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Champions League | Round of 16 | 1st Leg
Feb 21, 2024 at 8pm UK
Stadio Diego Armando Maradona
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Napoli
1 - 1
Barcelona

Xavi plays down Ronald Araujo, Pedri injury fears ahead of Napoli clash

:Headline: Xavi plays down Ronald Araujo, Pedri injury fears ahead of Napoli clash:
Barcelona head coach Xavi insists that neither Ronald Araujo nor Pedri picked up injuries against Celta Vigo.
Sports Mole

Barcelona head coach Xavi has insisted that neither Ronald Araujo nor Pedri picked up injuries during Sunday's La Liga clash with Celta Vigo.

Araujo was replaced at the interval of his side's 2-1 victory, with Inigo Martinez entering the field, while Pedri was withdrawn in the 75th minute for Fermin Lopez.

There had been concerns over the fitness of the duo ahead of next week's Champions League last-16 first leg with Napoli, but Xavi has said that neither player is injured.

"There were no injuries today. Neither Araujo nor Pedri are injured. They're fine," Xavi told reporters following the narrow success over Celta in Spain's top flight.

"Football is unfair in general. Celta made a great effort without any reward to show from it. However, if we didn't win today it would also be unfair. I really think we deserved the three points."

Iago Aspas cancelled out an opener from Robert Lewandowski to leave the two teams level in the early stages of the second half in Vigo, but Lewandowski's second won it for the champions late on.

"Today, we competed much better than we did against Granada. We played well, without suffering in defence, but we did not create enough chances. We did not do well in the final third," Xavi added.

"According to Big Data, we should be in first place considering the amount of chances we create on average. We got penalized by our defensive mistake yet again."

Xavi also said that he has "good sensations" ahead of the Napoli clash, with Barcelona looking for a positive result to take into the second leg of their last-16 tie.

"I have good sensations ahead of Wednesday's match. The team's attitude was very good. This win is great for our confidence. We did more good things than bad things."

Xavi is standing down as head coach this summer, but he is still looking to deliver two trophies, and Saturday's win over Celta moved them to within seven points of La Liga leaders Real Madrid.

Napoli have struggled to match their heroics from last season, meanwhile, with the Blues currently sitting down in ninth position in the Serie A table.

As a result, despite Barcelona's issues this season, they will fancy their chances of navigating their way through the two legs to book a spot in the quarter-finals of the competition. body check tags ::

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid33266171224984
2GironaGirona33225669402971
3Barcelona32217464372770
4Atletico MadridAtletico33204962392364
5Athletic Bilbao331610753332058
6Real Sociedad331312846351151
7Real BetisBetis33121384139249
8Valencia32138113534147
9Villarreal33129125455-145
10Getafe331013104145-443
11Osasuna33116163749-1239
12Sevilla33911134246-438
13AlavesAlaves33108153138-738
14Las PalmasLas Palmas33107163041-1137
15Rayo Vallecano33713132742-1534
16Mallorca33614132739-1232
17Celta Vigo33710163750-1331
18CadizCadiz33414152346-2326
19Granada3349203661-2521
RAlmeria33111213267-3514
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