Barcelona vs Napoli: Complete head-to-head record

Barcelona and Napoli became inextricably linked in the summer of 1984.

The Serie A strugglers, who had avoided relegation by one point in the recently concluded campaign, were based in Italy's poorest city at the time yet broke the world transfer record to sign Diego Maradona. The figure that Napoli surpassed had been set by Maradona's move to Barcelona just two years earlier.

While Maradona pushed for the move away from Spain, the Argentine believed that Barcelona were only willing to lose a player with his indisputable talent to a team of Napoli's limited stature.

"It's not easy to pull one over the Catalans," Maradona wrote in his autobiography. "They didn't imagine the Italians would be great rivals in Europe."

Despite Maradona's domestic success in Naples, Barcelona's hunch proved to be correct. The Spanish giants only faced Napoli in a competitive setting for the first time in 2020, more than two decades after Maradona had retired and the same year that he passed away.

Here's a look at how Maradona's former employers have fared in his absence.

Napoli 1-1 Barcelona - 25 February 2020

"They didn't hurt us," Napoli boss Gennaro Gattuso insisted. "They tickled us."

No one in Naples was laughing when Antoine Griezmann equalised for Barcelona in the second half of their Champions League round of 16 first leg. Dries Mertens had put the hosts ahead before the break, becoming Napoli's joint-leading scorer of all time alongside Marek Hamsik (with Maradona back in third).

Bizarrely, both Gattuso and Barcelona boss Quique Setien were managing the first Champions League games of their respective careers in this lofty knockout fixture.

Barcelona 3-1 Napoli - 8 August 2020

After the first leg, Napoli skipper Lorenzo Insigne had admitted it was "emotional" to line up against players of Lionel Messi's calibre. Following a subdued display in Naples, Messi lit up the decisive second leg held behind closed doors in Catalonia.

COVID-19 restrictions ensured that no fans were inside Camp Nou to watch Messi weave between a pack of white shirts. Insigne was part of the cabal rendered incompetent but Messi's typical majesty, serving as one of four players that tried and failed to tear the ball off his shoelaces.

Messi was on the ground by the time he took aim, picking out the bottom corner while reclining on the grass.

Barcelona 1-1 Napoli - 17 February 2022

"It annoys me to hear the Champions League anthem and not be part of it," Xavi moaned ahead of Barcelona's first game in Europe's secondary cup competition in 18 years.

However, visitors in the form of Luciano Spalletti's Napoli - who would win Serie A in style the following season - gave this Europa League knockout play-off an elite sheen.

Barcelona's finishing on the night, however, was decidedly second-rate. Only four of the hosts' 20 shots were on target.

"We had six or seven very, very clear chances, but the result is insufficient: it's a pity," Xavi sighed. Ferran Torres was the only Barcelona player to find the net, converting a second-half penalty to cancel out Piotr Zielinski's opener.

Napoli 2-4 Barcelona - 24 February 2022

For the first time since Xavi was finally lured into Barcelona's dugout three months earlier, the Catalans played the kind of electric football that had been expected from the return of the brain at the heart of the club's golden vintage under Pep Guardiola.

In front of what Spalletti described as "a real Napoli atmosphere", Barcelona took advantage of their sloppy hosts, deservedly running out as comfortable winners in a stadium which now carried Diego Armando Maradona's name.

Napoli 1-1 Barcelona - 21 February 2024

A few years after their tussles in the Europa League, national champions Napoli and Barcelona were paired up in the Champions League last 16.

However, both sides had dropped well out of title contention in Italy and Spain before this first leg and neither looked fluid in this meeting at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

It was a tale of two world-class strikers on the night. Robert Lewandowski put the visitors ahead in the 60th minute, though Victor Osimhen responded to ensure it was all to play for heading into the second game in Catalonia.

Barcelona 3-1 Napoli - 12 March 2024

Osimhen's leveller in Naples meant it was all to play for in the return leg, but Barcelona's fast start on home soil saw them take a giant leap towards the quarter-finals.

The injury-hit hosts flew out of the blocks and raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to strikes from Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo.

Unlikely goalscorer Amir Rrahmani offered Napoli a glimmer midway through the first half, but rarely did they threaten a remarkable turnaround. Barca were able to keep the visitors at arm's length before they sealed their progression into the last eight. Lewandowski scored his second goal of the tie to secure a 3-1 win on the night.

Barcelona vs Napoli - Complete H2H record

• Games played: 6
• Barcelona wins: 3
• Draws: 3
• Napoli wins: 0

Barcelona vs Napoli - Champions League H2H record

• Games played: 4
• Barcelona wins: 2
• Draws: 2
• Napoli wins: 0

Top scorers in Barcelona vs Napoli fixtures

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