What we learned from Barcelona’s draw against Napoli

The need for a finisher at Barcelona continues

Napoli may have taken the lead, but Barcelona had opportunities before and after trailing. Their inability to finish off chances remains rampant and it cost them the win. After the penalty, Barcelona created a handful of scoring chances but failed to convert.

Ferran Torres, who converted the penalty to bring Barcelona level, was responsible for wasting plenty of opportunities to give his team the lead. It seemed like the game was always finding him as he was on the receiving end of goal-scoring opportunities only to sky his shots.

One in particular, late in the game, was crucial. It was probably Barcelona’s best move of the game and Torres was left all alone on the left, inside the box. He skied this one too, much to the dismay of himself, his teammates and supporters.

He must have realized how many chances he let escape as he was emotional at the final whistle.

Xavi backed Torres during his postgame press conference and believes this was only a blip.

"“It happened to Luis Suarez, who seemed to have no goals,” Xavi said. “The Barca shirt weighs a few kilos more. But I am delighted to have him in the team and he will give me a lot of joy. “If he is in the penalty area it is because he will score. He has scored goals all his life and he will have them. “In training he is one of those who scores the most. He has our absolute trust. The coaching staff and I will take care of this. He is very strong, self-demanding.” Source: Goal"

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was given his first start since arriving at Arsenal, was also unable to find the back of the net. He was involved in a lot of the play and offered something different off the ball. But he was unable to be the difference-maker this time.

It will be interesting if Xavi tinkers with his lineup for the return leg. Luuk de Jong, who scored the equalizer against Espanyol, was pretty lively when he came on late as a substitute. He tried an overhead kick but his shot went wide.

Given Barcelona’s new propensity to deliver in crosses, especially with Traore on the field, he could be a candidate to start in Naples and give Barcelona a target man in the area.

At the very least, the Catalans are creating chances. But goals win games and far too often, Barcelona has lacked that clinical touch. They scored only twice in the Champions League group stages. It’s one of the reasons they crashed out and find themselves in the Europa League.