Three things we learned from Barcelona’s win over Napoli

3. Quique Setién cannot play it too safe against Bayern Munich.

The Champions League could be Quique Setién’s last chance to save his job. If there were managers willing to take the helm or if next season there wasn’t an election, he may very well have been fired by now.

But he is still the manager and needs to be more adventurous with his line-ups and substitutions.

Against Napoli he played the players he has the most trust in. Without Arturo Vidal and Sergio Busquets, he opted for Sergi Roberto and Ivan Rakitic.

Given his form towards the end of the season and how quickly he’s been able to integrate into the team, many expected Riqui Puig to get the start. The same goes with Ansu Fati.

However, not only did neither of them start but both were left on the bench. A bit of a head-scratcher considering he cited this game as a reason why they were not allowed to play with Barça B as they looked to win promotion.

To his credit, he did bring on Monchu who made his Champions League debut following an impressive campaign with the B team.

In any respect, Barcelona cannot hope to get past Bayern Munich unless the manager is willing to take some sort of risk. Playing the younger players would fall in that category.

Especially late in the game where Napoli charged ahead because they needed to score. Puig would have been ideal in midfield to help lead a counter and Fati on the wing who is one of the few forwards in the side who has pace and isn’t afraid to take on defenders.

Had Setién made these subs, Barcelona might not have been under the same pressure they found themselves under late in the game.

Heading into the Bayern match, one decision he may have to make is whether or not to play Ousmane Dembélé. The Frenchman took part in training leading up to the Napoli match before they deemed it an unnecessary risk to play him.

He may well be fully fit to play against Bayern and his explosiveness may keep their defense on edge. Someone is going to have to be another outlet so they don’t simply focus on Messi.

Griezmann hasn’t been it but he helps out defensively and Luis Suarez seems to be undroppable.

Playing it safe is what led to Barcelona’s last two humiliating exits from the Champions League. It’s a one-legged affair now. If they hope to progress and make it to the final, then the manager is going to have to take a chance on certain players.