Napoli 1-1 Barcelona: Griezmann cancels out Mertens' opener

Napoli 1-1 Barcelona: Antoine Griezmann cancels out Dries Mertens’ opener as Arturo Vidal is sent off and Lionel Messi fails to make history in Naples

• Dries Mertens gave Napoli the lead with sublime strike but was taken off injured in the second half
• Antoine Griezmann was on-hand to level the scores early into the second half with a top-corner finish 
• Arturo Vidal was sent off in the 88th minute for two bookable offences in a matter of seconds 

Antoine Griezmann’s second-half equaliser handed Barcelona a vital away goal and earned them a 1-1 draw at Napoli in their Champions League last-16 first leg meeting on Tuesday.

A superb curling strike from Dries Mertens put the home side in front in the first half and saw the Belgian draw level with Marek Hamsik as Napoli’s all-time top scorer in all competitions with 121 goals.

But Barca breached a well-drilled Napoli defence after the break when Griezmann fired in a Nelson Semedo cross.

The visitors ended the game with 10 men after Arturo Vidal was sent off late on for picking up two yellow cards in quick succession.

The two sides, who were facing each other for the first time, will meet again at the Camp Nou for the second leg on March 18.

The Belgian midfielder gave the hosts the lead with a fantastic strike into the top corner on the half hour mark 

Antoine Griezmann was on-hand to level for the Catalans early in the second half with another top corner finish

MATCH FACTS

Napoli: Ospina, Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Maksimovic, Rui, Fabian, Demme, Zielinski, Callejon (Politano 74), Mertens (Milik 54), Insigne   

Subs not used: Meret, Allan, Elmas, Luperto, Hysaj

Scorers: Mertens (30) 

Booked: Insigne, Rui

Barcelona: ter Stegen, Nelson Semedo, Pique (Lenglet 90), Umtiti, Firpo, Busquets, Rakitic (Arthur 56), de Jong, Vidal, Messi, Griezmann (Fati 86)  

Subs not used: Neto, Puig,  Araujo, Akieme

Scorers: Griezmann (57)

Booked: Busquets, Messi

Red Card: Vidal  

Referee: Felix Brych

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