Anguissa Assists Osimhen in Napoli’s UCL first leg tie against Barca

Cameroon’s Zambo Anguissa set Victor Osimhen who in-turn rescued a first-leg draw for Napoli after Robert Lewandowski had put Barcelona ahead.

Napoli held Barcelona to a draw in the opening act of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie after Victor Osimhen struck with 15 minutes remaining in reply to Robert Lewandowski’s goal on the hour mark.

On a night when visiting midfielder Lamine Yamal became the youngest ever player to feature in a Champions League knockout stage match, the youngster threatened to set another record early on.

Alex Meret prevented Yamal from becoming the first 16-year-old to score in the competition by beating away his strike, setting the tone for an early period in which the home goalkeeper was kept busy, Lewandowski and Ilkay Gündoğan both testing his reflexes.

New Napoli coach Francesco Calzona would have seen plenty to work on in the first 45 minutes, although there were flickers of promise during the latter stages despite their opponents registering all seven of the attempts on goal before the break.

The Italian champions made the brighter start after the break, only for a wily figure 19 years Yamal’s senior to make the breakthrough when Lewandowski struck his 93rd Champions League goal.

Pedri, who celebrated ecstatically with his recipient, found the Polish striker with a perceptive pass, Lewandowski taking a deft touch to fashion space before beating Meret at his near post.

Osimhen had been quiet on his first club appearance this year but Napoli’s top scorer required one chance to change the game, collecting André-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s pass inside the penalty area and expertly turning his marker to slot in.

From there, Calzona’s players made their early meekness seem a distant memory by pushing for a winner. Substitute Giovanni Simeone went closest, but Ilkay Gündoğan curled narrowly wide late on at the other end to show why both sides will have cause for optimism ahead of the second leg.