Xavi Hernandez has issued his verdict on Barcelona’s Europa League chances after their resounding win over Napoli.
Barca were all set for a tough second leg away to Napoli on Thursday evening following a draw in the home leg.
But they produced a superb away to display and controlled the game from early on, making it 2-0 with goals from Jordi Alba and Frenkie de Jong within the first 13 minutes.
Barca would go on to make it 3-1 after goals from Gerard Pique and Lorenzo Insigne, and then 4-2 with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Matteo Politano.
And it was a largely a comfortable evening for Barca as they produced their best European performance of the season.
Xavi’s men passed a big test and with flying colours in Naples, and fans are already getting excited about a potential first Europa League title win.
But Xavi is not getting ahead of himself, aware of the inconsistencies his side have shown on the back of such performances, and indeed the long road ahead to the final.
“The favourites to win the Europa League? Not at all,” he said after the game.
“We have to continue working with all the humility in the world, we played a great game but we’re just in the round of 16 so far – nothing has been fully won here.”
