Mighty Barcelona will be given a humbling reality check on Thursday when they begin their bid to win the second-tier Europa League.
The five-time European champions crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage with just two goals scored in six matches as they finished third behind Bayern Munich and Benfica.
At least their opponents in a competition Barca are taking part in for the first time in 18 years offer a bit of Euro glamour, as they take on Serie A title challengers Napoli at Camp Nou. The two teams met in the last 16 of the Champions League only two years ago.
It will be a sign of some progress under manager Xavi Hernandez if Barca can emerge victorious in the two-legged play-off to reach the last-16 stage.
Barca were busy in the last transfer window bringing in the likes of Ferran Torres, Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - and the attacking trio were all training on Wednesday ahead of the play-off first leg.
And Xavi has backed former Arsenal striker Aubameyang to make his mark. "He's good, and he trains really well. He's 100 per cent ready. He's a player who can make a difference, he works well in spaces and makes good runs into the area," Xavi said.
"He's put in performances in recent years that have been very good. I'm very happy with him, he's working positively in our group, and he's very professional."
They currently sit fourth in La Liga, a whopping 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid, and drew 2-2 at neighbours Espanyol on Sunday after Luuk de Jong's injury-time goal rescued a point.
Napoli, managed by Luciano Spalletti, finished second but joint top of their Europa League group level on points with Spartak Moscow. They are third in Serie A - two points behind leaders AC Milan - and drew 1-1 with second-placed Inter Milan at the weekend.
You can see images from Barcelona's training session in Spain ahead of the Napoli game in the gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.
Barcelona player ratings in 2-2 draw with Espanyol
-
Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 6. A Quiet first half until Darder’s outstanding equaliser flew past him. Could do little about the second in an intense derby with nine yellow cards, two of them red. Reuters -
Jordi Alba – 7. Crossed for Pedri after a minute and the Canarian did the rest. Got two more crosses to his teammates in the first half from the left side. Made a key clearance. AFP -
Gerard Pique – 6. Jeered by home fans whenever he touched the ball. Got a yellow card for a foul on Puado – who got one himself a few minutes later for a clash with Pique. Then Pique saw red, and a red card after multiple clashes with Nico Melamed, who was also sent off. Reuters -
Ronald Araujo – 6. Stormed into challenges in an aggressive first half. He didn’t see the second, which was even more intense with 25,000 fans sounding a lot louder than their numbers. EPA -
Sergino Dest – 7. Played the full 90 and needed to shift from a four-man defence to a three, which he did fine in an entertaining game. Reuters -
Frenkie de Jong – 5. A poor first half when he was dispossessed several times. He was offside to rule out what Barça thought was their second goal from Gavi. AP Photo -
Sergio Busquets – 6. Won the ball back which led to the early goal. Had to be up for the physical side of the game as Espanyol set about him. Brought off after an hour, yet still saw more of the ball than any other. Caught ball watching for Espanyol’s second though. Reuters -
Pedri – 7. Put his side ahead after one minute, getting around the back of the defenders to side foot in an Alba cross. Tried to get his foot across to stop Darder’s equaliser, but that foot touched the ball and helped it beat Ter Stegen. Lovely flicks. Reuters -
Ferran Torres – 6. Angered Espanyol players by kicking the ball away early on. Had two headers close to the goal at the end of the first half. AP -
Adama Traore – 8. Barca tried to use his speed to get behind Espanyol’s defenders. Booked for throwing the excellent De Tomas to the ground on 76 minutes. Barça’s main threat, but his crosses often went too high – fortunately Luuk de Jong was big enough to head the 96th minute equaliser. Getty Images -
Gavi – 8. Up for the battle against former Barça player Aleix Vidal. Thought he’d made it 2-1 after 55 minutes, winning the ball ahead of Vidal before kissing the badge in front of the furious Espanyol fans. Getty Images -
SUB: Eric Garcia – 4 (on for Araujo at half time). Didn’t seem to realise that Raul de Tomas was waiting behind him, ready to take the ball and score Espanyol’s second. Booked on 76 minutes as several Barcelona players struggled to keep their cool. AP -
SUB: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 5 (on for De Jong after 62’). Managed only five touches and no shots. AP -
SUB: Nico – 6 (on for Gavi after 71’). Carried a piece of paper for his teammates to read in a tactical shift. That meant Barça shifting to three defenders, but it didn’t work. One of three visiting players to be booked in the last 15 minutes. Reuters -
SUB: Ousmane Dembele - 5 (on for Alba on 71’). Barcelona went for an equaliser. At least he couldn’t be booed by his own fans like last week, since there are no Barcelona fans allowed to attend games at Espanyol. Hit crosses to Espanyol’s central defenders. Getty Images -
SUB: Luuk de Jong - 8 (on for Pedri on 81’). Mthree shots. Superb header in the 96th minute to make it 2-2 and quell Espanyol fans who thought they were about to win a first derby since 2009 and a first ever at Espanyol’s new stadium. Reuters
