Barcelona's Champions League Glory

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said beating Napoli to reach the Champions League quarter-finals was one of his finest moments in his post.

The Spanish champions won 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium to seal a 4-2 aggregate win against last year's Serie A winners, returning to the last eight for the first time since 2020.

"There has been a lot of unfair criticism, that we were the joke of the Champions League, we had to play with that pressure," Xavi told a news conference.

"We had to be better than Napoli and we were, it's a more than deserved qualification, it's one of my best moments as Barcelona coach."

The coach said he would not change his mind about leaving at the end of the season, a decision he took in January. Since then the team have gone nine matches unbeaten.

Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo put Barcelona on their way at Estadi de Montjuïc, but the hosts were made to work hard by the Italian side who pulled one back through Amir Rrahmani.

A back-and-forth encounter was eventually settled by Poland striker Robert Lewandowski's close-range finish with seven minutes of normal time remaining.

First, 20 year-old midfielder Lopez took his chance to impress on the big stage as he stroked home a side-footed finish on 15 minutes after Lewandowski dummied Raphinha's low cross.

Former Leeds winger Raphinha was also at the center of Barcelona's second, leading a counter-attack and curling a shot off the post before Manchester City loanee Cancelo scored from the rebound.

Barcelona however ceded momentum, and Napoli pulled one back on the half hour when Kosovan center-back Rrahmani ventured forward to slot past Marc-Andre ter Stegen following a cutback from the right.

Xavi is leaving at the end of the season, but the Barcelona manager is still thinking of the club's future as he gives opportunities to young talent.