Sunday. 22.12.2024
EUROPA LEAGUE

Barca drawn to play Napoli in Europa League play-offs

Record six-time winners Sevilla play Dinamo Zagreb as they are ultimately bidding for a place in the 18 May final in their home city, and so are crosstown rivals Real Betis who face past champions Zenit St Petersburg

07 December 2021, Bavaria, Munich: Barcelona players take part in a training session for the team at the Allianz Arena ahead of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League Group E soccer match against Bayern Munich. Photo: Matthias Balk/dpa.
Barcelona players take part in a training session for the team at the Allianz Arena. Photo: Matthias Balk/dpa.

Barcelona face a tricky test against Napoli in the play-offs for a last-16 berth in the Europa League drawn on Monday.

The Spanish giants failed for the first time in two decades to advance from the first group stage of the Champions League and were demoted into Europe's second tier competition where they last played in 2003-04, going out in the last 16.

Since then, they have won four of their five Champions League trophies but a 3-0 defeat last week at Bayern Munich condemned them to continue in the Europa League.

The Europa League is the only continental title Barca have not won, while their Italian opponents lifted the trophy in 1989 when Diego Maradona played there.

The two sides met in the Champions League last 16 two seasons ago, with Barca advancing 4-2 on aggregate before being crushed 8-2 by Bayern in a one-legged quarter-final.

Record six-time winners Sevilla play Dinamo Zagreb as they are ultimately bidding for a place in the 18 May final in their home city, and so are crosstown rivals Real Betis who face past champions Zenit St Petersburg.

Leipzig v Real Sociedad

The other ties are Atalanta v Olympiacos, RB Leipzig v Real Sociedad, Borussia Dortmund v Rangers, Sheriff Tiraspol v Braga and Porto v Lazio. Porto beat Lazio in the 2003 semi-finals under Jose Mourinho en route to the title.

Teams from the same domestic league were kept apart in the draw involving third-placed teams from the Champions League and Europa League runners-up, with Europa League group winners straight into the last 16.

The play-off games are scheduled for February 17 and 24, and the away goal rule no longer applies, meaning that all ties tied on aggregate after 90 minutes in the second leg go into extra time.

Barca drawn to play Napoli in Europa League play-offs