Barcelona 3-1 Napoli (4-2 agg): Player ratings as Blaugrana advance to Champions League quarter-final

Barcelona booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a big 3-1 victory over Napoli on Tuesday.

After being held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Barcelona came out hot. Fermin Lopez put Xavi's side ahead after 15 minutes and Joao Cancelo added a second almost immediately after to put the hosts in an imposing position.

Napoli did pull one back in the first half through Amir Rrahmani, but Robert Lewandowski's late strike removed any doubt about the result.

How the game unfolded

Both sides had half-sights of goal inside the opening minute in what was an electric start to the game. Victor Osimhen found himself racing through at Marc-Andre ter Stegen soon after, but a tame effort and a late offside flag quickly ended the tension.

Fermin fired over the bar after a sensational long ball from Pau Cubarsi but made no mistake on the 15-minute mark, with the young midfielder drilling into the bottom corner from Raphinha's cut-back.

Before fans could even catch their breath, Barcelona doubled their lead. Raphinha crashed against the post on a lethal counter but the rebound fell right to the feet of Cancelo, who tapped into an empty net.

It felt as though the tie was slipping away from Napoli but the visitors clawed their way back into the game thanks to an unlikely scorer. Centre-back Rrahmani was alone in the box and showed the instincts of a striker to drill Matteo Politano's pass into the back of Ter Stegen's net.

The Barca stopper had to make an outstanding save to claw Giovanni Di Lorenzo's header over the bar soon after, with the visitors really growing into the game after a really poor opening period, but there would be no change to the scoreline before the half-time break.

Napoli's energy continued after the break but Barcelona thought they had netted against the run of play when Lamine Yamal tapped home after a corner, but the offside flag was quickly and correctly raised to rule the effort out.

Jesper Lindstrom had an excellent chance to tie things up with a free header at the back post, but the Dane could only steer his effort wide of the post as the clock ticked over into the final ten minutes.

That profligacy would come back to bite Napoli as Barcelona put the final nail in the coffin shortly after. Some excellent passing put Sergi Roberto in behind and a routine cut-back for Lewandowski left the home fans in a frenzy as they danced their way into the last eight.

Barcelona player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 6/10 - Could do absolutely nothing about Rrahmani's excellent strike but did make a handful of big saves when Napoli were trying to get back into the game. Some shaky moments with his feet.

RB: Jules Kounde - 8/10 - Made Khvicha Kvaratskhelia look completely ordinary. A really impressive defensive performance from the Frenchman.

CB: Ronald Araujo - 6/10 - A mixed showing. Didn't always inspire confidence but didn't get a whole lot wrong either.

CB: Pau Cubarsi - 8/10 - Passing range is a joke. Cubarsi pulled the strings from deep and looked so composed up against one of the finest strikers on the planet.

LB: Joao Cancelo - 7/10 - It wasn't Cancelo's best performance but he still managed to make a key impact. Great positioning for his goal.

DM: Andreas Christensen - 6/10 - Picked up a yellow card for a nasty challenge on Stanislav Lobotka midway through the first half that left him sweating every time the ball came near him. Did his job but would have been better without that early caution.

CM: Ilkay Gundogan - 6/10 - Poor for the majority of the game when asked to defend more, but Gundogan's shackles were loosened late on and he made an impact with a lovely pass for the third goal.

CM: Fermin Lopez - 8/10 - Came flying out the gates immediately and absolutely deserved his goal. Really stepped up when Barca needed him most. Unfortunate to be taken off on the hour mark.

RW: Lamine Yamal - 8/10 - Clearly established himself as his side's danger man early on. Skipped beyond his defender whenever possible and was happy to pass to an open teammate after occupying two or three defenders.

ST: Robert Lewandowski - 6/10 - The match almost passed Lewandowski by at times but he did what he had to do and tapped home the third late on.

LW: Raphinha - 7/10 - Some excellent runs which helped stretch Napoli's defence all over the place. It was his fierce shot which rebounded for Cancelo to tap home. Quieter in the second half when Napoli increased the pressure.

Substitutes

SUB: Oriol Romeu (60' for Christensen) - 6/10

SUB: Sergi Roberto (60' for Fermin) - 7/10

SUB: Joao Felix (81' for Raphinha) - N/A

Subs not used: Ander Astralaga (GK), Inaki Pena, Hector Fort, Inigo Martinez, Marc Casado, Unai Hernandez, Marc Guiu, Vitor Roque

Manager

Xavi - 8/10 - Rewarded for taking a risk with his starting lineup. Xavi's side played with real energy and creativity throughout, and just when they looked to be losing control of the game, his smart substitutions helped restore the balance.

Player of the match - Jules Kounde (Barcelona)