Barcelona made it through to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League riding on the brilliance of La Masia to secure a 3-1 win over Napoli in Montjuic on Tuesday.
Fermin Lopez began the scoring for the Blaugrana, finishing past Alex Meret early in the game before Joao Cancelo doubled their lead.
Napoli threatened a comeback and even scored a goal, but a late strike from Robert Lewandowski after being set up by Sergi Roberto sealed the deal, securing a 3-1 win on the night and a 4-2 scoreline on aggregate.
Fermin wishes for Xavi to continue
Speaking after the game, one of the goalscorers on the night, Fermin Lopez stated that he hoped manager Xavi Hernandez could continue at Barcelona beyond the season.
The La Masia ace has already admitted in the past that he wished to see Xavi stay put and reaffirmed his hope again last night.
“I hope Xavi can stay at the club. We’re here with him until the end. I will always be grateful to Xavi because he trusted me,” said Fermin.
Discussing the match and the result, the La Masia graduate added: “The night can’t get any better. Barça is the club of my life since I was a child, and it’s a dream come true to score a goal and go through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.”
On what lies ahead in the competition, he said: “All matches are important, but this is special. We’re thinking about the present moment, we’ll see who we get in the draw.”
Describing how it feels after winning such an important fixture, Fermin said: “We are very happy because the club had not been in the quarterfinals for four years. We are happy for us, because we deserved it, for the coach, for the injured players, and above all for the fans who have always supported us.”
Further praising Xavi, he added: “We have always been with the coach until the end, if we feel more liberated it is because he gives us that peace of mind. We are happy for him and he deserves it too.”
On the quarterfinal draw, which will take place this Friday, Fermin said: “The truth is that we don’t think about that, we are very happy with the victory. We’ll see which team we’ll play.”
