Hernández and Frenkie de Jong have this evening revealed the identity of the players they will be keeping a close eye on, in the club’s upcoming showdown with Napoli.
Barca, of course, are primed to make their return to action on the continent on Wednesday night.
Through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League for the first time since 2021, the Catalans have been afforded a tricky tie, against unpredictable reigning Serie A champions Napoli.
Having now made their way to Italy in anticipation of the tie’s first leg, Barcelona, this evening, held the club’s pre-match press conference.
And head coach Xavi, as alluded to above, was joined in facing the media by midfield star Frenkie de Jong.
Amid a whole host of topics, one particularly interesting question put to both Xavi and De Jong, meanwhile, centered on Napoli’s main threats tomorrow night.
And the former made use of the opportunity to highlight the Partenopei’s attacking stars as those most likely to cause Barcelona trouble:
“It is crucial for us to defend well tomorrow. It’s difficult to stop Kvaratskhelia, Osimhen and Politano. They are top players.”
And a similar message was echoed by De Jong, albeit with the Dutchman having narrowed his focus to just one of the trio named by his manager:
“Kvaratskhelia is a player to watch out for tomorrow.”
Conor Laird | GSFN
